Pets Best | Pet Insurance Review

This is the 2nd pet insurer we have used - the first one had some restrictive procedure reimbursement limits and they wound up reducing the benefit on every claim I submitted. After we found out they would consider a disease that popped up during the policy year as a "preexisting condition" for the next policy year, I dropped them. I've been with Pet's Best about 20 months - they are reasonable and have honored every claim I've submitted. I got insurance because I didn't want to have to make a decision surrenering our pets health or lives because we couldn't afford the tests / treatments necessary. Vet bills have become unbelievably expensive (diagnostic procedures and care is better though too). Without insurance, we just wouldn't be able to afford it. Every time I call I get attentive and polite people - very easy to submit claims (all on line now if you want) - I even got reimbursed before my credit card payment came due! Pet insurance isn't "cheap" but it's been worth it for us with our 3 dog family.

I have been with Pets Best for over 2 years now and have been pretty happy with them until recently. Why? Well, I just received my renewal policy from Pets Best and was shocked to see a HUGE increase in premium for the coming year. I have two cats under Pets Best, and only made one claim ($500 for an ultrasound to check a heart murmur) in the past year. Now I am seeing an premium increase of 37% in the renewal policy (annual premium in the mid-$500 raised to over $800), in addition to an increase of my deductible from $75 to $100 (Pets Best no longer offers the $75 option). I am planning on moving my younger cat to PetPlan after this current policy expires. My older cat who got the ultrasound will stay with Pets Best because no one else will insure this pre-existing condition. Pets Best recently change their underwriter to Aetna. It is sad to see that profits are more important than their customers since this change. I suggest other pet lovers go look at a different insurance company.

Both my pets have had unforseen health issues and if it wasn't for Pets Best I'm not sure what I would have done! My dog had a ruptured cruciate ligament (blew her knee out) about two years ago and needed surgery which wound up costing nearly $4,000. After paying my $75 deductible, they covered 80% of the bill! Not 80% of their "approved" charges, but 80% entirely! Then, if you can believe this, just last fall she ruptured her other knee, same exact surgery required, same results from Pets Best...awesome! Now about my cat. She has had three different occasions of requiring dental surgery for painful lesions and she's almost without any teeth now, but at least she's not in pain and neither is my wallet. Each extraction was costly and Pets Best delivered on their promise to pay 80% of the full charges, minus my deductible. I call my guys my million dollar babies, little lemons, ha-ha! But they are my most precious companions and I am so happy to know they have insurance to care for their medical emergencies...best investment I ever made!

My husband and I have been adopting older pets for many years. In April of 2007, we lost our beautiful St. Bernard, Georgie Porgie to torsion. The cost for 4 days of ICU was $10,000 cash. If we couldn't pay up front, Georgie did not get treated. (See Georgie's story and pictures at Adopt A Saint of California. Look under Successes, 2005-2006. He is number 214. He had so many homes that our adoption did not even make it on to the website.) After the financial disaster of Georgie's death, we reviewed several pet insurance companies and chose Pets Best. We currently have 3 cats and two giant breed dogs covered by Pet's Best Insurance and couldn't be more pleased. In August of 2007 we adopted Bubba, another wonderful St. Bernard. In December of 2007 Bubba was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Our insurance with Pet's Best allowed us to treat the Lymphoma and keep his quality of life good for almost a year. Without the insurance we could not have afforded to treat him. Now our female Rottweiler is 11 years old. She has several chronic old age problems. Pet's Best has made it possible to provide her good care and keep her comfortable. They have paid the contract amount on all claims and have handled all inquiries with friendly and helpful customer service. I recommend Pet's Best Insurance very, very highly!

I have had VPI before and recently switched to PetsBest after hearing wonderful reviews. I never should have left VPI. PetsBest will make you jump through hoops to submit claims, pretend they never got them or that they are incomplete- they will do anything to avoid honoring your policy and paying out claims. Customer service reps are friendly but otherwise useless. Some of them have no idea what they are talking about and give incorrect information. Then when you speak to another rep, they say the other rep was mistaken and they are sorry, but do nothing to fix the situations they cause. STEER CLEAR, THIS COMPANY IS NOT WORTH THE HASSLES THEY CREATE!