Trupanion Canada | Pet Insurance Review

Trupanion lost my first set of claim forms (2/18/19). Their site was broken so I couldn't get information on its status, and when I called in (3/19/19) they had me resend my forms. On 3/31 I find out a claim for Dog A was mistakenly listed for Dog B, so of course it was rejected! As of 4/6 status on my five invoices is: * pending * pending * pending * mishandled and therefore rejected Trupanion has been been absolutely awful. Any progress at all apparently needs constant prodding from their customers. Their reps are easy to get on the phone but getting a cogent response is like pulling teeth, and DO NOT BOTHER EMAILING. They don't appear to respond to emails at all. I'll update this review if there's some decent work done but outlook is NOT good. My dog is fine, but Trupanion needs some serious work!

Friendly staff, no issues at all with my claim! Went through in under a week. Very eased

We have had Trupanion for 8 years for our dog and 6 years for our cat. Our premiums are $113/month and have gone up steadily every year (not unlike my own personal health care insurance). At the end of January, our cat became severely ill; losing weight, little appetite, lethargic, liver enzymes off the charts. Our local vet diagnosed it as acute pancreatitis, but once treatment was not proving helpful they referred us to a specialty vet. Sydney spent 5 days in critical care undergoing numerous lab tests, ultrasounds, a blood transfusion (very low RBC), a bone marrow biopsy, and came home on an e-tube for nutrition. He continued to lose weight with the e-tube, however. His e-tube became infected after about 5-6 weeks and it was removed since he was starting to eat on his own. He came home with us after that procedure & seemed more like his normal self, although he was still losing weight even though he was eating. Finally, on 3/30/19, his little body just couldn't take it any longer. I came home from work and he was limp, barely breathing and unresponsive. We rushed him back to the vet who made the recommendation that we euthanize. His BP was 47, his weight was down to 2.1 kg, he was dehydrated, and his RBC was very low. We made the difficult decision, but the only humane one for him (he was only 6 years old). Trupanion was there with us from the beginning. No, they don't pay exam fees (even emergency or hospital exam fees), but once we met our $100 deductible, they paid 90% of all his outstanding bills, including special food for his tube. All the vet bills totaled close to $20K and we never could have done it without the insurance. Sydney's share of the $113/month premium is $37. Even if we had stuck $100/month away for vet bills for the past six years, we would not have even come close to being able to afford his care. So I get people's frustrations with the premiums and disputes over pre-existing conditions, etc., but when something catastrophic happens, it pays to have insurance. You hope you never need it (kind of like ourselves), but you're thankful to have it when you need it. Trupanion has been very kind since Sydney's passing. They already refunded his portion of his premium for April and we have received several emails from them expressing their sympathy. I'll recommend them everytime!

Trupanion claims they don't increase premiums based on your dog's age. This is a blatant lie. I have (had) a 35 pound mix breed insured with Trupanion for the past two years since he was age three. I started off paying $36/month, made no claims, and my premiums went up 22% in the second year to $44/month. Ouch, but sure... I made no claims last year either, and today I got an email notifying me of a 19% increase to $52.30/month. Not a chance in hell. If you go with Trupanion, you can expect that your 'inflationary' increases to be in the area of 20% per year. Have fun with that. Don't give these crooks your money. Put it in a savings account for your pup instead. My policy was $1,000 deductible with 90% coverage after that. I cancelled it tonight.

Our cat, Sydney (an Abyssinian), became ill on 1/30. He stopped eating, very lethargic. Our local vet tried various treatments (ultrasounds, meds, NG tube) to little avail. They referred us to a specialty vet in the area where he spent five days in critical care undergoing numerous lab tests, ultrasounds, blood transfusion, bone marrow biopsy, and insertion of an e-tube for nutrition. He came home, but continued to lose weight even with the tube feedings. His lab results were all over the place (esp. liver enzymes), but no cancer and/or feline leukemia. His feeding tube became infected on 3/24 which necessitated its removal. He began to eat on his own after that so he was discharged with a follow-up scheduled for a week later. Unfortunately, on 3/30, he once again became lethargic (almost unconscious) and was continuing to lose weight even though he was eating (down to 2.1 kg). We had to make the decision to euthanize our furbaby at that time as his little body simply couldn't take it. The vet said his BP was very low (47), he was dehydrated, low RBC, and that in order for him to even be strong enough for the insertion of a PEG tube, they would have to give another blood transfusion and fluids. The vet at that time suggested it was time to put our little guy out of his misery. Although it broke out heart, we felt we had little recourse at that time (he was only 6 years old). From the very beginning, Trupanion has been supportive and paid his claims with no problem. The total cost of his vet care for these six weeks was approximately $20K when it was all said and done. We never could have given him this extra time if not for the pet insurance. After our $100 deductible, they covered 90% of all covered expenses. My only quibble with Trupanion is I wish they covered vet fees when your pet is hospitalized or seriously injured or ill. It's like our insurance saving "We'll pay for your hospital bills, but not for the doctor to see you while you're there." I'm totally on board with no payment for regular vet visits, preventive care, immunizations, etc., but this is one area I wish they would revisit (emergency vet exam fees averaged $125 at our vet hospital). I am totally impressed with the no limits on care (both annual and lifetime). Other companies might require you to pick a yearly limit, but how do you really know what is going to happen in the future? We NEVER would have imagined our Sydney running up these kinds of bills. I know a lot of people complain about the premiums, but we pay $113/month for an 8 year golden retriever and our cat. I don't think that's unreasonable at all for the peace of mind this brings. We have received nice emails from Trupanion upon Sydney's passing, so they truly do care about you and your pet.