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VPI Pet Insurance & Brachycephalic Syndrome

Kstrooz

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Hey all!

Just got a new pup here, Louie. He's 9 weeks old and a joy!

Today I spoke on the phone extensively with VPI - I love their Major Medical and Wellness max plans... intact the wellness plan will pay for itself this first year.

This combo would run me ~$48 with a $500 deductible. But it covers wellness visits/neutering etc..

Unfortunately, right as I was about to "pull the trigger" I asked about soft palate/nares resection and the agent told me these are considered Congenital and not covered even with the "hereditary coverage".

This kind of caught me off guard, as Healthy Paws, Ensure, Trupanion aka other "top dog" plans cover it.

Anyone believe this is a deal breaker?

Any suggestions for a Medical/Wellness combo that works for you all?

Thanks!

Kyle & Louie
 
I have VPI and love it but I also have no interest in the surgery, Radar doesn't seem to need it. I have a friend with a Frenchie that had the surgery and she regrets it. Her Frenchie still throws up with activity, can't go on long walks and when she went to a specialist in the area he said her dog should have never had the surgery because the scar tissue basically compensated for the surgery and didn't help at all. Now, that is her story but I don't know that the surgery is a deal breaker for insurance or a requirement for all Frenchies. Just my pov.


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MMclean!
Thanks for your response!
So in your experience its more of an elective deal?
 
I am no expert on the breed, I know there is a breeder or two on this forum that might have a definitive answer. But from my research, yes, the surgery is more of an elective one and should only be done if the puppy is in distress. Once again, my friend was told that it would extend her dog's life by the vet that performed the surgery but the specialist said that there was no benefit, should have never been recommended and that most dogs shouldn't have it.


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I have the major medical and wellness with VPI as well and have never had any issues. I don't think Jax needs the surgery either, he seems to be fine.
 
I have healthy paws and one of the things that sold me on it was the fact that they will cover those things. For me it was great to have the option "just in case," though Hudson doesn't seem to have any indication that he'll need work done in those areas. I pay around $40/month and my deductible is like $150 I think?


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I do not use insurance as they , like human insurance companies can pick and choose what to cover... so we have a credit card just for the pups.

I have had 4 Bulldogs and three of the four needed the surgery done. it depends on the vet/specialist that performs the surgery whether or not is is successful. Sometimes done to early or not right and the issues do not improve... also, the surgery is to HELP not eliminate the issues they unfortunately are part of who the bulldog is. So, is it elective, maybe, but for some without it, it is extremely difficult for them to breathe and places a lot of stress on other organs from that difficulty.

best of luck with your decision
 
We have care credit. Looking into pet insurance... But til then care credit gets the job done.

Not much help about the specific question you asked though.


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We have care credit. Looking into pet insurance... But til then care credit gets the job done.

Not much help about the specific question you asked though.


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Is Care Credit basically a credit card that you can use at the vet?
 
Is Care Credit basically a credit card that you can use at the vet?

Yep! Actually any doctor or vet alike. Or dentist. Etc. As long as they accept it you can use it for any doctor for a human or pet :)


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Hey all,

Thanks for the warm-welcome by pouring our your wisdom and experience, I really appreciate it!

What I found was that VPI is fairly Frenchie-unfriendly if we are speaking of "breed-specific" future prognoses.

I was actually really sad to hear this because they were the best priced and extremely well-represented at my vet and among various breeds.

However, I spoke with both a supervisor and then submitted a question that was forwarded to their clinical claim specialist and was told the following:

"With regard to your inquiry, any treatment for the brachycephalic syndrome is not covered under any of our medical policies as a congenital disorder."

"Please be advised that in an effort to keep premiums affordable for all policyholders, we do not cover pre-existing conditions"

So VPI was out, onward...

Pretty much every other major pet insurance plan covers these "congenital" disorders that are specific for our breed.

With all that being said I shopped the other medical plans and found HealthyPaws and Embrace to have the BEST medical coverage.

I ended up purchasing a plan through Embrace for the following reasons:

1. Embrace offers a wellness plan

2. Embrace's wellness plan is not Pay-per-issue like VPI, its a Limited-savings of sorts, and pays for Behavior training @ petsmart etc if I choose.

3. Embrace does not have the mobile-savy of HealthyPaws, but the agent who I called will literally function as my agent forever. This was the first pet insurance company who really even mentioned this. Much like human insurance of varying forms --- we like who we like to represent us. Many of the pet insurance companies made me feel like it could easily be ME vs THEM if things got really rough.

4. Embrace has a relationship with USAA. Members get a 15% discount!. For non-members: consider that the USAA "seal of approval" is worth its price in gold!

Hope this information helps all who might come across this article in the future and are interested in a pet insurance for Bulldog breeds.
 
Hey all,

Thanks for the warm-welcome by pouring our your wisdom and experience, I really appreciate it!

What I found was that VPI is fairly Frenchie-unfriendly if we are speaking of "breed-specific" future prognoses.

I was actually really sad to hear this because they were the best priced and extremely well-represented at my vet and among various breeds.

However, I spoke with both a supervisor and then submitted a question that was forwarded to their clinical claim specialist and was told the following:

"With regard to your inquiry, any treatment for the brachycephalic syndrome is not covered under any of our medical policies as a congenital disorder."

"Please be advised that in an effort to keep premiums affordable for all policyholders, we do not cover pre-existing conditions"

So VPI was out, onward...

Pretty much every other major pet insurance plan covers these "congenital" disorders that are specific for our breed.

With all that being said I shopped the other medical plans and found HealthyPaws and Embrace to have the BEST medical coverage.

I ended up purchasing a plan through Embrace for the following reasons:

1. Embrace offers a wellness plan

2. Embrace's wellness plan is not Pay-per-issue like VPI, its a Limited-savings of sorts, and pays for Behavior training @ petsmart etc if I choose.

3. Embrace does not have the mobile-savy of HealthyPaws, but the agent who I called will literally function as my agent forever. This was the first pet insurance company who really even mentioned this. Much like human insurance of varying forms --- we like who we like to represent us. Many of the pet insurance companies made me feel like it could easily be ME vs THEM if things got really rough.

4. Embrace has a relationship with USAA. So if they screw me I call USAA to represent my financial interests.
Obviously these are independent companies, however any affiliation lends it pull.

Hope this information helps all who might come across this article in the future and are interested in a pet insurance for Bulldog breeds.

Good info !
 
We do not have insurance on ours/ I would find out what other surgeries they will not cover before signing up. Your baby may not even need the palate surgery, so I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Before we brought Poerce home, I made the decision to have insurance on him. I knew this breed could have some expensive problems, and even though we had a credit card that could be used for them, I wanted to have the insurance as a back up. If I ever feel I am paying more than it is worth, I will drop it.
I went with a Healthy Paws because of the fact they did not exclude the things that would most commonly occur in the Frenchies. We have only had a couple of minor things so far, but it is a good feeling knowing we have the extra coverage.


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Great info. We are comparing Healthy Paws and Embrace, leaning toward Embrace as Healthy Paws doesn't seem to cover the office visit of a claim if I'm reading the coverage correctly.
 
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