Here's a press release we put out today talking about our voluntary benefit pet insurance plans. Yes, it's really true, some people can get pet insurance via payroll deduction. Wouldn't that be convenient?
We have a number of employers already signed up but the season starts right now for plans that renew at the end of the year so HR departments are feverishly reviewing their plans and trying to squeeze out as much benefit as they can from limited dollars. Pet insurance is one way to make a big difference to pet parent employees with minimal cost.
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Employers Can Help Employees Avoid Worrisome Financial Surprises by Offering Custom, Flexible Pet Health Insurance Plans That Mitigate Increasingly Large Vet Bills
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OH--(Marketwire - June 28, 2007) - Psychologists have a name for it: the 'humanization' of pets; 63% of U.S. households have pets(1), and they are frequently considered 'one of the family.' So, when a pet gets sick or is injured, a 'pet parent' can be distraught. Couple this with the possibility of a gigantic vet bill and the stresses of a full-time job, and an employer of a pet parent probably has a worker productivity problem on its hands.
With this in mind, Embrace Pet Insurance, a company that specializes in offering affordable, practical and simple pet health insurance plans, has launched "Embrace Your Employees," a new program that enables employers to offer pet health insurance to their employees. "Embrace Your Employees" is available immediately, which means employers can build it into their upcoming employee health benefits open enrollment programs that typically begin around this time of year.
"Savvy employers looking to differentiate their benefits programs can now offer their employees an Embrace pet health insurance plan that eliminates pet-health related financial surprises," says Laura Bennett, a leading pet life and health actuary and co-founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. "This is a great way for employers to retain and attract pet-loving employees."
The pet health insurance plans featured in "Embrace Your Employees" cost employers nothing, and let employees choose a plan that meets their needs. Embrace lets pet owners build a custom pet insurance policy online that is tailored to their budget by specifying maximum cash outlay, deductible, co-pay, and optional coverage.
Embrace pet insurance plans are underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London, and are specially designed to address the shortcomings of traditional pet health insurance:
-- Embrace plans reimburse based on actual vet bills, which means that pet owners are reimbursed a larger portion of their expenses. -- Embrace includes coverage for genetic conditions, including cancer, in all of its plans. Many other pet insurance plans are ambiguous about their coverage of genetic and congenital conditions, and deny claims that pet owners expect to be covered. -- Embrace lets pet owners choose whether they want coverage for chronic conditions. Insurance plans offered by other companies define an illness diagnosed once coverage has begun as a 'pre-existing condition' in subsequent years, and therefore exclude ongoing treatment for recurring or chronic conditions.
Embrace Pet Insurance is exhibiting at the HR Star conference in San Francisco on July 18, 2007.
Why is pet insurance necessary?
Incredible advances in veterinary medicine and higher expectations of veterinarians by doting 'pet parents' have spawned new treatments for pet diseases and injuries that might have previously been fatal. But they can cost thousands of dollars. As a result, millions of dog and cat owners often face a horrible dilemma: either struggle to pay a huge vet bill or reluctantly euthanize a loved pet.
About Embrace Pet Insurance
Embrace Pet Insurance Agency LLC is a specialist insurance agency headquartered in Mayfield Village, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Embrace was founded by Laura Bennett and Alex Krooglik, pet parents who also happen to be insurance experts, and offers self-serve, customizable pet health insurance for dogs and cats. All policies are underwritten by certain underwriters of Lloyd's of London. Embrace is based on core principles of taking an open and honest approach with its customers that is captured in its Customer Bill of Rights. On the web at Embrace Pet Insurance and the Embrace Pet Insurance blog.
