Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

What the new Embrace / RLI partnership means for you - new terms and conditions

As you may know, we have a new partnership with RLI Corp who is underwriting the Embrace Pet Insurance policies in certain states at present (for an up-to-date list, see the Embrace Pet Insurance website.)

As part of that transition, we have updated the Embrace Pet Insurance terms and conditions. I have summarized the RLI differences below - I think you will find these to your liking.

1. Improvement:
   The RLI terms and conditions document is only 8 pages long so it is much more readable than our previous that was 20+ pages long!
2. Clarification of our current practice:
   We removed the term UCR (usual, customary and reasonably payments) regarding our claim payments and clarified that we pay based on the actual vet bill the pet parent paid - since this is what we actually do. No point confusing things unnecessarily.
3. Clarification of our current practice:
   The claims appeals process has been added – pretty much what we do now with the addition of a second appeal determined by an impartial veterinarian.
4. Relaxation of terms:
   We removed the arbitration clause - RLI's legal group prefer it that way
5. Relaxation of terms:
   The claims submission period has been increased to 90 days, up from 60 days it used to be
6. Moving some coverage pieces around:
   We used to cover dental illness in the Drugs & Dental optional coverage but many people found it expensive and hard to understand. So, we moved the dental illness coverage to our new Dental Rewards coverage, which is packaged with dental cleanings (more on this new coverage later this week).  As a result, the Drugs & Dental optional coverage has been renamed by Prescription Drug optional coverage with a corresponding decrease in cost.
7. Coverage increase:
   This is a biggie - we have removed the annual sublimit for continuing care issues. Now, any conditions, new or ongoing, comes under the full annual limit you've picked. We have added a new $50,000 lifetime limit. This is a wonderful improvement for our pet parents.
8. Clarification of our coverage:
   We have now clarified that preventative sterilization surgery is excluded, such as for treatment for cryptorchidism, chimerism, or chromasonal abnormalities. We do not cover spay or neuter in our insurance coverage (it is covered in our Wellness Rewards coverage) but it was unclear what we do for preventative sterilizations surgery. While it's not covered in the insurance coverage, it is covered in our wellness coverage.

In addition to these insurance policy changes, we have also updated the Wellness Rewards coverage and added another coverage level - Wellness Rewards Plus. More details on the wellness coverage tomorrow.

I am really excited about all these changes. Most of them come in response to your comments and suggestions about our policy terms.

So you can thank your fellow Embraced pet parents for these delicious changes that will make your Embrace experience all the more better.

Download RLI terms and conditions 05.10
Download Declaration Page and Schedule of Insured Pets sample (these would be specific to you and your pets)

Related Posts - move to RLI
Embrace has a new insurance partner - A+ rated RLI Corp
What the new Embrace / RLI partnership means for you - new terms and conditions
PennHIP Pet Insurance Discount now available at Embrace Pet Insurance
The new and improved Embrace Wellness Rewards program
Anyone interested in some Embrace Dental Rewards? Pick me, pick me!
Embrace Continuing Care Sublimits are gone!
Other interesting changes in the Embrace Pet Insurance policies

Ask Laura: what happens to my Embrace pet insurance policy when I die

As they say, Death, while not a very savory topic of discussion, is one of the only guaranteed things in life. So, I thought it very interesting to get this thoughtful question from one of our policyholders, Reed C.

Question:

My husband and I are updating our Wills, and I am wondering, in the event of my death, would my Embrace policies be automatically cancelled? I would like to know what would happen to the policy were I to die and my husband would survive me --- would it continue as long as paid the premiums? He is currently not named in the policy. Can we arrange for this?

Secondly, were my husband and I both to die simultaneously, we have made arrangements for my sister to take both Otis and Gracie. Would the policy continue with her? If not, can we arrange for that?

I know this isn't the most pleasant topic, but we are dedicated to our pets, and want to plan for them should the worst happen. Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer:

Reed, what a thoughtful question!

If the named policyholders died (currently you but we can add your husband – more on that later), we would just continue the policy until further instructions from the estate. In your case, you’ve put instructions to transfer to your sister so we would honor that without a break in the policy; however, if she decided to cancel the policy after that, we would have to honor that too.

If you’d like to add your husband as a named insured, just call in (800 511 9172) or email me with his name and we’ll have him added. He’ll have the same powers as you over the policy, including to cancel it. You would be notified if the policy was cancelled by him of course!

Got any other questions on estate planning for your dog or cat?

North American Pet Health Insurance Month is coming up - get your entries in!

I can't believe it's that time again but Pet Health Insurance Month is coming up in September! The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) is sponsoring the event across the US and Canada.

Time to dust off your story telling submit your pet insurance claim stories and nominate your favorite veterinarian for some great prizes, including $1,000 for you and a grant for your veterinarian. You can do it!

The 2009 pet insurance story was Heimdall's battle with a rare type of pneumonia that cost more than $10,000.

Last year's winning veterinarian was Dr. Wayne Ingmire of Chicago, IL.

Check out the details over at NAPHIA.org.

Blogpaws: art for the Embrace office

Blogpaws was a wonderful conference and I was lucky enough to be the winner in the silent auction of 3 wonderful pictures that I've put up at the Embrace office. (it might have been me hovering in front of the pictures as the bidding closed, making sure my favorites were in the bag)

Our offices are rather basic (and crammed with Embracers!) so it's lovely to have some beautiful and bright art on the walls.

Here's what I took home (I'm glad I was driving!):

This is a painting of Slick by BZTat, aka Vicki Boatright who happens to live just down the road in Canton OH.

I love the colors and rustic feel to it.

Slick presides over the noms in the kitchen area. It seemed appropriate!

This picture is called Darling Clementines and is a lovely water color (I believe it's a print of but it looks so real, I hesitate to commit).

Such a perfect cat pose - surveying the garden in the early morning. I kept that one in the my room with the finance group.

The artist is Bernadette Kazmarski, who is based in Carnegie, PA.

This big boy was specially requested by the Customer Care Embracers for their room so when you call in, you can imagine this lively picture keeping the Embracers chipper on the phone or email.

The painter is Dana Muntean, who is also based in Canton, OH.

Do you have any good pet-focused artists you'd like to share with us?

Press Release: Embrace Pet Insurance Swims Upstream To Add Goldfish Coverage to Its Product Range

Embrace is tapping into the world of fish parents who care for the 75 million goldfish in America

Mayfield Village, OH – Embrace Pet Insurance swims against the tide, adding goldfish health insurance coverage to its customizable product range.

 

Now that Embrace Pet Insurance is intimately familiar with the cat and dog health insurance market in the US, the company is leveraging its actuarial and insurance knowledge and is announcing its new customizable goldfish insurance product.

 

Laura Bennett, Embrace co-founder and the only goldfish insurance actuary in the US, explains the rational for such a move. “Goldfish might seem to be one dimensional and unfeeling pets to the uninitiated, but underneath their scaly exterior, they really have a heart of gold. Those who welcome goldfish into their family reap a lifetime of emotion from these loving pets.”

 

Bennett developed goldfish mortality and morbidity actuarial tables based on her own lifetime of experience raising the domesticated fish. “Yes, there’s a large drop off when you bring them home from the fair, but if they survive the initial shock, they settle in quite well. I loved many goldfish in our house growing up. I particularly remember my third goldfish, Jonathan, who lived to the ripe old age of 12 years. I’m sure he would have lived several years longer if our cat Lily hadn’t finally found out that cats aren’t actually allergic to water. That was a very sad day in our household.”

 

Embrace goldfish insurance covers hereditary conditions such as swim bladder and telescopic eye problem (as long as they aren’t showing clinical signs before you purchase your insurance). The insurance also covers a variety of treatments for goldfish illnesses, from antibiotics for dropsy, to weight reduction programs for overfeeding, to amputation surgery for fin rot.

 

Bennett says “Most people have no idea how expensive it can be to treat some of these every-day conditions. Fin amputation surgeries can range anywhere from $500 using aquarium sedatives, a fish net, and a pair of nail scissors, to $15,000 for a board certified specialist using a specialized breathing table developed for fish. Gone are the days of flushing a goldfish down the toilet (also known as economic euthanasia). Veterinarians can do so much more for goldfish than they used to, even 5 years ago.”

 

Goldfish premium rates range from as little as $2 up to $56 a month and are based on a number of factors such as fish age (have your veterinarian give you an estimate if you aren’t sure of your goldfish’s exact date of birth), location (fish vets in NY city are so much more expensive than those in Fargo MN); and breed (the overbred Ekoj hybrid is particularly sickly) all affect the premium. You can also get a multi-pet discount, although having a family cat dramatically increases the rate.

 

If you love your goldfish as much as we do, Embrace Pet Insurance recommends goldfish insurance for your finned friends. It’s the one thing you can’t buy when you need it. To explore your goldfish insurance options, call 800-511-9172, or go to www.embracepetinsurance.com for a customized quote.

 

# # #

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, and now goldfish. All goldfish policies are underwritten by Carp Health Assurance Company. Embrace is based on the core values of innovation and not taking oneself too seriously. On the web at Embrace Pet Insurance and the Embrace Pet Insurance blog.  

 

Addendum: if you didn't notice by now, this was posted on April Fool's Day. Just a little pet insurance humor for the day :)

8 tips to bring home a healthy dog free of genetic conditions

Since we're focusing on hereditary and genetic conditions this month, here are some pointers on minimizing the chance of getting a dog with hereditary conditions.

1. Avoid Puppy Mills
Don’t ever, ever, ever buy a puppy from a pet store or Internet site that offers all breeds and popular mixes, shipped with no questions asked. If you buy a puppy from these sources, you’ll be more likely to get an unhealthy, unsocialized and difficult to house-train puppy and will be supporting the cruelty of high-volume puppy mills.

2.  Find Your Breeder from a Breed Club
Start with a breeder who is a member in good standing with the breed's specific breed club and has agreed to abide by Code of Ethics of that club.

3. Genetic Tests 
If relevent to your dogs' breed (see the Embrace Pet Health Center for more details), ask the breeder for:

• documentation from either the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or the University of Pennsylvania (PennHip) that your puppy's parents are free of hip dysplasia, a crippling genetic defect of the hip socket that requires expensive surgery to repair and usually results in painful arthritis in the dog's later years.
• test results from the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) that her dogs are clear of genetic eye disorders known to occur in the breed you are looking at, if relevent.
• OFA clearances on her dogs' hearts, thyroid glands, and knees.

You can also see if the breed club maintains its own health registry, which can provide documentation about those same conditions as well as certify that the parents are free of Von Willebrand’s disease (vWD) and Factor X, which are bleeding disorders.

Having the dogs "vet checked" is not a substitute for genetic health testing, and any breeder who says her lines are free of problems, or that they're not a concern, is a stong indication to look for your puppy elsewhere.

4. Check out the breeder's dogs temperament
If temperament is a particular concern in the breed, make sure you spend time with the breeder's dogs, and if possible, with your puppy's mother or father. Very often the father won't be on the premises – good breeders look for the best possible male for their females, not just the best one they happen to own – so don't view that as any kind of red flag. A breeder may also have American Temperament Test Society (TT) certification on her dogs. But if the breeder won't let you meet the mother of the puppies, and won't let you meet any of her dogs, consider that the worst of all signs and look elsewhere.

5. Find out how involved the breeder is in her breed's world
If the breeder has all the required genetic test documentation and her dogs seem gentle and well-mannered, ask about her involvement with the breed and dogs in general. Good breeders show their dogs or compete in canine sports such as obedience and agility. Good breeders don't just sit home churning out pets; they get out there with their dogs and make sure they're happy and stable in the kinds of real world situations every family pet needs to take in stride.

6. Know your contract
Make sure you have a good contract with the seller, shelter or rescue group that spells out responsibilities on both sides. In states with “puppy lemon laws,” be sure you and the person you get the dog from both understand your rights and recourses.

7. Perhaps adopt a dog instead
Consider adopting an adult dog from a shelter or breed-specific rescue group. Most puppies won't show health or temperament problems until adulthood. By adopting a dog who is already grown, you can use the expertise of the rescue group to evaluate his temperament and health as it already is, and avoid dogs with issues. What you see is mostly what you get with adult dogs.

8. Arrange a vet visit as soon as possible
Puppy or adult, take your new dog to your veterinarian soon after adoption. Your veterinarian will be able to spot visible problems, and will work with you to set up a preventive regimen that will help you avoid many health issues, like ear infections and eye problems.

For details on specific breeds, such as the breed and breed rescue club, check out the Embrace Pet Health Center.

Warning: do not let your dogs eat mulch, ANY mulch

There’s a legitimate warning circulating via e-mail about the dangers of the Cocoa landscape mulch.  (In case you haven’t received it, here’s the scoop via Snopes.)  The sweet smelling mulch is manufactured by Hershey’s and contains both the Theobromine and Caffeine found in chocolate.  Just a few ounces could cause stomach problems, as well as seizures and death if enough is ingested.  (ASPCA poison control says that as little as 20 ounces of milk chocolate can cause serious problems in a 10-pound dog.)

The mulch is sold at most garden supply stores, and according to Hershey’s 98% of dog’s won’t eat it. It’s unlikely that your pet will have a chance to eat the mulch, but with such high risks, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Why would a dog eat mulch? To be fair, mulch is just chopped up sticks-a dog’s favorite toy!  But, sadly, Embrace recently handled claims in which a pet ingested regular mulch (non-toxic, basic mulch) and the splinters and debris formed a painful obstruction.  Vets performed two surgeries to try to remove the many small splinters of wood from the dog’s bowel, but infection and contamination killed him. 

 

A tragic reminder for all of us to supervise our pets at play, especially those prone to chewing foreign objects.
_______________

 

Thank you to Lea, who writes the Embrace Pet Community blog for the information presented above. Such an important topic to share with people who care about dogs.

Ask Laura: to amputate or not to amputate the cat's toe, that is the question

Stephannie asked about her cat's toe in the comments to my post Toe Amputations in Cats and Dogs so I thought it worth separating out into its own post:

Question from Stephannie:
I just took my 10 year old cat to the vet for a swollen toe. I had taken her two weeks before to my groomer so we could look to see if she had a bite or a cut which had caused the swelling. We saw nothing and I took Katie Maru to the vet. The doctor said it was a tumor. He did not specifically say that it was cancerous but said that we should amputate the toe anyway since the 3rd toe was now involved in the swollen area. I asked if this could be cancerous and they said it's possible. I asked if the removal of the tumor would hasten her demise, and they hedged on that one. They said once they had removed the tumor, a biopsy would tell us if she had cancer or not. My question is: Why not do a biopsy first to determine if this is cancerous? Why subject her to general anesthesia and put her life in jeopardy anyway, if the prognosis can be done prior via a biopsy. I can understand from a financial point that an operation is financially a benefit for them, but what about for Katie?

Answer from Dr. Riggs, Best Friends Veterinary Hospital Powell, Ohio BFVH.org:
Toe tumors can be aggressive so, as early as you can deal with them the better. You should talk to your vet about what he/she think about doing a biopsy vs. the surgery. I am sure there were things that the doctor saw that made him/her advise the amputation. I am sure that the financial benefit of doing the amputation over the biopsy, was not a factor at all. To do a biopsy, he/she would still need to use general anesthesia. Once the toe is removed or the biopsy taken, he/she can send it off to see what it is and then the doctor will tell you what the prognosis is.

Have you been through this situation yourself? What has your experience been?

Follow up question from Stephannie:

Question from Stephannie:
Thanks for the reply. I did a little more research on the topic of cancer in cats and it is possible that the toe tumor is simply a manifestation of a possible cancerous condition somewhere internally in the cat. I am most concerned that if she has this operation and there is cancer elsewhere in her, that this will speed up the dying process. I believe every life is sacred. She has been my best bud and door person for many, many years, but I do not want her to move that quickly towards her end. I also, however, do not want her to suffer. I want quality of life for Katie, not a prolonged and horrid death. Isn't there something less that can be done without the use of general anesthesia? Could an x-ray or ultrasound tell if the bone and toe are involved? You know, the "dark shadow"?

Dr. Riggs' answer:
I don't agree that there is obvious cancer elsewhere. I would take X-rays of the foot and also of the lungs before surgery. It is unlikely to have a tumor somewhere else in the body to spread to the foot. You can have spread of the tumor from the toe elsewhere. There is a good chance that the growth is able to be taken care of by the surgery. Again I would talk to the veterinarian and ask him/her these same questions. He/she would not do anything that would not be in Katie Maru's best interest. I always tell my clients that "there is no editor on the internet", so be careful what you read on the internet. There is just as much misinformation as good information. Good luck.

Related Posts:
Toe Amputations for Cats and Dogs
Ask Laura: the impact of toe amputation surgery
Ask Laura: dog weight bearing toe amputation appropriate or not?  
Ask Laura: infected ingrown toe nail on cat  
Ask Laura: to amputate or not to amputate the cat's toe, that is the question
Corns on a greyhound's toe: Dr Riggs discusses

More discussion about anesthesia-free teeth cleaning

Dr Riggs started off a conversation last week about why a veterinarian should clean your dog's teeth (Guest Post: Why Have Your Dog's Teeth Cleaned By A Vet Anyway?) and there were some interesting comments about other alternatives. Dr. Riggs asked me to post his response to these comments:

Wow...who would have thought we could stir up this much controversy with a little dental blog!

In response to the comment about Vet Economics:
Veterinary medicine is a business. We do need to make a living through the services we perform. I can assure you the vast majority of vets do not recommend services(or "pad the bill"), such as dentals ,when they are not needed. We need to offer the best medicine and let the owners decide. One of the mottos we follow is, "Always offer what is indicated, nothing that is not". 

In response to the comments about anasthesia-free teeth cleaning:
What people don't realize is that you cannot do a thorough sub gingival curetting without anesthesia. The dogs will not let you. Anesthesia in animals, using the right equipment and agents, is safe. Our veterinary technicians are extensively trained and we use pulse oximeters, blood pressure machines and warming devises (bair huggers) to ensure the patients safely.

Can you do a little scraping under the gums without anesthesia? Sure, but not a true cleaning. The difference with human dentistry and veterinary dentistry is that animals will not open their mouth for you to clean under and around the teeth and gums on all four sides. You must clean all sides of the teeth to clean properly. When you scrap the enamel, you must then polish the teeth to help eliminate the microscopic grooves left in the enamel. This is done with a low speed polishing drill. If not, these grooves act as a scaffolding for tarter to grab hold. This is another step not done by the groomers.

The dentals we do also include dental radiographs. You can not tell tooth root abscesses without radiographs. It is the same reason dentist use dental radiographs on us. These require anesthesia in animals. (some pictures below) 

Finally, one misinterpretation from the article I think, was that you need to do a prophylactic dental each year. You normally do not. If the people brush the dogs teeth regularly often you can wait 3 to 4 years between dental. Owners have a lot of power in determining their pets dental health. We evaluate each animal yearly on their normal vaccine exams.

Rex C. Riggs D.V.M. Best Friends Veterinary Hospital Powell, Ohio. BFVH.org

First picture: The black on the xray is where bone has eroded away. So you can see the roots on the middle tooth is just barely on the bone. If more then 50% of the root is exposed then that tooth need to come out. We removed this tooth.

Second picture: The bottom tooth has total destruction of the roots and now has an infection of the jaw bone. On this xray you cannot rule out even a tumor. we tooth this tooth out and biopsied the jaw. This came back osteomyelitis.

Third picture: This is a good example of a root abscess on two teeth . The big 2nd tooth has the black halo area under the bifurcation. Then the third tooth has the classic halo around the first root. Both of these teeth needed removed.

What do you think?

Embrace Core Values

We have been getting in touch with our inner Embrace lately. Answering questions such as What makes us tick as a company?  What lies behind everything we do? What does it mean to be an Embracer?

It's not easy to do but very rewarding. Here's what we came up with.

Embrace Core Values

 

Open & Honest:   
Open and honest actions and communications come first and they guide all that we do. We do the right thing for our pet parents and partners and they will do the same for us.

 

Personal Responsibility:  
We take responsibility for our own success at work, our relationships with pet parents and co-Embracers, and our own learning. Titles and roles do not matter when it comes to getting the job done. We believe we can do it, and we do it today.

 

Customer Fixation:
We respect our Embraced pet parents above all else and never forget that they come to us by choice. We share a personal responsibility to maintain our pet parents' loyalty & trust, which must never be taken for granted. We listen and respond to our pet parents and seek to WOW them at every turn.  

 

Innovation:
We thrive on creativity and ingenuity. We seek the innovations and ideas that can change the pet world. We use technology to further our goals. We are not afraid to take informed, responsible risk. We do more with less. We don't take shortcuts on quality.

 

Community & Environment:  
We are passionate about making an impact on the pet world. We are committed to serving both the pet community at large & our own communities at home. We respect our environment & recycle, reuse, & reduce our waste wherever & whenever we can.

 

Passion:
We believe humor is essential to success. We don’t talk corporate-speak and we provide surprisingly personal but professional care. We celebrate achievement. We share our daily lives with our pets. We do the happy dance at work and wear our slippers in the office.  

 

What do you think?