Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Embrace Continuing Care Sublimits have gone!

No more sublimit on the Embrace continuing care benefit for those Embrace policies with RLI as underwriter (see Embrace has a new insurance partner - A+ rated RLI Corp).

Yesterday, I talked about cleaning up some niggling things about the Embrace Pet Insurance product, specifically the Embrace dental illness coverage.

Today, we talk about the old Embrace continuing care sublimit of 25% of the annual limit in the second year of the condition.

I've never liked the sublimit but it was something that Lloyd's felt strongly about so that is what we offered. Now that we have some claims experience under our belts, RLI agreed with us that we could remove the sublimit if we added a lifetime limit of $50,000, so we agreed - woohoo! I'm thinking that a $50,000 lifetime limit is more than enough for any one dog or cat, don't you think?

So, what does mean for those of you with Lloyd's policies. To set the stage, there are 23 RLI states at the moment, with more coming every week (see Lloyd's and RLI states here). I can't guarantee when all the states will convert over but we're working hard to make it ASAP with a little fairy dust and Department of Insurance good will (please please please DOI ...)

[as an aside to those of you not in the insurance industry - you have no idea how inefficient the process of filing in 51 jurisdictions is (I'm being polite since I really want our policies to get approved!)]

But I digress...

In summary:

• If you bought a Lloyd's policy recently, likely you will renew into an RLI policy. The good news for you is that the continuing care sublimit will have no impact on you since it only comes into effect in the second year (and you'll be cozy with RLI by then)
• If your renewal is coming up and you are in one of the RLI states, you also will have no continuing care sublimit (list of RLI states)
• If your renewal is coming up and you are in a Lloyd's state, chances are you are going to renew into a Lloyd's state and continue on with your policy as it is now (list of LLoyd's states). But when you renew in 2011, you will move to RLI at that time.

The interesting thing about the continuing care sublimit is that is had very little claims impact in the grand scheme of things but people felt it very restrictive (can't blame them - I agree!) so I'm glad we got rid of it.

Any questions?

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

PennHIP Pet Insurance Discount now available at Embrace Pet Insurance

Embrace has always been proud to be one of the very few companies that covers hip dysplasia, but now, as part of our move to RLI as our new insurance underwriter, we’re excited to offer a 5% discount as an additional incentive for pet parents that utilize the PennHIP (University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program) test.

PennHIP testing is offered in hopes to help reduce the frequency of hip dysplasia. Once a pet parent has a series of hip x-rays completed, the films are screened and graded by a certified vet and entered into a veterinary database to help analyze dysplasia severity and frequency.

PennHIP testing is valuable for breeders that want to ensure that their puppies are not likely to develop hip dysplasia, and should be considered necessary for anyone looking for a healthy puppy, if that breed is likely to develop hip dysplasia.

In order to qualify for the Embrace PennHIP discount, your pet must have received a score of 0.3 or less. If your pet qualifies, fax (800-238-1042) or e-mail (claims@embracepetinsurance.com) his/her test scores to us and we’ll take care of the rest.

[Note that this discount applies to RLI policies only, so if you currently have a Lloyd's policy with Embrace, send in the information in advance for when your policy renews to an RLI policy.]

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

Related Posts - Hip Dysplasia:
Hip dysplasia in dogs (and cats)
How much did you say hip dysplasia surgery cost for my dog?

Embrace claims stories:
Hip Dysplasia and Femoral Head Ostectomy
Liko's Hip Dysplasia Story

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

Embrace has a new insurance partner - A+ rated RLI Corp

Woohoo! Drum roll please - a big moment for Embrace...

As of today, Embrace is selling RLI Corporation pet insurance policies in 23 states (see the list at the bottom of the post). We are in the process of rolling out all 51 jurisdicitions we work in, so if your state isn't in the list below, it will be soon.

Why are we changing insurance underwriters?
Our current underwriter, Lloyd's of London, has been wonderful for Embrace but we have outgrown them here in the US. This is not a surprise and we knew it was going to happen at some point and now the time has come.

We are very grateful and appreciative of the support and help our Lloyd's syndicate Brit has given us since well before we sold our first policy in 2006. We would not be here without their support.

Who is RLI?
I am absolutely delighted to partner with RLI Corp. Here are my top 5 reasons for partnering with RLI, from the most obvious down to the most important:

• RLI is A+rated by AM Best, meaning that RLI has a superior ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations - a most important characteristic if you want a company that is going to be there in the future when you need it the most. 
• RLI has been named as one of the insurance industry's top performing companies by the Ward Group for the 20th consecutive year. RLI is one of only five property and casualty insurers to have been recognized for excellence among 3,000 property and casualty insurers every year since the inception of the Ward's 50® Top P&C Performers in 1991.
• RLI is a specialty insurance company serving niche or underserved markets. So they know how to handle nice marketplaces and knows what it takes to succeed.
• RLI had an entrepreneurial start in contact lens insurance and still cultivates its entrepreneurial culture. This is very important to me because I want and need an insurance partner that is going to understand the entpreneurial culture at Embrace.
• RLI has an amazing culture with strong people who are wonderful to work with. The people we are dealing with is the most important aspect of the Embrace partnership with RLI since these are the people we are "married" to in this partnership. Two separate companies working together as one is not as simple as it seems. Trust in, and respect for, one another is key and there is no shortage of trust and respect between us. That's such a relief for me on behalf of our Embrace pet parents.

Check out "What the new Embrace RLI partnership means for you" where I talk about the policy terms and conditions changes. We have a lot of policy enhancements I know you are going to like.

States that have converted over to RLI policies (for an up-to-date list, see the Embrace Pet Insurance website):

Alabama	Illinois	Maine	New Jersey	Texas
Arizona	Indiana	Michigan	Ohio	Utah
Arkansas	Iowa	Mississippi	Oregon	Wisconsin
Colorado	Kansas	Montana	Pennsylvania
District of Columbia	Kentucky	Nebraska	South Dakota

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

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.

Laura Bennett FSA CFA is the new Chair of NAPHIA's Board of Directors

NAPHIA is the North American Pet Health Insurance Association and at our recent meeting in Las Vegas, I was voted in as Chairman of the NAPHIA Board (Chairman, Chair, Chairperson - it's all the same to me.)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead NAPHIA's development at this stage of the organization's maturation - there's a lot to do!

We spent our last meeting setting NAPHIA's long-term strategy and short-term tactics for the next year and have some interesting projects on the go. As part of that process, we spent a lot of time prioritizing our efforts this year to be the most effective for our membership and thus our membership's policyholders, as resources are always tight.

Right now, the NAPHIA board members are focused on two areas:

• helping the industry process claims faster and with less cost through electronic interface with the veterinary practice management software;
• benchmarking ourselves against our NAPHIA peers on areas such as pets covered, operational expenses, and growth. Once the data is pulled together (and that's what the project is all about - defining the measures and how they are pulled together by a third party) , each NAPHIA member company will be able to see where we as individual companies compare to the group as a whole and where we can improve the pet insurance experience for our customers.

Our next meeting is in early May in Boise, ID so there's a lot to do before then. Back later!

Announcement: Embrace Pet Insurance partners with The International Cat Association TICA

Ooh ooh! Some exciting news I've been dying to share.

We at Embrace Pet Insurance have partnered with The International Cat Association (TICA) to provide discounts and pet health insurance education to TICA's members and pet owners.

While I do love dogs (having grown up with many different canine characters through to my adulthood), I've most recently had only cats in the house (young family, young company, neglected husband - no time to care properly for a dog - yet!) so I'm very happy with this relationship. Cats get the short end of the stick when it comes to pet insurance so hopefully our relationship with TICA will change that.

Here's my favorite part of the press release:

"Other organizations have associations with other pet insurance companies but Embrace not only provides what we consider the best insurance coverage compared to other companies, but Embrace also shares the same philosophy about cat welfare as TICA," said Fisher. "That is important to our members and it is why we chose to partner with Embrace."

About The International Cat Association
Organized during 1979, The International Cat Association (TICA) is the world's largest genetic registry of pedigreed cats, largest registry of household pet cats and kittens, and one of the world's largest sanctioning bodies for cat shows. TICA currently recognizes more than 54 breeds of cats. No matter where you are, you’re in TICA’s world. A world of fabulous felines…fun…and friendships. To learn more about TICA visit http://www.tica.org/

Picture courtesy of Emily Krooglik, age 6 (daughter of Alex Krooglik, co-founder of Embrace) - it's her modernistic tribute to her black cat Mila. Don't you think it's awesome?!

Celebrating Embrace Pet Insurance's 3rd anniversary - hello to year 4!

Can you believe it? Three years ago, in October 2006, we sold our first Embrace pet health insurance policy. Yes, it was to cover Lily, my newly rescued cat, but it wasn't too long after that that a brave soul, who wasn't a friend or family or a competitor, also bought an Embrace policy too - much to our delight and amazement.

We've come a long way from only being able to sell policies over the phone (it was another 6 months before we launched our first e-commerce website) and the only information about our policies was on this very blog. I'm still amazed that people actually picked up the phone and called us to buy a policy. We appreciate it very much.

Much has happened at Embrace over the last 3 years. If you are interested, we have a brief history of Embrace on our website. 

Most importantly though, every Embracer would like to thank YOU, the thousands of pet parents who put your trust in Embrace on behalf of your  cats and dogs. Simply stated, we wouldn't exist without your confidence we will be there when you need us.

I wonder what things will look like for Embrace in another 3 years. What do you think? 

September is National Pet Health Insurance Month

September 2009 is National Pet Health Insurance Month and the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) is celebrating by wanting to put money in your pocket or that of your favorite veterinarian.

We like money in our pockets, don't we?

What do you need to do?

Either:

for a $500 prize to you: 
submit a story of how pet health insurance has helped you in a situation when your pet was in need of medical care.

...and/or

for an educational grant and a plaque of excellence for your favorite veterinarian:
nominate your favorite veterinarian by telling NAPHIA why their vet deserves this honor.

Check out NAPHIA's webpage on National Pet Health Insurance month for more details but just so you know, all submissions must be received by September 30, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST so get them in now!

FYI... As I'm on NAPHIA's Board, I'll be reading your stories and nominations - I can't wait to see them!

Embrace Pet Insurance joins NAPHIA

NAPHIA is the North American Pet Health Insurance Association and Embrace is the 5th member to join (see bottom of this post for the other members).

I'm not one for joining organizations (I have better things to be doing with my time right now) but I thought this is one was worth the time and effort.

Pet insurance is only going to grow if pet parents know more about the benefits of pet insurance and we (embrace) can't do it by ourselves.

Pet Health Insurance Association Grows in Robust Market Adding Additional Pedigree to Board of Directors

May 7, 2009 (Pittsburgh, PA) The North American Pet Health Insurance Association(NAPHIA) announced today the addition of Laura Bennett, President and Chief Embracer of Embrace Pet Insurance to its Board of Directors.

According to Loran Hickton, Executive Director of NAPHIA, “Laura Bennett is a champion of pets and their owners. Along with her team, she has built a successful pet health insurance company, while supporting the most positive principals of third party support for better pet care for all pets. Laura is creative and a keenly focused business person who will add significant value to the efforts of our Board.”

Ms. Bennett has over 16 years of insurance industry experience, including her work for The Canada Life Assurance Company in Toronto, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland, where she held a number of different leadership roles in asset-liability management, strategic planning, and business development. Laura holds an honors mathematics degree from the University of Western Ontario, is a qualified life and health actuary, and holds a chartered financial analyst designation. Laura is the only pet health insurance actuary in North America. Laura received her MBA, with a concentration in Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where she graduated with several university and peer awards. She was also part of the team that won first prize in the Wharton Business Plan Competition in 2003, with an entry for a pet insurance company.

“I am honored to be a member of this distinguished board and I look forward to working with all pet health insurance providers to educate pet parents on the value of pet insurance, and to promote the highest levels of transparency in pet health insurance,” added Laura Bennett.  

“While this difficult economy presents challenges for consumers and pet owners, it is also driving a robust market for pet insurance; in fact, the market in North America is very strong and has grown over 300% in just the past few years,” continued Hickton.

Research by the American Veterinary Medical Association shows that today pets are truly members of the American family. In the United States, for example, about 60% of households have at least one dog, cat, bird, or other companion animal; many have more than one. There are more than 72 million pet dogs in the U.S. and nearly 82 million pet cats. The owners of these pets spent $24.5 billion on veterinary medicine in 2006, more than double their spending of ten years earlier.

The Board of Directors of NAPHIA:

Jack Stephens, DVM, President & Founder, Pets Best Pet Health Insurance

Darryl Rawlings, CEO & Founder, American Pet Insurance Company, Trupanion™ and Vetinsurance™ brands

Dennis Rushovich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hartville Group, which includes Hartville Pet Health Insurance, ASPCA Pet Health Insurance™, and Petshealth Care Plan™ brands

Randy Valpy, President & COO, SecuriCan, Petsecure Pet Health Insurance

Founded in 2007, the North American Pet Health Insurance Association is committed to educating and promoting the values and benefits of pet health insurance to North American pet owners, the general public, and the veterinary industry.  For more information, visit www.naphia.orgor call 412-319-7730 / 412-908-9766.

Loran Hickton

Executive Director

North American Pet Health Insurance Association