pamperedpuppy // luxury lifestyles for dogs

Embrace a New Kind of Insurance

For most of us, trying to collect an insurance reimbursement is a joyless affair. In fact, many pet parents have opted to forgo pet insurance altogether because they dread the paperwork and the endless phone conversations with humorless insurance processors.

But as more and more animal lovers face skyrocketing veterinary bills, pet insurance is a topic that shouldn't be ignored. And there's a bit of good news for hardened skeptics: Embrace Pet Insurance is trying to set a new business standard.

When they launched in 2006, the Cleveland, Ohio insurance company set out to give the power of choice back to the consumer. One year later, Embrace has paid out nearly $500,000 in claims and has earned the praise of their clients.

As Embrace Co-founder Laura Bennett tells it, the idea for Embrace came up during a Wharton business school competition. One day on campus, Bennett heard a moving story, dear friends had to drain their savings account to care for a sick cat. The total bill reached in excess of $5000 and the couple lamented, "If only we'd had pet insurance."

This sparked an idea. Bennett's past career was in human health insurance. With her background, she decided to test the waters of pet insurance. A team of Wharton students organized an online survey of 2300 pet owners to obtain feedback about animal medical insurance. The leading complaint of pet owners: too many gaps in insurance coverage and claims being refused because the pet insurance company deemed a condition genetic or pre-existing.

The students studied the surveys and came up with solutions. Their innovative ideas won the school-wide competition. After graduation, Bennett spent the next three years perfecting and marketing the plan. She landed Lloyd's of London as underwriter and Embrace signed their first policy in October of 2006.

Here's how it works: With Embrace, a client can go to any veterinarian and obtain care for their pet. The client pays the bill out of pocket and submits a reimbursement claim. Embrace in turn promises to turn around the claim in ten business days.

Storm has had nearly
$10K in surgeries. With
Embrace, his owner has
only had to pay 20%
of his bills.

Embrace opts for the "usual, customary and reasonable" (UCR) method of reimbursement. Most competitors pay claims based on a benefit schedule. Benefit schedules are determined by the insurance company and limit the amount of payout. UCR policies tend to deliver more generous payments since UCR takes into account variables such as increased pricing for emergency care and regional price differences. With Embrace the customer—not the insurer - chooses the annual maximum payout. This guarantees fewer surprises when seeking reimbursement. Plus, every Embrace policy comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Another difference: Embrace doesn't exclude any breeds. And once your pet insured with Embrace they cannot "age" out of the insurance (yet another reason to get that policy early!).

Bennett says Embrace's philosophy is to "clearly and openly communicate with our customers." To this end, they offer up heaps of valuable insurance information on their free web site www.embracepetinsurance.com (did you know you could get insurance for your pet in Singapore?), and the founder also blogs about pet health and insurance issues including answering questions about what's covered - and what isn't - at Embrace. They are also open about what they don't cover. At Embrace wellness visits aren't included and the maximum age for obtaining insurance is 6 years for a mixed breed and 8 years for a pure breed.

Veterinarians are taking note. Doctor Doug Kenney of Memphis, Tennessee feels Embrace has some unique features: "Number one, they cover hereditary conditions - which most others don't and they are the only company I know of that has a customizable plan." The doctor predicts health care prices continuing to rise. He says the open policies of Embrace make them an intriguing choice.

I decided to test out the quote system and gage the required effort. I sought insurance for Shadow, a 2-year-old Labrador in Brooklyn NY. It was a breeze to customize the policy. I clicked on an annual maximum (ranges from $2,000 to $10,000), the deductible cost (from $100-$500) and a per-visit-co-pay (from 10-35%). Per year, Shadow's coverage would cost between $112 and $640. With each of my choices, the premium was recalculated to show the monthly total - all very straightforward and user-friendly.

Sounds good on paper, but how does it work in real life? Norma Jean Kern of Hickory, NC shares her Embrace insurance story. In 2006, a malamute attacked Kern's Akita purebred puppy, Storm. "The malamute got a hold of Storm's leg and just about ripped it off," says Kern.

"Our experience with Embrace was fantastic," reports Kern. Kern raced her pet to a clinic. An orthopedic surgeon on staff focused on saving Storm's life. When the dog was out of mortal danger, he worked to reattach Storm's leg. Through it all, Kern never fretted about the expenses.

Thankfully, Kern had taken out an Embrace policy on Storm. One of her other Akitas had hip displasia (requiring more than $5000 of medical care). With this new pup she wasn't taking any chances, and Kern decided to sign on with Embrace.

According to Kern, she paid the bill at the vet, sent the receipt to the insurance company and in about ten days had her reimbursement. Kern felt relieved to have financial support, but also to have the care and concern from her insurance provider. An Embrace representative contacted Kern to check on Storm's progress. Kern was flabbergasted, "Our 'people' insurance doesn't do that!"

Storm's care has been ongoing (he's had to have four additional surgeries on his leg totaling close to $10,000), and Embrace has kept up their end of the bargain. Kern has only been responsible for 20% of the bills.

Caring for clients seems to be a top priority at Embrace. Embrace appears to be putting relationships and care first - a prescription that's sure to make you and your pet feel better.