Alexandra Ramirez
VPI Pet Insurance provides comprehensive plans to their customers. Although they weren’t our top pick their customers love their service. .
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History of VPI Pet Insurance – How it all Started
VPI started over 30 years ago, when a group of veterinarians got together with the same goal: they wanted to help pets. Their goal was to make sure that pet owners could afford the best veterinary care available for their pets without having to go broke doing it. As a result of this collective goal, VPI Pet Insurance Company was born.
In 1982 VPI issued their first policy to Lassie and that was just the beginning. They’ve worked tirelessly to bring that group of founding veterinarians’ vision to pass. The fact that they are the most trusted pet insurance company in the industry has been hard earned and they got that reputation by showing they could be trusted. To date they’ve insured one million pets and those numbers continue to go up.
The contribution of the veterinary community has been crucial to making VPI the premier pet insurance company from the beginning. 11 veterinarians and over 90 staff members with veterinary practice experience work for them to ensure that they are always up to date on the current pet health trends, information and veterinary practices.
In addition to having the pet health side covered, they also have highly experienced insurance professionals on staff as well. This makes the company even stronger and more valuable to their policyholders. In 2008 they joined the Nationwide® family of insurance companies which is one of the largest insurance and financial corporations anywhere.
There are close to 500 staff members that make up VPI Pet Insurance and each one of them are dedicated to bringing that group of founding veterinarians’ vision to life by helping pet owners everywhere work with their veterinarians to make the best possible health care decisions for their beloved pets.
They have won awards such as being ranked in 2010 and 2011 as the top ranked places to work in the Orange County Business Journal and are A+ members of the BBB. Their customer care team is recognized for outstanding service by the International Customer Management Institute. They are proudly affiliated with two pet companies, Pet Sitters International and Moochie and Co. They are a company that walks the walk and shows their policyholders that they can take care of their pets in a financially feasible way and not have to worry.
Another major fact that sets VPI apart from other pet insurance companies is that they offer bird and exotic pet insurance when the majority of other companies do not. If you are interested in hearing more about this plan you can call them and they will be able to give you all the details of this much needed and rare coverage for your small animals and birds too.
Qualification Process for Getting Your Pet Insured
One of the convenient things that VPI offers it new potential customers is the ability to sign up their pets online. There are no sales calls that you have to be on and no one to talk to unless you want to talk to them. You can go straight to the website and fill out all the information right then and get your policy going after the waiting periods. (usually 14 days) When you click on the get a quote button on the home page you will be taken to a page that you will need to input some information so a quote can be put together for you. This information will be:
- Zip code
- Kind of pet you have
- Choose purebred or mixed breed pet
- Choose the size of your animal
- Pet’s name
- Age of your pet
- Select where you heard about VPI
- input contact information, either email or telephone
On the next page, (after clicking the “next” button) you will choose the level of coverage that you want, along with the deductible you want to pay and add the wellness plan if you choose to. Once you have chosen those, then click next again and you will be taken to the next page which has some more questions about the pet that you are insuring. The following questions will need to be answered:
- What color is your pet?
- Is your pet male or female?
- Is the pet spayed/neutered?
- Select when you got your pet
- Give info if your pet has ever had an injury, illness or accident that required going to the vet
- Input the name and city/state of the vets office you go to
Now you’ve reached the page where you fill out your personal information for billing purposes. To the right of the page on the website you will see your monthly payment information and a summary of what you are getting in your plan. On this page you will also be able to select the payment option you want as well, whether it’s monthly or annually. Input your credit card information and click purchase and you’re all done. Your pet will be covered 14 days from the date of enrollment.
It’s not hard at all and if there are any questions along the way you can called the customer care representatives and they will be happy to help you the rest of the way so you can get the coverage you want at a price you can afford.
Coverage Plans VPI Pet Insurance Offers
There are three different types of coverage plans available through VPI along with a few choices for the wellness plan as well. Each one is designed to provide pet owners with the level of coverage they want at a price they can afford.
Injury Plan – Emergency – Dogs
This plan is great for pet owners of older dogs or those who want something just for the emergency things that can happen with their pets. This plan covers injuries only, not medical conditions and has a benefit of $14,000 per year.
- Accidents
- X-rays
- Surgeries
- Prescriptions
- Hospitalization
- Illnesses
Feline Select Plan – Just for Cats
The perfect choice for cat owners not looking for a regular pln. This is great for getting things covered without the expense of a full coverage plan. There is no deductible and the annual limit is $9000.
- Accidents
- X-rays
- Surgeries
- Prescriptions
- Hospitalization
- Illnesses
- Cancer
Medical Plan- Economical –
This is considered the budget plan and is great for those who want good coverage but need a smaller price tag. All of the major things are covered but it is not as much coverage as the comprehensive plan. Chronic conditions are covered in this plan. The maximum annual benefit is $7000. Below are some of the many conditions that this plans covers. There are more but this tends to be the top 50 conditions that dogs are seen for.
- Accidents
- X-rays
- Surgeries
- Prescriptions
- Hospitalization
- Illnesses
- Cancer
- Hereditary disease
50 top conditions covered by VPI (the ones most often filed)
- Ear infection
- Skin allergies
- Skin infection
- Upset stomach
- Intestinal upset
- Arthritis
- Bladder infection
- Bruise or contusion
- Skin growth
- Underactive thyroid levels
- Eye infection
- Seizure disorders
- Open skin infection
- Tooth removal
- Liver disease
- Cuts or bite wounds
- Lymph node cancer
- Diabetes
- Skin cyst
- Skin tumor
- Urinary incontinence
- Torn knee ligaments
- Kennel cough
- Heart valve dysfunction
- Degenerative disc disease
- Dry eyes
- Inflamed pancreas
- Allergic reactions
- Corneal ulcer
- Cushing’s disease
- Skin cancer
- Muscle sprain
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Torn nail
- Fungal skin disease
- Abrasion
- Chronic kidney disease
- Heart failure
- Addison’s disease
- Oral trauma
- Foreign body in the stomach
- Lyme disease
- Tumor in the spleen
- Bronchitis
- Bladder stones
- Inflamed trachea
- Lung infection
- Insect bites or stings
- Bloody vomiting or diarrhea
- Oral growth
Major Medical Plan – Comprehensive –
The coverage amount is higher in the MMP than it is the economical plan above. This plan has double the allowances of the medical plan giving more of a reimbursement. There is limited hereditary coverage after the first year the policy has been in effect. Chronic conditions are covered. The maximum annual benefit is $14,000.
- Accidents
- X-rays
- Surgeries
- Prescriptions
- Hospitalization
- Illnesses
- Cancer
- Hereditary disease
- Highest reimbursement
Top 50 conditions covered by VPI (these are the ones that are filed most often)
- Ear infection
- Skin allergies
- Skin infection
- Upset stomach
- Intestinal upset
- Arthritis
- Bladder infection
- Bruise or contusion
- Skin growth
- Underactive thyroid levels
- Eye infection
- Seizure disorders
- Open skin infection
- Tooth removal
- Liver disease
- Cuts or bite wounds
- Lymph node cancer
- Diabetes
- Skin cyst
- Skin tumor
- Urinary incontinence
- Torn knee ligaments
- Kennel cough
- Heart valve dysfunction
- Degenerative disc disease
- Dry eyes
- Inflamed pancreas
- Allergic reactions
- Corneal ulcer
- Cushing’s disease
- Skin cancer
- Muscle sprain
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Torn nail
- Fungal skin disease
- Abrasion
- Chronic kidney disease
- Heart failure
- Addison’s disease
- Oral trauma
- Foreign body in the stomach
- Lyme disease
- Tumor in the spleen
- Bronchitis
- Bladder stones
- Inflamed trachea
- Lung infection
- Insect bites or stings
- Bloody vomiting or diarrhea
- Oral growth
Pet Wellness Plans
There are three pet wellness options for customers to choose from. Each of these will help take care of some of the more routine parts of taking care of your pet. The Pert wellness plan is not available in all states so be sure to check with your customer care representative if you want this coverage.
Pet Wellness Basic – $400 maximum annual benefit
- No deductible
- Physical exams
- Vaccinations
- Flea/heartworm preventative
Pet Wellness Plus – $500 maximum annual benefit
- No deductible
- Physical exams
- Vaccinations
- Flea/heartworm preventative
Pet Wellness Max – $1000 maximum annual benefit
- No deductible
- Physical exams
- Vaccinations
- Flea/heartworm preventative
- Spay/Neuter
- Dental Cleaning
Filing a Claim with VPI Pet Insurance
Filing a claim with VPI is simple. You can download your claim form from the website. It will need to be filled out completely and accurately and any additional documents need to be sent with it. If it is the first claim you’ve submitted they will need your pet’s medical records for a designated time frame before the policy was active. You’ll also need to submit the itemized invoices from the visits showing that they have been paid, including lab results. These will have diagnosis notes from the vet that will need to be filled out as well. Fill out the following information on the claim form:
- Policy holder
- Pet name
- Pet owner name
- Full mailing address
- Telephone
- Check if the visit is for wellness or injury/illness
- Treatment dates
- Diagnosis notes (see if the vet will fill this out for you)
- Hospital/clinic name
Once everything is filled out you can send it to them through regular mail, email or Fax. Claims can take a week or more to process, but if you have filled them out correctly and attached all the necessary documentation you should have your reimbursement within 30 days.
If you forget to include the itemized invoices, don’t pay for the vet visit before submitting the claim or forget to have the medical records sent if that is requested, it will hold up the processing of your claim and reimbursement can take much longer. File the claims as soon as you can instead of letting them pile up. This will prevent you from forgetting anything you need for the claim and also from forgetting to file it at all.
Help and Support Services
Helping customers is what VPI is all about. Being the most trusted pet insurance company in the industry doesn’t come from having no compassion for their policyholders and new customers. There are several ways for you to get the help and support you need. You can contact them through several different means such as email, telephone, and regular mail.
Veterinary Clinics
You can take your pets to any licensed veterinary clinic or hospital in the US. This means that if you already have an established vet when you enroll with VPI you can continue to use them. This also means that if you are on vacation and have your pet with you, and something happens, you can take them to any licensed Emergency Animal Hospital and the covered parts of your plan will still be covered there too.
Contact Information and Where to Find VPI Pet Insurance on Social Media
You can contact VPI several different ways. They can be emailed, faxed, regular mail or telephoned. Regardless of the way you choose to contact them, you will receive excellent customer service to get the issues resolved.
Website: http://www.petinsurance.com/
Email: On the website in an embedded form
Customer Service – New Enrollees – 1- 800-872-7387
Policyholders – 1- 800-540-2016
Fax – (714) 989- 5600
Mailing Address: VPI Pet Insurance
P.O. Box 2344
Brea, CA 92822-2344
If you’d like to follow VPI Pet Insurance on their social media sites (and they invite all of their customers and supporters to do that) you can find them at the links below.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/VeterinaryPetInsurance
Twitter – https://twitter.com/VPI
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/VetPetIns
Google + – https://plus.google.com/+vpipetinsurance/posts
Blog – http://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone.aspx
The one major thing to remember is that the days of having to choose between taking care of your pet and paying your regular bills are gone. VPI Pet Insurance has been dedicated for decades to bringing pet owners pet health insurance that helps them take care of their pets in a way they can truly afford.
Now more than ever pets are members of the family and they deserve the same consideration humans do when it comes to not being left to suffer needlessly. With health programs in place that help plan for emergencies and illnesses, pew owners can have peace of mind that their pets will live longer, happier lives and healthier lives too.
VPI is a leader in the industry for a reason and they show that reason every day by providing excellent care, excellent customer service, excellent claims processing times and support whenever there is a question or concern. They just might be the right company for your pet health needs.
Resources
- VPI Pet Insurance – http://www.petinsurance.com/
