Service Review:
Embrace Pet Insurance offers one of the most all-inclusive, yet customizable pet insurance plans in the industry. In the United States Embrace Pet Insurance Agency is underwritten by RLI Insurance Company, rated excellent by A.M. Best in 2011. Embrace is strongly committed to providing you and your pet with the very best coverage at an affordable price. As an organization they are also heavily invested in animal welfare, donating $2 for every policy sold to pet-related charities. They have also partnered with shelters and other charitable organizations to donate money for every application received.
How it works:
To attain coverage for your pet simply visit the Embrace website. Once there choose an annual maximum, co-payment percentage, and annual deductible that works for you. Next enroll your pet and settle into peace of mind.
Short Waiting Period – Once your pet is enrolled there is a brief waiting period to access your coverage. The waiting period for a pet enrolled in accident and illness coverage is 14 days from the enrollment date. In order to be eligible for benefits Embrace does require your pet to have been seen by a vet within the last year. Once the waiting period has ended your pet may visit any veterinarian, ER, or specialist in the United States or District of Columbia.
How to Receive Reimbursement – Just print and bring your claim form with you. Have your vet fill out one page and you will fill out the other, pay your bill, save and attach your invoices, and mail or fax it back to Embrace. After all required documents are received Embrace will send you your reimbursement. Your reimbursement will be the amount of your vet bill minus your deductible, if it has not yet been met and calculated based on the co-pay percent that you have chosen. Reimbursement comes in the form of either a check or direct deposit into your bank account and usually within 15 days.
Different From Other Companies – As mentioned above, Embrace figures out your claim reimbursement by using the entire amount of your vet bill. This sets them apart from many other pet insurance companies that calculate reimbursement on a benefits schedule or only reimbursing what they term to be usual, customary, or reasonable charges. Many insurance companies do this in an attempt to keep premiums down, but this has the effect of larger “on the spot” and “out of pocket” payments for pet owners.
Policy Renewal – Embrace makes renewing your policy easy too. Prior to your anniversary date Embrace will send you correspondence about your upcoming plan premiums and benefits with the option to renew. Premiums will only rise in the event of inflation or to match the need of your aging pet. If Embrace doesn’t hear differently from you after notification they will automatically renew your policy.
Changing Your Policy – You can also downgrade or upgrade your plan at any time. Cancellations can be made over the phone, in person, or in writing. Embrace will even refund any unused premium.
Cost:
Embrace offers one policy, but also offers policy holders the control of choosing what they will pay in annual deductibles and co-payments. As well as allowing them to choose the annual maximums. This empowers pet owners to figure out a plan that will work best for both their pet and their budget.
- Choose from four different annual maximums: $2,000, $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000.
- Deductibles are $100, $200, $500, or $1,000 annually.
- Co-payments are 10%, 20% or 35%. Deductibles coincide with the annual maximum meaning that you would have a $1,000 annual deductible on a $15,000 annual maximum.
- Maximum lifetime payouts limit is $50,000 per pet, a substantial amount.
Embrace offers a variety of discounts to further bring the price down, which is nice. You may also use more than one discount at a time if you qualify for multiple discounts, which is very nice. Discounts are offered for spayed and neutered animals (5%), multiple insured pets (5%), annual pay discount (5%), and a military discount (5%).
So, theoretically, if you have a spouse or partner in the military and have two animals that are spayed or neutered and choose to pay your bill yearly than you could be saving 20% on your pet insurance. Even if you don’t get a military discount and/or don’t want to pay annually you are still likely to save 5% to 10% if you are an average pet owner and qualify for at least one of the other two discounts. These discounts are a pretty sweet deal.
Coverage:
Embrace covers X-Rays, MRIs, and Ultrasounds, surgeries and hospitalization, and specialist and urgent care. Alternative therapies and rehabilitation are covered too. Coverage includes vet exam fees, which are often not covered by other pet insurance policies.
Genetic or Breed Specific Conditions – Unlike many pet insurance companies Embrace will cover your pet for genetic or breed-specific conditions. This will be important to you if you have a pure bred animal that has typical conditions for their breed. For example if you own a Golden Retriever than it may be likely that your pet will experience one of the following conditions that are common to Goldens: hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, allergies, heart conditions, or cancer. If this occurs you know that you won’t get stuck with the bill as is the case with many other pet insurance companies that don’t want to pay anything towards genetic or breed specific conditions.
Prescription Coverage – Prescription drug coverage can be added or removed to the plan that you have chosen depending on what you believe your pet’s needs to be.
Routine/Preventative Coverage – A routine/preventative option may also be added to your plan in order to keep your pet healthy. Wellness Rewards covers annual visits, spaying or neutering, vaccinations, de-worming, heartworm medications, etc. We would highly recommend enrolling your pet in some sort of routine or preventative plan if it is an option for you, so that money won’t be a factor in getting your animal checked yearly.
Dental Coverage – The 3rd add-on that can be added to the plan you have chosen is a dental plan that covers teeth cleaning, checkups, and many forms of treatment.
Exclusions – Items not covered by Embrace are: pre-existing conditions (this is industry standard and you will pretty much see this across the board), behavioral treatment, pregnancy conditions, birthing or breeding, prosthetics or motility aids, cosmetic procedures, cremation or burial, and organ transplants.
It is important to note that the above listing of conditions not covered by Embrace is pretty much standard with pet insurance companies. Although, some, albeit few, companies provide behavioral support and offer payment against cremation or burial costs through the addition of an extra benefit plan you will be hard pressed to find coverage for the other conditions listed elsewhere.
Why we rate Embrace Pet Insurance as #2:
Embrace fills in many of the coverage and cost gaps that pet owners often experience. We love that Embrace is willing to take on genetically linked conditions such as hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia. These are all too common, and expensive, conditions that most pet insurance providers won’t touch. Embrace also offers coverage on alternative therapies and has the options for wellness/routine care, dental care, and prescription coverage care options that recommend getting if you can afford it. Embrace reimburses on the actual vet bill and has direct deposit features that we also like. Overall, Embrace is one of the best pet insurance companies that we have found and an ethically minded business to boot.
