Pet Insurance - Post diagnosis

[spaceartisan]

Hindsight is always 20/20.

After an initial diagnosis ~12/11/25, failure with Senvelgo, and a week stay with eDKA (caught it before he stopped eating and/or became extremely lethargic), it appears I'm about to get my boy back. As I reflect upon the ~$10,000 I've spent out of pocket this month, I've started thinking about pet insurance. I understand now that he has a pre-existing condition, anything related to the diabetes wont be covered including future DKA (note DKA and not eDKA because he will now be on insulin ) or Hypoglyemic events. However, if there is anyway to drop a $8400 ER Vet bill in the future down to anything less, I am all ears. For reference, my cat is a 4 year old, neutered, male, very handsome, ex-feral cage fighting champion.

I did come across this group Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage for Pets | AKC Pet Insurance
My reading comprehension for terms and conditions are pretty subpar. But it almost looks to me it might be able to cover his potential future diabetes related events although it wont kick into effect for a year.

I tried poking around otherwise, but it does seem most successful insurance stories were pre-diagnosis. Fingers crossed for the one poster to tell me I'm not SOL .

 

[CORKY]

Pet insurance may or may not work, most vets that accept Pet insurance, tend to balloon the cost, and not all vets takes Pet insurance or they have one company they use, so make sure the vet you choose from their insurance Network, is knowledgeable in treating Feline Diabetes, most of these insurances, you need to pay the bill up front, then you will be reimbursed, and with FD in existence, it is costly and most treatments are not covered, I researched plenty on the subject, and found out that the insurance most Vets are associated with is The Banfield Pet Clinics , and these clinics are outrageously expensive with high costs, some vet offices have their private insurance, do your homework well before signing up.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

My experience is different than what Maria posted. I submit my bills to the insurance company. The vet doesn't do it and as a result, the vet isn't the middle person. If the vet is submitting the bill, they are not "padding" the cost. You are being charged for the administrative time it takes for them to handle the forms and dispute any claims. If you've ever had to argue with an insurance company, you know what a time suck this can be.

With a DKA kitty, if you're not routinely testing for ketones (either urine or blood tests), please do so. Catching ketone levels before they become an expensive hospitalization is a huge savings.