Nationwide pet insurance

[enzy65]

I had heard that NW was going to cancel many many insurance policies, well they didn’t cancel ours but doubled the annual premium. Was 450.00 now over 950.00, anyone else use this insurance for their pets. We get this through my husbands work which offers a discount.
Some years we have really used this insurance some years not so much.
Any better options out there, or should I just cancel. We went many many years without this and had some major expenses that we paid out of pocket, yeah I know this is for something major. This policy is for 1 cat.

 

[MillauFr]

Why not just self insure and drop the policy?

 

[enzy65]

We have self insured for many years of having animals. Just have to run the numbers, because after 250 deductible it pays 90%. That’s quite a bit when the bill is into the thousands when there is an illness/emergency. We live in WL and Purdue teaching hospital is where you go for after hours care and they are pricey. I have spent thousands there with no insurance, many people have to get care credit if they don’t have the funds.
Like any insurance, we have not once in 40 years ever had a claim on our homeowners, but obviously we pay for that policy regardless if we use it or not. Same way with car insurance or any other type.

 

[Sheree]

i have them for my indoor cat. her 1 specialty hospital visit and follow up care more than reimbursed us for the 9 years of premiums

i use manypets . com for my 2 dogs

 

[RockChalk1]

We have Nationwide and will be dropped at the end of December. We've had it for @ 9 years so our dog's pre-existing conditions will no longer be covered with any other plans. There's a group on Facebook you could look into joining where people talk about the options they are considering. I've followed it for awhile. I also saw this chart which I found helpful. I'm leaning toward just self-insuring since pre-existing is not covered under any plans that we qualify for. https://www.caninejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/pet-insurance-comparison-charts.pdf

 

[_19disnA]

Don't own a pet but others I know who do have never bought any kind of pet life/health insurance. All insurance companies are 'for profit' businesses who expect to take in more in premiums than they payout in claims. I think you are probably better off putting aside whatever money they would charge you for the premium and 'self insuring' your cat/dog. In the long run, you will probably come out ahead.

 

[Disney102015]

There's a group on Facebook you could look into joining where people talk about the options they are considering

Would you be able to share or message me the FB group link please? We just got notification that our 8 year old Golden’s policy is not renewing in December and we are panicking. We have kept close tabs on the math each year and it has saved us tons and tons of money - she is on prescription food, she’s had many ER visits, and she’s due for an ACL repair

 

[Disney102015]

Never mind I found it! thanks anyway!

 

[RockChalk1]

Would you be able to share or message me the FB group link please? We just got notification that our 8 year old Golden’s policy is not renewing in December and we are panicking. We have kept close tabs on the math each year and it has saved us tons and tons of money - she is on prescription food, she’s had many ER visits, and she’s due for an ACL repair

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/15QJ5S43bz/

 

[Debbie Jean]

I’ve always found pet insurance worth the expense. The bills for my pup Nemo’s last illness alone… intestinal cancer… came to $20,000 for diagnosis, surgery and chemotherapy. Healthy Paws paid over $18,000. I was so grateful to be able to focus on my sweet boy without worrying about the expense.

In this neck of the woods one visit to the ER with diagnostics and testing, can set you back several thousand dollars!

 

[enzy65]

Sorry that some of you got canceled, I for one thought we would, not just double the annual premium. We will endure the cost this year and see what it is for 2026, but at almost 1,000.00 a year that is probably my limit. But as soon as I cancel something will happen. My cat is on prescription food and that is very pricey so 90% NW pays is great.
Purdue vet school is pretty much an automatic 1500 + just to get started looking at your animal, and you are there for hours and hours. That is our only option for after hours.

 

[AttheParks]

I did not have insurance for our sweet dog that passsed at age 15. Wish we had gotten it b/c her emergency vet bill was $25,000 for a 3 night stay.
We got insurance through trupaion for our rescue kitten. It renewed last month and was the just a few dollars more that our original policy a year early.

 

[mjkacmom]

I’ve self insured and I come out ahead for my almost 14 year old dog, most of her care has been routine vaccines and blood work, plus 2 dental cleanings and some diagnostic tests. If we had a really high bill we wouldn’t be thrilled, but we could pay. I had my husband take her in the the emergency vet yesterday be because she was really limping (she has a large mass on her spine, unfortunately in a bad spot, dangerous to remove, and if it could she’d need chemo and it would 100% grow back), apparently just arthritis but I got some more pain relievers which she is going to need. I don’t know how much it cost (it’s 5 minutes away, 24/7).

 

[Sheree]

Sorry that some of you got canceled, I for one thought we would, not just double the annual premium. We will endure the cost this year and see what it is for 2026, but at almost 1,000.00 a year that is probably my limit. But as soon as I cancel something will happen. My cat is on prescription food and that is very pricey so 90% NW pays is great.
Purdue vet school is pretty much an automatic 1500 + just to get started looking at your animal, and you are there for hours and hours. That is our only option for after hours.

hmm, i have nationwide for my cat and was told prescription food wasn't covered. hmmm

 

[LuvOrlando]

I saw Costco offers pet insurance, FIGO I think but I have no experience.

 

[enzy65]

hmm, i have nationwide for my cat and was told prescription food wasn't covered. hmmm

I don’t know if it’s a different plan, but we just noticed this year it was covered.
Last year and before I don’t think it was. I did just look at the new policy for 2025 and it says it is covered. The coverage says it is MY PET PROTECTION WITH WELLNESS PLAN.

 

[Pyxie]

I had Nationwide but dropped them due to billing issues. I never had a problem with their actual coverage, but I never had to make a significant claim either.

I carry pet insurance because I have Frenchies and I think it's almost required with the health issues they can have. For another breed, I probably wouldn't worry.

I now have Lemonade, and there was a period this summer that I would not have recommended them due to their denial of a very large claim for NARES surgery (that my dog sadly did not survive) citing pre-existing conditions simply because I mentioned at his first vet checkup that he had a tendency to throw up after eating. There was obviously way more to the situation than that, but long story short, their appeals department worked with me and did help me get the claim approved. So at this time, I do recommend them BUT be very careful about what you mention at your vet prior to signing up or during your 14 day waiting period.

 

[ak517]

Are there any policies that cover dental care, tooth extractions, and/or annual check-ups with vaccinations? We insured one of our indoor cats with Nationwide after some issues last year, and in my research it didn't look like there were any companies that covered these or the coverage was minimal at like $200 max annually and our vet bills here in NYC are $$$$. I of course can call around again, but if anyone has any experience with using pet insurance for wellness I would love to hear your experience!

 

[enzy65]

Are there any policies that cover dental care, tooth extractions, and/or annual check-ups with vaccinations? We insured one of our indoor cats with Nationwide after some issues last year, and in my research it didn't look like there were any companies that covered these or the coverage was minimal at like $200 max annually and our vet bills here in NYC are $$$$. I of course can call around again, but if anyone has any experience with using pet insurance for wellness I would love to hear your experience!

We have NW plan for our cat, it is MY PET PROTECTION WITH WELLNESS PLAN. It has a 250 deductible and it covers annual checkups, vaccines, etc.
It also pays for prescription food. After deductible it pays 90%, it has a policy limit of 7500.00 My husband gets this through work and we are in IN.
I just looked at the policy and it doesn’t have any wording about dental care, I assume it is included but not for sure. We have not had any issues, we do have to pay out of pocket and then they reimburse and it takes about a week to receive a check.
My only complaint is that our premium doubled for 2025.

 

[Uk145081]

For me, it was about balancing the potential costs of emergencies against the regular premiums. My dog had a rough patch a couple of years ago, and the vet bills were so high that I was glad we had a decent insurance plan in place. Without it, the treatments would've been really tough to handle financially.

If you’re in Singapore and looking for plans, you might want to check out options for dog insurance Singapore on this forum. They seem to have a variety of plans that may cater to different needs, including coverage for emergencies and other major expenses. Could be worth exploring if you're considering switching.