VPI Pet Health Insurance – First Pet Insurance in the USA

VPI pet health insurance is the first company that started to offer affordable pet insurance in the USA in 1982. They reimburse claims according to a benefit schedule, which helps to keep premiums reasonable.

They offer various policies for dogs, cats, birds and exotic pets. To find out what pet health plans they are able to offer at the location/state you live, you need to get a quick quote on their website.

Then you can see the different policy plans and options available for your pet.

Pet Insurance Plans

The VPI Standard and VPI Superior policies cover both, accidents and illnesses and cancer treatment. The superior plan gives a higher reimbursement.

Both plans come with a $50 per-incident deductible and a coinsurance. The exact percentage of this co payment is not revealed in the quote. Therefore, make sure you ask their customer care department about it to see clear before you purchase a policy!

On top of the basic policy plans, VPI pet health insurance gives you the choice to purchase optional wellness care.

For an additional $12/month you can purchase the CareGuardTM Core option that pays towards routine care treatments and exams, vaccinations and flea-and/or heart worm prevention.

CareGuardTMPremier costs $22 extra per month and pays in addition to the routine procedures of the standard wellness plan also towards dental cleaning and/or spaying and neutering costs.

These policies will not provide coverage for hereditary health problems.

New Pet Health Plan Structure

VPI pet health insurance is in the process of changing their policy plans considerably. However, you may want to inquire directly, if they can tell you when they are able to offer you the new plans in the state you live in.

Depending on your location/state you may be able to purchase a policy already according to their new plan structure:

You will have the choice between a Medical, Major Medical and an Injury plan.

The Medical plan comes with an annual maximum benefit of $7,000, the Major Medical with $14,000 respectively, and you can determine how much annual deductible you want to pay: $100, $250, $500 or $1,000 .

The Injury plan offers an annual maximum benefit of $14,000 and a $250 annual deductible.

There is no coinsurance for any of these new plans to pay. Chronic conditions are covered and the maximum benefit resets with the annual policy renewal.

Hereditary health problems will be covered, but only within the Major Medical policy: there is no lifetime maximum benefit, but an annual benefit of max. $250 towards diagnostic charges and/or $500 towards medical treatment or surgery.

Age Limit

Any pet younger than 10 years of age can be enrolled.

Reimbursement

VPI pet health insurance pays according to a benefit schedule which determines how much will be paid out at most per diagnosed health problem.

This means that if your vet charged more for the treatment of a certain health condition, VPI pet insurance would pay only the amount they defined in their benefit schedule and not more. You would be responsible for paying the rest out of your own pocket.

You will see that calculating in advance how much they will actually pay towards a vet bill is difficult.