Year Company Started: 2004

Underwriter: American Alternative Insurance Corporation and Lloyds of London

AM Best Financial Strength Rating: American Alternative Insurance Corporation (Rating: A+), Lloyds of London (Rating: A)

Website: www.petfirsthealthcare.com

Phone: 1866-937-7387

PetFirst Healthcare covers dogs and cats between eight weeks and 10 years old. As long as you cover your pet before he turns 10, your policy is renewable for life. PetFirst stands apart from other pet insurance companies for a few reasons.

For starters, there are no diagnosis limits. That means you don’t need to worry that you’ll run out of coverage for a specific condition. Secondly, you don’t have to pay a deductible on routine claims. For accidents and illnesses, the deductible is $50.

PetFirst reimburses you 90% up to the per-incident maximum, which depends on which plan you have.

Plans include Basic, Preferred, and Preferred Plus, with annual benefits of $7,500, $12,000, and $15,000 respectively. Each plan covers accidents and illnesses, routine care coverage, boarding kennel fees, and advertising and reward (if you lose your pet—now that’s something unique!) Monthly premiums for cats range between $19.95 and $41.95; for dogs, between $24.95 and $49.95.

If you have multiple pets, opt for the Family Plan. This allows your pets to share accident and illness benefits, while each gets their own routine care benefits. If you have two pets, your premium will range from $41 to $79; for three pets, between $49 and $109.

As with all pet insurance companies, PetFirst excludes certain conditions and procedures. Those include pre-existing conditions, elective procedures (like declawing and tail docking), treatment of parasites, and congenital or hereditary defects, to name a few.

Once you submit your application, there’s a 14-day waiting period before coverage kicks in. You have 90 business days to submit a claim, and can expect payment within 10 business days.

PetFirst Health Care Rerview

Rating: 8

Our review process starts with calling each of the insurance providers over the telephone and then, we gather quotes for these 3 pet profiles:

1. A 2-year old male Yorkshire Terrier named Jax
2. A 6-year old male Cocker Spaniel named Max
3. An 8-year old female mixed breed cat named Fluffy

I spoke with Wanda at PetFirst Health Care. After the pre-recorded message picked up, I waited for about three minutes before Wanda took my call. She told me any pet between 8 weeks and 9 years old is eligible for coverage. Unlike other pet insurance companies, PetFirst charges set fees for family plans (different for two pets or three pets), regardless of their breed, gender, or age.

The Plans

Basic plan: $64/month for all three pets. The annual benefit limit for all of them together is $7,500, and the per incident cap for any one accident or illness is $1,500. PetFirst reimburses 90% after you meet the $50 per accident/illness deductible. Each pet gets $100 annually for routine care, broken down as such:

• $15 for annual exam
• $25 for vaccinations
• $60 for preventative (prescription flea control meds, heartworm meds, heartworm test or microchipping)

Preferred plan: $79/month for all three pets. The shared annual benefit limit is $12,000, and the per incident cap for any one accident or illness is $2,500. PetFirst reimburses 90% after you meet the $50 per accident/illness deductible. Each pet gets $220 annually for routine care, broken down as such:

• $20 for annual exam
• $50 for vaccinations
• $60 for preventative (Rx flea control meds, heartworm meds, heartworm test or microchipping)
• $75 for either spay or neuter, teeth cleaning, behavioral training, or comprehensive health screen
• $15 for fecal test for dogs, leukemia test for cats

Preferred Plus: $109/month for all three pets. The shared annual benefit limit is $15,000, and the per incident cap for any one accident or illness is $3,500. PetFirst reimburses 90% after you meet the $50 per accident/illness deductible. The routine care coverage is the same as the Preferred Plan.

Although Wanda did not explain this, I learned by visiting the website that I can also get accident only coverage for $50.85. This includes $3,000 annually for accident and illness coverage and a $3,000 for incident limit, with 100% reimbursement after you meet the $50 per incident deductible.

PetFirst also has a plan specifically for senior pets that includes $2,000 annually for accident and illness coverage, a $2,000 per incident limit, and $100 routine care limit, with 80% reimbursement after you meet the $100 per incident deductible.

The Details

There is no deductible for routine claims. Accident and routine coverage starts the day after you enroll; illness coverage has a 14-day waiting period. Your monthly payments are automatically debited from your account on the same day every month. The plans do not renew annually. You can cancel at any time by submitting a request in writing.

I learned by visiting the website that you can customize any plan except Accident Only to include additional coverage (not available in Alaska or Massachusetts):

• Breeder’s coverage: add $10 per pet/month
• Hereditary/chronic/congenital, 25%: add $20 per pet/month
• Hereditary/chronic/congenital, 100%: add $50 per pet/month
• Prescription food: add $5 per pet/month

The following (among a few others) is excluded for coverage: pre-existing conditions, elective and cosmetic procedures, breeding and conditions related to breeding (unless specifically added), treatment of external parasites, congenital or hereditary diseases (unless specifically added), and continuous coverage of chronic and long-term conditions that manifest in a previous policy year. This means a condition diagnosed in one year is considered pre-existing when you renew your policy, and will no longer be covered.

Conclusions

Wanda was very helpful and thorough in explaining my options, although she did miss a few details I needed to find on the website.

In making my decision, I’ll consider the following pros and cons:

Pros:

• Premiums are fairly low compared to other companies’.
• You can customize each plan with additional coverage.
• Cost does not increase based on your pet’s age or breed.
• There are no deductibles on routine care.
• Most customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive and indicate PetFirst pays everything they say they will.

Cons:

• Any condition diagnosed in one policy year is considered chronic when you renew, and will no longer be covered.
• It’s helpful that you can add the hereditary/chronic/congenital coverage, but it significantly increases your annual cost (by $300 per pet if you opt for 100%).
• The routine care coverage is not sufficient for some treatments. For example, a teeth cleaning could cost hundreds of dollars, but PetFirst only gives you $75 on the Preferred Plan.
• Customer reviews indicate they take quite a while to pay on claims—up to 4 weeks.

If you’d like to purchase a PetFirst Health Care plan, visit them online or call 1-866-937-7387. Wanda’s extension is 6996.