Pet Insurance Interviews >Embrace Insurance
This interview is part of a continuing series of pet health insurance company interviews. I will be using the same ten questions for each of the veterinary health insurers so that viewers can learn about each company and compare what plans are available.
In this interview, Laura Bennett, CEO and co-founder of Embrace Pet Insurance, answers ten questions about pet care plans available through Embrace pet insurance.
Question 1: How long has your company been in business, and where are you based?
Answer 1: Embrace has been selling policies since 2006. We are underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s of London, which has been in business since 1688 and has been involved in pet insurance in the United Kingdom since the early 1980s. Embrace is based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Question 2: Are clients able to go to any veterinarian, or only through your insurance providers?
Answer 2: Yes, pet parents may visit any licensed veterinarian – general, specialist, or emergency – without restriction. Our pet parents may also use licensed veterinarians in Canada and Mexico if they’re on holidays there.
Question 3: Are hereditary and breed-related conditions covered?
Answer 3: Yes they are, as long as there were no clinical signs of the condition prior to policy purchase or the end of the waiting period (aka pre-existing). So for example, a 1 year old Labrador Retriever who is healthy and enrolls today and then, in two years time, develops hip dysplasia, Embrace would cover the treatment.
Question 4: Are age-related (senior) checkups, illnesses, and medications covered?
Answer 4: Senior checkups are covered under our Wellness Rewards plan up to $200 per year. Age-related illnesses are covered by our Accident & Illness Plan as long as they were not pre-existing prior to policy purchase (see item 3.) Take-home medications related to covered conditions are covered under the optional Drugs & Dental Illness extension (drugs given in the clinic are covered under the basic Accident & Illness Plan).
Question 5: Does your company offer wellness plans?
Answer 5: Yes we do. You can select the Wellness Rewards Plan as an add-on on any of our policies and you can get up to $200 of wellness care per year covered without deductable or copay.
Question 6: What types or levels of health insurance medical plans are offered?
Answer 6: Embrace’s plans are comprehensive and cover accidents, illnesses, breed-specific conditions, and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and hydrotherapy. Our plans are customizable and there’s one to meet every budget. Pets that are outside of our age guidelines or that have been already diagnosed diabetes, Cushings or Addison’s Disease are eligible for accident-only and wellness coverage only.
Question 7: If a wellness plan is available, can it be added to, or incorporated with, the medical health plan?
Answer 7: Yes it can.
Question 8: Is there an annual or lifetime benefit cap?
Answer 8: There are different levels of annual coverage that a pet parent can choose from (currently $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000). There is no lifetime cap or per-incident limit.
Question 9: How are "usual and customary" fees determined?
Answer 9: Embrace almost always pays claims based on the actual veterinary bill itself. We resort to “usual and customary" fees only when we see fees that are grossly excessive. For example, a drug that the clinic charged $564 for that other nearby clinics sold for $60 to 100. We very rarely invoke the UCR limit (only 2 times so far in our history.)
Question 10: What specific things stand out about your company? (i.e. strengths, unique offerings, etc.) Feel free to ad-lib here.
Answer 10: Laura Bennett, one of Embrace’s founders, writes the Embrace Pet Insurance blog where she talks about the ins and out of pet insurance, answers readers’ questions, and a range of topics related to pet health. She also happens to be the only pet insurance actuary in the US (but doesn’t talk about that much on the blog!)
Embrace offers premiums and coverage to meet every budget – there’s something for everyone. Our comprehensive coverage includes hereditary conditions, chronic conditions, and alternative and complementary therapies and pays based on the vet bill, not a benefit schedule. Embrace is one of the most highly rated pet insurance companies on the independent website www.petinsurancereview.com, as rated by our own Embraced pet parents.
Thank you, Laura Bennett, for taking time to answer these questions.
Please visit the Embrace web site to learn more and ask any specific questions you may have.
Company web site: Embrace Pet Insurance
Pet Insurance Interviews >Embrace Insurance
