Umbral Echoes Blog

It seems like companies with good customer service are the exception and not the rule these days. So when I come into contact with one, I like to give a shout-out.

This time, it’s my pet insurance company, PetsBest.com. First, a bit of background information.

A few years back, my dog Kayla started limping on her right leg.  Some days it was better, some days it was worse.  I feared that she was developing a problem with her hip, so I took her to the vet.  After some x-rays, it became apparent that it was actually her knee — she had a cruciate ligament tear (the dog equivalent of an ACL injury).  I was referred to a surgeon, who verified the tear, and gave two options for treatment.  Option 1 was essentially a tough rubber-band-like-thing to replace the missing ligament.  This was cheaper, but would only last a few years, and wouldn’t give her full mobility back.  Option 2 was a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), wherein they basically cut the leg bone and reorient how the knee works, so that ligament isn’t needed any more.  I went for option 2, even though it was pricey.

The surgeon also informed me that there was about a 90% likelihood that she’d need it in the other leg at some point.  So, I immediately got some insurance for her.  After looking around, I went with Pets Best — seemed pretty affordable and they had a few different service levels.

Fast forward a little less than a year.  Kayla was starting to limp on her left leg.  I held out for a while, but things got progressively worse and I went ahead and booked her for the second surgery.  Before that, I called Pets Best to double-check what the policy was.  They said since it was more than a year since I started the policy, it should be covered (assuming no actual rupture had occurred in that first year).  There were signs that it would rupture within that first year, but no actual rupture.  Regardless, knowing how insurance companies are, I was a little concerned.

Well, I didn’t need to be.  They paid for every bit that they had promised — the maximum that the policy would cover for that sort of surgery.  A typical insurance company would have looked for loopholes (it was not a cheap surgery by any means, and they’re not likely to ever get that much back from me in policy premiums).  But they didn’t.  I also found out that their policy was one of the best in the industry as far as cruciate tears; other companies have a minimum 18+ month period between the start of the policy and when they will cover that surgery.

Every time I’ve called in, I’ve gotten on the phone with a real human being within 30 seconds. Their associates have always been incredibly courteous and helpful, while not over-promising — no bait and switch, just honest and up-front.  Dealing with them feels like dealing with real people, not corporate ass-hats.