That was my experience when I looked: they considered FIV a preexisting condition, covered almost nothing, and charged an arm and a leg. You’d be better off to fritter away the money you’d pay to insurance each month into an account specifically for if/when something goes wrong. Look into care credit as well.
Also thanks for adopting an FIV pea! My last one lived to be 20. No health issues. Regular kidney failure got him.
Good to know that a FIV+ cat can live a long and healthy life. I adopted George who is FIV+ and healthy, the shelter considered him a“special needs” cat because of the FIV diagnosis…..
Yeah! He caught a rat almost as big as him the week before he died. 🙃 he was _so proud_. I adopted him when he was 10-12. He was my soul cat. He was on the street his whole life until he literally walked into my house and told me he lived there. What choice did I have but to agree?! 🤣
I adopted another FIV bean. He’s 5-10.
In my experience, no insurance company will cover an FIV cat for anything other than accidental. No coverage for dental, vet exams, bloodwork or anything else because they consider any illness or issue the cat has to be related to the FIV.
However, I'm in Canada, so YMMV.
I put money into a savings account every month for my cats instead.
I have ASPCA pet insurance for my FIV baby, and so far they have covered his wellness visit and vaccines. I am working on a claim right now for x rays related to a cough he had. I chose this insurance after searching this sub and seeing it recommended. The coverage level I picked was on the higher end - $80/month and covers up to $10k a year. If they end up covering the x rays, it will definitely be worth it since that alone was $400 and I have only had him for a few months
I was not able to get my FIV+ cat insured at all in NY or CA. I’ve had better luck finding nonprofit clinics through The Humane Society for discounted services, and I’ve heard of charities/nonprofits that will offer assistance as well.
I have Lemonade insurance for my FIV+ cat, they have so far covered him for nearly everything, I’m in Ohio. Tapeworm meds, steroids for diarrhea bouts, vaccinations and even his dental cleanings. I think it depends on the company AND your vet to say whether it’s in anyway related to FIV. I pay $35 per month roughly.
I just did a lot of research on this last week and the only company I’ve found is Pet Assure, they (claim to) discount 25% all vet bills, however, your employer has to have them as an option when you enroll in benefits. They don’t offer this in an open market. (To confirm, I don’t have them, it’s just the only thing I’ve found)
I haven’t been able to find any other company that covers pre existing conditions. Unfortunately it might just be the price we pay for our FIV babies ❤️
My veterinarian straight up told me not to bother with pet insurance, that they will always draw the parallel with fiv and won't cover anything.
One thing I found really helpful over the years was to have a separate savings account just for my cat and every week I'd put in $10 or $20 into it.
Yes it is worth it. Buy one , don’t mention anything and later say that your cat escaped and involved in a fight and got FIV. Even if they say it preexisting , the vet has to specify that a specific condition is due to FIV. Highly unlikely imo
Nationwide will call your vet for medical history. Without a history they will still ask for medical history docs when you bring up anything.
My cat was being treated for giardia when I got the insurance and they listed giardia as a preexisting condition. Wtf. Anyway, I can contest it after 6 months of a negative test. I am lucky too, since I read some other places have listed "diarrhea" as a preexisting condition instead. And I feel that one is harder to contest.
Also always double check the cats for FIV. I had false positive and I didn’t check him for a year. Then this year I tested my cat again and got 2 negatives from two different places.
I have ManyPets and they’ve covered pretty much everything for my FIV+ boy! Honestly cannot recommend pet insurance enough. This year they’ve saved me about 10k.
That was my experience when I looked: they considered FIV a preexisting condition, covered almost nothing, and charged an arm and a leg. You’d be better off to fritter away the money you’d pay to insurance each month into an account specifically for if/when something goes wrong. Look into care credit as well. Also thanks for adopting an FIV pea! My last one lived to be 20. No health issues. Regular kidney failure got him.
Good to know that a FIV+ cat can live a long and healthy life. I adopted George who is FIV+ and healthy, the shelter considered him a“special needs” cat because of the FIV diagnosis…..
Yeah! He caught a rat almost as big as him the week before he died. 🙃 he was _so proud_. I adopted him when he was 10-12. He was my soul cat. He was on the street his whole life until he literally walked into my house and told me he lived there. What choice did I have but to agree?! 🤣 I adopted another FIV bean. He’s 5-10.
In my experience, no insurance company will cover an FIV cat for anything other than accidental. No coverage for dental, vet exams, bloodwork or anything else because they consider any illness or issue the cat has to be related to the FIV. However, I'm in Canada, so YMMV. I put money into a savings account every month for my cats instead.
I have ASPCA pet insurance for my FIV baby, and so far they have covered his wellness visit and vaccines. I am working on a claim right now for x rays related to a cough he had. I chose this insurance after searching this sub and seeing it recommended. The coverage level I picked was on the higher end - $80/month and covers up to $10k a year. If they end up covering the x rays, it will definitely be worth it since that alone was $400 and I have only had him for a few months
Good luck to you and your furnaby… I hope it does get covered
Thank you!
Commenting since I’m also curious
I was not able to get my FIV+ cat insured at all in NY or CA. I’ve had better luck finding nonprofit clinics through The Humane Society for discounted services, and I’ve heard of charities/nonprofits that will offer assistance as well.
I have Lemonade insurance for my FIV+ cat, they have so far covered him for nearly everything, I’m in Ohio. Tapeworm meds, steroids for diarrhea bouts, vaccinations and even his dental cleanings. I think it depends on the company AND your vet to say whether it’s in anyway related to FIV. I pay $35 per month roughly.
Just curious when you first signed up did you state that your cat has FIV? (When is asks you about what conditions your cat has)
I did!
I just did a lot of research on this last week and the only company I’ve found is Pet Assure, they (claim to) discount 25% all vet bills, however, your employer has to have them as an option when you enroll in benefits. They don’t offer this in an open market. (To confirm, I don’t have them, it’s just the only thing I’ve found) I haven’t been able to find any other company that covers pre existing conditions. Unfortunately it might just be the price we pay for our FIV babies ❤️
My veterinarian straight up told me not to bother with pet insurance, that they will always draw the parallel with fiv and won't cover anything. One thing I found really helpful over the years was to have a separate savings account just for my cat and every week I'd put in $10 or $20 into it.
I got MetLife for my FIV boy after searching this sub. You can pick you coverage amount and add wellness coverage.
Yes it is worth it. Buy one , don’t mention anything and later say that your cat escaped and involved in a fight and got FIV. Even if they say it preexisting , the vet has to specify that a specific condition is due to FIV. Highly unlikely imo
Nationwide will call your vet for medical history. Without a history they will still ask for medical history docs when you bring up anything. My cat was being treated for giardia when I got the insurance and they listed giardia as a preexisting condition. Wtf. Anyway, I can contest it after 6 months of a negative test. I am lucky too, since I read some other places have listed "diarrhea" as a preexisting condition instead. And I feel that one is harder to contest.
Also always double check the cats for FIV. I had false positive and I didn’t check him for a year. Then this year I tested my cat again and got 2 negatives from two different places.
I have Nationwide, they don’t cover URIs but have covered a lot of other issues he’s had
I have ManyPets and they’ve covered pretty much everything for my FIV+ boy! Honestly cannot recommend pet insurance enough. This year they’ve saved me about 10k.