Here’s one pet insurance company stepping forward to reassure their customers they will cover the dogs and cats hit by the recalled foods. How about the other pet insurance companies? What are you hearing? Bark in!
Thanks to Gail at Heartland Weimaraner Rescue for this update!
Pet Food Recall – ShelterCare Pet Insurance Covers Affected Pets
As we are sure all of you know by now, the pet food industry has been hit with a major crisis affecting not only national brands, but also many private labelled brands. It is possible that many of you have been using the food of some of the affected brands to feed the dogs and cats that have come into your organization prior to the recall.
It is not for us to tell you what you already know. Considerable information with respect to product recalls, symptoms to look for and the like can be found by visiting any one of several web sites, including any of the major national brands and most of the national and regional mass retailers. Our job in this crisis is to try and provide you with some messaging that might assist you as you and your team look to fulfil your mission of adopting more dogs and cats and creating a broader pet-loving community.
In particular, we note with considerable concern the fact that some media organizations, both local and national, have begun to report that adoptions may be on the decline as a result of the pet food crisis, suggesting that adopters see an increased risk in adopting from a shelter. If indeed your organization has begun to suffer as a result of these events, which were entirely outside of your control, or are concerned that you might face a decline in adopting interest shortly, we would like to emphasise the following:
1. A ShelterCare pet insurance policy will cover any kidney damage (including both the diagnosis and treatment) for any dog or cat adopted from your organization which was exposed to any of the tainted pet food now recalled but was enrolled in the program prior to the onset of any symptoms. This includes not only the 30-day gift of insurance, known as the ShelterCare Gift policy, but also for those organizations using the ShelterCare Intro program. Coverage will be provided up to the coverage limit under the category of Poison Ingestion under both of these programs.
2. Those adopters leaving your organization with a newly adopted dog or cat who upgrade into one of our core insurance programs prior to the onset of any symptoms related to eating the now-recalled pet food, can be covered for up to $7,000 in Canada and $5,000 in the United States for treatment of poison ingestion.
The pet food recall has underlined the importance of encouraging new adopters to insure their pets long-term. There is a tendency to take pets health for granted but it is impossible to predict what unexpected accidents and illnesses will occur and the associated costs. By discussing pet insurance with your adopters, you know that they have the knowledge to make an objective decision on whether to purchase this potentially life-saving product or not.
