health insurance for cats

why do all the insurance policys want me to pay the bill first then ask for reinbursment. is there a pet insurance out there that will cover the vet bill without me paying first the whole idea of insurance is to not have to pay out of your pocket some times the bill can be hundreds of dollars how can I pay that first and then ask for reinbursment

Actually it is the vet who requires payment upfront, not the insurance company. The vet doesn't care who pays him, just so he gets paid. He doesn't want to take the change of being stiffed.
Few if any insurance companies will pay 100% of everything. Neither the insurance company nor the vet have immediate access to the invoice (insurance company) or policy exclusions (vet). The insurance company doesn't want to take a chance of over-reimbursing you and then trying to get the over-payment from you. And the vet doesn't want to get stiffed.
An option might be to ask the vet beforehand if he will accept partial payment (i.e., your co-pay/deductible) while you're waiting to be reimbursed by the insurance company. Alternatively, you could get Credit Care, a credit card used to pay vet bills; charge the bill and immediately submit forms for reimbursement. Or leave the credit card number with the vet; if he doesn't get paid within a certain number of weeks, he can put the charge through. (And if you pay quickly enough, you shouldn't be assessed interest.)
I have Petplan, and they reimburse me within two weeks after I submit the necesary paperwork.
Here is an article about payin for vet bills. And here is an article if you can't afford a vet--or can barely afford one.
And in answer to your question: No, I don't know of any insurance company that will reimburse first and ask questions latter. Actually, the onus is more on the vet: he doesn't care who pays him, just so he gets paid.

it sounds like your pet plan, is a lot better than our Medicare plan in the United States, for human beings; I believe that if you go to a doctor with Medicare here in the US, it takes at least six months for the doctor to get paid by Medicare. And Medicare has also been gutted so badly by Obama care, it's not worth much anymore and a lot of doctors will not take it.

And yes, the doctor will not sit there, and wait to be paid by any insurance company, no matter what it is, he needs to be paid upfront.if that is the way it is with pet insurance, that is the way it's getting with government medical plans like Medicare, in the US; the government won't pay hardly anything for the fee, so all the doctors are dumping all their Medicare patients.

So I would say, go ahead and keep your pet plan, if it pays within two weeks, that sounds very good and timely! I wish my human insurance, Medicare, would pay as well is that pet insurance!

That is how pet insurance works. They want to make sure what they are covering is on your policy.

I was going to start a new thread, but will just tag my query on the end of this one.

What is the general consensus on pet insurance?    Ruby came with a 6 week trial and it looks like the minimum rate is $23.93 a month.  I'm not sure if I should consider continuing it or not.   Any opinions will be appreciated.

YES OMG someone posted a question about this. I'm looking for pet insurance as well. I know the whole idea of paying up front is kind of difficult for a lot of people, including me, but the fact that I know i'll be reimbursed for it, i guess i can bite the bullet and opt to get the insurance. Even if its some money back and not all of it (from experience ALL insurance try to fight liability). 

I seriously need pet insurance tho. Because God forbid an accident occurs....its good to have. 

Curious to know..what many of you out there use and what would you recommend. Hope this thread gets more attention and more responses. 

I'm curious about this too. I assumed I'd be buying it when I adopted my cat, but after researching it I'm not so sure. Like rubysmama up there I'm looking at $20/month which still leaves me with a $400 deductible. I know I can't predict whether or not my cat will ever get seriously sick or injured, but considering she's indoor-only I think her risk is comparatively low. At this point I'm wondering if it might be better just to put aside X dollars every month for my own emergency kitty fund - then if I need it, it's there, and if I don't, I get to keep that money in the end.

For those of you like OP who do have pet insurance and are worried about paying upfront, a lot of vets will accept Care Credit, which is a credit card that can be used solely for your vet visits. I believe it's interest-free for a certain amount of time, so it might be a good option while waiting to get a verdict from the insurance company.

All I know is you can't get pet insurance for pets with preexisting conditions. You have to get it before anything happens to your pet.

Yes, and that is why it is best to get it within a few weeks of getting a new kitten... if the kitten is health checked, then even pre-existing conditions not found or which develop over time ARE covered. Get Pet insurance early and pay an entire year in advance and it will likely knock off one or two months's worth of cost.

The company I investigated allowed you to choose your plan (bronze, silver, gold) for which different deductibles applied, and different percentages paid applied. One version of the gold actually paid 100% after the deductible. But it isn't like health insurance deductibles... not cumulative for everything but specific for a "condition" or medical applied to a found condition. So if a heart problem is found, once deductible met, then you are paid. If later there is an accident, you start over again with the deductible. See?

Also, there is a maximum amount that can be paid out... often in the $25,000 area. So I wound up paying about $158 for twelve months on a plan with a $200 deductible (per incident) 90% coverage and maximum payout of $24,000 / year. That's a deal.

By sheer coincidence, 4 weeks later my guy was displaying symptoms that caused my vet to refer him to a cardiologist. Yes, I had to pay it up front, but I got a check in less than 2 weeks. More than made my premiums. When I got my second kitten I signed her right up.

One more thing, if you begin the policy as a kitten, when renewed yearly, the premium will never go up, no matter how old the cat  gets. Try and get pet insurance on a 12 year old cat for $20/month. So it is a gamble, a sense of safety for the cost of a few tanks of gasoline (ok, maybe 5 tanks or so). Your mileage may vary.

There are MANY plans, I chose Go Pet Plan, but I am not representing them or telling you to choose them... do your  homework and find what you are comfortable with.

Bottom line, insure YOUNG for the most savings (or least loses if the animal remains totally healthy).