Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Embrace Pet Insurance is having a career open house

2012-01-26T14:02:50-05:00

We hear all the time that people would love to work at Embrace, and that's before they come visit us at the Embrace offices.

So, with that in mind, we thought it would be fun to have an open house for people who might be considering looking for a job or actually looking, to come and visit with Embracers at our offices to see what we're all about. No pressure, no bull, just us being ourselves with our dogs :)

Here are the details - RSVP on our Facebook page too

Date: Thursday, Feb 9, 2012 5-7pm

Location: 23625 Commerce Park, Suite 150, Beachwood, OH 44022 (round the back)

Are you curious what it’s really like behind the scenes at Embrace Pet Insurance? Then come check out our Open House on Thursday February 9th, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

As a growing company, we’re planning on adding Embracers (aka employees) to various departments, including customer service, claims, marketing and IT, so here’s your chance to see if our culture is a good fit for you.

Even if you just love pets, want to learn about a local business, or put a face to a name, feel free to stop by and meet the Embrace family. We’ll provide snacks and bevs, and giveaway a $50 gift card from PetSmart. Leashed cats and dogs welcome.

Here’s a sneak peek of how we “Embraced” the workplace:

Pet-friendly office (Come meet Cooper the Puggle, our official greeter)
Embracers have the option to work from home
Yoga classes are available in office
Casual dress code (We love our slippers)
Excellent benefits including pet insurance

Need we say more? Hope to see you there!

PS. Don’t forget your resume or business card.

Embrace Pet Insurance covers behavioral issues

2012-01-22T22:13:59-05:00

Embrace Pet Insurance policies do cover the medical treatment of behavioral issues as long as your dog or cat didn't show clinical signs of the condition before the end of the waiting period. Your policy does not cover behavioral consultations or training sessions though.

Let's have a few example:

Your dog develops a fear of thunderstorms and loud noises 6 months after you insure him. Medical treatment for this condition, such as drug therapy, and coverage of any injuries your dog might cause himself during a period of anxiety is covered

Your dog eats chicken bones as a puppy before she was insured. Three months into her policy, she eats your TV remote, which has to be removed surgically - this is covered. The previous incident is considered normal puppy behavior and not signs of a behavioral issue.

A follow on from the prior example. Say 8 months into your dog's policy period, she eats rocks in the garden and has to have those surgically removed. The condition is covered; however, your policy only covers one removal during the policy year and since you have already had the other removal earlier on in the policy term, this one is over the maximum allowed.

Your cat starts to pee anywhere but in the litter box after she was insured for 2 years. Medical treatments such as diagnostic tests and medication are covered

Does that help understand how behavioral issues are covered by Embrace?

Is it possible to train a cat to walk on a leash?

2012-01-18T09:48:22-05:00

We shall see!

When we think of the term "pet behavior", we think of issues, like chewing or inappropriate urination or freaking out in a thunderstorm, not something more positive like getting your cat to walk on a leash. So I am taking up the challenge of training my cats to walk on a leash.

I have two indoor cats, Rocket and Rosie, who are 2.5 years old and have never gone outside. Here's a quick video introduction to them.

I know they'd like to go outside but I'm committed to keeping them out of harm's way so we asked JoyKatz if we could test out some of their beautiful handmade walking jackets for cats.

So, here are the kittens getting their harness put on.

And here they are wandering around with their harnesses.

As you can tell, it is going to take a while for them (Rosie in particular) to get used to the harnesses and associate them with a fun walk outside. It doesn't help that I'm in Cleveland and it's cold and snowy outside, and will be for a while. Perhaps we'll have to practise in the garage.

I'll post every now and then with their progress and next time, I'll show you the harness in more detail and how it works.

Thank you to JoyKatz for supplying these two Walking Jackets - they are very smart and well made indeed, and to Erin for taking some of the video.

Guest Post: Why Are Our Pets So Stressed?

2012-01-12T22:07:54-05:00

Did you know your cats and dogs stress about things maybe as much as you do?

Dr. Rex Riggs has a very interesting take on this month's topic of Pet Behavior. Do we cause the stress in our pets' lives? What do you think?

Dr. Rex Riggs is the owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance.
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We live in a complex hurry up world. There is stress everywhere in our life. We are running here and there, often not taking the time to enjoy fully what we are doing before going to the next task at hand.

Did anyone take the dog for a walk? Did anyone see the cat today? Why did the cat pee in the living room again today? The dog got into the trash again. What makes the dog want to chew everything? Damn animals!!

Guess what…our animals are often a reflection of us and our moods. If we are stressed, so are our animals. We live in a world of antianxiety, antidepressant meds due to our self-inflicted stress and now it is overflowing to our pets.

One of the most common behavior problems I see in our hospital is anxiety. It can be anxiety over separation from their owners, or to loud noises such as thunderstorms or fireworks or just generalized anxiety. I think that much of this comes from a reflection of our hectic lives. Our pets are often a mirror of us. Maybe they are telling us to slow down and smell the roses a bit? You know, dogs and cats are smarter than what we give them credit for.

A definite factor is overbreeding in our purebreds. This goes for both dogs and cats. It seems the more popular a breed gets the more anxiety problems (and other hereditary problems) we see. We need to be more selective on the breeders we use. There are more and more breeders that breed for temperament. Search them out. Unless you are going to show your animal, you don’t need an AKC certified dog. Those dogs are bred for cosmetic traits and often come with hidden undesirable behavior traits. Make sure you see both of the parents. If they are “normal” and nice animals chances the offspring have a better chance of having the same desirable traits. Remember…. “The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree”.

We have a plethora of treatment for anxiety in dogs just like in people. We use many of the same drugs as is used in people. Prozac, clomipramine, buspar, and amitriptyline are just a few. Just as in people some are very effective and some are not so, but it depends on each individual and the circumstances. Talk to you veterinarian about these drugs and other options.

An interesting new therapy for use is called Thundershirts. They are based on the weighted blankets that are used to calm autistic children. In my hands, I see about a 70% response rate in helping calm my patients. It is not a panacea, but it can help.

We also have some very good behavior veterinarians. These people can be a lifesaver, literally,
for some animals. Do not confuse with trainers. Trainers are great at what they do, but do not have the professional veterinary training that these board certified people do. We have an excellent one at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center.

So I will leave you a thought provoking quote by the Dali Lama:

Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center, OH with his wife Nancy, their dogs Maggie and cat Speeder. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and enjoys travel and photography.

Top 10 Pet-related Trends 2012

2012-01-03T07:48:00-05:00

Did you know that that spending on pets in 2011 topped $50 billion for the first time? That's a lot of dog collars, don't you think!

Actually, we spend on everything from pet accessories and food to veterinary care and services such as boarding and pet sitting. To put $50 billion in perspective, the pet industry tops the book publishing ($31 billion) and women’s clothing ($41 billion) industries by a healthy margin.

Want to know what is driving pet spending in 2012? Hop on over to the Embrace site for an in-depth look at pet-related trends for 2012.

Related Posts:
Pet Industry Trends 2012
Pet Industry Trends 2011
Pet Industry Trends 2010
Pet Industry Trends 2009
Pet Industry Trends 2008
Pet Industry Trends 2007
Pet Industry Trends 2006

About the author: Laura Bennett FSA CFA is the CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. Her career working in the insurance industry has taken her from Toronto, Canada and Dublin Ireland to the US, where she obtained her MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Laura was the first pet insurance actuary in the United States and was named to the Society of Actuaries Top 100 Actuarial Pioneers for her ground-breaking work in pet insurance. Laura strongly believes in furthering awareness of pet insurance across North America and leads that work in her third year as Chairman of the Board of NAPHIA, the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Laura also writes a blog on pet-related issues, the Embrace Pet Insurance blog.