Ok, I know that Animas is great about replace the pump and parts if anything goes wrong, and two reps have told me that “they try to work with people” who have their pumps lost or stolen, but this is still a worry for me. I called State Farm, and the only rider policy they would write was $487 a year with no deductible. Mind you, we have quite a lovely house, and our yearly insurance is only about $1300! Clearly, we’re not going to spend that kind of money just to insure the pump, but I’m still wondering if other people have insured theirs or if there is some company somewhere (We Insure Pumps.com??) that exists. I remember sometimes being offered insurance on my glasses, and Sprint sure would like me to get insurance for my cell phone. Why not for my daughter’s pump, which certainly costs more than either of those items?
Great question - I would like to know too!
Hi guys - in Canada it is listed as an item at no cost on your home or tenant’s package just as jewellery or fur coats or art would be - you give them the serial number and they add the $7000 (here - for the Animas) on to your policy for nothing - another difference between Canada and the USA I guess…of course you still have whatever total coverage you contracted for, so you may need to raise the amount by $7000. Up here that’s about $20 annually
when i called state farm in Illinois, the agent, didn’t know what a insulin pump was. A day or two later he called me back and told me it partially covered (theft, fire,) but not for damage from being dropped etc. in my policy already. I don’t really believe he is completely sure, what it is or how its covered. When i explained it had a retail value close to 7000 dollars all he could say was, wow thats expensive. not really reassured.
1st I hope nobody wants to steal my pump. It would be like stealing my mother-n-laws oxygen machine. That’s just bad manners. But, I could see it maybe coming loose and being lost especially for kids, so insurance is nice. I live in West Virginia and I was told that it is covered under your policy just as furniture or jewelery or firearms. You just have to turn in the serial number and receipt of purchase and it’s covered. I haven’t added mine yet due to a rewrite of the morgage which I hope to do soon. But I would be interrested in hearing more from others.
I agree that stealing a pump would be viciously bad manners, but it looks like a cell phone or PDA. That’s what I think makes it steal-worthy. I used a label maker to make a tag that says DIABETIC INSULIN PUMP with my name and phone number for both the pump and the hand-help unit. I thik I’ll call my insurance company one more time, since none of us are completely clear, except for Carleton, that lucky Canadian. : )
…and the government paid for the pump and writes me a cheque fro $200 a month for infusion sets…there are small blessings up here!!! The Gold Medal game will be a blast - I hope it’s a tie!
we called our home insurance company (i’m in texas) and they said it would be fully covered if it was stolen from the house or the house caught on fire…but…if i wanted to take a policy out on it, it would be $600 a year…
I live in Oklahoma, and I have renter’s insurance (my roommate owns the house where I live). I have all of my stuff, including things like my bikes (just over $10K all together) and my insulin pump, so that even if I am out riding and wreck one of them (or both the bike and insulin pump), they’re covered. My policy costs me $325 or $350 a year, but covers my stuff up to $20K. A little pricey, but well worth it if it’s covering all of my stuff rather than just an insulin pump.
Mine is the same way. It’s covered under my rental insurance. I pay $280 a year and it covers up to $20,000 worth of stuff, my insulin pump included.
We have a pump through patientenvereniging insurance. (Netherlands) It’s only € 50 a year and then you are covered for loss and theft.
Hi Carleton,
What insurance company are you using?
Thanks,
Katra
Oh lucky you…are you in Ontario?
Hey druifje, this is a weird question but I have to ask, that symbol just before the number 50 you posted is located where on the keyboard?
It is our number to five.
Eons ago when I checked with our insurance I was told I couldn’t get a rider for my pump but that it would be covered in the event of fire, theft from the house etc but not losing it.
Anyway on a side note, my sister actually had to go back on shots after her dog chewed up her Cozmo. I was like what how on earth could you not know your dog was chewing on your pump? She normally wore it in her bra and had taken it out to clear an alarm and was busy working (from home) so just set the pump beside her. She thought the dog was chewing on one of it’s toys. Anyway sad for her although now she’s actually happy to be back on shots.
Even though I know intellectually that has to be one of the flukiest things ever I got to admit I make sure my pump and Dex receiver are dog proof now.
That’s one advantage of a tubed pump it’s harder to lose or for somebody to steal it off your body. I suppose a lot of whether that will be a concern will be how often and under what circumstances you would be disconnected.
The other thing here is I wouldn’t compare the cost of the rider to the cost of your insurance I’d compare it to the replacement value of your pump. Still 2,000 bucks over 4 years compared to 7,000 for a pump is pretty steep. For me I figure that the cash price of the Omnipod starter kit would end up being comparable to the cost of a rider if not less. And it would be something that I would only pay in the event that something actually happened to the pump in the first place rather than a given expense. The only way the Omnipod would be more expensive than the insurance rider would be if something happened early in the cycle of the pump warranty and they didn’t cover the pods as ongoing supplies. Something to think about anyway.
Diana