Pet Insurance Companies

[Twinkle13]

Looking at difference insurance companies and was wondering how people found Pet Insurance Australia and Medibank. These offer 15k cover whereas Bow wow, woolies etc only go to 12k. I was with petplan but for my 1 yr old the insurance shot up to $87 a month which i cannot afford (used to be $46) and excess has gone up to $150. Not too sure if these companies offer lifetime cover, and if they cover longterm conditions each year or as a once off. Interested to hear what other good companies are out there apart from petplan. Thanks :)

[lululove]

I am a bit confused about this life time cover by Petplan. Does this mean that is your dog gets an illness, like allergies, they will only covered it for one year and not into the next?

[megan_]

Lulu love - with pet plan, for lifetime illnesses, you will be covered to the limit every year. For the others, they will only pay to the limit for the lifetime of the dog for life - long illnesses I believe .

[Pretty Miss Emma]

I've just signed up to PIA after leaving Petplan also due to the huge hike in premiums. After looking in to them it seems to be on par with the other companies. But I have no experience in actually dealing with them. However in saying that when I signed up online it was all easy, and I rang a couple of days later to check stuff and didn't have to sit on hold and they answered my query straight away - so far that is better than the service I've had from Petplan!!!

[megan_]

Just remember when you change you won't be covered for anything ore-existing - including anything that has happened before . So if your dog has had a bladder infection before , for example, chances are they will never pay out for any bladder infection for the life of the dog even if it isn't listed as an exclusion in your policy .

Fergus got a stick stuck in his mouth as a pup before I switched companies - stick in mouth " is now a permanent exclusion, even though it isn't a continuing condition.

[Xyz]

I am with PIA and very happy, claims always paid promptly (5 days from submitting paperwork to $$ appearing in my account.

[Xyz]

Also I believe they have now changed some of the 1 year limits, yet to read the updated paperwork that came with last months renewal (which had NOT increased!!)

[teekay]

I am a bit confused about this life time cover by Petplan. Does this mean that is your dog gets an illness, like allergies, they will only covered it for one year and not into the next?

Lulu love - with pet plan, for lifetime illnesses, you will be covered to the limit every year. For the others, they will only pay to the limit for the lifetime of the dog for life - long illnesses I believe .

As far as I know all except Petplan will only cover chronic conditions for the length of the current policy period. From the next renewal it will be considered a 'pre existing condition' regardless of how much money was actually 'used up' out of your claim limit.

I've just trawled through a few PDSs from RSPCA, PIA, and Medibank. They are all the same as they are all underwriten by Hollard as are all other providers except Petplan, as far as I know. Their wording is designed to confuse so I can see how people would not realise this was the case. I think someone needs to take them to task over this as it is very very misleading. The only areas I can see where they cover this is here:

We will advise you regarding renewal of your policy prior to the

expiration of the current policy. We reserve our rights to change

the terms and conditions of the policy upon renewal to reflect the

risk associated with insuring your Pet based on factors such as

(but not limited to) your Pet’s age, location and medical history.

Also in the defnintions of 'pre existing condition:

Pre-existing Condition means any Condition(s) or symptoms

or signs of that Condition occurring or existing in any form prior to the Commencement Date or during any applicable

Waiting Period.

Where the 'Commencement date' is:

Commencement Date means 23h59 on the date when Cover for

your Pet first started as shown on your Certificate of Insurance.

I think it rather ambiguous. The fact they say "cover for your pet first started" leads you to believe they mean when you first took out cover but because it says "as shown on your Certificate of Insurance", that implies the current policy year.

Also don't forget the related condition clause:

Related Condition means a Condition that even though it

has shown first signs or symptoms during the Policy Period

(outside of the Waiting Period), is considered to be a Pre-

existing Condition if it has the same clinical symptoms,

diagnostic classification or results from the same disease

process as a Pre-existing Condition regardless of the number

of areas of your Pet’s body affected.

For example: if your Pet suffers from arthritis in its legs prior

to the Commencement Date of the policy or during the Waiting

Period, all future occurrences of arthritis for example in the

back or neck, will be considered to be Related Conditions and will not be covered.

So if your pet has one instance of arthritis, that's it. No more cover.

I guess this next one pretty clearly states that long term medication will not be covered:

the provision of medication(s) for your pet that covers a period of more than thirty (30) days beyond the policy end date.

On another note, I was surprised by this, no cover for parvo etc even if they are vaccinated

Treatment of the following irrespective of whether your

dog or cat was vaccinated or not:

a. for dogs: infectious canine hepatitis (canine

adenovirus), parvovirus, canine distemper,

parainfluenza and all forms of kennel cough; or

b. for cats: panleukopaenia, chlamydia, leukaemia

(FeLV), Feline Immuno Deficiency Virus (FIV) and

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), viral rhinotracheitis,

calicivirus, herpes virus and all forms of cat flu;

To be honest I wouldn't touch anyone other than Petplan with a bargepole. Yes Petplan are expensive. Yes they have messed up big time recently. Yes they have us over a barrell. Yes they can be a bit slow to pay out but all the others just don't offer good enough cover IMO.

[Tumbleweed]

I have one dog with Pet Plan and one with Pet Insurance Australia. I was annoyed at PIA as they wouldn't give me a clear answer regarding cover for older pets despite several questions on this point (where as PetPlan explicitly states after 10 years old, they will pay 50% of the bill - so at least they are open and honest about it).

However, I had my first ever claim with PIA recently as was pleasantly surprised how quickly it all came through - less than a fortnight. So big tick for them! I've not yet had a claim with PetPlan so can't comment on their payment process.

[kdf]

Bow wow say they have life time cover. This is from their website

I couldn't afford multiple dogs with petplan so I've gone with bow wow. I've got one ear infection to claim (haven't sent the paperwork in yet) so can't comment on how good or bad they are.

[teekay]

That's really interesting Kdf. Thanks for that. Off to check out Bow wow now.

[teekay]

Ok, now I'm really confused. Bow wow is underwritten by Hollard as are all the others, except Pet plan, so does that mean they all cover for life now? I see their product disclosure statement is identical to the others too. I thought it was generally widely known that Petplan were the only ones that did this lifetime cover and that was why they were so much more expensive.

Just did a quick quote for Luka on Bow wow and got $31 per month for a $100 excess and $12000 of cover.($58 with Petplan ) Not sure what to do now. I can't transfer Jenna because we have claimed for a cancerous growth in her eye but wondering whether to change the other 2 over. Petplan have been really good with claims though so I'm always worried about changing, and Petplan do pay out 100% less the excess but still. Hmmmmmmmmm will have to think

Edited July 21, 2014 by teekay

[kdf]

I pay $78/fortnight for 4 dogs with bow wow. I did a quote for my kelpie with petplan and would have been paying nearly that for just her per month.

Edited July 21, 2014 by kdf

[teekay]

Interesting. i just did a quote for each of my dogs for comparison and got the following

Bow wow

Jenna, Samoyed x GR, 6 Yrs. $51.22/month

Mya, husky, 7 yrs $54.21/month

Luka, Australian Shepherd, 2 yrs, $31.81/month

Would get 10% off all these figures for multiple policy discount

Pet Plan

Jenna $58.34/month

Mya $64.01/month

Luka $65.93/month

Again a 10% multiple policy discount applies.

How interesting that Petplan have a high rate associated with the Australian Shepherd but Bow wow obviously deem them a lower risk and have a significantly lower rate. It's definitely looking like it is worth changing Luka over. Jenna isn't that different $7 more, and I can't change her anyway because of the eye thing, and Mya? $10 more a month for 100% cover and coverage of all diseases including parvo etc. Will probably stick with PP for her too but I am shocked at Luka's difference, That's a significant saving. The only problem with him is we claimed when he was a puppy and he ate a ton of dirt. I would have to check if ingestion of foreign objects etc would be excluded.

Food for thought, Thanks Kdf.

[SeeGee]

Charlie is with Medibank Private.

Mia is with RSPCA.

I have never had an issue with RSPCA, but I know I'm in for a run around with Medibank Private - and they are managed at the same place, just branded differently.

[cavNrott]

My dogs are with Bow Wow. My Cav had no previous illness and when he ruptured a disk in his back, the following year when the renewal was due Bow Wow said I would not only be responsible for the excess, which at that stage was $250 but I would also be responsible for 60% of any further back problems.

Strangely this has never been mentioned again in any of the annual renewal policies for him.

I now pay $99.80 a month to insure both Cavaliers with Bow Wow. I now pay $100 excess and they cover only 80% of the bills.

I copy all claim paperwork for my records and register all mail going to Bow Wow. This cuts out their option of claiming they didn't received the claim. After initial difficulties with them, things have settled and they're ok to deal with.

[teekay]

My dogs are with Bow Wow. My Cav had no previous illness and when he ruptured a disk in his back, the following year when the renewal was due Bow Wow said I would not only be responsible for the excess, which at that stage was $250 but I would also be responsible for 60% of any further back problems.

Strangely this has never been mentioned again in any of the annual renewal policies for him.

I now pay $99.80 a month to insure both Cavaliers with Bow Wow. I now pay $100 excess and they cover only 80% of the bills.

I copy all claim paperwork for my records and register all mail going to Bow Wow. This cuts out their option of claiming they didn't received the claim. After initial difficulties with them, things have settled and they're ok to deal with.

Thanks for sharing this cavNrott. I was a bit concerned by their wording. They state they will pay "up to 80% of vet fees" . I wondered what the 'up to' bit meant but I am guessing, given your experience, that is what they do with a condition you have claimed for, maybe.