FrodofromAus

I rang the underwriter in the UK today. I was told that they got data off Petplan to say which breeds, ages, conditions were happening and therefore they have made policies in accordance with this. It was made clear they had to make money. I did point out that the Petsure brands all twenty or more of them have been around for years and they clearly make profit or they would not be here. He said he did not know what profit if any they made I then pointed out that their policies are a lot cheaper now these increases have occurred and they are across the board a better policy. As a result of this call wherein I made it clear I intended to at least warn pet owners of the costs and the other disadvantages with Petplan. My biggest beef with them (apart from them ripping people off all the time) is that once your dog reaches 10 they only pay 66% in comparison to 80% for most of the others. The worst part in the past this was really hidden from people in the pds etc and not made clear. In fact previously they have advertised as being the only company that pays 100% of the vet bill. ASIC nailed them for that and last year they had to pay back over $200 000 to customers. I have reposted tonight in view of the conversation with the underwriter and want to make sure dog owners at least know these important facts on the Petplan policies. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=879803725503495&id=244099682407239

If there is a record I would say yes it would be declined on the basis of pre existing.

As a result of owning the Australian cancer website, one of the things I make sure I am up on is pet insurance. Why? Because it is a given that if you dog gets cancer it is going to be expensive to treat. It has been brought to my attention that Petplan now has a new underwriter. The result of this is that premiums in some cases have gone up 300% but it would seem the majority have at least doubled. In 2014 they revamped their policies which meant (as I did a review which put old and new side by side) that the policies not only went up substantially but they tried to tell me that it was a better policy. Rubbish. For instance previously you had your limit and you could get alternative treatment that came under that limit. The new change was that yes you could still claim alternative but a cap of $2000 was put on it. Heres the best bit.......If you wanted to claim alternative as well as conventional you had to pay the excess twice. Well done Petplan. I had emails back and forth with the underwriter who did not want me going to print as I was wrong and misunderstood. i went to print anyway with the facts for people. Now this latest changeover of underwriter and the huge increases. The problem is many cant go to another insurer if their dog has had a claim as it will be pre existing elsewhere even if it is something that has not happened in a long time. For instance an ear infection. If you get another at the new insurer they probably wont pay as your dog has had it before. The best bit though is all insurance has bilateral exclusions. This means right ear had infection, left ear also excluded. Same with legs. One leg gets something wrong all four can be excluded. If anyone has Petplan and has not made a claim it might be worth changing and going elsewhere. Check out all these comments on my facebook page if you are considering this company. The reviews on their page are dreadful. This is not the end of this I can tell you. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=878536315630236&id=244099682407239

Definately worth a try. It would be a shame if this was to go under the radar (as they were stunned when I rang on the basis of the ASIC release as they didnt seem to know about them letting out a release) and some people did not get money they were entitled to :) This was posted on the fb link a while ago so now ABC on it. Yay!!!!! ABC Story

Thanks for posting it I forgot some people dont have facebook :)

Thanks we want transparency for pet owners and plan to keep going until the industry is overhauled and we get a product worth buying for our pets. Lets hope everyone finds out about this so they can get any money that might be owing to them.

Do you have Pet insurance with Petplan> You might well be in line for a refund. Petplan Refunds

I had a win with Petplan a couple of weeks ago after making public statements and getting in touch with the ombudsman. Now I have finally found a well known journalist (who at this point wants to remain nameless) who is willing to help us as pet owners take a stand to try for a better deal with pet insurance companies. I spent an hour on the phone with him today and we have corresponded since he contacted me. To save redoing it here is the Facebook post For pet owners to even have a chance at getting a better deal we need help with this. This journo seems pretty keen as he has been investigating himself for several months now he needs some stories and issues so he can do his thing.

I believe there might be something in a National newspaper on insurance, Petplan in particular in the next week or so. For now I am about to do a new post on insurance I have found a well known journalist I cant name at the moment who wants to help so I am making a new post on the matter. Just so you know in the PDS Petplan appear to omit the 65% payment they make on dogs over 10. :)

I think it is important to try to get pet owners to stick together if we are going to try to make changes. I do know they have had consumer advocate groups which have been very successful for other types of insurance. Everyone stuck together and thousands responded and they got a better deal. How good would it be if we could do that with pet insurance. Yes I am really peeved at this capping consultation crap to and thats one of my next targets :)

The ombudsman can only look into individual complaints and I hope the office if FLOODED with complaints which is why I wanted everyone to know. I have something else in the wind in terms of the way these companies operate :)

Some vets are responding by charging an annual consultation subscription. Pay $300 up front and visit as many times as you need to. Good for dogs with chronic illness. Do you know if the insurers are paying this subscription or rejecting it? How does it work in terms of trying to get that money back do you need to wait until you have a claim for a chronic illness and pay the money up front then?

I had heard CHOICE were doing an article. I have not seen it but I have tried to contact them as I am pretty knowledgeable on some of the issues with pet insurance. There is a survey on my homepage for pet insurance as well. The problem with pet insurance is that you read up on it, buy the product that suits your needs, then the following year on renewal they change some of the policy and it may not be the policy you bought the year before. If you have had a claim you cant jump ship to someone else if you have had a claim without that being pre existing with a new insurer. I think it is time pet insurance was regulated. In 2014 Petplan did a major overhaul and MOST of their existing customers were so much worse off (not to mention the doubling of prices in many cases) it was a disgrace. Nothing anyone could do. Stay and pay for a much worse product or cancel if your dog was too old to move or had a previous claim. Now I believe that the Petsure products across the board have capped cruciate ligament surgery and also put a $300 cap on consult fees. This means all their policy holders could be affected. If your pet is being treated for a chronic condition such as cancer there will be a lot of vet visits so now your capped. There is a way around this depending on your vet :) It really is a disgrace and if there is more support from pet owners who feel the same, I dont mind giving the insurers a major rattle with the support of other dog owners. Enough is enough.

An update for you all. Guess what?? Petplan had heard from the ombudsman today and they couldnt pay me and sort this out quick enough. Several phone calls to me, emails and they even managed to do the last two I had not lodged as yet in the same payment. By the time they had the invoices they had an hour before knock off time. Driving down the road 15 mins later and a call comes through saying that all has been paid up. So again everyone contact the ombudsman dont mess around trying to get thing sorted and just getting fobbed off. There is something in the wind to try for a better deal for pet owners with their insurance and info on that will go on the facebook page. Been some discussion on the post from last night and others are affected by these pet insurance companies.

Hi Everyone I have been having a lot of problems with Petplan who insure one of my dogs. Worst company to deal with. Anyway I have just posted on my facebook page the third post on them and I have included a link to the insurance ombudsman in the post. I am urging dog owners who have had problems with any of the pet insurers to lodge a claim with the ombudsman. Many people (including me) were unaware that the ombudsman would handle pet insurance complaints. There is also another link in the post to reviews on pet insurance companies for those looking to get insurance. It is dreadful that many people insure their pets so they can have the best treatments and these companies make it as difficult as possible. If pet owners stuck together collectively we might be able to make changes that encourage more people to have insurance and get good products to choose from. It is all well and good to say read the fine print and check the policies over before you buy. YES we do this but they change the policy on renewal and if you have had a claim you cant move (like house insurance) ass it is called pre existing. Recently there was a push from Choice to get a better deal on house insurance in a collective of people. They got huge numbers sign up and the end result was a great deal for home owners. Why cant pet owners do something similar and give these companies a run for their money and make them accountable??? Check out the post and PLEASE PLEASE if you are having trouble with any one of them lodge with the ombudsman. Facebook