snuffles Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Hi I came across this website and it seems okay for the premium - http://www.vetsown.com.au/faq1.asp A lot of the other insurance companies don't cover 'routine vet care'. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InspectorRex Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I have mine insured with PetPlan, $100 exces but covers up to $14,000 a year per day and only costs $70 per mth by direct debit . They only have a 21 day waiting period whereas all others have 30 days and once they have accepted a condition as long as you are financial the dog is covered for life. A lot of the other companies will only pay to a maximum limit per life of the dog. The majority of other Companies are underwritten by a Sth African Company- the Hollard Grp whereas PetPlan is run by Australian Dog Judges and all their staff are qualified Vet Nurses, not just office staff. PetPlan have wan MDBA Best Dog Insuance for the past 2 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I have mine insured with PetPlan, $100 exces but covers up to $14,000 a year per day and only costs $70 per mth by direct debit . Is that for your two dogs, IR? If not, it is considerably more than what I pay for what seems to be the same cover with the same insurance company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InspectorRex Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Yep that is for both dogs and $14,000 per year per dog. It covered over $3,000 in vet bills between both girls late last year and with me be in hospital for more than 4 days (7 weeks) I have sent in claim for Boarding as they cover up to $15 per dog per day( which worked out to be around $1400 so my friend who cared for them has been paid and then I get reimbursed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP* Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Thanks for the recommendation for PetPlan. I have been looking at insurance and narrowed it down to 2 - neither of which were underwritten by Hollard so I was a little worried about security. At what age did you get insurance for your dogs or have they had it from pups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 At what age did you get insurance for your dogs or have they had it from pups? If you're going to take out pet insurance, I'd take it out straight away. Some breeders have an insurance plan which I think covers for 6 weeks (?) after the pups are picked up by their new owners. This gives you time to apply for a continuance of that insurance in your own name, assuming that's the insurance company you want to run with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I have Petplan also. I wasn't after cover for routine things though. I want to be covered for big unexpected things! I also agree with take it out straight away, as anything that happens before cover is taken out is pre-existing and is not covered. The earlier it is done the less likely you are to have a potentially chronic condition that is not covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 You need to think about what you want it for, and then find the right plan. If you want your every day visits covered, something like the RSPCA insurance is good - 80% back for any visit (I think!). The downside is that if you get a really big bill, you will have to fork out a lot of money too. If you want the big things covered 100% (besides a small excess of $100) something like PetPlan is great. IF you want the big things covered, but are willing to pay an excess of $500, the Bow Wow Meow is significantly cheaper than any other insurance I could find ($135/year). I'm with PetPlan at the moment, but I'm considering changing to Bow Wow Meow because, in the event of an emergency I can find $500, but I'll save a fortune in premiums. And take it out as soon as you can - even before you find the ideal insurance company! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJ Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 pet plan also do a major illness/accident cover for $16.70 per month, and they cover up to $15000 each year - with Bow Wow Meow they only cover 8000 each year for 13/month (that's quotes for my pug anyway). I think that like always you need to do your research and make sure you're comparing apples with apples! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigirl Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 (edited) My show/breeding dogs are covered by petplan, their standard plan which is the middle level of cover. Its about $77 for the 2 dogs per month. Petplan also offers breeders 6 weeks free puppy insurance which I plan to use. The other dogs and my 3 cats are covered by petsecure which covers accidental injury. In my experience its injuries that have the biggest financial cost,with surgury etc. Petsecure with a $200 excess is the cheapest insurance for accidental injury. With 2 dogs and 3 cats covered by them i also get an additinal 10% discount on the premiums. I know I can afford $200 if one of them gets hurt, just the extra $1000 or so per surgery which is the killer! ETA: Under petsecure the dogs are around $12 a month and the cats are $8.50 a month, for $6500 cover per year each. Would be lovely to be able to afford petplan for all my pets, but the reality is that the cost is beyond my means with 4 dogs and cats. As it is i pay around $130 a month, which is three times what I pay for my own priv health cover LOL. Edited June 2, 2009 by indigirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowgirl Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I looked into getting insurance when I knew Sarge would be coming here. 2 dogs = twice as many possibilities . All the ones I looked at don't insure dogs over the age of 9 ... which is Sarge's age. I'm going to review the options again tomorrow and check out the companies mentioned. Thanks for posting the specifics of your policies, it's very helpful Also, I know that some home insurance companies offer pet insurance as well (not mine though), so that might be another option for others to look into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha's mum Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 (edited) Medibank offers pet insurance and if you are a medibank member, you get 10% discount. I also notice that the comprehensive (accident + illness) plan covers up till $12,000 and it is 100% as compared to other insurance. I got a quote of $33.48 per month if I take up the $100 excess or you can opt to have the $200 or $500 excess. I am seriously considering taking it up for both my dogs... Sorry forgot to add in there is a further 5% discount for additional pets edited to add in the last sentence Edited June 3, 2009 by tasha's mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aus_k9gsd Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I am with pet pan, the only thing I don't like is the 4 - 6 week wait to get your claim back I wish racq did a higher one as they are great and very $500 doesn't go far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppymum Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Hi I came across this website and it seems okay for the premium - http://www.vetsown.com.au/faq1.aspA lot of the other insurance companies don't cover 'routine vet care'. What do you guys think? I wouldn't pay for the "routine" vet care option. I have this at the moment, and plan to drop it when the policy comes up for renewal. The routine options cover specific items up to a limit - if you add up the maximum you can get back, it's worth only a tiny bit more than the extra premiums, and the actual cost of the items is often lower than the maximum, so you actually pay more in extra premiums than you can claim. In regard to the plans in general, I am planning on getting PetPlan for my new puppy, as it has high cover and covers a lot of extras (such as the cost of the dog if it dies, rewards for lost dogs and repayments for cancelled holidays due to pet injuries). However, once the dog passes 10 years old they only cover 65% of costs, so I may change plans when she is older. My other dog has the RSPCA insurance, which will cover an older dog for the 80% accident and illness up to any age, as long as you start the insurance before they are 9 years old. This seems a much better option for an older dog, as it covers a higher portion of the cost - it may also be a better option if the extras on the other plan are not going to be of use to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chichihuahua Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 I'm with Pet Insurance Australia, I was torn between Pet Plan and PIA as they were very similar, however Pet Plan has a policy that they only cover 65% of your dog once it reaches 9 years or more which kind of sucked. So even if you insured your dog with them at 2 years of age, by the time they were 9 it should automatically jump from the $100 to having to pay upfront 35% of their medical bills. I ended up going with PIA as I expect that my dog's medical bills will be higher as he matures and I don't want to be out of pocket for a costly expense later on in his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen21 Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 I have PIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Yep that is for both dogs and $14,000 per year per dog. It covered over $3,000 in vet bills between both girls late last year and with me be in hospital for more than 4 days (7 weeks) I have sent in claim for Boarding as they cover up to $15 per dog per day( which worked out to be around $1400 so my friend who cared for them has been paid and then I get reimbursed) Pays to note also that there is annual limits on this. If you have basic plan then its $500 per year and next plan up its $1,000 per year (both per dog). Also - and this is the biggy for the plan - the hospital admission cannot be for an illness or conditions that you had prior to taking out the insurance policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I wouldn't pay for the "routine" vet care option. I have this at the moment, and plan to drop it when the policy comes up for renewal. The routine options cover specific items up to a limit - if you add up the maximum you can get back, it's worth only a tiny bit more than the extra premiums, and the actual cost of the items is often lower than the maximum, so you actually pay more in extra premiums than you can claim. Yep, I agree. We looked into the routine care option and you are only saving around $20-$30 per year if you claim everything. You still have to pay for it before you can claim it back too. Much easier to put away $5 or $10 a month into a seperate account IMO. We are with PIA, accident and injury cover with the $100 excess, cost me around $35 per month. I found that they gave the highest amount of cover for the best price and provided you haven't made a claim during your policy period, you can increase or decrease the cover as you please. (I thought this was a great option as you can start off with the highest cover when you get your dog and then decrease the cover later down the track if you want to (ie, change to a higher excess with lower monthly repayments) I made a small claim a few months back ($80 after the excess) and had it payed out within a week of posting off the claim form. I highly recommend them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Also - and this is the biggy for the plan - the hospital admission cannot be for an illness or conditions that you had prior to taking out the insurance policy. But that's fairly normal for most insurance policies (whatever they be for) isn't it? Otherwise people would only take out insurance once they become aware of a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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