Petplan Animal Insurance

[megan_]

It is important to note that if you do change the new policy will exclude all issues and illnesses that your dog has had to date. This is why I'm not changing - because I don't want gastric issues excluded!

[Danois]

It is important to note that if you do change the new policy will exclude all issues and illnesses that your dog has had to date. This is why I'm not changing - because I don't want gastric issues excluded!

It can be hard to switch insurers if you have a history of claims but never hurts to speak with an incoming insurer re previous claims and whether certain things would be covered.

[TerraNik]

We're with Petplan and just had our first claim paid. It did take a while - he was sick in late October, I took about 2 weeks to send the forms in and only just got the payment yesterday. But I figured it was over Christmas, etc. Took FOREVER for them to acknowledge that they received the claim though.

[KJ]

I have PetPlan and could not be happier with their customer service.

I have made several claims, probably around $10,000, and they have been paid with no problems. I send a complete history with every claim and get both my vet and specialist to fill out seperate forms and have had no problems at all.

I put in a claim, for over $3000, in the middle of December and received a cheque in the mail last week.

I love PetPlan ;)

[gareth]

I have had PP insurance for two years with no problem (or claims - thankfully).

With respect, you are unlikely to have a problem if you don't make any claims.

[Jetty]

We are with PIA. I've never had a problem with them and the one claim that I did make was in my bank account within 48 hours of faxing off the claim form

I was thinking about Pet plan as my vet recommended it but I heard so many people say how bad they were so I went with PIA ;)

[InspectorRex]

I too am a very happy PetPlan Policy Holder. They had a major overhaul of the computers mid 2008 and that created a massive backlog of work because a claim was on the old system they had to re-do it on the new system. There have been many teething problems with the new computer system and that is why, for the moment, all paid claims are made by cheque.

I had a claim denied( like Erny) but once I sought a Review and the Manager reviewed the claim and all the relevant Vet reports the claim was paid and promptly.

If you are with an insurance company and have had claims and you go to change to another the previous claims will be put on as 'exclusions' with the new company.

The staff at PetPlan are very helpful. Rather than send an email I would personally ring them if you have an unresolved issue with them. They are all doggy people (most of the Claims staff are Vet Nurses) so they are empathetic to your case( well that is how I found them to be ).

I would not go with any other Company- all others have a 30 day waiting period, PetPlan is only 21 days.

yes and it does help if you are submitting a claim to include the entire Vet History and copies of Vacc'n certs- speeda things up.

[Danois]

My insurer (not Petplan but through PetSure) only takes about 10 days to process and pay claims even in busy times and its paid back via direct debit.

They are also very easy to claim with - no need for complete history or vax certs. Just the diagnosis etc written on the form and signed by the vet. I have even claimed for blood tests without sending the results and never had a problem or a claim denied - and I have had many a claim.

[Elfin]

I have insurance with Pet Plan. One of my crew got a bill for nearly $1000 for an emergency vet trip. Very straight-forward claim. I sent the claim form in the next day.

Two months later, they had still not paid. I rang them and got a bit cranky. Cheque was in the mail the next day.

[megan_]

My insurer (not Petplan but through PetSure) only takes about 10 days to process and pay claims even in busy times and its paid back via direct debit.

They are also very easy to claim with - no need for complete history or vax certs. Just the diagnosis etc written on the form and signed by the vet. I have even claimed for blood tests without sending the results and never had a problem or a claim denied - and I have had many a claim.

I think you will find that they actually contact the vet to get the history. You don't have to attach a full history with PetPlan, but it does make it easier because they don't have to contact the vet at all. They only need the history for the first claim. This is pretty stock standard with insurance?

Their claims do take very long and a system backlog is a very poor excuse - they could hire extra staff to deal with THEIR mistake. They should have had a tested roll-back and migration plan when implementing the new system. Companies with millions of active customers do it all the time without this much drama.

I was upset about my claim because even though it should have "normally" been processed within 21 days and be in my account before Christmas, I only got my money after Christmas.

[Leithy]

So what's the better option? I've just started looking into pet insurance and I am quite curious as to which one to go with.

[Sticks1977]

I had Fraser insured with Pet Insurance Australia. The total amount for a year of cover (up to $15,000 of cover) was $302 with an excess of $500.

I took the policy out at the end of July, then in Mid-September he became ill due to a foreign object blockage and passed away.

Theoretically I had only had cover for 2 weeks (since the 30 day waiting period) and they paid out the claim in full. I was rather worried as the documentation from AEC said that he had gastro and the notes from my local vet mentioned he had gastro when he was around 1 year old. I thought that they may have not paid out part of the claim due to these notes.

The comforting part was that PIA were very sympathetic at the time and did correspond with me throughout the whole claim process. When a final invoice was sent out of what they paid for in the claim (total of $7,500) the last note on the invocie said "We are so very sorry for your loss". For that coming from an insurance company, it did surprise me!

Pet Insurance Australia will definately be the insurance company we will use when we insure Henry when he comes home.

Regards, Shaun

Edited January 9, 2010 by Sticks1977

[OSoSwift]

I sent in the claim form and a copy of the invoice. It was a bit of a curly situation, but had no problems. I did ring before to explain the situation to make sure I did it correctly and being my first claim. I will send in another one shortly.

I had exclusions on Rommi's first cover. With the renewal they asked for a 12month history to review it, I did, it was reviewed and lifted on the new policy within 2 days.

Had no problems with dogs details or recieving certificates either?

If I have had a queiry I have phoned and had it answered straight away.

[cointreau]

I've used 3 pet insurance companies and moved to PetPlan nearly six years ago after problems with claims and exclusions by other companies. I have my dog and cat covered and have not had any problems with claims I have made nor with any queries I have had regarding the policy. I pay annually and reading the fine print it is clear most of the pet inusurers expect the full year to be paid if paying monthly especially if you have made any claim within that policy year.

[Danois]

My insurer (not Petplan but through PetSure) only takes about 10 days to process and pay claims even in busy times and its paid back via direct debit.

They are also very easy to claim with - no need for complete history or vax certs. Just the diagnosis etc written on the form and signed by the vet. I have even claimed for blood tests without sending the results and never had a problem or a claim denied - and I have had many a claim.

I think you will find that they actually contact the vet to get the history. You don't have to attach a full history with PetPlan, but it does make it easier because they don't have to contact the vet at all. They only need the history for the first claim. This is pretty stock standard with insurance?

Nope - my vet has never once been called (I have asked) and I have never provided a history. I did get the policy at 10 weeks.

I have probably claimed about $8k plus for 3 pets in 4 years - over a dozen claims due to Angs' illness.