Pet Insurance Question....

[Danois]

Even if it has only been mentioned it still may be considered a pre-existing condition. If you have not made full disclosure to the insurer when taking out the policy then they can refuse the claim and cancel the policy.

[daisygirl]

We have AFSPetmed on one of our girls because she is so accident prone. We started when she was approx 2 years old and she is now 12 years old.

I have certainly claimed back more than I have paid in premiums and last years cancer operation cost nearly $3000 and got around 80% back.

I think AFS has changed a few things recently so need to read the inclusions for each policy like any insurance whether it be for house or car or life insurance.

[newfsie]

I am looking into getting insurance for Toby and Lincoln, but I am pretty sure I will have problems with Toby because he broke his left fore at 9 weeks. (Would have been handy to have insurance before then )

They might cover anything that is not related to the previous injury.....that is what my Medibank private fine print states regarding previous disorders

[labsrule]

I took out Pet Insurance for my 16week Lab pup a couple of weeks ago. I vowed and declared that I would take out pet insurance for any new dog I got after incurring some large vet specialist expenses last year for operation and chemo treatment for my late 10 year old lab boy's cancer last year I originally applied online with PetPlan, but found after reading the Product Disclosure statement that when dogs reach 10 years of age (or 7 years of age for Selected Breeds), they are only covered for 65%, not 100% and I wasn't happy with this based on my own personal experience with my boy last year who was close to 10 years of age when he was diagnosed with cancer. Also with PetPlan I opted for the Supreme Cover which has a $2000 benefit for death by illness/accident, however, this benefit is excluded if your dog reaches 10 years of age or older and dies from illness

The fact is that there is more likelihood of an aging dog getting ill and possibly requiring expensive veterinary treatments and I would like peace of mind of 100% insurance cover if this happened to my new dog when he ages. It also took over a couple of weeks for PetPlan to issue the Insurance Policy/paperwork. I cancelled the policy with PetPlan as was within the "cooling off" period and subsequently took insurance out for my pup with PetInsurance Austrlia (PIA) who cover dogs over 9 years of age 100%, providing there has been no break or lapse in the policy after they reach 9 years of age. I opted for the Comprehensive cover with an Excess of $100.00 & for monthly payments of $36.60. Also they were much speedier than PetPlan in issuing the Certificate of Insurance (Policy Document). Funnily enough I received in the mail yesterday a 2nd lot of Policy Paperwork from PetPlan after I had cancelled the Policy and received no acknowledgement of my email cancelling the Policy, despite a request from me for acknowlegement of my email, so will ring them on Monday

It really pays to read the fine print in their Policy Booklets/Product Disclosure Statements.

[Guest belgian.blue]

With Medibank Private .. on one page it says Bronze Paw covers Hereditary and congenital conditions and on another page it say's that it doesn't

say's not

say's so

[Boronia]

I had posted the following in the Health/Nutrition/Grooming forum after FD26 had asked a similar question on the 22nd Jan...

I have BowWowMeow insurance for my Westies, Penny and Mac, it was the only one that insured for a reasonable cost dogs that are over 9 years old, and they will only insure for accident/injury after that age.

I only had the insurance a few weeks when Penny got a pig knuckle stuck in her oesophagus.....$960 (or near enough to that figure)...I faxed the vets invoice to them (after I paid the vet) and the money was in my account 9 days later less $100 excess. They paid as it was an accident.

BowWowMeow insurance is around $34 for both dogs, direct debit per month.

I also have RACQ insurance which is around $50 annually, per dog, and you can take it out as an extra clause in the home and contents insurance.(I have an idea that NRMA also do something similar) I have it as if one of the dogs is sick (ie, not and accident/injury). They only cover up to $500 (there is a $50 excess, so the most you can get per claim is $450) I did claim on that for Penny when she had a tumour removed from inside her bum, and Mac when his paw swelled up, they covered all of Mac's (less the $50) as his vet fee was under $500 and I got back $450 from Penny's operation...her specialists costs were HEAPS more!

Hope this help you a little.

I AM PRETTY HAPPY I TOOK OUT INSURANCE!

[moosepup]

After spending $6000+ on chemo for our old dog (which didn't work anyway ) we immediately got pet insurance for the dog we still had and any new dogs. Definitely worth the expense IMO. I think we pay about $45-$50 per month for both of them with a $200 excess. Zoe has 80% cover (she's nearly 11) and Moose has 100% cover.

[spikey]

Even if it has only been mentioned it still may be considered a pre-existing condition. If you have not made full disclosure to the insurer when taking out the policy then they can refuse the claim and cancel the policy.

Yes, if your vet has made any notes of your discussions regarding your dog's occasional lameness or anything to do with possible hip problems, you would possibly find that anything arising from these conditions/symptoms wouldn't be covered, even if nothing has been specifically diagnosed yet. We had insurance with Pet Plan for a while and their Product Disclosure Statement says:

Pre-Existing Condition means any Condition(s) or symptoms or signs of that

Condition occurring or existing in any form prior to the Policy commencement date, or

any Injury or Illness or symptoms or signs of that Injury or Illness occurring or existing

in any form during the Waiting Period. When referring to Pre-Existing Conditions,

and Conditions affecting a part of Your Pet’s body of which it has two, will be deemed

to be a Bilateral Condition and both will be excluded from cover.

We did make a couple of claims through Pet Plan - the first time things went OK, the second time we had a lot of problems with getting the correct amounts paid out (although they did pay up, no problems there!) - they don't seem to be very well organised with admin and accounts. We had the same problem as Labsrule when cancelling one policy, there was no acknowledgment of my written request for cancellation and we received two lots of renewal paperwork in the months following. It took several phone calls and further emails to sort it all out.

After a administrative debacle with them last year, we gave up and cancelled our remaining policy altogether - we had to cancel a credit card after finding a fraudulent transaction, and so began the process of notifying everyone we had direct debits with about the cancellation, new credit card number etc. The cancellation happened the day before our regular Pet Plan payment was due to come out, so I contacted them immediately - phone calls weren't returned, emails went unanswered, a fax I sent about the situation was never acknowledged - so we thought if they're that hopeless with their admin and our dog was about to turn 10 as well (dropping down to only the 65% cover, as per their policy), so we decided to cancel the policy, which I did by email, fax AND letter. No response from Pet Plan - then two months later received a nasty "pay up or else we'll cancel your policy" letter. WTF!!!

Edited January 24, 2010 by spikey

[Guest belgian.blue]

After spending $6000+ on chemo for our old dog (which didn't work anyway ) we immediately got pet insurance for the dog we still had and any new dogs. Definitely worth the expense IMO. I think we pay about $45-$50 per month for both of them with a $200 excess. Zoe has 80% cover (she's nearly 11) and Moose has 100% cover.

May I ask who you are with?

[Bluefairy]

I have spent $1,000's on my last dog and cat, the cat survived the dog was only a pup. I have since researched thoroughly all the popular pet insurance companies, and the best value for $ and coverage was Pet Insurance Australia (PIA). I have now insured my cat with them for $13 a month for comprehensive insurance. We were told by others the company would never insure her because of her last illness, Panleukapena (cat form of dog parvo), but they did. Luckily it leaves no ongoing problems that will be related to it.

I agree no insurance company will cover an existing illness. But if anything else needs to be covered then thats fine.

Good Luck its a reassuring thing to have. I will definately be covering my next pup.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Funnily enough I received in the mail yesterday a 2nd lot of Policy Paperwork from PetPlan after I had cancelled the Policy and received no acknowledgement of my email cancelling the Policy, despite a request from me for acknowlegement of my email, so will ring them on Monday :D

It really pays to read the fine print in their Policy Booklets/Product Disclosure Statements.

Be careful with them, you may want to check deductions from your account and put a block on debits to them for now until it's all sorted.

You are so right though, all the expensive stuff happens after 8 years of age and that's when you need it.

[cointreau]

I wouldn't go without pet insurance it is peace of mind for the unexpected and unwanted. I'm with Petplan and haven't had any problems but then again I haven't needed to make many claims. Do a web search and compare them and decide which one suits you best there are lots to choose from and different levels of cover too. When you get covered I hope you never need to use it.

[Edslaine]

I got Vets Own insurance for Edward. Like others have said - do a check online to see what suits you. Vets Own are for life and I pay $30 a month.

[Dfa Dog]

I have a Newfie as well- big vet bills if anything goes wrong!! My breeder actually wouldn't take the pup home without pet insurance. I pay about $60 a month (although if you pay upfront you can save heaps!). It really is good piece of mind. I did a lot of research before buying Pet Insurance and found that Petplan was the best. My plan covers me for death, injury, loss (provides $1000 for reward money or advertising) and of course public liability. I think if the dog is under the age of 6 you are not required to get a vet check to be eligible. The cheapest I have found it is from Pookinuk http://www.pookinuk.com.au/product-selecte...&noGoBack=1 which is cheaper from buying from Pet Plan directly. As far as coverage is concerned, key questions to ask yourself include heridiatry problems of the breed, any flags of future illness that have already arisen, and the age of the dog. My dog is two so I have the mid range insurance. As he gets older, I will switch to a higher level. Good luck!

[~JoLu~]

Does anyone know what the "Selected Breeds" are as mentioned in the Pet Plan PDS??? I can't seem to find anything on the website listing what these are.

At the moment I'm swaying towards Pet Insurance Australia

[spikey]

Does anyone know what the "Selected Breeds" are as mentioned in the Pet Plan PDS??? I can't seem to find anything on the website listing what these are.

At the moment I'm swaying towards Pet Insurance Australia

Found this in the Pet Plan PDS in the "Definitions" section:

Select Breeds means Bandog, Boerboel, Beauceron, Bernese Mountain Dog, All

Bulldogs (i.e English, American, Australian, Miniature), Bull Arab, Deerhound, Dogue de

Bordeaux, Estrela Mountain Dog, Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, Leonberger, All Mastiff

Breeds, Newfoundland, Old English Sheepdog, Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Rottweiler,

Shar Pei, St Bernard or any crosses of these breeds.

[~JoLu~]

Does anyone know what the "Selected Breeds" are as mentioned in the Pet Plan PDS??? I can't seem to find anything on the website listing what these are.

At the moment I'm swaying towards Pet Insurance Australia

Found this in the Pet Plan PDS in the "Definitions" section:

Select Breeds means Bandog, Boerboel, Beauceron, Bernese Mountain Dog, All

Bulldogs (i.e English, American, Australian, Miniature), Bull Arab, Deerhound, Dogue de

Bordeaux, Estrela Mountain Dog, Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, Leonberger, All Mastiff

Breeds, Newfoundland, Old English Sheepdog, Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Rottweiler,

Shar Pei, St Bernard or any crosses of these breeds.

Thank you couldn't see for looking

[moosepup]

After spending $6000+ on chemo for our old dog (which didn't work anyway ) we immediately got pet insurance for the dog we still had and any new dogs. Definitely worth the expense IMO. I think we pay about $45-$50 per month for both of them with a $200 excess. Zoe has 80% cover (she's nearly 11) and Moose has 100% cover.

May I ask who you are with?

PetSecure.

I've only had 1 issue with a claim and that was when Zoe punctured the lens in her eye. She has had other issues with her eyes before so they initially knocked it back. As it was an injury and nothing to do with issues she had before, after a letter from the specialist it was paid.

[Lally]

After spending $6000+ on chemo for our old dog (which didn't work anyway ) we immediately got pet insurance for the dog we still had and any new dogs. Definitely worth the expense IMO. I think we pay about $45-$50 per month for both of them with a $200 excess. Zoe has 80% cover (she's nearly 11) and Moose has 100% cover.

May I ask who you are with?

PetSecure.

I've only had 1 issue with a claim and that was when Zoe punctured the lens in her eye. She has had other issues with her eyes before so they initially knocked it back. As it was an injury and nothing to do with issues she had before, after a letter from the specialist it was paid.

[Lally]

Hi all,

After a traumatic experience with one my last Cavaliers, whom I adored, and who cost me many, many, thousands of dollars in treatment, I decided to insure my last girl. Unfortunately, this was after a near-death experience in June, 2006, when the Lort Smith Animal hospital in Melbourne miraculously treated her and saved her life from struvite bladder stones and an almost uncontrollable high temperature due to a concomitant staph infection. Of course, I told the insurer, RSPCA, about this pre-condition. However, and this is something which everyone who's contemplating pet insurance should understand, the underwriter for nearly every policy, no matter who offers it, is the same - Hollard Insurance. There is just not enough competition in this field in Australia, in my opinion. I'm currently in dispute with the insurer and I think that the best way to inform you of my problems is to quote my last letter to them:

"I refer to the Special Policy Conditions outlined in the Certificate of Insurance invoice which I recently received, viz.,

Specific Exclusions:

All Renal conditions and any claim that arises either directly or indirectly from

these conditions.

As there are no indications that Purdy has suffered from any renal dysfunction I would be grateful to know on what basis this has been determined. I would also welcome your advising me of the name/s of your technical adviser/s.

This is not the first time that Purdy's policy has been arbitrarily, in my view, encumbered. At the last renewal, you excluded 'bladder stones'. Whereas I had advised you at the time of purchase that Purdy had once suffered from struvite bladder stones, she later showed signs of developing oxalate stones. Two vets confirmed to me that one sort of bladder stone had no correlation with the other, however you made no distinction. I verbally questioned this and was informed that the matter would be further considered. However, no explanation was forthcoming.

Currently, when Purdy visits the vet for any reason, her urine is automatically tested. Recently, a slight rise in protein levels was indicated. Further tests to ascertain cause included a blood test to examine her kidneys. This test proved negative - her kidneys were functioning very well. I presume, though, that this is the basis on which you've now excluded 'all renal conditions.'

I note, particularly, from your information page on the internet, which I read closely before taking out insurance:

Life Time Cover -once insured cover may be renewd for life with no reduction of benefits or exculsions added.

It is my opinion that Purdy's insurance cover, more expensive than most others but which I accepted as a way of contributing to the RSPCA, is not providing the cover and support which it claimed. I have not before heard of an insurer restricting its cover, annually, unless fraud or deceit was proven. Of course, it's now too late for me to switch to another provider, so I am doubly disadvantaged.

In early October, Purdy was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. This is despite her breeder's organising annual check-ups for mitral valve disease, luxating patella and eye problems in his dogs. None of Purdy's siblings, are similarly afflicted, and I trust that I can rely on this policy's not being changed, yet again, in response to this serious illness.

However, I noted that the first claim for her X-Ray and medications took longer to be reimbursed, i.e. the insurance cheque was not sent until after the policy's annual renewal date. I assume that this was to reduce the cost to you of claims during the 2009/2010 period?

I will be pleased to receive your reply at your earliest convenience. Thank you."

As you can see, I'm not a happy camper. I have received no reply at all, but I will take the matter up further with the insurance Ombudsman if Hollard continues to shirk its obligations to cover my very sick girl.

My advice is to be very cautious about pet insurance. I would not be without it, that's true, unless one's prepared to euthanase one's dog when he or she becomes seriously ill, which I never would. But unless you're prepared to stand up for your dog's and your rights pet insurance can be a financial trap.