Pet Insurance

[sobriquet218]

I'm going to be lazy and ask here....

Snot had a compressed disc a few months back and needed spinal surgery.

The vet said there is a very small percentage (like 5%) that it could happen again down the line but to a different disc.

Would this be considered a pre-existing condition if it was to happen again but to a different disc, or if he had any other spinal issues in the future, does anybody know?

To everybody that doesn't have pet insurance, I'd definitely recommend it. I never bothered because I was always under the impression that if something did go wrong with my dog I would always be able to scrape together some emergency monies to cover it, that's what credit cards are for! Not frickin' THOUSANDS and Thousands of dollars though! gah..

This is the fine print from the Medibank Private PET Insurance policy:

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

* a latent infectious or parasitic Condition that manifests itself within a known incubation period following the Commencement Date indicating clear evidence that the Condition had existed or had been contracted prior to the Commencement Date, or

* any Illness or symptoms or signs of that Illness occurring or existing in any form during the Waiting Period.

A Condition, Illness, Injury or disease may be considered Pre-existing whether or not it:

* was specifically diagnosed by a Vet,

* was treated by a Vet,

* is in remission at the time of application,

* is seasonal in nature even if in remission at the time of application, or

* is currently or previously being controlled by medication(s).

Recurring Condition means a Condition that is curable but may relapse repeatedly with periods of remission in between.

[sobriquet218]

Resamith, My vet did the report while I was there which of course was all clear and then I sent it to the Insurance company. I just havent heard from the insurance company to say they have recieved it.

They send you a form for the vet to fill out (doesnt matter what breed you have) if you want immediate coverage for cruciate damage otherwise you can wait 6 months and then you become covered. I know of too many BMs that have done their cruciate and I thought If I wait the 6 months out, I bet one of mine will do it and I'll be kicking myself,lol.

Again from the Medibank Cover:

Waiting Period means a period starting from the

Commencement Date of the first Policy Period during which

an Illness Condition that occurs or shows clinical signs will be

excluded from Cover unless otherwise stated on your Certificate

of Insurance. The Waiting Period is 30 days except for cruciate

ligament Conditions, where the Waiting Period is 6 months

unless we receive a letter from your Vet within 14 days of the

Policy Commencement Date certifying that your Pet has no

cruciate ligament Conditions.

Medibank tried to veto this when I provided a letter from my Vet, because they said I had not visited the Vet at the time of application for the policy. However when I quoted that nowhere on their policy statement (at that time) does it actually stipulate you must visit the Vet and be certified at the time of application.

I won that round and was covered, and fortunately they acquiesced and allowed the cover. The very same happened to my neighbour who joined two days after I did. And they let her be covered for cruciate too. I have now had the policy for almost a year without incident, so did not need to 'test' if they would pay in the eventuality of a cruciate accident.

[cointreau]

I'm going to be lazy and ask here....

Snot had a compressed disc a few months back and needed spinal surgery.

The vet said there is a very small percentage (like 5%) that it could happen again down the line but to a different disc.

Would this be considered a pre-existing condition if it was to happen again but to a different disc, or if he had any other spinal issues in the future, does anybody know?

To everybody that doesn't have pet insurance, I'd definitely recommend it. I never bothered because I was always under the impression that if something did go wrong with my dog I would always be able to scrape together some emergency monies to cover it, that's what credit cards are for! Not frickin' THOUSANDS and Thousands of dollars though! gah..

I rang an insurance company today to enquire about transfering to them out of interest really. Because my girl has been treated for incontinence they said that would be an exclusion and so would urinary tract infections and I dare say they could then make it kidney problems too. So in your case I think any back problem would be an exclusion, if you find a company who will cover Snot's back please let us know. Love the name and good luck with your insurance search.

[Adnil444]

Hi, I'm with Bow Wow Meow. I've been with them for over 2 years now and only cover for accidents (cruciate ligaments etc are covered). I pay $29.50 a month for 2 dogs (doberman x rottie and a doberman x kelpie). I also have a $100 excess. I'm about to make my first claim tomorrow so up until now I can say I've been very happy as I haven't had to claim, but we will see. I'm hoping it will be a simple process and my refund comes through without any fuss.

Hope this helps.

[cavNrott]

Hi, I'm with Bow Wow Meow. I've been with them for over 2 years now and only cover for accidents (cruciate ligaments etc are covered). I pay $29.50 a month for 2 dogs (doberman x rottie and a doberman x kelpie). I also have a $100 excess. I'm about to make my first claim tomorrow so up until now I can say I've been very happy as I haven't had to claim, but we will see. I'm hoping it will be a simple process and my refund comes through without any fuss.

Hope this helps.

Read your policy book and find out exactly what they consider to be an accident. Not many things are covered or considered to be an accident apart from the very obvious.

I am with Bow Wow Meow. My boy ruptured a disk in his spine early December. They consider this to be an illness rather than an accident. I have the dogs covered for accident and illness with a $250 excess. The dog ran out the door into the yard first thing in the morning and had gone only a couple of metres when he suddenly fell in a screaming heap and was paralysed from the shoulders down. The result was a myelogram and a laminectomy at the specialist centre.

Since this dog had never had a sick day in his 5 1/2 yo life I would have thought this would be an accident. According to them it's an illness so I am not enitled to make any future claim for anything to do with his spine/back. Who knows what they will deem to be part of a spinal injury.

I wish you luck in getting a quick reimbursment of your claim. My claim took them 3 months to process and that was only after I mentioned the Ombudsman.

After 2 months and a number of phone calls I told them I would contact the Ombudsman. They paid out part of the claim that same day. The remaining part of the claim was still not paid until this week when again I mentioned the Ombudsman. The claim was paid that same afternoon. If you have any problems with them 'Ombudsman' is the magic word.

[poodle proud]

I am with Bow wow meow.

I have accident and illness cover and a $100.00 excess.

Middi ended up at the emergency vet last year with gastro and vomiting. She was in less than 24 hours but racked up over $600 in treatment.

It took about a month and a half to come through as it was our first claim but in the end all but the $100.00 was covered.

we covered her from as early as you are allowed to so this helps I'm sure but we havent claimed for the 5 year old as yet.

Middi will be having an operation for a luxating patella this year and we are hoping and praying it will be covered. If you ring them and submit a plan of what the operation is and will cost they can give you a sort of pre approval. No guarantees though. We will do this to help us decide whether we do it at our local vet or specialist centre.

Insurance companies are all the same but really deep down most people have pet insurance so if the unforeseen happens they won't have to make the decision between money and their pet's life. It doesnt mean you will never have to pay for anything again but hopefully the unexpected injuries and illnesses will be covered. At 30 something dollars a month for the 2 of them it's worth it just for that peace of mind. Any other costs we will just deal with.

[Leithy]

I've just applied for accidental cover so hopefully I get that.

Never had a dog that's been really sick in this family, but you never know.

Will feel a lot better about going to the vet now though!

[RL1]

My dogs insurance is through Bow Wow. i'm not happy with them at all. Useless twits couldn't organise a R**T in a brothel.

It was a drama just to get my two dogs insured and not have the paperwork go missing. It took 3 attempts to get one dog insured.

First claim was knocked back because they believe it was related to a previous procedure.

I only went through them because i had no other choice with my dogs age. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

Edited March 15, 2010 by RottyLover01

[Snowball]

hmm, about to submit a claim to Bow Wow - will fill everyone in how it goes. ... I am starting to worry however from reading stuf on here. - i have a $3,000 medical bill we need to get coverage for - so fingers crossed

[cointreau]

hmm, about to submit a claim to Bow Wow - will fill everyone in how it goes. ... I am starting to worry however from reading stuf on here. - i have a $3,000 medical bill we need to get coverage for - so fingers crossed

Good luck with your claim, I hate waiting for my claim to be approved. Touch wood I haven't had a big claim for a few years now and I am with a different company.

More to the point how is your dog? Hope he/she is doing well.

[nicolatu]

Hi people,

My girlfriend and I are about to get a puppy and would like to sign up with Pet Insurance Australia but we are not sure what does excess mean. We don't really understand what is the difference between Comprehensive Cover and Major Medical Cover. Can someone please explain to me? And what is an excess?

Thanks

Nicola

[Boronia]

I am with Bow Wow Meow and have found them really good (sorry RottyLover01, I know now you have had dramas with them) ...Penny got a pig knuckle stuck in her oesophagus last year and according to the policy (I only have accident for Penny and Mac as they are over 8) they cover for that problem.

I paid the vet and sent all the veterinary invoices to them along with their claim form and I had the money (less $100 no claim thingo) in my account within ten days.

I had only been insured with them about six weeks so I was pretty impressed.

No whinges from me as I was pretty happy that at least I could find an insurance company that would insure older dogs even though it is only for accidents.

I also have RACQ (it is added on as an extra to the house and contents insurance) as a back-up for sickness though they only cover up to $450 but it is a help. I have an idea that NRMA may also cover pets for a similar coverage.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Boronia

[Leithy]

The excess is that you pay, and anything after that the company should cover for it providing its in line with the product disclosure statement.

You'll have to read the differences between major medical and comprehensive... can't remember off the top of my head.

[Chiwogabull*]

I too thought I'd be able to scrape enough together for an unexpected vet bill, but after reading some posts here on Dol.

I'm going to go with PIA however I'm deciding between accident only with $250 excess or the Major accident and Illness with $500 excess.

From what I read most claim for Accidental injury only... who has used it for Illness and what type of illness was covered?

My Breed is prone to Kidney problems and PPL..(Eye Condition) would these be considered "illnesses" or injury?

[FionaC]

Petplan for us for both boys and I've found them brilliant to deal with so far - although we have yet to make a large claim with them ...

I looked at moving them to PIA when Archie came along as they offered a multiple pet discount but I had several big issues trying to even contact them (calls never going through to people, them not returning calls etc) in fact over a period of 5 days with around 3 calls per day at different times I never once got through to speak to a person, I left a message at least once a day and all bar 1 of those was never returned ... I got the only actual response via email and I found the tone of the email quite snide so I thought that if that was an indication of how difficult it was to get them to take my business imagine how hard it would be if I was putting in a claim?.... I was quite surprised as I had read good things about PIA .....

Petplan on the other hand answered promptly, spent quite some time on the phone answering my questions, send me all the information I needed via mail and email promptly and have been wonderful ..... hopefully they will be just as good if I have to make a large claim in the future ....

[iggy mum]

I have a friend with Petplan. First claim for kennel cough they paid. 2nd claim was for a puncture wound in the dogs foot. They have full accident and illness cover but the claim was put in last Sep/Oct and has still not been paid. She rang and asked them about it and they said they were not going to pay. Considering the dog is fully covered and it was without doubt some kind of accident from another dog or sharp object I can't see any possible reason to refuse payment. The dog was treated by the vet.

I have heard bad things about them too. I was going to go with them orignally but decided against it. Stear safe of them rexiam

I was with them, never had to claim though. Premium went up by $100 in 12 months, with a few breed specific exclusions thrown in.

I looked around and am now with Prosure. I did a few on-line quotes, there's was cheaper (with better benefits than some). Most are underwritten by Hollard.

After reading about this I had a look online and decided I should have pet insurance too. I went with Prosure as well. I applied online and the paperwork/policy was here with three working days. Great service and I liked the coverage too. Thanks for the info itsmeg!!

[Staff'n'Toller]

I too thought I'd be able to scrape enough together for an unexpected vet bill, but after reading some posts here on Dol.

I'm going to go with PIA however I'm deciding between accident only with $250 excess or the Major accident and Illness with $500 excess.

From what I read most claim for Accidental injury only... who has used it for Illness and what type of illness was covered?

My Breed is prone to Kidney problems and PPL..(Eye Condition) would these be considered "illnesses" or injury?

Kidneys- illness- unless it was caused directly (and you have clear proof) from a poison of some sort I would think, then, they may say it's accident but you'd have to call them and clarify it. It really is up to the insurers discretion for each and every case.

I would think PPL would be an illness but can you genetically test for it? Not sure about how they would go about covering it, again you'd have to speak to them.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Staff'n'Toller

[PuddleDuck]

I have to say - I'm with Bow Wow Meow and just processed our first claim. We took out the insurance late-ish last year after my brother's dog needed an $8k surgery and I panicked over what would happen if that was our dogs! They cost less than 90c a day for both the dogs (we did choose a $500 excess).

Doof had a fast growing (and thankfully benign) tumor in his elbow, unfortunately it was actually under the muscle so the surgery that we expected to be under $500 was actually well over $1000! We first noticed it around Christmas, so not too long after the insurance started. When we first put the claim in after reading some of the comments in here I was worried that they wouldn't approve it. We sent it registered post on Monday and got a courtesy text on the following Thursday saying it had arrived and we should recieve details of the assessment within 3 weeks. I called a few times (not all relating to the claim, needed to update credit details etc) and found the staff helpful and really nice, the one day I couldn't get through to them I left a message and was called back within an hour. The claim was approved last week and I was able to have it changed from a cheque refund to a direct refund to our account with no problems. As I said I was a bit worried after I saw some of the comments on them but I found them fantastic to deal with and very efficient. All up it took exactly 1 month from when we sent the claim to when the refund was in our account.

[RL1]

To be totally honest with you PD, i've found BowWow the most useless, hopeless and difficult people to deal with.

I'm happy you've had success with them.

[PuddleDuck]

Hey Rottylover, totally understand - I was a bit nervous of them when I read your posts too! I just thought I should share my experience because they really were lovely and helpful for me. I hope your issue is all resolved now If you don't mind my asking, what condition were you trying to claim for? Mine was a straight lump removal with no previous history, and no other lumps noted on Doof, which probably helped a bit too.