Do Not Use Afs Petmed Insurance

[daisygirl]

I know that there has been several queries about using pet insurance and just thought I would relate my experiences.

I had my dog insurance for approx 10 years with them but in the last couple of years every time the renewal was due there would be less coverage and now the doozy of them all is because she turned 12 years old that the coverage was decreased even less. Because of her age I couldnt transfer to another insurance company so was stuck.

Three weeks after the yearly renewal on 1 April my dog passed away suddenly one week after an operation to remove a mast cell tumour. This was the second tumor as six months earlier she had the same operation and was fine. The reason she passed away was unrelated to the cancer but may have been aggrevated by the operation.

When we put in our claims we only received 50% back because of (a) her age and (b) having had cancer previously. Isnt it obvious that older dogs have more problems and therefore need the coverage?

Now AFS Pet Med want to charge me for another 12 months until 1 April 2011 ??? How they can justify that.

I have been unhappy with their service and their diminished coverage so would suggest that everyone avoids this company like the plague or the rules will be changing for you every 12 months as well.

[aussielover]

How horrible for you. They have no right to charge you another year, especially seeing as the dog in question has passed away

[Lucy's mama]

Bloody hell... I can understand companies not wanting to cover an old dog for the first time, but if you've had the insurance since they were young decreasing your cover as she ages is just completely unfair. How ridiculous!

[megan_]

I am sorry for your loss.

With respect to charging you for a whole year, I assume you mean the rest of the year? Unfortunately, this is a standard practice and it is up to the insurance company to waive at their discretion. This is because insurance policies last for a year, even if you pay monthly.

[spikey]

What a sad time for you, I'm so sorry, and this sort of thing really doesn't help.

Megan is right, policies are issued on the basis of a full year's cover even if you're paying it fornightly, monthly or whatever. Because you made a claim after the renewal date, even though it was only a few weeks into the new policy year, unfortunately the insurance company has the right to still charge you the premium for the remainder of the policy year. This is the case with just about every type of insurance. If you HAVEN'T made a claim during the current policy year, most insurance companies will cancel the policy straight away and not charge any further premium.

Edited August 27, 2010 by spikey

[cavNrott]

I agree with you Daisygirl. A few years ago I had my Rottweiler insured with AFS PetMed. I had her insured with them for 4 years and when the policy was due for renewal I cancelled it because I was sick of doing battle with them.

My girl had an arthroscopy which turned out to be unecessary surgery, thanks to both the vet and the specialist misdiagnosing the problem. AFS PedMed refused to reimburse the cost of the surgery because the vet in his referral said it was a possible FCP which was one of their exclusions. It was not FCP but they refused to pay out because FCP was mentioned in the vets documentation.

Each year they added more exclusions and covered less illnesses but the premium kept increasing. Eventually it got to where she wouldn't be covered for any problems common to the breed. I had accident and illness cover but as they kept adding exclusions she would really only have been covered for an accident but I was still paying for accident and illness cover.

Unfortunately it's a condition of most insurance policies that if your dog dies within the policy period you still have to pay the premium for the full year. I'm sorry you lost her Daisygirl.

[daisygirl]

Ok, I have calmed down over the weekend and I can certainly understand that a yearly policy may be payable BUT my big gripe is that I did call about one month after she passed away the staff member said "No problem, I will make a note on the file and once the last claim is processed we wont charge any more". It now turns out that the particular staff member was wrong but in my distress I didnt write down his name and date.

I did ask if they needed it in writing ie an email and once again he said "No everything is fine, sorry for your loss"

Now this twit that I spoke to on Friday didnt have any empathy or try and say sorry for the mistake and was quite rude. It has bought back all the pain of losing my dog four months ago which I was just starting to heal from and now we are back to day one. The staff at these insurance companies should be taught how to have a conversation with someone who is worried out their pet or has lost a pet recently because when you look at the stats I bet 90% of people who are calling would be distressed about the situation going on with their pet. I think that was the biggest shock that out of everything you have to deal with that these people are the rudest and most unhelpful out of all the people in the pet industry.

[Erny]

Now this twit that I spoke to on Friday didnt have any empathy or try and say sorry for the mistake and was quite rude.

Sorry for your loss, grief and for the additional stress this would be causing. The insurance company may well be within its rights, but I am still sorry that you are experiencing this situation.

I am very much over being told "S/he shouldn't have said that". This happens so much, so often, within organisations - both big (mostly) and small. It is as though that is enough of an excuse, pardon, reason and requires no further action. I'm also over how shallow "sorry" is with many people/orgs. I wonder, these days, if their "sorry" 's really mean that they are sorry for what their errors have caused people, or sorry that the people are complaining about / pulled them up on it. It is about time orgs/coys should start paying for "sorry" - perhaps they'll think twice before the next time and then have less to be "sorry" about.

Edited August 29, 2010 by Erny

[_PL_]

Contact your state's insurance industry ombudsman.

I'm so sorry for your loss, you have enough to deal with.

[Dame Aussie]

Sorry you've been screwed around so much.

It seems that people are becoming more and more incompetent, everyone from the gas and elec companies, to phone providers ,they need to learn what customer service is.