Red Fox Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 My Pet Plan Policy was just renewed and my premium had gone from $41 to $46. So I have decided to go down to the budget plan which I rang them and spoke to them about, the difference in policy is not that much, still covers everything, just $10,000 not $15,000 which is fine by us as we have not had a claim yet. That is with a $100 excess, but if you choose $250 excess the plan is $36. Hope that helps, it can be so expensive. Also congrats on your gorgeous new girl, I bet having two after having one for so long is a shock to the system (and hip pocket). I know it will be for us when we eventually delve into getting a second dog. Thank you. To be honest she's so much easier then my older dog was as a pup. She's higher energy and completely mental but she's happy to be left alone, settles well in her crate and has practically toilet trained herself in a couple of days. Such a time waster though, half my day is lost watching her just be a puppy! I'll have a look into Pet Plan this week too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keira&Phoenix Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I am with Medibank for my younger dog which I got the day she came home. I have gotten back double what I paid in premiums so I am thankful I had it, that was 2 claims worth, I didn't really have dramas getting my money. It just renewed so I must check if they have changed my policy like PIA have but I did have a look when I got the renewal and nothing stood out. I wish I had insurance for my older dog the day she came home. Between her knee op, her shoddy hips, skin conditions, demodex mites etc she has well and truly cost me $6000 over 4 years in non routine vet care so not including desexing, vaccs, flea treatments etc and I am sure that will probably triple in her lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Medibank does not seem to have gone up for existing plans (I should not say that becasue it will now). I insured 3 of my dogs when their cover first came out a few years back and I pay approx $85 a month for all 3 for 100% cover minus excess. However it has gone up for new policies. This year I added my fouth dog and just for her is $35 and only 80% cover. They no longer offer 100%. The only one I have found that covers 100% is Pet Plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I figure if the PDS is the same for all of them, might as well find the cheapest offering or self insure. No true at all. Most don't offer lifetime coverage for an illness, but PetPlan does. Some have breed and age specific clauses. Many people here have had issues with some of the cheaper companies when it came to making a claim. Self insurance is great if your dog doesn't have problems for the first 5 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I figure if the PDS is the same for all of them, might as well find the cheapest offering or self insure. No true at all. Most don't offer lifetime coverage for an illness, but PetPlan does. Some have breed and age specific clauses. Many people here have had issues with some of the cheaper companies when it came to making a claim. Self insurance is great if your dog doesn't have problems for the first 5 years... This "lifetime cover" is a bit deceiving. With PetPlan when your dog gets a certain age (different age for different breeds) you cover reduces to 60 or 80% (can't remember which one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I figure if the PDS is the same for all of them, might as well find the cheapest offering or self insure. No true at all. Most don't offer lifetime coverage for an illness, but PetPlan does. Some have breed and age specific clauses. Many people here have had issues with some of the cheaper companies when it came to making a claim. Self insurance is great if your dog doesn't have problems for the first 5 years... This "lifetime cover" is a bit deceiving. With PetPlan when your dog gets a certain age (different age for different breeds) you cover reduces to 60 or 80% (can't remember which one). Yes that is true you pay the first 25%-I think???- but they still cover a chronic condition to the total every year while you have cover. Not just up to you limit of cover once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlingdog Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Unfortunately I had to drop my pet insurance...the premiums more than DOUBLED in one year Fingers firmly crossed I don't live to regret that decision ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Medibank does not seem to have gone up for existing plans (I should not say that becasue it will now). I insured 3 of my dogs when their cover first came out a few years back and I pay approx $85 a month for all 3 for 100% cover minus excess. However it has gone up for new policies. This year I added my fouth dog and just for her is $35 and only 80% cover. They no longer offer 100%. The only one I have found that covers 100% is Pet Plan. I have one of my dogs with Medibank and took out the policy when it was 100% cover. Premiums have gone up, as to be expected, but do existing customers still get 100% cover, or are they dropped to 80% like new customers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Medibank does not seem to have gone up for existing plans (I should not say that becasue it will now). I insured 3 of my dogs when their cover first came out a few years back and I pay approx $85 a month for all 3 for 100% cover minus excess. However it has gone up for new policies. This year I added my fouth dog and just for her is $35 and only 80% cover. They no longer offer 100%. The only one I have found that covers 100% is Pet Plan. I have one of my dogs with Medibank and took out the policy when it was 100% cover. Premiums have gone up, as to be expected, but do existing customers still get 100% cover, or are they dropped to 80% like new customers? No idea, but I'm curious to see this too. I signed Kyojin up in January. Have not heard about any changes to our policy yet, so I'm hoping not to get a nasty surprise next Jan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I checked Medibank - it's underwritten by Hollards too - so it's only offering 80% cover, and essentially the same pds. But given I'm already a medibank member - I'd get a discount of around 10% - maybe more if I can find a "product promotion code". So for me, it's the cheapest of the Hollards offerings. I won't do pet plan because they're underwritten by Allianz and I've had a expensive bad experience with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazads Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) Check out Prosure - they have no excess and pay 80% of the bill. I have top cover (accident, illness and wellness) and it costs me around $40 per month per dog. I have all of mine insured (a boxer and two great danes). They have been awesome as my boxer had a lot of health issues in her first 18 months. I claimed so much through them and when it came to renewal time for my boxer, the premium was the same. Edited November 3, 2011 by kazads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheebs Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I've also heard good things about bow wow meow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I decided to go with petplan. In my experience (working at vets) and hearing from others experience, they are SLOW to pay up, but they usually eventually do. They are also the only company that will pay direct to the vet. I pay $32.95 a month (with a $500 excess) on the lowest level of cover but it still covers up to $10 000 worth of accident and illness. I chose this with the fact that I would probably be able to cover up to $7000 a year in emergencies myself and I always have $500 avail for Mindy's emergencies. I've seen HBCs and tick cases where the bill has been in the 15-20 thousands, so I got pet insurance to cover me for this. Obviously I only got it for emergency/accident coverage, I;m not sure how it would compare if you got it for regular vet visits etc. In my experience, the highest level of cover is not really worth it, very time consuming to fill in all the forms for a vet visit that may have only been $70-80, also a lot of companies make a fuss about paying even this small amount. If you're faced with a $7000 dollar bill the fuss is worth it a lot more I would imgaine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I can't tell the difference between bow wow meow and pet insurance australia - ie both business names are on the bow wow meow website - and it's all Hollards. The $40 per month is almost double what I would be looking at paying with Medibank for accident and illness. So you'd want to be getting more for that. Prosure is underwritten by Hollards - and it's 80% cover of the vet bills. And it's got the same condition limitations eg bilateral, chronic etc. And the PDS doesn't mention "wellness", they mention "routine care" ie the PDS doesn't exactly match the website offering. Ie some lovely PR person has renamed the Hollard terms on the website but not updated the PDS to match. There's more than one Hollards underwritten PDS like that out there. And Prosure's equivalent level of cover for what I'm looking at - costs almost double what the medibank offering does. I cannot see the value in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) I've also heard good things about bow wow meow I contacted them a few years back and couldn't even get a PDS, not sure how good they would be at paying up if they weren't capable of something so small as emailing a document..? I'll check out Prosure and Medibank too. For now I've gone with PIA for the pup. It's still too pricey but it will do until we can find something more suitable. They have always been great with claims so it's a real shame about the chance in policy. ETA Medibank works out to $3 cheaper per month for both dogs, less coverage and only covers up until 9 years of age so that's out for me. Prosure is around $8 cheaper for both and has no excess... Edited November 4, 2011 by SecretKei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 From the PIA PDS Pets over 9 years of age will not qualify for illness cover where there has been a break, lapse or change in the level of cover *after* reaching the age of 9. From the Medibank PDS Pets over 9 years of age will not qualify for Illness Cover where there has been a break, lapse or change in the level of Cover after reaching the age of 9 I can't tell the difference. I'm not sure, given they're both hollards if one company will provide "continuous cover" if you swap - I'd want that in writing / email from them before switching. But I don't see why one would not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 From the PIA PDS Pets over 9 years of age will not qualify for illness cover where there has been a break, lapse or change in the level of cover *after* reaching the age of 9. From the Medibank PDS Pets over 9 years of age will not qualify for Illness Cover where there has been a break, lapse or change in the level of Cover after reaching the age of 9 I can't tell the difference. I'm not sure, given they're both hollards if one company will provide "continuous cover" if you swap - I'd want that in writing / email from them before switching. But I don't see why one would not. I didn't read the PDS, but am going by the tick chart they give with the different levels of cover. Age limits: Bronze (accident only) 8 weeks and over (no upper age limit) Silver (accident + illness) 8 weeks up to 9 years Gold (accident + illness + routine care) 8 weeks up to 9 years http://www.medibank.com.au/pet-insurance/medibank-cover-options/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui835 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hi guys, thought some might be interested in my story. When my old cat was about 8 years old, she either fell out of a tree or was hit by a car (the vets could never tell) but either way she broke her jaw badly. My mum took us to the vets immediately, and they explained that she could definitely be saved, but that it would cost us $3500. I begged my mother and she loaned me the money and I was paying her back for years afterward. Aside from that though, my cat never cost me anything above the usual initial vaccinations, flea treatment etc which insurance wouldn't cover anyway. I made a decision though after that incident that I never wanted to be in a position where I had to choose between the life of my pet and money. So I thought pet insurance was definitely for me. But you read over the policies, and none are all inclusive. The last thing you would want was for your pet to need vet treatment, you've paid $1000's over the years to insurance companies and yet they won't help you. So I started saving $50/month for potential vet bills and put it in a high interest savings account. Today I have close to $5000 saved - and my dog is not even 2 years old. He made need it one day and if he does I'll be able to help him and I know I have the money for the treatment and whatever the treatment happens to be, my savings will cover it (unlike insurance with all their exclusions). But should he get to 13-15 years old (like his family) and never have needed anything serious, well I'll have a healthy savings account. It's not for everyone, and it takes a while to accrue a decent balance, but I think in the longterm and with current pet insurance options being what they are it's worth considering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 My lab has cost me over $5000k in bills due to allergies, i have had Petplan for 2,5 years, so iv scored $4000..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro29 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Check out Prosure - they have no excess and pay 80% of the bill. I have top cover (accident, illness and wellness) and it costs me around $40 per month per dog. I have all of mine insured (a boxer and two great danes). They have been awesome as my boxer had a lot of health issues in her first 18 months. I claimed so much through them and when it came to renewal time for my boxer, the premium was the same. I too have pro sure for my whippetpuppy. Unfortunately I have had to claim for a lacerated ear operation and a case of haemorraghic(sp?) gastro with a day in animal emergency. I have claimed all my puppy vacs and heart worm tablets. Best thing is I have received a cheque back within 7 days of the claim being received by them, I was most surprised!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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