Why Is Pet Insurance So Restrictive?

[giraffez]

I was going through a couple of pet insurance policies and its so poor value for money. The fact that your dog has had a one off illness mean from this point going forwards, he will not be covered for life. My dog had a case of diarrhea recently, and it will seem silly to exclude diarrhea forever.

And all the joint assessment is ridiculous, my vet indicated on the examination form there are very very very minor issues and said that all the test is very subjective and not very accurate. The fact that she has ticked the "Yes" box means that my dog will not be covered even though there are no issues now.

Why are our pet insurance so restrictive? I have family in the USA and they indicate that their pet insurance covers a lot of things.

[Guest lavendergirl]

I agree that pet insurance does not really represent good value for money. I just accept that I will carry the cost of most of the standard vet costs as I have an excess of $200 anyway. I really just have it for the reassurance of coverage for any major incidents or illnesses. Some of the costs I have seen people refer to on here would be very difficult to meet otherwise.

[minxy]

I honestly can't fault my pet insurance. I used over $10k worth of value out of it in my first 12 months of having it.

[Guest lavendergirl]

I honestly can't fault my pet insurance. I used over $10k worth of value out of it in my first 12 months of having it.

Thats interesting Minxy - what sort of things did you claim for?

[trinabean]

I agree that pet insurance does not really represent good value for money. I just accept that I will carry the cost of most of the standard vet costs as I have an excess of $200 anyway. I really just have it for the reassurance of coverage for any major incidents or illnesses. Some of the costs I have seen people refer to on here would be very difficult to meet otherwise.

These are the same reasons I have insurance.

My dog was treated for coccidia as a 9 week old pup and Petplan put a 24 month exclusion on any gastro intestinal problems. Thus far I haven't ever made a claim (and it doesn't seem like good value) but I'll stick with it for peace of mind. At least if he needs expensive surgery/ treatment I won't have to redraw from the mortgage to cover it.

[minxy]

I honestly can't fault my pet insurance. I used over $10k worth of value out of it in my first 12 months of having it.

Thats interesting Minxy - what sort of things did you claim for?

Patella surgery, xrays, general consults, medication etc etc.

[westiemum]

I agree that pet insurance does not really represent good value for money. I just accept that I will carry the cost of most of the standard vet costs as I have an excess of $200 anyway. I really just have it for the reassurance of coverage for any major incidents or illnesses. Some of the costs I have seen people refer to on here would be very difficult to meet otherwise.

These are the same reasons I have insurance.

My dog was treated for coccidia as a 9 week old pup and Petplan put a 24 month exclusion on any gastro intestinal problems. Thus far I haven't ever made a claim (and it doesn't seem like good value) but I'll stick with it for peace of mind. At least if he needs expensive surgery/ treatment I won't have to redraw from the mortgage to cover it.

Similarly trinabean - my Sarah had a bout of HGE and they put a 12 month exclusion on her for GI - luckily for me her next bout was at the 14 month mark!! And they honoured it. Thank goodness she hasn't had it again - nasty stuff!

[Dame Aussie]

Insurance is a con.

For some people it can end up being very useful but more often than not people pay premiums year after year and never get anything for it.

Trust me, I worked in insurance and they will do pretty much anything to get out of paying a claim. It's a business and they have to minimize their risk as much as possible.

We put money into an account instead of pay a premium and we have a credit card for emergencies that exceed that amount.

[megan_]

I've gotten great value put of it - well over $7k, for all sorts of things, illness and accident. You can't expect them to pay out on preconditions, they'd go broke. The trick is to insure your dogs on day1 so there are no pre-existing conditions.

It is hardly a con - you're lucky if it is a waste of money - then your dog hasn't been seriously ill. I'd never be without it.

[giraffez]

Similarly trinabean - my Sarah had a bout of HGE and they put a 12 month exclusion on her for GI - luckily for me her next bout was at the 14 month mark!! And they honoured it. Thank goodness she hasn't had it again - nasty stuff!

I thought the exclusion would be for the life of the pet is it not? What insurance are you with?

You can't expect a dog not to have multiple events of diarrhea in its lifetime so i find it pretty upsetting that they won't cover in the event he has it again

[sandgrubber]

Have a search on Consumer Reports website. They agree that pet insurance is a con and recommend that consumers will generally be better off selecting to try and get a healthy pet and keeping a buffer fund to cover unexpected veterinary expenses. True, people with unhealthy or accident-prone dogs sometimes get value for money from their insurance. That is how the insurance business works . . . the premiums of people whose dogs don't get bloat, rupture their cruciate ligament, etc. are used to pay the claims of people whose dogs do have such problems . . . and to pay for high salaries and expensive office space and advertizing.

[megan_]

My dog are young and healthy - but one got a bad case of gastro that cost over $500 to treat (symptoms same as obstruction, a few days in hospital etc) and one ate a moldy lunch that cost me $1000. If I hsd simply saved the premium I'd still be in debt. Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early.

[Alkhe]

It's no different to any other kind of insurance though. If you don't end up needing it, it's a con - you fork out thousands over the years and would have been better saving your money. But if you DO need it and it enables you to give your pet expensive and life saving treatment that would be unavailable to you otherwise, then it's an absolutely worthwhile investment.

Of course it would be great if everyone could keep their own buffer fund or special savings account. That's also true for any other kind of insurance, but people tend not to do that. If you can, good for you. But most people aren't disciplined enough to put away money every week or month or whatever, and trust themself not to touch it.

I don't think taking out insurance and thinking of it as a value for money thing is the right way to look at it. It's far better to think of it as a safety net. That's the way I approach it, and the reason that I have it. It's a great safety net that I hope to god I never have to use, but I'm happy to pay to ensure that I don't have to make a difficult decision based on money that I can easily avoid, by having insurance.

[coogie]

Our dogs are both insured - around 65 dollars a month each, as they come under "select breeds". We have claimed thousands for Issy's hip and knee issues in the last 18 months. The insurance has promptly paid everything except for a 100 dollar gap excess without any quibbling.

We would have struggled to keep up without the insurance. Ditto for Alfie's on going skin and ear issues, once our insurer has agreed a claim, far from excluding further claims they have a "lifetime cover guarantee" under which they continue to pay for associated problems for the life of the dogs.

Ironically I have a similar problem to Issy with my own knee - our insurance is around 310 dollars a month for a couple, top hospital plus extras. I saw the ortho last week following a dislocation, trip to ER, MRI etc. Ortho said I need a knee replacement but when I baulked due to my age, suggested an arthroscopy to see if that would help - called our insurer only to be informed they won't pay for ER trip, MRI, initial consult with Ortho, any costs associated with anaesthetic when having surgery and so the list went on. The "gap excess" for me to have the arthroscopy ended up being around 4,000 dollars.

Nobody will convince me the dogs health insurance is not good value, it's a darn sight better than ours. Plus Petplan don't seem to think an anaesthetic is an extra rather than part of the surgery.

[sandgrubber]

My dog are young and healthy - but one got a bad case of gastro that cost over $500 to treat (symptoms same as obstruction, a few days in hospital etc) and one ate a moldy lunch that cost me $1000. If I hsd simply saved the premium I'd still be in debt. Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early.

"Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early." ????? meaning?????

Maybe I'm a grumpy old woman, but I don't see why people no longer save 'for a rainy day'.

If you kept a buffer fund of, say, $10k -- this can cover car break downs and a hundred other little mishaps, so long as you replenish it after you draw on it -- you'd still be better off self insuring. How much do you pay for pet insurance premiums each year? How much over the life of your two dogs? How much did your premiums go up after the two claims you described? I don't know if pet insurance companies presently class people as a 'bad risk' after they submit a few large claims, but if they don't now, it's only a matter of time before they do so.

btw, If a moldy lunch cost you $1000, I would question whether your dogs are healthy. A dog with a healthy immune system can eat quite a bit of garbage without worse consequences than bad farts and irregular bowel movements.

[RubyBlue]

Insurance is a con.

For some people it can end up being very useful but more often than not people pay premiums year after year and never get anything for it.

Trust me, I worked in insurance and they will do pretty much anything to get out of paying a claim. It's a business and they have to minimize their risk as much as possible.

We put money into an account instead of pay a premium and we have a credit card for emergencies that exceed that amount.

This is what my dad always says: "Insurance companies are in the business of not paying claims"! Ive had a couple of big vet bills across the course of one of my dogs so far 6 years of life, and have still come out well ahead of where I would be if I had paid for insurance every year.

Not to mention that my comprehensive car insurer screwed me over repairs to my car even after the damage was fully covered by the other persons insurance.

[melzawelza]

My dog are young and healthy - but one got a bad case of gastro that cost over $500 to treat (symptoms same as obstruction, a few days in hospital etc) and one ate a moldy lunch that cost me $1000. If I hsd simply saved the premium I'd still be in debt. Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early.

"Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early." ????? meaning?????

Maybe I'm a grumpy old woman, but I don't see why people no longer save 'for a rainy day'.

If you kept a buffer fund of, say, $10k -- this can cover car break downs and a hundred other little mishaps, so long as you replenish it after you draw on it -- you'd still be better off self insuring. How much do you pay for pet insurance premiums each year? How much over the life of your two dogs? How much did your premiums go up after the two claims you described? I don't know if pet insurance companies presently class people as a 'bad risk' after they submit a few large claims, but if they don't now, it's only a matter of time before they do so.

btw, If a moldy lunch cost you $1000, I would question whether your dogs are healthy. A dog with a healthy immune system can eat quite a bit of garbage without worse consequences than bad farts and irregular bowel movements.

Yes, but what happens in the time it takes you to save up that 10k?

My dog's insurance is about $500 per year. So I wouldn't save up that much before she dies. I pay $10 per week. What happens if she ends up with hip dysplasia and needs surgery in a couple of years? I'll have barely saved up anything by then.

Why bother with car insurance? House insurance? Public liability? Surely it's also just a rip off as it's unlikely you'll make a claim?

[Jumabaar]

My dog are young and healthy - but one got a bad case of gastro that cost over $500 to treat (symptoms same as obstruction, a few days in hospital etc) and one ate a moldy lunch that cost me $1000. If I hsd simply saved the premium I'd still be in debt. Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early.

"Birdseed exclusions extist so that people get insurance early." ????? meaning?????

Maybe I'm a grumpy old woman, but I don't see why people no longer save 'for a rainy day'.

If you kept a buffer fund of, say, $10k -- this can cover car break downs and a hundred other little mishaps, so long as you replenish it after you draw on it -- you'd still be better off self insuring. How much do you pay for pet insurance premiums each year? How much over the life of your two dogs? How much did your premiums go up after the two claims you described? I don't know if pet insurance companies presently class people as a 'bad risk' after they submit a few large claims, but if they don't now, it's only a matter of time before they do so.

btw, If a moldy lunch cost you $1000, I would question whether your dogs are healthy. A dog with a healthy immune system can eat quite a bit of garbage without worse consequences than bad farts and irregular bowel movements.

Sandgrubber- Megans dog is lucky to be alive as eating mould can be fatal, regardless of how robust a dog is.

Insurance is about risk. You either take the risk on yourself or you pay for someone else to take on that risk. ATM its easier for me to pay for someone else to pay for that risk because I don't have the 10k behind me. I have a few dogs on it and I will add the rest once I start working. If I can save up a nice buffer then I may consider dropping the insurance but up until that point I pay for the privilege of having someone else having cash to pay for anything that pops up.

Posted at the same time as melzawelza!!

Edited August 7, 2012 by Jumabaar

[Danois]

Over 6 years of pet insurance (3 different pets covered) and numerous claims including over $5k for my last dog's illness alone and I've never had my insurer query a single claim or not pay the claim so I question the remark re it being a con or they do anything to avoid payment.

Aussie - your insurance experience is obviously vastly different than my time in it as avoiding claims was not our claims management model and I represented the major insurers in the market.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

My brother decided to get some fatty lumps taken off his SBT. He rang the insurance company first to see how much they cover and the phone girl said 80%.

Wrong.

They would only pay for the first lump to be removed and not for any of the others, and there was an excess and some other stuff that meant he got back less than half on their initial assessment - and a bit more after he rang up and complained and refered them to the conversation saying 80%.

And the dog won't be covered for removing any more fatty lumps.

And when my premium came in last year - it had gone up but the cover had roughly halved. Ie if she busts an ACL on one side, she's not covered for ACL on the other side, same with anything she's got two of. And if she gets anything more than once - it's not covered. I can't see the value in it any more. I initially took it out for things like snake bite and car accidents. And we haven't claimed for anything and yet the premium keeps going up and the cover keeps going down.