sausy.dog Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I was warned off pet insurance unless the dog is worth mega money as all the people I've spoken to have gone through similar things. I don't really understand this logic. A freebie mutt will cost just as much to treat as a dog worth mega money if its poisoned or hit by a car or gets a paralysis tick or some other disaster. And I don't think most normal people's desire to do anything they can to get treatment for their pet correlates with how much it is worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I was warned off pet insurance unless the dog is worth mega money as all the people I've spoken to have gone through similar things. I have a separate "pet account" connected to my normal account and try to keep it topped up so i can pay vaccinations or emergency stuff, my horse is so accident prone and always hurts herself on holidays or long weekends. We do this too, and always have a large credit card ready in the case of something major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayla1 Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I looked into a few of them but decided it wasn't worth it because of all the exclusions. I have a savings account for emergencies, and credit card or home loan redraw as back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkhe Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 (edited) Sorry to hear about your issues with Real, donatella - I am with them too and have never had a problem at all, and have received $ from my claims back within about 2 working days. Much less than I was told to expect. I even received a $50 cash back cheque in the mail earlier this year, for having had insurance with them for 12 months, despite having claimed in that time. I've been really happy with them so far and have never had to provide more than just the claim form with vet notes on it.. that said, I did make a claim last week after Maggie ate a Christmas pudding and had to go to the emergency vet ( ) so who knows, maybe I'll be quizzed more for this one. I'd definitely chase it up, this is the first negative issue I've heard of with respect to Real. :( I thought I was onto a good thing with them! Edited December 22, 2012 by Alkhe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Financial industry ombudsman http://www.fos.org.au/centric/home_page.jsp I think those guys cover insurance too. Ie if Real won't pay out because you haven't owned the dog its whole life - then they should refund all your premiums - for taking them fraudulently. My brother got a partial payout - because he had rung before he took the dog to the vet to find out what the insurance would pay out on what he wanted done (a bunch of lumpectomies). Insurance company (another hollards special) tried to argue that only the first lump was covered and all the rest would be considered "pre-existing" after the first one came off. Even tho it was only one surgery. My brother referred them back to the call recording... ie that made a new contract when they said on the phone call about six lumps off, that he'd only need to pay the first 20%. I admit when I take my dog in for her annual vax, I get the vet to do a basic joint and teeth check - so they can't claim pre-existing on any of that. I suppose if the vet finds something - we start claiming and then I say to hell with my insurance. I mostly have it for the big things - eg car accident, snake or tick bite etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantis Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I was warned off pet insurance unless the dog is worth mega money as all the people I've spoken to have gone through similar things. I have a separate "pet account" connected to my normal account and try to keep it topped up so i can pay vaccinations or emergency stuff, my horse is so accident prone and always hurts herself on holidays or long weekends. We do this too, and always have a large credit card ready in the case of something major. Definitely the best idea. In my 40 odd tears of dog ownership, I have rarely had to shell out for large Vet bills, maybe I'm just lucky. I figure I am way out in front financially, than if I had Pet insurance. Saying that, I don't have any type of insurance, I think they are al scammers. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faytiges Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Dont have any Insurance ??? What if you hit a Merc, or your house burns down? Do you cry poor me.I have PetSecure and very happy with them. My first dog that I took out Ins with, troubles started at 7, thousands of dollars, never a problem with them, all covered. My second, same thing, no problems with covering and receiving claims. Would not be without it. To me Insurance is something you have that you hope you dont have to claim, but when you do, thank goodness you have it !! Not a lot of outlay, may go years without any probs, may have them early, just the way things are. Think we really need to take responsibility for all things we have, house, cars, ourselves...and not the least our dogs. Of course only my opinion, but more than happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Sorry to hear about your issues with Real, donatella - I am with them too and have never had a problem at all, and have received $ from my claims back within about 2 working days. Much less than I was told to expect. I even received a $50 cash back cheque in the mail earlier this year, for having had insurance with them for 12 months, despite having claimed in that time. I've been really happy with them so far and have never had to provide more than just the claim form with vet notes on it.. that said, I did make a claim last week after Maggie ate a Christmas pudding and had to go to the emergency vet ( ) so who knows, maybe I'll be quizzed more for this one. I'd definitely chase it up, this is the first negative issue I've heard of with respect to Real. :( I thought I was onto a good thing with them! Send them everything and anything you have (I am now up to round 3 of faxing them info and I have nothing else to give them but a stat dec). I'd even send them a stat dec to say that you got Maggie at X age and she came to you healthy without prior illness to your knowledge to save them drawing the process out longer. Maybe i'm just unlucky, yours will probably go straight through and i'll still be arguing my cause :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Keep fighting them Donatella -- they'll get jack of it soon. The ombudsman is also a fantastic idea. I think like all insurance you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. My preference is to have a separate bank account too -- I get bonus interest for not tapping into it. In the event of some serious specialist surgery, I'm lucky that my mum and brothers would help me out if I needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof4girls Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I'm with real pet insurance Donatella, I hope I don't have this issue when i make a claim after getting Rogue desexed in the new year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I'm with real pet insurance Donatella, I hope I don't have this issue when i make a claim after getting Rogue desexed in the new year.... Do you have full coverage? I only have accident and illness. If you have the full coverage for routine checkups, vacc and desexing I shouldn't think they have much to deny you of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayreovi Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 (edited) Its a waste of money IMO I was with PIA for years with 2/3 dogs, first time I ever made a claim they wouldn't pay it saying it's now not covered (hadn't received any correspondence saying this, or that it went from 100% cover to 80%) Was costing an arm and a leg having the highest coverage with 3 dogs but thought it would be worth it. Bloody ridiculous, I won't be doing it again and while it's a good idea in theory I always tell people to research first to find out exclusions. I have a credit card I can use in emergencies now. Edited December 22, 2012 by tollersowned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minxy Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I paid $250 yearly premium with Medibank, and then 4 months later Kyojin started having issues with his patellas. Paid the $500 excess and we've received almost $10k worth of treatment for that. They were incredibly easy to deal with. We just posted off the forms and every single time we had the money within two weeks. I know some people say they put $15 or so aside each week as a "just in case" rather than paying for pet insurance, but if we'd done that then we would only have $240.00 towards his vet bills which obviously wouldn't have gotten us very far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faytiges Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Exactly.... and you would not get anything back!! The unexpected can and will happen, and usually the cost is huge. You would have to put away a LOT of money each week to cover, or your credit card would not recover quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I know someone who had Medibank and they wouldn't even pay out for an ear infection on a young dog under 12 months who had no other history but vacs and desexing. Your experience sounds much better minxy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Exactly.... and you would not get anything back!! The unexpected can and will happen, and usually the cost is huge. You would have to put away a LOT of money each week to cover, or your credit card would not recover quickly. This theory is all well and good if they pay out. I like the idea of insurance but I don't like jumping through hoops to get what I'm entitled. Having insurance is no guarantee you will be covered either. They can always deny your claim then what has 10+ years of premiums gotten you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Petplan doesn't exclude illnesses after the first occurance (provided you were insured when it happened). Many of the cheaper ones do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisey Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I'm another that is happy with petplan and wouldn't not have it. Although it took a few weeks to get the chq in the mail they paid over $5000 for Lola when she was at the emergency vet and had to have surgery for septic peritonitis, unfortunately she didn't make it :-( but it was nice knowing that money wouldn't be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mish13 Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I didn't have insurance for my first four dogs and have suffered financially because of it. Oscar was diagnosed with an Auto immune disease at 8 years old and his medication and treatment is expensive and ongoing for the rest of his life. So when i got my newfoundland I insured him straight away but as yet have not made a claim.A friend just had her Newfoundland suffer an episode of bloat and paid out over $6000, so I am too afraid not to have cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I am STILL trying to get my claim for Lucy's bout of Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis over a month ago, even more. I thought Real Insurance were okay but they have done nothing but try to get out of paying out the measly $380 for an illness she's never had and i've never made a claim. They now want me to provide her consult notes from her breeder from 0 - 3 months (I got her at 3 months old). The only thing she has ever had is vaccinations and desexing, I have no consult notes to give them. How do people insure rescue dogs with no history if this is what its like trying to claim for a dog you've had since 12 weeks old? She was insured a few days after I got her and up until now (she's 20 months old) she's never claimed or had an illness. What a joke. I received a letter from my breeder's vet when I got my puppy to give her the all clear at 8 weeks. (detailed that they were healthy and had a vaccination at 6 weeks and microchipped). Would this be the documentation the insurance company would want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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