DeltaCharlie Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Some of the breeds are rather bizarre too, my borders havrnt risen much ($8 per month) for similar coverage, but I also looked at the 12month coverage for Charlie as he is too old for the others. If I list him as an ACD x it is $70 per month but if I list him as a blue heeler x it is $53 per month :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha bet Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Surely people realise that the Pet Insurance premiums will start to go thru the roof. The Companies entice you in with low premiums and get you locked into the idea of having the cover then they start increasing and know that a big percentage will just keep paying. When you hear of many who say they are claiming for operations that cost $2,000 or $3,000 - where do you think the money is going to come from - The insurance company don't care about giving pet owners piece of mind, they just want to make money..... we will see more increases in cost and less items that can be claimed. Common sense, just do the maths. Nowdays with four dogs instead of paying an Insurance Company $200 or so a month - I have $2,400 to put in a bank each year.... in four years you have nearly $10,000 to deal with any major issue..... who do you think is the winner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Surely people realise that the Pet Insurance premiums will start to go thru the roof. The Companies entice you in with low premiums and get you locked into the idea of having the cover then they start increasing and know that a big percentage will just keep paying. When you hear of many who say they are claiming for operations that cost $2,000 or $3,000 - where do you think the money is going to come from - The insurance company don't care about giving pet owners piece of mind, they just want to make money..... we will see more increases in cost and less items that can be claimed. Common sense, just do the maths. Nowdays with four dogs instead of paying an Insurance Company $200 or so a month - I have $2,400 to put in a bank each year.... in four years you have nearly $10,000 to deal with any major issue..... who do you think is the winner? You're gambling that none of your dogs will need surgery for the four years it takes you to save $10,000. If one of your dogs needs a $7000 surgery next year. What then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teekay Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 For the people who have already received their premium increases, which policy have they put your dogs onto? Do they just choose the one that seems closest to what you previously had and stick you on it? If that happens and you would rather a lower policy, can you elect a different one or does that change the whole "continuous policy" thing and everything becomes pre-existing as per their PDS? The reason I ask is because both Shock and Whip are due for their renewals in July. I have previously paid yearly but will be switching to monthly payments. I think my old payments were $45 a month and after hearing all these horror stories I did a few dummy quotes to see what I would be up for in the future. It seems "medium" sized dogs aren't as severely affected by the price hike, as it will only up my premiums for those 2 dogs to $53 a month (so only an extra $8pm), Delta is $61pm month for the same coverage, but she is 7 and I think they are upping the price each year after 5. That price is for the Classic 1 policy, if they switch them to another policy then my premium will go higher. I don't mind an extra $8pm, and it certainly doesn't compare to the increases that others are experiencing, but I don't want to be going too much higher than that if I can help it. Not when I don't believe that either dog requires higher coverage. The Classic 1 policy is the equivalent to the old Budget cover policy. I was previously on the Standard cover with Luka but have downgraded to the Classic 1 now, no problem with changing at all. It is interesting that the border collie premium is one of the cheaper ones. Doesn't make any sense at all that my Australian Shepherd is $67. If ever I get another Aussie I think I may try and pass them off as a border :laugh: Surely people realise that the Pet Insurance premiums will start to go thru the roof. The Companies entice you in with low premiums and get you locked into the idea of having the cover then they start increasing and know that a big percentage will just keep paying. When you hear of many who say they are claiming for operations that cost $2,000 or $3,000 - where do you think the money is going to come from - The insurance company don't care about giving pet owners piece of mind, they just want to make money..... we will see more increases in cost and less items that can be claimed. Common sense, just do the maths. Nowdays with four dogs instead of paying an Insurance Company $200 or so a month - I have $2,400 to put in a bank each year.... in four years you have nearly $10,000 to deal with any major issue..... who do you think is the winner? Well that's great Alpha Bet but what if you need to claim for something in the first year, before the savings have built up? This is the nature of insurance. You are paying for peace of mind. You may well end up paying multiple thousands in premiums over the life of your dog and you may claim very little or even nothing at all, but I take comfort in knowing that no matter what crops up with my dogs, finances will not have to factor into my decision on how to proceed. And remember for everyone that is claiming $2000 or $3000 there are people not claiming at all so they must even out to some extent.I do agree with you though, the insurance company do just want to make money. It is a business after all. Your first paragraph doesn't make much sense though. They don't entice you in with low premiums and then hike them up. They have raised the premiums for everyone, including new policies. It's pretty simple really. Claims have obviously risen so premiums have to go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PooMother Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 As an example my gsd just cost me $4000 in February due to a fence injury I got it all back. I originally got the insurance because of the gsd when he was a pup as heaven forbid he ever get hd or the like and the money already paid would not even cover the costs. For me right now I will pay the insurance as it has more than covered my dogs over the last few years and I should add I haven't had the 4 dogs the whole time either so it hasn't cost me 200 a month for 6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 (edited) I have three dogs, one I have claimed $2500 for, the other two nothing. The first one I did recently claim a stitch up and have cliamed a couple for her over the years. If I saved $2400 per year I woudl have been back to minus then still probably not had quite enough to cover the otehr claims. It is peace of mind for me as I have so many other things needing monetary imput at the moment that having to find thousands of dollars suddenly would be very stressful. Edited May 28, 2014 by OSoSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosepup Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I just had my policy renewal notice come through (after ringing and asking for it!) and both Moose and Nacho have gone from $40.65 to $58.39 each. I don't mind a premium increase but 50%!! Crikey moses. Two Chihuahuas cost more for health insurance than I do. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Same here. Saw the bill come in hadn't received any paperwork. Once I emailed and complained it got emailed to me. Now have had to email them to ask to cancel the policy as I've had to sit on hold for too long each time I've rung and have given up as I just don't have the time to be sitting on hold just at the moment. Oh and I still haven't received any paperwork in the mail yet! I emailed them ages ago asking about the complaints I had heard about, and was assured at the time that the paperwork would arrive before the money was taken out. So, given the price hike plus the fact they can't even send me the policy documents on time I don't want to use them anymore for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosepup Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I'm a bit put off BUT they do have the best coverage in the market, 100% payment for illness and injury plus lifetime cover for chronic illnesses. I guess you have to weigh up whether that's worth the higher premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) I just had my policy renewal notice come through (after ringing and asking for it!) and both Moose and Nacho have gone from $40.65 to $58.39 each. I don't mind a premium increase but 50%!! Crikey moses. I'm not with PetPlan and my two Cavaliers have been insured for 5 years with another company. The current policy renewal was a 98% increase! I suspect they take full advantage of the fact that when dogs reach a certain age they're too old to be accepted by any other pet insurance company. If I want to keep my dogs insured I'm stuck with them and have to suck up the 98% increase. I made just one minor claim in the previous year which was for an xray for one dog and no claims for the other dog for three years and even that was minor claim. Edited July 3, 2014 by cavNrott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdogs Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Ugh. Just called them because I realised they'd not taken payments out for three months. (Called them the day before with an enquiry and they didn't mention any problems). Apparently they'd lost my account details in their database transition. I have two dogs and a cat insured, so I asked them to hold off until after I'd been paid Monday to take the whopping sum out. They agreed. And then promptly took the entire sum out two hours after our phone call. What is up with this company? Do they actually not want clients? I recommend this company several times a day. I'm hesitant to do that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I'm getting worried about my insurance now ... Is anyone else with bow wow meow? I just blindly accept it coming off my card every month, it could have double without me even noticing :-/ ... Better go check my bank... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I'm with Bow Wow and the policies for my two dogs increased 98% but they did send me the renewal policies so I knew of the increase before they took the money out of my bank. I suspect the huge increase is because my dogs are now both over 8 years old and due to their age could get insurance with any other company. So it's pay up or go without insurance. I expect there will be another large increase when the policies fall due in two months time, for the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I checked my bank and it looks like mine has gone up by 3 cents a few months ago, which seems consistent with when I would expect my renewal to be... phew! it's terrible that they can increase the cost so drastically for older pets and effectively hold people to ransom as they know they can't change insurers. You think they would show some kind of respect for customer loyalty, especially if you have had that particular animal insured from day one with that company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 I ended up getting my renewal notice by email after requesting it for the 2nd time over the phone - 6 weeks after my policy premium went up. Now I'm just chasing my latest claim (of course a biggish one). The original paperwork was 'lost in the mail', so the poor vet had to complete the forms again for me. They asked me to submit by email to be safer, and said they would expedite the claim. I called the next day to check they received it and was told that thee claim had been approved, but to allow 2 weeks for the cheque to be written. So, today is 2 weeks - I called to find out if the cheque had been written and was met with a ridiculous amount of huffiness for daring to question them. After insisting on more information, I was told they would deposit the money into my account because it was a special circumstance. Fingers crossed that actually happens. It clearly means they hadn't written the cheque yet. I already had to pay interest on my stupid credit card because I made the mistake of thinking the claim would actually be sorted within the interest free period. um no. The original claim was submitted almost 2 months ago now. All my previous claims have been fine - I feel like they're a complete shemozzle at the moment with all their 'changes'. Their accounting department is a mess. I feel so bad for you Blackdogs - our latest direct debit payment came out 2.5 weeks late, but at least I don't have to deal with 3 payments at once! I would be (even more) irate!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I'm considering dumping Petplan now....my renewal isn't up until December 27 but I could save that money and we do have a credit card that is only used when we really need it (ie. when Cleo got sick we used it). Currently I pay $40 per dog, per month so it's not a huge amount but could make a difference. I am so undecided, we could save that little bit extra per month or have a little bit of peace of mind (it's not total peace as stories of claims being rejected worry me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PooMother Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Oddly enough they have taken 1 payment out last month and this month but not for the other 3. I queried the payment last month and was told it was due to a new stem being installed but I'm still covered blah blah blah. Waiting on a reply via email, do t understand if it's a new system why they can still take a payment for 1 dog but not the other 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I scan and save all claims paperwork I send to the pet insurance company. Then I send everything by registered mail. This saves any confusion when they claim the original paperwork was 'lost in the mail'. Last time I sent the pet insurance company claim forms for a fairly large claim they told me the paperwork had been 'lost in the mail'. When I told them it was sent by registered mail and was indeed received by them they found it within a couple of minutes while I was still on the line. The reason I scan and copy everything is because in a claim where the dog has been referred to a specialist and there are a number of invoices and two different vets involved it would be easy for an invoice to be overlooked when calculating the reimbursement Aliwake I'm surprised they asked you to email the claim forms. Usually they insist on receiving the actual signed documents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 That's a good idea cavnrott - usually I fill out my bit, then leave it with the vet who then posts it when they've filled out their bit. I'm thinking now I have the email address I'll just keep using that - it's faster, and traceable! the address is [email protected] if anyone wants it. Will be interesting to see if they want originals next time - I suspect it was because they'd stuffed me around they allowed me to email it this time. But I'll definitely keep using it until they tell me not to! Another interesting thing I've learned for when you have an ongoing illness. I always thought that you'd pay the excess once a year starting from when the illness was diagnosed, but it's actually based on your policy dates. So, for example, if you see the vet about an eye issue then are referred to a specialist 2 weeks later, and the policy renewal date is in between those 2 appointments, you will pay the excess on both appointments... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Always copy then send. Apparently some of my paperwork was 'lost' it was much easier just to send the copies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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