Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


BTR

BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek


#210507 30-Mar-2017 13:47
Send private message

So I have two dogs, both have pet insurance because of their breed. I have just had my renewal notice for one of my dogs who has turned 1 back in December and found the policy has increased by $110.

 

I called the insurance company to ask why the policy had increased by 20% and was told because I make a claim on the policy last year that there is a "Claims loading fee" applied to this years insurance. 

 

I haven't read the policy information yet to see if it mentions this but does this sound normal? I mean isn't insurance a gamble in a way, I could potentially spend years paying premiums without every claiming and thats a win for them but if I end up claiming they have lose their gamble but thats what they have re-insurance for?

 

 

 

Interested to know what peoples thoughts are.


Create new topic

sxz

sxz
761 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #1750702 30-Mar-2017 13:53
Send private message

Sounds normal.  It's just another name for losing your 'no claims bonus'




mattwnz
20141 posts

Uber Geek


  #1750712 30-Mar-2017 14:15
Send private message

Insurance companies are like banks, they don't lose. Maybe that is why many banks also sell insurance. But you can shop around, although not too much competition, You will find many brands are owned by the same parent. Dogs are expensive, I stick to cats, which aren't exactly cheap either if they need vet care, but self insure.


lokhor
2858 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #1750757 30-Mar-2017 15:42
Send private message

We had insurance with Pet Plan and they never charged us more in our premiums even though we claimed like $14k for our cat's leg surgeries and rehabilitation. 





All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.




callumb
83 posts

Master Geek

Trusted
Devoli

  #1750791 30-Mar-2017 17:06
Send private message

I'm with petplan at the moment. Highly recommend you don't ever insure with them. Currently battling with them over a fairly simple claim which they have decided is 'wellness testing'. Who would have thought that if an animal gets sick, you have to get them tested to find out why, apparently that's not covered :/

kingjj
1728 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #1750873 30-Mar-2017 20:05
Send private message

Like @lokhor we've got Pet Plan (The Warehouse branded one but the same provider) and despite several claims over the last few years we've never had an increase in dues. 'Claims Loading Fee' sounds like an excess by another name.


BTR

BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek


  #1751031 31-Mar-2017 09:43
Send private message

My policy with pet plan is I pay a $100 excess and they cover the rest. Never had any issues claiming apart from their claims process is a real pain compared to southern cross. My issue didn't start until my policy came up for renewal. 

 

i still haven't had a chance to check my policy wording yet but if its not mentioned I will be fighting them on it, I don't think its fair you can just add hidden fee's. 

 

 


Geektastic
17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1751403 1-Apr-2017 00:12
Send private message

Pet insurance has become very costly in the past few years.

 

We have 3 dogs. The eldest one was insured from being a puppy with a Christchurch company called Ellenco. Small family owned business. Premiums were around $500 a year, never went up much each year and any claims were paid fast and without complaint.

 

Then, when the dog was about 7 years old, Ellenco sold out to Blue Cross. The third renewal with them the premium had gone from the $500 zone to $1500 per year. There were no claims other than minor medicines etc - no big surgery claims or anything like that.

 

We just stopped insuring him at that point - unfortunately he was almost 10 and most insurers won't cover dogs after 10 unless they covered them before they were 10.

 

Our Spaniel was insured with Blue Cross (she was 18 months old when we got her) and the premium had hit $850 within 2 years, again with no major claims.






 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
cadman
1014 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user


  #1752618 1-Apr-2017 12:57
Send private message

mattwnz:

 

Insurance companies are like banks, they don't lose. Maybe that is why many banks also sell insurance. But you can shop around, although not too much competition, You will find many brands are owned by the same parent. Dogs are expensive, I stick to cats, which aren't exactly cheap either if they need vet care, but self insure.

 

 

Yeah - banks and insurance companies - birds of a feather.

 

I too prefer cats - they're lower maintenance and as they're fiercely independent they're much less needy. When it comes down to it neither are particularly long-lived animals so if they develop some costly affliction don't give in to the emotional blackmail of vets.


Geektastic
17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #1753150 2-Apr-2017 10:58
Send private message

cadman:

 

mattwnz:

 

Insurance companies are like banks, they don't lose. Maybe that is why many banks also sell insurance. But you can shop around, although not too much competition, You will find many brands are owned by the same parent. Dogs are expensive, I stick to cats, which aren't exactly cheap either if they need vet care, but self insure.

 

 

Yeah - banks and insurance companies - birds of a feather.

 

I too prefer cats - they're lower maintenance and as they're fiercely independent they're much less needy. When it comes down to it neither are particularly long-lived animals so if they develop some costly affliction don't give in to the emotional blackmail of vets.

 

 

 

 

To be fair, cats are poor at retrieving shot game...






Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.