Pet Insurance Query

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BTR

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# 210507 30-Mar-2017 13:47

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.

sxz

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# 1750702 30-Mar-2017 13:53

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

mattwnz

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# 1750712 30-Mar-2017 14:15

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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

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# 1750757 30-Mar-2017 15:42

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.

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

callumb

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# 1750791 30-Mar-2017 17:06

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

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# 1750873 30-Mar-2017 20:05

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

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# 1751031 31-Mar-2017 09:43

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

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# 1751403 1-Apr-2017 00:12

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.

cadman

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# 1752618 1-Apr-2017 12:57

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

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# 1753150 2-Apr-2017 10:58

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...