Dog Community

Pet Insurance woes...

Posted : 6/6/2006 1:05:39 PM

It shouldn't surprise me that Pet Insurance is no different than car insurance, health insurance or any other insurance; you aren't paying for peace of mind, you pay to line the pockets of your provider (ARRRRGGHHH!!!).

Case in point. I have been with PetCare Insurance for many years, but 4 years with Chinook. Chinook is a 4 1/2 year old Sheppard/Lab/? mutt which we adopted from a shelter when she was just 8 weeks old (abandoned litter...sigh).

Anyhow, Chinook has been unfortunate. She's had infections, insect bites, eye problems (pannus), anal gland issues etc. etc... She has recovered from all of these, but insurance has always kicked in and helped us out.

Last week I get the following in a letter from PetCare:

"Dear Chris,

PetCare is pleased to have provided you with valuable pet health insurance coverage for Chinook's recent veterinary expenses through your MasterCare Premiere 80% policy.

Your decision to take out pet insurance was a sound one, and as of March 31st, 2006, has resulted in $2,840.36 in claims paid, verses just $2,215,77 paid in premiums (bold and underline as appears in actual letter - chris). PetCare was there for you when you needed us the most.

As with most traditional insurance programs, we're required to evaluate claims experience on an individual basis each year. After reviewing your claims experience, we've determined than an increase to your monthly premium is necessary...Your current monthly premium of $56.00 will be increased to $92.73."

Well folks, Chinook's premiums have almost doubled. Why? Because the insurance company didn't make any money from us. It doesn't matter that 99% of all other policy holders will never break even (it's peace of mind, remember?). It also doesn't matter that Chinook is healthy now and probably wouldn't make another claim for some time. All that matters is the bottom line.

I am sure that all other pet insurance providers have the same policies and practices, so I can't really recommend that you steer away from PetCare (they did pay out promptly every time), it's just sooooo frustrating to find out that nothing exists outside of the almighy dollar today. Corporate greed will soon become self-aware!

Apologies for the rant.

loveukaykay

Posted : 6/6/2006 1:50:50 PM

We need insurance, thats the sad part.... most is required, some just to help us out (yeah). And they got into it for the money, no other reason (at least *I* firmly believe that)... so its unfortunate to say the least!

magilacudy

Posted : 6/6/2006 2:08:31 PM

That is terrible. Insurance always ticks me off. I pay all this money every month, every year for my car and truck and my house, and hopefully I will never have to use it, but it's bull.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 6/6/2006 4:58:08 PM

It's just a rip-off. You can't afford to be without it, whether it's home, car or pet. But as soon as you have a claim, they double your policy or drop you completely. [:@] It's like the years and years you went without a claim doesn't mean a dang thing.

Joyce & Max

malsh_k

Posted : 6/6/2006 5:33:48 PM

Isn't $56 expensive to begin with. I have VPI and the premium plan is $25, I've never used it so far so I can't tell you how good they are.

marynh

Posted : 6/6/2006 6:57:39 PM

may I cross post this? I belong to a lot of pet boards and one of the most frequent question that pops up is "should I get pet insurance" I think this is a perfect example of why it's better to simply put the premium $$ into a separate account and save it for vet care. Interest can be better used for petcare than some fat-arsed exec. somewhere who doesn't even know, or care, about the pets insured.

Brian Berry

Posted : 6/6/2006 7:31:08 PM

Pet insuranced isn't required here, at least i don't think it is. I agree with marynh, i just save the money that would be use for pet insurance instead of paying for insurance. I think its a better choice.

stardancnminpin

Posted : 6/6/2006 11:43:56 PM

Would you possibly be able to shop around with other pet insurers for a better premium like you can do with other types of insurance? Maybe that would be an option if the new carrier wouldn't impose any waiting or pre-existing condition clauses on you. I hate it when something like health/car/pet insurance turns into such a greed machine instead of being the helping entity that it should be.[

][:@]

Julie Byers

Posted : 6/7/2006 12:54:33 AM

Insurance policy is kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? Insurance? Yeah right. You pay a monthly or annual premium and *hope* you don't have to battle the company to get them to cover/pay on claims. When you have too many claims and aren't proffitable enough then you aren't in good hands, are you. Grrr I loath insurance companies. I think I will set aside forty dollars or so per month, and not have pet insurance. No forms, claims, 800 numbers, perma-hold on the phone, blah blah blah......no representative will be with me shortly because my call is important yadda yadda. Did I mention I loath insurance companies?? lol Jules

Stef w

Posted : 6/7/2006 6:12:31 AM

I thought about pet insurance but then weighed out the cost vs. what I might have to pay and decided to put aside the premium every month. Every now and again when I hear a terrible horror story about blocked bowels, etc. I think about slapping a policy on them - but then I remember that I most likely won't use it and that's what I have my cash set aside for...

Benedict

Posted : 6/7/2006 6:29:46 AM

That really sucks, I am sorry. [:@]

Kate

Chris

Posted : 6/7/2006 12:19:31 PM

Feel free to cross-post Marynh. I've cancelled my policy, along with a letter explaining why, but I doubt they'll care. I'm sure they would prefer to lose me as a client than risk losing any more money on Chinook.

I take some satisfaction in knowing that I actually made money on the policy, and Chinook is healthier for it. As for the initial cost of $56, there were other, less costly options, some as low as $20, but we never intended to keep the policy beyond Chinook's first year. We opted for the premium coverage in the short term. It just turned out that she needed it for a lot longer.

We already have a seperate account for emergencies for our other pets, so Chinook will be thrown into this pool now, as was originally intended.

I'm just pi**ed off that I thought a pet insurance company would somehow be different than any other insurance provider.

Of course, I could always change her name (on paper), and vet, and start a new policy with Chinook under my wife's name, but that would be dishonest...[

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