Question about Rising Pet Insurance Premiums! Pet Plan

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I have pet insurance on both my dogs. I have filed one claim and that was an ER visit with Fudge when she was just a puppy. This year my policy premium went up to $206.60, which is almost $40.00 more than last year. Here are the premiums I paid over the years for my dogs:

Fudge

2009    143.56

2010    143.56

2011    167.69

2012    206.60

2013    246.40

2014    308.00

2015    385.00

2015    349.68 (we moved in October 2015 and PetPlan changed our policy plan from March to  

                                10/14/2015)

2016    469.20 (Pet Plan switched me to 15,000 annual coverage, 300 annual deductible, 80%)

2017    603.10

Vern

2010    143.56

2011    167.69

2012    182.93

2013    221.07

2014    276.34

2015    345.43

2015    304.02 (see above. my policy plan switched from beginning in April to 10/14)

2016    407.97 (Pet Plan switched us to 15,000, 300 annual deductible, 80% reimbursement)

2017    524.37

My rates include a 15% discount and my coverage is for vet fees of $8000, 80% reimbursement level and $200 deductible. I guess my concern is at the rate these policies are going up, I could one day be paying big bucks for insurance and the CSR told me today that there is no cap on the premium.   Also, I was told today that the premium is not affected in any way by the amount of claims you submit, but only by age of your dog, location (where you live), and breed.

Is this comparable to what others are paying? I also wanted to get this all written down for the next time someone asks about Pet Insurance.

I still think Pet Insurance is very, very important, but just want to know if my company is in the same ballpark as others.

**sometime before we paid the 2016, Pet Plan changed Underwriters and redid all the policies. Premiums skyrocketed for many. Our policy was switched from a per incident to an annual deductible. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Laurie, I pay $332 for Guinness (age three) and a little less for Murph with Pet Plan.  I do have broader coverage though...$20,000 for Vet fees with a $200 deductible....100% reimbursement over the deductible.  I was going to post a blog saying how thrilled I am with this company.  They settled Guinness's pancreatitis claim in less than a week and reimbursed $2300....every single expense other than the $200 deductible.  They paid for all meds and even paid 100% of all the expenses when he was in the Specialty Hospital being treated by the Critical Care Specialist.  They asked no questions about any of the line items, and there were pages of them.  What breed did you list Fudge and Vern as?  My guys are shown as Mixed Breed.  I do expect that premiums will increase each year.  I'm assuming they take all their claims experience data (which would vary by location, age and breed of the dog) and that determines the rate (including a profit percentage).  As dogs age,  I would definitely expect that there would be an increase in frequency and severity of illness.

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Interesting. I signed on with Pet Plan last month and was not able to list my dog as a mixed breed. I had to list her as a Goldendoodle (which is in their drop down breed menu). I was told they may choose not to cover certain ailments if I did not list the breed properly.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am pretty sure they had Labradoodle as one of their breeds. Thank you for your information. Maybe I should increase my vet fees. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

When I signed up I told them that Guinness was an ALD....they were confused by that.  I explained that it was a mix of five different breeds and the sales rep said they might as well list him as mixed breed. 

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

Ah, I see. You're lucky that way. I think listing Abby as a GD raised the premium a bit.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I put both of mine down on Pet Plan as labradoodle and they are both ALD.  I wonder if I would've seen a price difference if i had gone your route.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

WOW!! $20,000!! We can't get anywhere close to that here. I have the same plan as Kaytlin listed below for Sophie and Winston.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I opted for the high annual coverage amount because my guys are not particularly healthy.  I'm so glad that it was available. 

[Jennifer and Jack]

I don't have golden doodle as an option when I signed Jack up three years ago with Pet Plan... They rock. Jack is in under small mixed breed

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Jane, We just got the same exact coverage as you for both dogs. So happy to hear they covered all that!!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

hmm, im not sure, but your premium is still cheaper than it is here in Canada. I pay just under $40 a month = $480 a year and that is with Cooper listed as a lab mix, poodle mix is even higher. I also have 80% coverage and $100 deductible. This is my first year so im not sure how much it will go up

• Highest coverage amounts for accidents and illness
• $5,000 per incident on veterinary services
• $5,000 per illness, per year
• $350 for alternative therapy, behavioural therapy and medical devices per year, per category

I dont think theres a limit on number of incidences though

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thanks, Kaytlin. I feel better now :) I think this discussion will help people looking for insurance.