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. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Okay, the plan is up to $20,000 with a 20% copay and this is with a 15% discount. Last year it was $277.42. Calla is 3 and Luca 4.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

how did you get a 15% discount with them?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Amy, You should get a multiple dog discount and 5% if you mention DK for a maximum of 15%!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Or online, microchipped etc. There's a lot of discounts I qualified for but 15 % is the maximum.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

F. No deductible?

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Oh Man, that is high...I guess that is what I will be looking at next year too, although that would be like 42% higher.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Lisa,

I believe some of this goes by area code.  Spud is three and I paid $100.00  less, but then again I believe we are only covered to $10.000 ( not the $20,000 ), 100% coverage, $200 deductible

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We are just going into our 3rd year of having coverage through Pet Plan.  My premium has gone up every year.  I argued with them for months last year over the percent of my increase.  They also had not applied all the discounts I'd asked for.  My girls are GD's, just turned 4 y/o and I pay right at $78 a quarter per dog for the Pet Plan, $200 deductible, 100% pay unless it is a specialist and then it is 70% I believe.  I haven't had to use it.  When I see how much the increase is as a total each year I sort of freak out but when I divide it out over 12 months, I'm still just paying about $25 per month per dog so I guess I'm still ok with it.  I do hate to think what the premium is going to be when they are 10.

[Heather Martinez]

I just got PetPlan for Teddy. He's 1.5 years old and I got the gold plan with $20,000 coverage, with a $200 deductible and 100% reimbursement for $364 a year. There was a difference of only about $40-60/year between the different plans, which had $8000, $12,000 or $20,000 of coverage, so I just went with the highest coverage. Having a $200 deductible made it a bit cheaper. Teddy is listed as a goldendoodle, and we live in Southern CA, not sure if location makes a difference at all.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I looked at my plan it says

Your premium

Your premium is the cost of your pet's insurance policy. Your premium is not affected by your pet's age but instead based on two things:

• The breed of your pet – we cover all breeds but some breeds are prone to certain illnesses so it may cost more to insure them
• Where you live – veterinary costs differ from place to place

so technically it shouldnt go up right?

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

when I spoke with PetPlan about my increase this year, they told me that all pet insurance goes up from year to year regardless of what insurance company you use and that is due to the increased costs of providing vet care.  As more and more specialized/advanced treatment options become available the industry wide costs increase.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I wonder what happens when PG Riley reaches 7 or 8 years of age...does anybody know what the premiums go up to then?. My worry is that they won't insure older dogs.

I paid €140 for the first year (there were deductions for microchipping and on-line sign up) The next year is due at the end of June and I'm thinking of getting in touch now and asking what the premium for year two will be.  It is a whole of life policy and there is a €90 deductible.  Coverage is for €5000 vet fees and there is also a third party coverage too and holiday cancellation.