Petplan Insurance UPDATE....Unhappy with New Underwriters....Please do Your Research Before Buying and Definitely Compare to Healthy Paws!!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I know we have had several discussions about Pet Insurance and whether or not to get it and what company to go with if you do.  Fudge is 7 and Vern is 6 and I got Pet Insurance for both before I brought them home. I believe Pet Plan had a policy effective date of 30 days after we brought our puppies home, but I could be wrong. This is all fresh in my mind as my renewal is next month.

First let me say, I would not be without pet insurance, just as I wouldn't go without health insurance. That said, I would like to share my experience with Pet Plan. As others have noted, they have changed the way they do business this year and those of us who have had it all along are more or less stuck with keeping them, because at this point, some of our dogs would have pre-existing conditions.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/petplan-insurance-has-changed

For me, the new premium I will incur has stayed in the ball park of how much they been increasing my premiums each year. Below I am attaching a discussion where I have been tracking my premiums.  They have upped my annual allowance from $10,000 to $15,000. My deductible from $200 to $300 and my reimbursement is 80%.  The new premium for Fudge would be $426.55 per year and Vern would be $370.88 per year.

I have the option of tweaking my policy and have asked them to check on making my deductible a yearly condition rather than per condition.  This is where I am a little upset because Fudge had one claim in 2009 for flu like symptons (which they coded anorexia) and now we are on a "maybe" list and the agent has to get back to me. She was a new puppy and I was worried about dehydration. Vern had a more recent episode, but knock on wood, my dogs have been very healthy and I have used the insurance only a couple of times for both dogs. I disagree that I should be on a "maybe" list, but will withhold judgment until the agent calls back. 

I continue to think that the more informed we are, the better choices we make, so I feel this is good information to have on DK.  New people can see these discussions, weigh all their options, and pick the company that works best for them. 

Here is another discussion worth reading.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/great-pet-plan-claim-exper...

id=2065244%3ATopic%3A4508677&page=1

and the discussion where I track my premiums over the years.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/pet-insurance-premiums-wha...

UPDATE: FUDGE AND VERN DID QUALIFY FOR THE ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLE VERSUS THE PER INCIDENT DEDUCTIBLE.

Our new coverage for the 10/14/2016-10/14/2017 is as follows

$15,000 80% $300 annual deductible. Fudge's premium is $469.20 and Vern's is 407.97.  This is definitely an increase. I have updated it in my previous discussion listed below.

The agent also said premiums are based on age, breed, and location. He also stated you can continue to get the $10,000 coverage that we have had in the past, but Pet Plan is issuing the new quotes for $15,000 because it automatically includes some new options. (the only one I remember is help with costs for advertising if your dog is lost)

FURTHER UPDATES:  Instead of having you weed through pages of this discussion, here are some more interesting things Ricki (and Tara) found out about PetPlan versus Healthy Paws!

1) Plus, Petplan told me no one qualifies for any discounts except the 5% on line renewal once you are past the first year. The other discounts are only for first time clients.

2) Just got an on-line quote from Healthy Paws.  Theirs all have unlimited benefits and annual deductible so the only variables are amount of deductible and copay.  A $250/90% policy would cost $593.40.  A $250/80 would cost $500.28 so that is about $50.00 a year less than Petplan's 15000/300/80 plan and we wouldn't have the cap on benefits and would have a lower deductible.  

3) I discovered another Healthy Paws benefit.  If you take your pet to emergency and you have 90% copay, PetPlan lowers the coverage to 80% (we have had this happen with them). Healthy Paws doesn't do this and will pay at the same 90% as they do for all claims. 

[Janet & Jaxson]

Go figure! I just need to see what happens at renewal. What kind of things are considered preexisting? Jaxson has only had a few minor things- gardia, upper respiratory infection, ear infection. Does that mean none of those things would be covered if I went to a different company?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Janet, I think you would probably need to discuss this with the company you are considering. It seems like each one is different. It's possible they could exempt these from coverage.  But even if they were, since they are minor, you still might save $ by getting a less expensive plan and paying for these yourself if they ever arise again. 

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Just reading through all of this. Thanks for all of the information!

Georgia is with Pet Plan.

I decided to get pet insurance because my boss at work didn't have pet insurance. His 6 year old dog got sick after being perfectly healthy her entire life. It cost him about 6K before they even figured out what was wrong. And now it's a pre-existing condition so the medicine and other costs moving forward would not be covered even if he did have insurance. This all happened at the same time I was getting Georgia.

Since then I've seen too much at the local dog park with owners and dogs that run into injuries or cancer etc. And I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where costs can be very high. 

I guess I will wait and see what Pet Plan says this November when renewal hits. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

It will be interesting to see what happens in November. Georgia is younger than Fudge and Vern so maybe it won't be that bad. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I've been talking with Petplan about our options. To keep the same coverage  Tara currently has-$14,000/200/90 it would cost $746 or a 55% plus increase over last year's premium ($476).  They tried to convince me to go with a $15,000/500 annual/90% for $506.  This was just an attempt to keep the premium relatively close to this year's without any real consideration to our needs. Tara's only claim was a little over $600. They paid according to the policy and after deductible we received a reimbursement of $300+ as expected. If we made the same claim with the plan they suggested we would get $81 back out of the $600+.

I just called them again and got a quote for the $15000/300 annual/80% policy level of Fudge and Vern's renewal. Tara's would cost $554.48.  So a $70.00 increase with a higher deductible and lower copay.  Not happy.  I'm still not sure what we're going to do. I think I'll do some shopping. But you're right-nothing would prevent another company from doing the same thing. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

BTW, I had some incorrect figures on my original post-I used the 2015 premium  as comparison instead of 2016 so disregard. It's still bad but not THAT bad! LOL

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Plus, Petplan told me no one qualifies for any discounts except the 5% on line renewal once you are past the first year. The other discounts are only for first time clients.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

OK, that I did not know either. Good information, Ricki...except for the part where you used the incorrect figures. LOL

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

The whole thing just stinks. I have to say I have had really good service with Petplan, but this change is going to stop me from recommending them. We did all the right things in the beginning....researched, compared plans, etc., but who knew this would change. Even so, I wouldn't be without insurance for my dogs. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Just got an on-line quote from Healthy Paws.  Theirs all have unlimited benefits and annual deductible so the only variables are amount of deductible and copay.  A $250/90% policy would cost $593.40.  A $250/80 would cost $500.28 so that is about $50.00 a year less than Petplan's  15000/300/80 plan and we wouldn't have the cap on benefits and would have a lower deductible.  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I guess we need to start recommending Healthy Paws. 

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Seems like it. I have really had good experiences with PetPlan until this situation. They have great customer service too.  I hate to leave them but this change is a killer.