Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Stephen Courtney — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 22:32:27 GMT

Animals that survive distemper might have some degree of chorea, and can demonstrate multifocal areas of enamel hypoplasia in the adult dentition.

If the disease does more severe damage they don't usually survive. so I'm not sure what long term issues might be worried about. It's not like cat flu, and it doesn't come back.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

CatherineThomas — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:32:36 GMT

[quote user="Stephanie Fursland"]

Our Petplan rep said that their policy is that premiums do not increase just because you have made a claim (i.e. they could increase in line with inflation or due to age of pet but NOT because you have made a claim on the policy). This was at the training about the four weeks' free insurance....

[/quote]

In the case of the puppy with distemper it wont be because of the fact they've made a claim, the increased premiums will be because of the higher risk of on-going problems. This is just how insurance works. they assess the risk. It's the same as if you wanted to get travel insurance and you have a history of potentially on-going illness your premiums will be higher.

i've never seen a dog with distemper so I don't know what the likelihood of on-going problems is but I'd assume relatively high at least in the short term. At least they have the option to have cover for the on-going treatment, which they wouldn't have if they hadn't taken out the 4 weeks free.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

David Mills — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:02:32 GMT

[quote user="Stephanie Fursland"]Our Petplan rep said that their policy is that premiums do not increase just because you have made a claim (i.e. they could increase in line with inflation or due to age of pet but NOT because you have made a claim on the policy). This was at the training about the four weeks' free insurance....[/quote]

Easy to test for this pup - just plug in its details without the distemper stuff. I suspect it will be significantly less.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Stephanie Wellings — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 10:53:27 GMT

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 08:52:26 GMT

My Distemper puppy discussed on another thread had 4 weeks free insurance with Pet Plan, so I recommended that they continued the cover otherwise there would be some serious exclusions. They wanted to charge £72 a month for cover!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Joyce Whitehead — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 08:14:33 GMT

I sent an email stating exactly that Stephen (the benign blood vessel tumour), and listing my differentials of nasties. I didn't threaten the ombudsman at this stage. I did, however, point out that if we had claimed for a mass removal we would have been paid. As for naming and shaming, they have two letters in their name and a YO postcode. We will all know them from previous claim rejections I am sure, but this one is a new low to me...

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Stephen Courtney — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 21:48:22 GMT

I would have advised that a haemangioma is a benign blood vessel tumour, not congenital, and state that if they don't reconsider their decision forthwith i would assist the client take them to the ombudsman.

i've only had to do that a couple of times and the insurance company caved in each time. usually decisions like that will come down to some overenthuiastic assessor who's forgotten why a pet insurance is in business., but some companies are more likely to pressure their staff than others. 6 weeks to come back with nonsense like that - can you name and shame?

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Joyce Whitehead — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 18:02:40 GMT

I've had a client contact me today about a claim we made in February in a 4 year old Boxer, with a mass on a hind leg. It was rather too small to FNA but the dog was chewing it and being a boxer, we removed it, and sent for histo as a precaution. It came back as a haemangioma, so we put that on the claim form when it was sent off.

The owner has had an email from the company saying they will not pay as a haemangioma is a congenital condition. I have sent a strongly worded email back to say that although haemangiomas in humans are known as birthmarks, this is not a commonly recognised situation in dogs, and that this mass was not there last year. And pointing out that in boxers, malignant skin tumours are very common, so are best treated with some caution.

Next time I would just claim for a mass removal, and not name the condition!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Linda Filshie — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 09:23:18 GMT

I wasn't too impressed that PetPlan wanted to slap a two year exclusion on allergic skin disease for my recently adopted 9m old dog. She had a unilateral OE when I acquired her which responded fully to a week of topical medication and hasn't caused a whit of bother since. The ear exclusion I could live with but as for the rest I was distinctly unimpressed. Along with the exclusions a cost of £30/month (with vet discount) for up to £7000 vet fees was quoted - I've since insured her elsewhere for up to £12,000 per year lifelong cover for £20/month. I used to happily recommend PetPlan but I get the distinct impression they are trading on their reputation.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Bob Russell — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 09:18:41 GMT

It has had a toe removed as a result of squamous cell carcinoma. Quite obviously that is not covered! Beyond that this is a pretty typical elderly labrador with a suitably vague (nil) history!

Seems they have just excluded anything that is likely to go wrong with a labrador of this age.

Struggling to remain a fan of PetPlan especially after hearing an advisor playing the serious guilt trip on our head nurse when we decided insurance was unlikely to be of great value for her elderly springer. He has many medical issues and we have decided heroics will not be in his interest and the premium vastly outweighs his medication for pancreatitis and CRF. She was in tears at the end of the conversation after it was suggested she did not care about her dog enough to cover the monthly premium. We had discussed all the pros and cons in great depth before she made the decision.

Nasty!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Stephen Courtney — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:22:03 GMT

In that case he has come with a medical history i.e. pre existing conditions that of course would be excluded. Looking through that list i am pretty sure i know why he was up for rehoming!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Bob Russell — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 11:41:52 GMT

[quote user="Stephen Courtney"]

Bob that will be from their 12 month policy which even the Petplan rep doesn't recommend! and most of those conditions relate to atopic/ allergic issues - i.e. the same thing surely?

[/quote]

This is a new policy, for a newly rehomed dog!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Stephen Courtney — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 21:39:28 GMT

Bob that will be from their 12 month policy which even the Petplan rep doesn't recommend! and most of those conditions relate to atopic/ allergic issues - i.e. the same thing surely?

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Liz w — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:56:44 GMT

I don'tactually mind that so much, Bob. At least you know if you are covered or not from an early stage. It's the excluding certain diagnoses that I object to - where the owners are forced to increase the bill to see if they can claim or not, so that they may end up paying far more than for an uninsured dog.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Bob Russell — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 13:06:12 GMT

Nope this must be the worst I have ever seen. PetPlan. Rescue dog policy costing £30 per month!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Neil Wheadon — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 20:38:15 GMT

What's covered is laid out here and I found it easily http://www.petpalsdirect.co.uk/quickcare-dog.asp Should clients assume that everything else is covered, they might not be that daft. I usually ask clients to check their policy closely before proceeding with costly proceedures as I've learnt from clients running into isuues with travel insurance, the contract is between the client and the insurance company and should I be advising on what is and what is not covered. Yes a degree of Devils Advocate here, but isn't this why we stay quiet in advising? Neil

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Neil Wheadon — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 20:18:41 GMT

Is there a place for these policies? Provided they are upfront and this one looks like it might be (look at the web site) They are akin to travel insurance where they cover you for the immediate and potentially costly scenarios, for a cheap price. In acute conditions which these policies seem to cover there are pretty standard ways to approach these and insurance companies (who aren't daft) can properly cost them. However in chronic cases there are far more approaches and maybe some insurance companies are looking at these and are starting to refuse to cover these and maybe just maybe our profession should be concerned about this before we slay the golden goose. Neil

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Rob Davis — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 18:50:09 GMT

When I looked at this particular company's website, it mentions that there is a list of conditions covered and that they will tell you that list up front, although the list doesn't appear to be anywhere on the website (I looked quite hard!). I assume you only get the list once you've taken out the policy, and as Bob has already mentioned, clients tend to assume if they've got insurance they're covered, and are unlikely to spot the rather large omissions from the list...

If I have a quiet moment next week I will try to contact the company again to discuss their policies. I will post again if I manage to speak to anybody.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Stephanie Wellings — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 18:03:01 GMT

We asked the Petplan rep this and she said you can't legally express your own opinion (i.e. 'X is a bad insurance company') but you are allowed to state facts (i.e. 'In our experience X takes a long time to process claims' or 'my own pets are insured with X' - if that is actually true...)

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Bob Russell — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:39:58 GMT

These companies are relying on owners believing a policy is a policy! I prefer them to be upfront with what is not going to be covered!

I do feel it is part of my job to gently direct owners towards the good and away from the inadequate. I consider this can be done within the rules. I have a right to refuse to do direct claims and I have a notice in the waiting room stating which companies we will not deal with directly.

We also have an insurance claims form charge which applies to named companies only. If they behave well, pay the client or us within a sensible time and don't keep demanding more and more information (that has usually been supplied already) unreasonably then they are off the list!

This reflects the extra, unreasonable work that some companies make for practice staff and therefore a real cost to us.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Hannah Wynne Richards — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:17:09 GMT

Doubt it. They've been up-front in what's covered.

Wynne

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Liz w — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:12:36 GMT

Would it be worth flagging up to the FSA or similar?

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Bob Russell — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:23:46 GMT

These policies are quite a worry as they were fairly legitimate pet insurance companies. We make it clear that we are unable to do direct claims with the two most infamous companies but this has now been added to the list!

The similarities with second hand car warranties has been noted!

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Thomas Johnson — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 15:42:48 GMT

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]

Can I directly advise against it at the first vaccination as long as I'm telling the truth? If not, why not? I'm not lying.

[/quote]

You can discuss the types of insurance available, so you can state that some policies will only cover against certain conditions, and that while the list may look comprehensive to an owner, that there are often a lot of conditions that aren't covered.

We had a case 2 years ago, young retriever with a mass on top of its head, turned out to be a hygroma, not covered by the policy.

Re: Is this the worst insurance policy ever?!

Hannah Wynne Richards — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 08:20:05 GMT

Being a law-abiding citizen, I tend to say something like "I'm not legally allowed to advise you, but there's nothing illegal in me (as a friend) casually mentioning to you (as a friend) that my animals are with PetPlan. You do realise, I'm not advising you - so I'm not a criminal."

Wynne