Pet Plan Insurance

fellwalker09

Hi - does anyone have any advice on pet insurance? I feel I have literally been 'swindled'.
My labrador is just over 3. When he was a pup, the breeder had pet plan insurance which transferred to us free for about 6 weeks. Then I had to decide whether to continue -I chose to have it -I decided to stay with petplan as it is a policy for life, and reputedly one of the best companies. The person I spoke to sold me the policy over the phone. He asked me what cover I was looking for. I told him, I wanted the best cover, so that if my dog ever needed an operation etc, and the cost was in the thousands, it would be covered. He told me what plan was suitable, and said that it should cover any amount of fees (vet) and had the optional cover of homeopathic etc included also. The premium was around £12 for that 1st year.
Sadly, he was diagnosed later that year with hip dysplasia. The insurance covered the xrays and consultations, and the supply of metacam(anti inflammatory) which costs around £30/month, or every 2 months.
In year 2, the premium escalated to £24. Now we are in year 3, it is £30. He hasn't had any surgery as yet, but he may well need to and it costs around £3500 per hip. He is expected to have both hips done. I have since discovered that pet plan don't have an unlimited cover on my plan -my dog is covered for up to £4000/year -we are in fact on their budget plan. So, when I asked for full cover, I was not sold full cover. Hence I feel I was miss-sold. I am now 'stuck' with Petplan, as no other company will insure him for his hips, obviously.
I telephoned petplan months ago to complain and raised these issues -I was informed that one of their departments would look into it, and even recall the telephone call that I made when I took out the policy, to see what their advisor said. No one has got back to me. So, obviously they just want to give me the brush off.
Can anyone please advise as this is a nightmare. By the time my dog is 5 i'll be paying £50/month probably. I know of other people who claim yearly on their insurance, and their policies are not climbing as steeply as mine. Even my vet is shocked at the cost for a budget plan.
In comparison, my other lab, who is healthy, is covered for £12 per month with More than insurance. He is 3 also.
:mad:

Wutang_2

This is very unlike Petplan

fellwalker09

It may be very unlike petplan, but at the end of the day, someone in their insurance dept is 'selling' insurance and seeking as much commission for sales as poss. Perhaps I was mis-sold. Perhaps they weren't as up front as they ought to have been. It is also my fault for not reading the darn documents when I 1st got them as it does state on there that I am limited to claiming £4000/annum.
I suppose it's not too bad, but I'm alarmed at how quickly my premiums are rising -I have not made any claims in the last 15 months either. Also, the excess on the policy has increased from £70 to £110 for this year. So, every year it will rise also. I dread to think what the premiums would be , had my dog had the hip op.