Petplan

D.va

Hello everyone and hope you're all having a good new year so far. I have a rabbit and I'm looking to get him some insurance.

Petplan are my first choice, but the one thing putting me off is that they seem to have a lot of unhappy customers. The reviews on Trustpilot are not encouraging, and taking a look at their Facebook page shows the same kind of thing. I do understand that people are likely to leave negative reviews because they are upset, rather than leave good reviews when they're happy. It just makes me fearful that when I come to claim, they will pluck an exclusion out of thin air and won't pay out.

So basically I'm just wondering if anyone has experience of actually claiming with Petplan? Also of corresponding with them; if they are prompt about callbacks and helpful on the phone etc.

Side question if anyone has any knowledge: If my rabbit (who has a clean medical history) got an illness in one policy year, and then got the same illness again in the next policy year, would I be able to claim for both instances of that illness? It would not be a 'continuation' of the same illness, but rather a second, completely separate instance of it.

Thanks for reading and for any help

elsien

Used them for years with 3 successive dogs one of which had ongoing health issues. Never had a claim refused including dental which some insurers are funny about. And dog no2 had a lot of claims.
The claims process is straightforward - send form to vet and wait for cheque to arrive. Never needed any callbacks, but when I've called them customer service has been fine.
If you get lifetime cover, your rabbit example would be covered until you hit the annual claims limit then it would reset again the following year.
Just make sure you disclose everything and get annual vet health checks and there shouldn't be a problem.
Dog number two had a total foot exclusion due to interdigital cysts But when she had a toe amputated for a tumour, my vet provided evidence that the tumour was completely unrelated to pre-existing conditions and they paid up.
Petplan are one of the better insurers. Dearer, but in my opinion, worth it.

CommitedToChange

No issues with petplan here. I have both my cats covered on lifetime plan. One has been diagnosed with a food allergy and arthritis. It paid out for a skin biopsy and X-rays plus ongoing meds for the arthritis.

Vets claim for me, I just full in forms and pay the excess to my vets every march.

kezzb

Pet plan have been fantastic. My dog had cancer last year and had to have chemotherapy. He has been insured with them for 7 years and they have never quibbles a claim or hiked my premiums up by an extortionate amount. I will insure .y next dog with them.

ElusiveLucy

I hav nothing but praise for PetPlan and would use them again without a doubt. One of my cats is healthy (both are 15) and the other has on-going issues with arthritis and skin allergies. Petplan pay out for these with no problem once I have covered the excess each year.

The main thing for me was when one of mine (with the on-going conditions) had a major problem and ended up having an operation to remove an infection in her head, then subsequent treatments. The thought she had cancer but couldn't do a biopsy as it was in her brain. In the end we were told to take her home and make her last days/weeks as comfortable as possible. The "last chance" antibiotics worked and 4 years later she is still with us.

Petplan paid out right up to their £6000 limit on my policy with no problems whatsoever during what was a very stressful time for me. I did have to cover further costs in the same year, but Petplan made it so much easier for me. I would hate to be in the situation where money was a deciding factor in whether my cats were treated or not

sheramber

Just make sure you take out a Lifetime policy, not a 12 month one.

Anything you have consulted your vet about, whether treatment was oven or not, is a pre existing condition. This where most complaints arise.

Petplan run courses for nurses so that they know exactly what Petplan will pay put on and can advise accordingly.

jenny-wren

We've had Pet Plan Lifetime cover for our cat for the last 3.5 years. She had to have a lot of dental work when she came to us (as a stray) and has a chronic but occasional discharge from her eyes. Unfortunately the blood tests she had at the time of her dental issues suggested an issue with her kidneys and Pet Plan wouldn't cover her for anything dental, eye or urinary system related. Over the last 3 years she's only had to visit the vet a few times had to be treated a few times for her eye problem and a urinary tract infection a few months ago. Unfortunately, in November 2017, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney disease. So, none of the huge vets bills have been covered by our insurance. We keep paying it though as you never know what is round the corner.

With Lifetime cover, if you claim for condition x in year 1 it will be covered by your insurance each year you continue your cover. If you take out annual cover, anything you claim for in any one year will not be covered in subsequent years.

I'm afraid we naively learned the hard way. When we get another cat (once a cat person, always a cat person!), we will be sure to take out Lifetime insurance on Day 1. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

D.va

Thanks all for the great replies! It's so nice to see good informative experiences. I think I will be insuring with Petplan now.

Does it make a difference that my pet is a rescue from the RSPCA, with limited medical history? His first 2 years (approx) of life have no history at all. He is now just over 3 yrs old. He had a minor swelling/infection in his privates after neutering, but that is the only documented problem in his history. I have never taken him to the vet for anything besides nail trimmings and his vaccinations. So there is nothing else I can declare really? Do I have to declare every little thing I have noticed at home? For example, if I once saw my bunny sneeze (which I never have), would I need to declare that (as a "sign" of respiratory problems)? How do I know what to report and what not to report. To clarify, my bunny is perfectly healthy right now and to my knowledge is not suffering from any illnesses at all. Can I just send Petplan his medical history and let them decide, or can I only send the history after I make a claim.

Thanks

elsien

Being a rescue and having no medical history isn't an issue. All my dogs have been rescues and made up a date of birth going on guesstimates of age when I got them.
I would only report issues I have been to the vet for. If and when you make a claim they will ask the vet for a medical history.

D.va

Thank you elsien. I will just report the instance of infection he had then. They will see that in his medical history anyway. My current vet doesn't actually have that part of his history though; it is in my personal files. The RSCPA gave me the document when I adopted my rabbit. Ever since then, my vet will have been collecting his own history for the bunny, I assume. Not sure how much Petplan will ask to see when I claim, but I will give them all they ask for. Thank you again and everyone.

nilrem_2

Just to add, we used Petplan with our previous German Shepherd dog and found them very good, what did surprise me was that during the last few years of his life he was on expensive tablets and I expected large increases in premium but this was not the case.

Now I am looking to get insurance for our 2yr old GSD but looking at reviews for Petplan most are bad, I can only assume that the only people who do the reviews are people who have had a problem and that those who are happy don't bother. But as I said they were fair to us before so I will most likely use them again in spite of the poor reviews.