Petplan -Hydrotherapy

Gbean87 · 12 May 2018 at 9:27AM

Hi all

My dog is currently undergoing hydrotherapy for a knee injury.
The hydrotherapy has successfully kept him out of expensive surgery so far.

I have a covered for life policy with Petplan that I'm now tied into because of his knee and it's currently about 50 per month (goes up about 3 quid a year)

However, it is really irritating that the insurance company changes their policy in relation to certain elements every year - so effectively I don't have the same policy that I took out 8 years ago.

My policy will only cover 10 sessions of hydrotherapy. Full stop. Not per condition or per year - that is literally it.
When I took the policy out, it was 10 per condition.

My questions are:
1. Is this fair and
2. Has anyone ever moved to another company with better complimentary benefits and then had hydrotherapy for other conditions covered? Purely because I'm worried that if I move, any other conditions will be treated as "connected" and they won't pay out for anything!

Any information/experience sharing would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

sheramber · 12 May 2018 at 7:56PM

Your policy is an annual policy which you renew each year. So the terms and conditions can change at each renewal just as your premium does.

Anything that can be connected to any condition that existed before taking out the policy will be excluded by most other companies.
That usually includes the same condition arising in a second part of the body such as the other leg or the other eye or ear.

There are some companies who will cover pre existing conditions subject to certain restrictions.
e.g
Vetsmedicover's lifetime policies give £750 per year for complimentary treatment and will cover pre existing conditions once the pet has been symptom free for 24 months

Bought by Many have a pre existing conditions policy but do not cover any condition that is currently being treated or has arisen in the three months before taking out the policy.

They cover per condition so once you have used up that amount you have no more cover.

You would need to read the policies carefully to ensure you know exactly what cover you have.

I do not recommend these policies as I have no experience of them.

mtbbuxton · 12 May 2018 at 8:23PM

Might be worth double checking your Policy Documents as the Petplan website shows that they pay a set amount of Complementary treatments on all policies.
https://www.petplan.co.uk/dog-insurance/

I know for the 2 years I've had the Ultimate plan, it's provided £2,000 of cover rather than a set number of treatments. If your current policy is for a set number of sessions, it may well change at your next renewal to reflect the information now being given.

M x

sheramber · 13 May 2018 at 7:19PM

Are you sure?

Check your policy document- not the summary.

Hydrotherapy is restricted

Hydrotherapy !!!8211;we will cover 10 sessions for each injury
and illness.
You must read point 3 on page 9 to understand this session limit

page 9
What we will not pay under Veterinary Fees and Complementary Treatment

3.
The number of hydrotherapy sessions you can
claim for
We will pay for 10 sessions of hydrotherapy for each separate illness
or injury
. Once this session limit has been reached, all cover for hydrotherapy
for that illness/injury ends and the policy will never cover
any further sessions. This is the case, regardless of
whether the hydrotherapy for that illness/injury
takes place in the same, or future policy years
.

mtbbuxton · 13 May 2018 at 10:12PM

sheramber wrote: »

Are you sure?

Check your policy document- not the summary.

Hydrotherapy is restricted

Hydrotherapy !!!8211;we will cover 10 sessions for each injury
and illness.
You must read point 3 on page 9 to understand this session limit

page 9
What we will not pay under Veterinary Fees and Complementary Treatment

3.
The number of hydrotherapy sessions you can
claim for
We will pay for 10 sessions of hydrotherapy for each separate illness
or injury
. Once this session limit has been reached, all cover for hydrotherapy
for that illness/injury ends and the policy will never cover
any further sessions. This is the case, regardless of
whether the hydrotherapy for that illness/injury
takes place in the same, or future policy years
.

Thanks Sheramber, looks like I've made a real rookie mistake there! Not the end of the world for methankfully, but disappointing none the less. More Than covered up to £1500 and didn't limit sessions, they also renewed cover in subsequent policy years when I claimed for my last dog.

M x

Gbean87 · 14 May 2018 at 10:08AM

I seem to have made a rookie error in picking petplan in the first place.

The cover came with my breeder when he was little and being young and naieve - I just extended it. I'll never make that mistake again.

In addition to this - made a claim for the vets fees for the injury - was about 270 worth of treatments - because the treatments spanned 2 policy years, they took 2 X £95 excesses! So when you add the additional hydrotherapy excess of 75 was not worth me claiming for the vets fees at all!

Funny how when they charge for excesses it's "per policy year" but when it comes to covering hydrotherapy it's "per illness or injury"

I would love to switch, but there's no point now as any new insurer wouldn't cover his legs - as as it's a knee injury he will always show some symptoms (even if it is just stiffness).

Seems a bit unfair that they can market the products as a " covered for life" policy and then not cover everything "for life".

Thanks for you advice all

Much appreciated!
Gina !!!55357;!!!56842;!!!55357;!!!56842;

sheramber · 14 May 2018 at 1:52PM

As hydrotherapy has become more available Petplan has restricted what they pay for.

They used to have no restriction on the number of treatments.

Then they stopped covering any complimentary treatment at all.

After a couple of years they reinstated complimentary treatment cover with a limit on the amount.
Hydrotherapy was limited to 20 sessions a year.

Now they have restricted it further.

All policies can change when renewal comes around.
I had a policy that had a fixed excess for the life of the policy. It now has a copay when the dog reaches 10 years old. A previous claim for a cruciate repair prevent me from changing as there is a 60% chance of the other leg also going and it won't be covered by a new company as it is a linked condition- 2 legs.

Unfortunately, that is the way pet insurance works and we don't have choice but to accept it or self insure.

sheramber · 14 May 2018 at 1:55PM

mtbbuxton wrote: »

Thanks Sheramber, looks like I've made a real rookie mistake there! Not the end of the world for methankfully, but disappointing none the less. More Than covered up to £1500 and didn't limit sessions, they also renewed cover in subsequent policy years when I claimed for my last dog.

M x

It is a common mistake not to read the policy document carefully. Many of the complaints against pet insurance companies are due to people not knowing exactly what they are covered for.

Companies are not all the same.

Policies can change at renewal but many do not read the renewal documents , just stuff them in the drawer.

Petplan -Hydrotherapy

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