Pet insurance reviews typically cover only the company’s part of the story. The reviewer skips over all the positive aspects and focuses only on the negatives. When you pay attention to all of the factors that affect your pet insurance, you will know exactly what you are paying for.
Companies that offer pet insurance with a network appeal to many consumers. The coverage and price seem very appealing. In reality, however, only those with pre-existing conditions or high health risks were accepted into the network. Insurance companies that accepted more patients tended to receive higher ratings from insurers who provided better coverage and waited longer to reach the waiting period required for non-compliant patients.
There is also a fair amount of miscommunication in other pet insurance plans, including pet plans managed by human resources departments. In one case, a human resource manager told an insurance agent that her pet had congenital defects that would prevent her from receiving coverage, even if the animal was healthy. The agent requested an estimate of the costs for this treatment before proceeding. The representative informed her that the policy would not cover the treatment, stating that the dog would need additional surgeries or extensive medical care.
There are two major differences between pet insurance policies that are available through human resources departments and those that are offered directly by insurance companies. The first is the level of coverage provided. Human resources workers have no knowledge of the medical history of the animals they care for. The second is the level of benefit caps or deductibles. These caps and deductibles affect both the cost of the premiums and how long it takes the individual to be able to collect the full amount of coverage.
One of the most popular pet insurance company reviews states that one policy from a pet insurance company caps the amount that the owner can claim for each occurrence of a specific illness or problem. For example, if the cat has three sick days in a row and is examined after each visit, the owner may be able to claim up to twenty-one dollars per day for the time she spends at the veterinarian’s office. This benefit limitation can cause many pet owners to be unable to pay for the total cost of routine care. The refund starts to phase out once the pet is no longer at risk.
Another common complaint is that the premiums require the pet owner to be in an extremely risky physical condition before the benefits kick in. For example, a cat with hip dysplasia coverage will require the owner to be in immediate danger of death before the policy will kick in. The waiting period is usually anywhere from six to eighteen months before the coverage kicks in.