Comments on: Why do pet insurance policies have so many limits?

By: Melissa Kowalchuk

Melissa Kowalchuk — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:47:27 +0000

Well Sandy, your story has me so intrigured that I had to write a post about it. So we’ll see what others have to say and if anyone else shares your same story…

Best of luck – I hope you at least get something back!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:03:02 +0000

Melissa and Roxy- I agree 100% that I am etting ripped off. I’m just waiting to see if they cover anything on yesterday’s bill for Kira which is over $2000 and then I am cancelling all the poilicies. And yes, there are 9 cat breeds with specific exclusions and then some more exclusions for all cats including mixed breeds. Persians are not covered for Cardiomyopathy and Chediak-Higashi Syndrome. I did not know those things were an issue for Persians but now at least I know what to watch out for as my girls age. My oldest is currently just under 2 years old.

By: Melissa Kowalchuk

Melissa Kowalchuk — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:41:16 +0000

Sandy,
I thought you were going to tell me that your cats were all 8-10 years old, and that really they all had these problems before the policy but maybe you weren’t aware of them, or didnt quite understand them. Well boy was I wrong!

I also wasn’t aware that VPI had breed specific exclusions for cats! I’ve seen the exhaustive list for dogs, but not cats. I hate to say it, but I just might have to agree with Roxy;)

By: Roxy

Roxy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:26:40 +0000

Sandy – they are ripping you off and they know it. If this was a person they would be sued. Honestly, that is disgusting.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:57:08 +0000

Hi Melissa, I enrolled each cat by the time she was 12 weeks old. (Kira is now 7 months old) But VPI starts your policy on the first of the following month. So I called in early September but the policy became effective 10/1. Kira had an eye infection on 9/24 which they are saying was the beginning of treatment for a condition that has now been diagnosed as a polyp in her inner ear. (surgery scheduled for tomorrow) The additional “pre-existing conditions” that they have added now are conjunctivitis, URI and nasal polyp because she was treated for conjunctivitis prior to the 10/1 date and they are considering every vet visit related to her eyes, ears, nose and throat to be related to that. My cats also got ear mites which I assume came from Kira’s breeder and ALL of them have been treated for that and denied. That is also NOT a covered condition. (internal/external parasites) I work for a human medical insurance company. You would think that I would be capable of understanding an insurance policy but I apparently am not.

By: Melissa Kowalchuk

Melissa Kowalchuk — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:34:42 +0000

Hi Sandy,
I just wanted to clarify a few things – these pre-existing conditions that your company keeps adding, were you aware of the conditions for Kira beforehand? Or are these a surprise to you? I’m going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you are with VPI, per the comment about breed-specific exclusions, as they are the only company that I’m aware of that has such a list.

“…my kitties are picking the wrong illnesses…” Sandy posted a comment on January 27th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Does this mean that all exclusions have been because of the breed-specific list? Yikes!

One more question, out of curiosity, how old were your kitties when you enrolled them?

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:16:02 +0000

My insurance adds a pre-existing clause for every claim I submit. My Kira is having surgery tomorrow that will cost $1600 on top of the $500 worth of tests she had last week. So far they have denied all the previous visits claiming that her illness began prior to the 10/1/08 effective date of the policy. I got a letter yesterday adding 3 more diagnoses to the exclusions for her policy. One more denial and I will cancel all 5 of my cat’s policies and just start a special savings account for vet care. I have enough stress worrying about Kira without them adding to it. I advise anybody considering pet insurance to read all of the fine print. There are several conditions that are excluded for my breed and I had no idea. Along with many other general exclusions that I didn’t notice until I submitted claims for them. I have not had a claim paid in over a year because my kitties are picking the wrong illnesses to have.

By: Melissa Kowalchuk

Melissa Kowalchuk — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:09:37 +0000

Hi Debbie, I would suggest you visiting this website for reviewing pet insurance companies, where you can read what customers of each company have to say. To further help in research, I would also suggest visiting this site for comparing pet insurance copmanies. Rue Rue, Good luck with the phone call! Darlene, sheesh, I don't even know what to tell you! You'll have to fill us all in as soon as you get things taken care of!

By: Darlene

Darlene — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:33:03 +0000

Ours is playing paperwork games which drives mommy crazy!!! This time they said they didn’t get the invoices-grrr mommy sent them!

By: Rue Rue

Rue Rue — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:09:07 +0000

Thanks Melissa, I will call Monday and make sure I didn’t misread the letter. I remember they had 3 reasons posted and I might have took them all into account. I hope I did misread because if I could get her inhaler that cost $275.(Flovent) and get money back some day I would buy it. For now I just use Albuterol (35.00) and I never sent them the prescription. Dah! I will let you all know!