| Reviewers Male / Female |
Recommend Yes / No |
Number of Reviews | Coverage | Claims | Customer Service | Cost | Total Average Rating |
| 2 / 5 | 4 / 3 | 7 | 6.15 | 5.85 | 6.43 | 6.71 | 6.29 |
| Date Submitted: | August 10, 2011 |
| Pet Insurer: | Pets Best |
| Coverage: | 5 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 3 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 5 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 7 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Average Insurance I obtained PETSBEST insurance based on my vet’s recommendation, as he was pushing the fact that you get an 80% reimbursement. I decided to buy it and use it for big ticket emergencies and didn’t submit a claim until I had paid 2 years worth or premiums at about $50 a month. My dog finally had an accident and I decided that I may as well finally recoop some of the money I’ve paid out – so I filed a claim expecting about $375 back. I’ve paid in 2 years near 2k and haven’t had anything to show for it so I thought “what the heck.” The claim I submitted was rather low compared to other reviews I see for much higher claims and certainly they still retain a healthy profit from me after paying my low claim. What I didn’t appreciate was that I read many reviews online stating that certain people were paid within a week..it wasn’t until about Day 7 I got an email from them stating that they had decided to get my pet’s medical records. There was NO reason for this. My receipts and documentation were as clear as day, and there was absolutely no information they received that would supplement my claim, that would possibly give them any more information than what they already had. In fact, had they done this for reasons claimed “they want to ensure they pay a fair reimbursement to policyholders” was their reasoning – I should have been paid MORE, because I had been to the vet a few times since my pet’s accident about the same issue to monitor progress and to see how much time I had to fix the problem, what the options were, etc. My pet was put on antibiotics for this very early in the game “in case” she had an infection, so the morale of the story is, if they really sought after my pet’s medical records for this reason, my reimbursement is MUCH LOWER THAN IT SHOULD BE. But, they did not do it for this reason, rather, they took the opportunity to dig into my business and find out my pet’s history for visits unclaimed to use against me when my renewal comes up. I am sure to try and raise my rate in the future. The larger part of why I am angry is that the reason I don’t file claims with my vet is because I DO NOT WANT MY VET KNOWING THAT I HAVE PET INSURANCE UNTIL ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Vets are rip-offs anyway, but if they get a handle on the fact you are insured, you may as well have an IRA or CD at a bank to pay for what’s coming because I bet my rates get raised. It’s sort of the GREEN LIGHT TO VETS that they can rack up charges with the idea that you are reimbursed anyway. Some of us purchase pet insurance for EMERGENCIES and do not nickel and dime insurance companies even though it’s within our right to do so….It was far more sensible to me to NOT file claims for every vet trip or previous vet trips I had in order to keep my rate down, which is LOGICAL because if you are a paying consumer with NO CLAIMS, the company is lucky to get your business. My entire purpose in getting insurance was to have it in the rare instance my dog has some catastrophic event or emergency that costs thousands of dollars, which is a gamble on my end, but worth the peace of mind. This was an accident and being that my dog is a senior now, I decided that after 2 years with this company, a $300-$400 claim was far below what I’ve paid out, therefore, justified. I would hate to pay a company $50 a month for the rest of my dog’s life and get NOTHING BACK, and the probability in my case is that I will spend more money in premiums than claims filed because my dog is well cared for and isn’t prone to many things most dogs are prone to. What’s interesting is that the Explanation of Benefits shows a lower amount for the office visit than what is on my actual receipt from the vet so I am not sure why they lowered what was on my receipt. This is ridiculous. I then have some explanation that my pet’s accident is “due to periodontal disease” which is NOT THE CASE AT ALL. Where they arrived at this, I have no idea because my dog had a broken tooth and her teeth are in such great condition she hasn’t needed any fluoride treatments in over a decade. Her teeth are near perfect. ALL DOGS HAVE YELLOWED CANINES. My vet only decided to scale 2 canine teeth SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE WAS ALREADY PUT UNDER (being that my dog has NEVER had her teeth cleaned previously due to the risks of anesthesia), which was a very minimal charge on my overall bill, and the fact this was listed on the Explanation of Benefits when it had nothing to do with my claim is ridiculous as well. It’s another game they play to make my pet’s file look bad when indeed, this is B.S. In addition, my reimbursement is about $50 less than it should be. I WORK and I do not have time to keep calling these people about this so I will take it with a grain of salt and will move on somewhere else. I don’t understand what these companies think people will do…this is how they lose business. Somehow, to them, it’s worth screwing me over $50 which is my MONTHLY PREMIUM ANYWAY, to lose my business…many more months of $50 for them. HUH? I can understand them not paying for the $35 scaling of TWO TEETH, but the mere fact that the entire Explanation of Benefits points to this is not right. IT IS A SEPARATE MATTER AND NOT THE REASON FOR THE CLAIM. No history of my pet’s file ultimately gave them any more information that benefitted me. As I say, if they were interested in being so “fair,” they should have paid the rest of the bills for the antibiotics and the exams to monitor the tooth’s progress. In my case, my vet wanted to wait it out a little while because of a possible infection and also she wasn’t sure if the tooth could be saved, etc. I omitted these visits in my claim. My claim was simply for the procedure itself and the blood work which was mandatory. I was the “fair” one by NOT submitting EVERY RECEIPT RELATED TO THIS PROBLEM. Also, they claim that they do a direct deposit the next day – well, no sign of any payment yet and it’s been a few days. They always blame the bank, but my bank ALWAYS processes these deposits overnight after 12:00 a..m, so it should have been in my account by now. They claim fast payouts, but I don’t deem 10 days as fast being that they receive your documentation instantaneously the say you submit it electronically and acknowledge receipt within 2 hours. As far as the “excellent” customer service, sure, if you call this small town company, you get a friendly voice but friendly and helpful are two different things. I was referred to check my status online when I initially called about my claim, which is VAGUE and I already told the woman I did this and there had been no change to my status online since the paperwork went through – after 7-8 days, they should have SOMETHING in their computers as far as where you are in the process if they claim it takes UP TO 10 DAYS. So, I am pretty much banking on some increase when the renewal comes due in a few months merely because they sought after my pet’s complete history (mind you, since I got the policy – because I WAS UPFRONT ABOUT HER PAST BEFORE I GOT THE POLICY WHICH IS ALL THEY NEEDED TO KNOW), which is irrelevant to my accident claim. I have already lined up another company with much better payouts and co-pay options at pretty much the same annual/lifetime maximums. So, if this is what they think is happening with me – they can think again. I am NOT paying a much higher premium at this company because they have so many stipulations compared to other companies like PETPLAN, which isn’t worth having that added worry about what stunt they will pull next to get more money out of you. The mere fact my vet now knows UNECCESSARILY that I have insurance screws me over going forward anyway. If they hadn’t pulled this stunt, I would have kept them, regardless of the lower reimbursement but this takes the cake. I think I am going to Pet Plan where you can choose your deductible and customize your own plan. Add to that they don’t have the b.s. stipulations as PetsBest and they do cover many pre-existing conditions as well, unlike PetsBest. Note that PetsBest is actually AETNA, and for humans, AETNA SUCKS. I have AETNA myself and can find no English-speaking doctors. In summary, if you want your vet to find out that you have insurance resulting in a lifetime penalty (higher bills and unneeded services), this company is for you. Christ. Now, I ‘m sure I will have to file claims due to their stupidity. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Irritated 45 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: California |
| Date Submitted: | February 10, 2011 |
| Pet Insurer: | Pets Best |
| Coverage: | 1 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 1 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 4 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 3 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | SCAM AFTER HAVING INSURANCE WITH PETS BEST FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS, MY DOG HAD AN EMERGENCY ( AN IRRITATED THROAT WHICH CAUSED HIS AIRWAY TO ALMOST CLOSE COMPLETELY OFF ) AND NEEDED CARE, PETS BEST TURNED DOWN MY CLAIM FOR EVERYTHING DUE TO MY DOG BEING AN ENGLISH BULLDOG....MY VET INFORMED ME THAT AS OF LATE PETS BEST HAS BEEN VERY HARD TO DEAL WITH....A TOTAL SCAM..THEY SIT BACK TAKE YOU MONEY MONTH AFTER MONTH AND WHEN NEEDED..THEY TURN YOU DOWN....SCAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Comments [ 1 ] |
| Submitted by: | BARBER 35 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: NORTH CAROLINA |
| Date Submitted: | September 20, 2009 |
| Pet Insurer: | Pets Best |
| Coverage: | 10 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 10 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 8 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 9 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Nothing to complain about I insured my cat for the first time a year ago at age 12. Petsbest was the only insurance company I found that would insure a cat over age 10. I decided to get the insurance when I got a new kitten. One month after I bought the plan I had to take my 12 year old cat to the emergency center during the night for a wound on her neck. Then there were several visits to her regular vet where a few months later it was determined to be ring worm. All my bills were reimbursed as they were supposed to be, I paid the $75 deductable and they covered the rest of the visits, including the ER vet, at 80%. Since then my cat has had a mast cell tumor removed from her eye and a benign fatty tumor removed from her leg both, again, reimbursed correctly. Of course because of the type of situations they requested my cats medical records to check if any of this was pre-existing but I was not given any trouble or excuses about my claims being processed. Maybe this is due to my vet keeping good records or the fact that she has only been to one vet in her life. They do not cover small charges (i.e., medical waste) but thanks to them, I have so much money. Its like the plan pays for itself and then continues. They also pay their claims within a couple of weeks, as long as your vet supplies additional records as needed. I would definitely recommend you check out Petsbest. There is no chart of amounts they allow, just 80% after you pay your deductible. I have only dealt with customer service once, I had to leave a message but they returned my call the next day and were very pleasant. I could not be happier, especially after reading most of these reviews on other companies. It gives me peace of mind if my cat gets sick again that I will not be left to foot the bill alone. If you are consering whether to get insurance for your pet, please remember, you never know what can happen. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Jen 29 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: Clifton, NJ |
| Date Submitted: | May 23, 2009 |
| Pet Insurer: | Pets Best |
| Coverage: | 8 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 8 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 8 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 9 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | pets best has paid all of my claims correctly I have submitted numerous claims to pets best for my cat and dog and each was paid according to the terms of my contract. Read the policy! there are waiting periods ( 3 days to 15 days) and pre-exsisting condition clauses, you can't get insurance for something already diagnosed! I wish i had gotten my policy sooner because my cat getting ill was what prompted me to get insurance and now that condition is not covered : ( but i knew that when i got the policy. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | max 33 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: venice, ca |
| Date Submitted: | January 16, 2009 |
| Pet Insurer: | Pets Best |
| Coverage: | 9 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 9 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 10 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 5 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Pets Best came through for us. When I looked at health insurance for our new dog, I found that most had schedules of amounts that they would pay for any given condition. Having no way to know what the bills would be likely to be for any condition, I looked for a better alternative. Pets Best offered a very simple benefits schedule: For most conditions, they pay 80% of the amount, after the deductible. Recently, our dog got pancreatitis. It was a real relief not to have to worry about the size of the bill when she suddenly got sick. And in fact, Pets Best gave us a determination on our claim online, and we had the actual check within a couple of weeks. Aside from a small charge for fecal testing (one of their exclusions), they covered 80% of everything after the deductible. This experience made me confident that the insurance really will be there when needed. Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Carol 55 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: Bethesda, MD |
| Date Submitted: | July 14, 2008 |
| Pet Insurer: | Pets Best |
| Coverage: | 1 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 1 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 1 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 5 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | Pets Best works hard to NOT pay claims I had an extremely frustrating experience trying to collect on a claim from Pets Best. The initial process is simple...complete a short form and attach receipts. Then you wait a month only to be told the claims has been denied...arbitrarily calling it a pre-existing condition. Their employees don't want to hear your side of the story and refuse to research the situation any further. If you want them to reconsider the claim, you must do all of the work. I had to make the calls, get my vet to supply additional statements and forms, make copies and then resubmit them. I guess that isn't the end of the world, but then they take another month to flat out ignore the documentation, contradict my veterinarian, and deny the claim again. They are in the business of collecting premiums...not paying claims. I would not recommend this company to anyone. Comments [ 1 ] |
| Submitted by: | Gblanston 49 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: Michigan |
|
|
Related Sites & Information |
|