Veterinary Pet Insurance

Reviewers
Male / Female		 Recommend
Yes / No		 Number of Reviews Coverage Claims Customer Service Cost Total Average Rating
3 / 2 0 / 5 5 1.00 1.00 1.20 2.20 1.35

Date Submitted: April 20, 2010
Pet Insurer: Veterinary Pet Insurance
Coverage: 1 out of 10
Claims: 1 out of 10
Customer Service: 1 out of 10
Cost: 1 out of 10
Recommend: No
Review: DON'T Buy VPI, beware of the UCR chart.
This company is a complete rip off. Stay away. You have to watch the fine print of the policy. They have a Reasonable and Customary Cost chart for procedure. This is where they scam you at. They tell you have $9,500 in coverage, but the reality (using the reasonable and customary
I was looking for Pet insurance for my two Golden Retrievers. I wanted something that would cover catastrophic/expensive types of issues (Any type of procedure that would be $1,000 +). Now I did not expect my plan to cover basic/yearly vaccines and such. I realize that insurance companies are out for profit. So any pet plan that covers this yearly type stuff is going to have cost + profit built in for them.
I could not find anything that quite fit what I was looking for. So I settled on VPI. They claimed to cover me up to $9,500 a year. There was a $50 deductible. For this I was paying over $700 yearly. So this was more expensive then I wanted, but I settled for this.
Well my beloved dog Miller was limping would not put any weight on his back right leg. Even when chasing his Tennis Balls. I knew there was a big problem and did not want him to aggravate the injury. So I took him to have the vet check him out (I live in Atlanta).
The Vet gave him an exam decided to not X-Ray and determined it was a sever sprain/partial tear of the ligament. He prescribed an Anti-inflammatory medication, Pain Medication, and rest/restricted activity to let it heal.
For this, I had a bill of: $58 exam, 60 meds, and some taxes. Very reasonable.
I don’t have the cheapest vet, but not the most expensive either. It is a wonderful practice that my Rescue Organization used.
While this was not the type of injury I was originally looking for when I bought the insurance, I figured I was paying for it. So I submitted the claim (Considered Soft Tissue Damamge). I submitted the claim, and figured I would get the 90% reimbursement minus the deductible (Somewhere around $50 back).
To my shock, (And after many weeks and many calls about the claim) I was reimbursed $6.70. I figured they had screwed up at VPI and almost thought it was not worth the time to complain. But I finally called and asked for some sort of sanity check here.
Well the VPI Representative said that for this type of procedure (Soft Tissue Damage), under their Reasonable and Customary practice, they would only cover up to $58. Well tell you, there is no license vet in Atlanta that will charge less the $50 just for the exam. Let alone any sort of treatment (In my case the medications).
To say I was upset, was an understatement. I then began to look over their Reasonable/Customary fee practice sheet and I was appalled. Even the most severe type surgery, there reasonable fee schedule was $1,200 max. For these types that they covered $1,200, my vet bill would be well above $5,000. I challenged VIP to find any vet with in 30 miles of my location where this $58 would cover this and demanded how they came up with this customary expense sheet. They could not, you “Just have to trust them.”
An honest assessment of my policy, for me to collect the $9,500, my dogs would have to have had 8 separate yet major types of surgeries (These types of events would require me to see a specialist. Most likely have to go to University of Georgia in Athens or Auburn University that have these Majors). That is unrealistic, and if it did happen, conservatively my vet bills would be $50,000+.. VPI Reasonable rate chart basically covers approximately 15% to 50% of the true cost you will see. And the more expensive types, the closer to 15% you will get. Not really why you buy insurance.
There is in the fine print a notice of this reasonable/customary fee schedule. However, you will not see the actual amounts assigned until after you have already signed up and paid. For you to discover this, you have to sign up, pay, then read this schedule payouts. Then cancel. Most people don’t.
I was lucky, I found out on a relatively inexpensive issue. I have seen many reviews from people who did not run into this until after they had huge vet bills only to see that VPI Customer Fees were around 15% of the true costs.

Comments [ 0 ]
Submitted by: Greg T from Atlanta
39 year-old   ::   Male Reviewer   ::   Atlanta

Date Submitted: October 16, 2009
Pet Insurer: Veterinary Pet Insurance
Coverage: 1 out of 10
Claims: 1 out of 10
Customer Service: 1 out of 10
Cost: 1 out of 10
Recommend: No
Review: BUYER BEWARE---JUST SAY NO TO VPI!!!!
Buyer Beware---Stay Away!!!!
It is hard to even give this company 1 star. Is there one less? Before you purchase Insurance with VPI Pet Ins, check reviews and complaints on the Internet Complaint Boards, your state's Insurance Commissioner, Attorney General, and or the California Better Business Bureau, for which they are currently members. In the least, be sure you read ALL the exclusions, limitations and terms in their policy. They have an extremely broad "pre-existing" clause that favors the Company against the Insured in the policy which excludes any condition for which symptoms "manifest" prior to effective date, (even if it is during the waiting period and after you have applied for the coverage) I am not a competitor. I am a victim. These are the facts. Our family incurred an unexpected catastrophic loss, thousands and thousands of dollars when we acquired a brand new 9 week old puppy that became ill. They paid a few hundred dollars, and then found exclusions, on top of exclusions and pre-existing denials to deny the remaining thousands of dollars.
You should also know that their benefits reimburse on a fee schedule--this means every medical condition (if it is not already excluded in the policy) has a cap, that are very low in comparison to the cost of our veterinary care. In other words, you could incur $2,000.00 for just one condition, and be reimbursed $200.00 because that is the limit in policy for that condition. It does not matter that that hospital charged you $2,000.00. Did I mention deductibles yet? They apply too. In these difficult economic times, be sure you spend your insurance premium dollars wisely. You usually only will get one chance do choose the best Insurer for your beloved pet,
just like people. Because if your pet gets sick under the coverage of their policy, they do not pay, and then you try to get new Insurance, your pet will most likely be denied coverage for preexisting conditions or worse, not accepted at all for coverage by a new carrier. Best Advice: Get a good referral from friends, neighbors, someone you trust. And see
what other people and governing agencies have to say about them, especially VPI insurance. History repeats itself. Don't be fooled by a nice customer service sales person, or the fact they have been in business a long time. The questions that matters most is "Will you be abandoned when you need them most---at claim time, when an unexpected illness or injury befalls your beloved pet?" "Will you be given the benefit of the doubt if there is one?" I am not trying to retaliate against VPI, nor am I disgruntled. I blame myself for avoiding taking the time to do these things. And now I am wholeheartedly trying to help others. Do yourself this favor--read reviews, and do your research. It's all out there plain and simple. I hope the same thing does not happen to you, that happened to our family. Yes, it takes time and work to do the research and choose prudently. But the thousands of dollars we had to scrape together from life savings in these hard economic times, were more devastating, than taking a few minutes of our time to research VPI before we purchased the policy. If you still decide to purchase VPI pet insurance despite this fair warning, and after you have done your research I wish you, your family and your beloved pet, and your savings account the best of luck.

Comments [ 2 ]
Submitted by: Edward
42 year-old   ::   Male Reviewer   ::   L.A. CA.

Date Submitted: May 4, 2009
Pet Insurer: Veterinary Pet Insurance
Coverage: 1 out of 10
Claims: 1 out of 10
Customer Service: 1 out of 10
Cost: 1 out of 10
Recommend: No
Review: Everything is a pre-existing
They get out of paying by finding everything as a pre-existing condition. Even if your pet is healthy if the vet states for example that you cat is wheezing VPI will claim it was pre-existing because it probably manifested before the policy was in effect. I ended up paying MORE for my pets care with VPI that I would have without!
Comments [ 1 ]
Submitted by: pixies0013
34 year-old   ::   Female Reviewer   ::   san francisco

Date Submitted: January 17, 2009
Pet Insurer: Veterinary Pet Insurance
Coverage: 1 out of 10
Claims: 1 out of 10
Customer Service: 1 out of 10
Cost: 7 out of 10
Recommend: No
Review: Get EVERY word in writing.....
In their sales pitch they will tell you anything and everything to get you to go with their company; they DO NOT CALL YOU OR EMAIL YOU WITHIN 24 after receipt of your claim to notify you they are in possession of your claim.

If they tell you they are processing claims in 1 week they really mean 1 month or more for a $22.00 claim.

Understand, I am NOT upset about the reimbursement; I am upset about the lies I get each and every time I call there.

If the sales person at VPI starts off with the spill, "The best thing about our company is..." stop them immediately. Tell them that in order for you to consider their company they will have to put those words in the the contract or quotation.
Comments [ 0 ]
Submitted by: Barry N. Henderson
49 year-old   ::   Male Reviewer   ::   Lansing

Date Submitted: August 3, 2008
Pet Insurer: Veterinary Pet Insurance
Coverage: 1 out of 10
Claims: 1 out of 10
Customer Service: 2 out of 10
Cost: 1 out of 10
Recommend: No
Review: Veterinary Pet Insurance is a Rip-Off!
VPI is a Total Rip-Off! I bought insurance for my dog with VPI for 8 consecutive years. When my dog got old and I really NEEDED the benefit of that insurance I'd invested in for those 8 years, they canceled my policy. Turns out this is legal -- the State of California Dept. of Insurance said VPI didn't have to give me a valid, quantifiable reason for canceling. Consumer Reports did a study and concluded you are just as good putting the money into a savings account. Seeing as VPI took my money for 8 years and then canceled when my dog got old (and was apt to actually get benefits paid out), you can see why buying pet insurance could be a BIG waste of money. According to the Orange County Register, VPI was under investigation by the SEC for financial 'improprieties". Do you want to trust your pet's health to an organization like this? Avoid VPI and just put your money in a savings account. p.s. The founder of VPI, Jack Stephens, is a trophy hunter. Ironic isn't it? He says he cares about animals but he kills animals for fun.
Comments [ 0 ]
Submitted by: ds1909
40 year-old   ::   Female Reviewer   ::   Los Angeles, California