Insurance Firm Forcing Pet Owners To Keep Paying
Australian pet insurance provider Petplan has been leaving its policy holders distraught after refusing to cancel their policies after their pets have died. Petplan is the country’s second biggest pet insurance provider and they have been coming under fire from various consumer sites following the recent news.
An investigation by the consumer group ‘Choice’ has revealed that the insurance firm has been forcing policy holders to continue paying their insurance premiums for up to 12 months after the death of their pet. Tim Godfrey, Choice’s head of media, said: “Petplan needs to stop profiting from pet owners’ grief. We are calling on Petplan to change its policy which puts profit ahead of common sense and compassion. We continue to receive complaints from distraught pet owners who have been forced to pay premiums for the remainder of their policy period, even in cases where they made a claim but their pet passed away.”
Choice added: “Your family wouldn’t expect to pay your health insurance premiums if you passed away so why should pet owners be forced to pay premiums after the death of the family pet?” Petplan’s current policy is tight-knit and they have worded their clause in such a way that it is causing confusion for customers who are claiming that they never knew anything about it. The clause states: “In the event that you cancel the policy for whatever reason after having made a claim, no premium refunds are payable and the remaining premium for that period of insurance must be paid.”
Two pet insurance policy holders from Annandale are subject to this policy after the passing of their 2 Border Collie dogs – Petplan have given them no sympathy at all. The couple have been told that they will have to keep coughing up for their insurance premiums up until March 2015 even though that they will never have to make another claim. They are currently paying £64 a month for both dogs. Mr Macleod said: “When they both died very close to each other, we felt quite vulnerable. We notified the insurance company and when we contracted them by phone they said ‘according to the contract you have to keep paying until the end of the first year’.
James Savery, 26 November 2014