Petshealth Care Plan - Hartville Group - PETSMARKETING INSURANCE.COM AGENCY INC. Unethical and deceptive Canton Ohio

I'm glad you were able to get your problem resolved with PetsMarketing INsurance Agency.
1.The fact you had the insurance for 10 yrs had little or nothing to do with the decision to cover your claims. The fact that your 1st vet visit on this claim happened 1 day before the new policy year began would have some effect on their decision. Insurance companies can make exceptions but can be held liable to treat all other similiar stituations in the same way. I.E. In your case, if given the reason- "you've been with us for 10 yrs, we will make an exception". THEN anyone of us who has been a loyal Policyholder for long term could file with the state that the company is using unfair pracitices whiile covering your claim and not mine.
2.The fact you filed a BBB complaint, et al, was primarily what got the issue resolved. Not to mention the people working at PetsMarketing are caring, compassionate, and pet owners, and pet loving people. Nearly 100% own a pet or pets. You might say "pets are their passion". My question on this part is did you request an appeal of the original denial of your claims? The Veternarian on staff reviews each and every appeal to make an appropriate decision.

FINALLY, The main problem with Pet Health Insurance is that in the Insurance world and by Insurance Law, Pets are considered property. They may be to us more than that because we all consider our pets like a family member or loved one.

SInce pets are "property" in insurance legality, they come under "Property and Casualty Insurance" along with your car and home. The insurance that is sold is property insurance. For the pets insured by these comanies, it is really an accident policy (like car accidents, home damage claims). It is not a true "health" policy like humans have. ALSO, with PetsMarketing plans and their other company name's plans, all located at the same home office, the plans are structured with the same policy number each year, BUT each year it renews, each policy is considered NEW. Therefore, each condition or Vet Visit will be considered pre-existing if you get care on the same issue in the next policy year.


The difference then between health and property insurance then is where the biggest harm comes to the policy holders of at least this company's policies. I had the oppurtunity to see for myself at the company the finacial and claim statistics when I was employed there. It is astounding how many claims ARE DENIED. I can't remember exactly, but somewhere between 65-75% of claims are denied. Possibly more. It is because, once you visit the Vet for one problem, if you go again for the same problem in another policy year, the claim is most certainly denied. Also, for cancer issues, that creates a whole other problem. IF you are a new Policy Holder it can be argued the cancer was beginning before you purchased the insurance, therefore pre-existing.

I hope this helps someone who might think to buy the insurance. It was admitted within some circles of the company employees, that it was better to take your chances and roll without the insurance or just save away $20 per pet a month to cover any accident or health problems for your pet.

GREAT NEWS

Thank you Jacqueline from Petshealth Care Plan!

It appears that both of the complaints that I filed with the BBB and the Attorney General's office landed on her desk. She was very pleasant and called me at work today. Because I was a customer for the past 10 years, they are making an exception to the plan and will be settling my claims. I told her that it was just a shame that it took me filing a complaint to have this settled.

She was very apologetic and sincere.

See...sticking to your guns does pay off! Since this was outside the plan, I will not be insuring my dogs any longer through them, but at least they were upstanding enough to see their error and correct it

Kathy