I found out today that Fetch Pet Insurance has a high-loss ratio policy, which means they can reduce your coverage to really low amounts if they’re not making a profit off you. You don’t get any say in this.
Basically, if you’re not a profitable customer, they’ll cut you loose. Legally, they can do this because their terms are only for 12 months at a time. But it feels like a penalty, especially since they claim, “we won’t penalize you for making claims.” It definitely feels like a penalty to me.
This company makes about $34 million a year… pet insurance is starting to feel like a scam.
I don’t think all pet insurance is a scam. I use Embrace and have had two big claims for two different dogs, both were about $3,500, and Embrace paid them after I submitted my bills. I just got the renewal notice for my younger dog, and the premium barely went up. We pay $25 a month for our 1-year-old dog and $47 for our 10-year-old, both medium-sized mixes. Their coverage hasn’t been reduced, and they’re still covered up to $10,000 a year with a $1,000 deductible, which drops each year if we don’t make a claim. I don’t want to make a $10,000 life-or-death decision for our dogs.
@PhantomPhoenix
I wouldn’t say all pet insurance is a scam, but Fetch Pet? Yeah, I’m pretty sure they are. My dog had cancer, and the bills added up fast. $10K can be gone in no time. Where are you that your rates are so low?
I canceled Fetch today and went back to Trupanion. My dog, who’s a service dog, has had zero claims in the 4+ years I’ve paid them. This year, the vet said we should clean my dog’s teeth (which costs $800-1200). Fetch refused to cover it, saying it was a ‘pre-existing condition’ because the vet noted plaque on her teeth in previous visits, even though they said she didn’t need a cleaning yet.
Fetch also raises rates by 6-20% yearly, plus more as your pet ages. Trupanion, on the other hand, pays out, and they said they wouldn’t have considered my dog’s teeth cleaning pre-existing. It’s more expensive, but at least it’s reliable.
A friend with Trupanion for her cat has only had one small price increase in 5 years.
@Madden
Sorry to say, but Trupanion can be a scam too. My dog has had the same issue for over a year, but they keep making us pay the deductible again because it happened another time. In three years, they haven’t covered anything, and my premiums doubled.
@Madden
I had Trupanion, and they raised my premiums a lot for my dog too. He’s a rescue, around 6 years old, and my rates doubled after just two claims.
Did you have any dental-specific coverage? I wouldn’t expect routine teeth cleaning to be covered unless you had something that specifically included it. Insurance usually covers unexpected medical bills, not routine care like cleanings, unless you have a wellness add-on that costs extra.
I’ve had a similar experience with Fetch. I have three cats insured with them, and I don’t usually make claims unless it’s serious. My cat was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and this year Fetch reduced my coverage from 80% to 60% and increased my deductible because I had submitted more claims recently. They call it ‘shared risk,’ and they said they were being generous by not canceling the policy. There was nothing I could do about it.
@West
Same here! When Fetch was still Pet Plan, they were great. But now, with six cats, my premiums have gone through the roof, especially for my older cats. My cats have hypercalcemia, which needs a blood check every six months, and now I’m stuck with super high deductibles and lower coverage.
We used to have Pet Plan, which was fantastic before Fetch took over. Now one of our cats has cancer, and dealing with Fetch has been a nightmare. They take forever to process claims, lose documents, and their customer service is non-existent. It’s been frustrating trying to get anything done.
I literally joined this forum just to upvote this and comment. Pet insurance as a whole might not be a scam, but Fetch sure is. They delay, deny, and cut coverage at every opportunity, all while increasing premiums. I’ve spent hours fighting with them just to get them to cover what they’re supposed to.
If you use too much of their coverage, they’ll punish you by reducing it while still jacking up your premium. It’s ridiculous.
I’m filing a complaint with my credit card company because Fetch raised my rates with no claims made. I’ve had my cat insured with them for two years, and the rate jumped from $86 to $162 in just a few months, with no explanation. It’s a scam, plain and simple. I’m done.
Be careful with Fetch! They make you submit all these documents from your vet before they approve your policy, but when you need to make a claim, they act like they don’t have any of your files. I had to resend my documents multiple times, and they still kept asking for the same info. It’s like they’re hoping you’ll give up.