Petplan - experiences?

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chestnut cob

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Anyone had dealings with Petplan? Any experiences (good or bad)?

My insurance is due for renewal so doing the usual of calling round for quotes. Currently with Equestrian Direct (or whatever they are called now) but looking to move. Had a quote from Amtrust, as I've used them in the past and although they're not cheap, I find them easy to deal with, they pay up no problem (why oh why did I ever change from them?!
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). Also had a quote from Petplan but must say on first impressions, I'm not impressed. The girl I spoke to was obviously reading from a crib sheet, completely programmed, I found her very abrupt and generally no interest at all. They were a fair bit cheaper than Amtrust (and than what I pay now with ED) but usually, there's a reason why a company is so cheap (think E&L!!)...??

I did like the fact they will insure for full vets fees up to the age of 25 as long as you're insured with them by the time the horse is 19. However, not really applicable to me as horse is currently only 14...

Any thoughts on Petplan? Or recommendations for anyone else to speak to? I've tried NFU in the past but they take ages to call back and make everything difficult. Have trailer with Amtrust already so I get a reasonable discount for having two policies...

Did I just get a bad sales rep when I spoke to Petplan yesterday, or are they always like that to deal with?!

Thanks
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i have been with Petplan for at least 10yrs, both horses insured with them and had a substantial amount of vets fees out of them over the years
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. never had a problem claiming for lameness work-ups, scans etc.
i would recommend them!
 
I've been with pet plan, still am for the little ones. Never had any problems with them. Never quibbled over a claim and really good service. The only reason i didnt stay with them this year for D is that they put the premium up by £200 for no reason. The one thing about them is that they are a little on the pricey side.
 
Im with petplan, i had a very stressful time with them...some of there reps are fantastic tho and helpful...they did pay up in the end but kept losing my claim forms! there is one girl that is god awful her name is Vicky so dont even bother speaking to her!

I just love it how I had never claimed before last year and my insurance kept going up every year...whereas my car insurance keeps getting cheaper and cheaper!

I'm sticking with Petplan tho as they insure older horses...
 
Thanks guys. I'm surprised that Petplan were actually by far the cheapest quote I've had.

I needed to speak to them on the phone because I've got a couple of exclusions.

I just didn't like the fact that she kept on saying to me "are you going ahead with this today", "can I take your card number for this insurance".... found them to be quite pushy.

The older horse insurance isn't such an issue for me. Amtrust will insure him until he's 20 with them for full vets fees, and Petplan said if I move him to them when he's 19, they will insure to the age of 25. He's 14 now so plenty of time, plus he's on loan so likely to have gone back to his owners by the time he reaches his 20s anyway I would imagine.

Thanks for the experiences
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They will pay out in the event of a claim, however my insurance policy went up 13% this year! Have voted with my feet and moved to NFU, saving well over £100 a year for the same cover.
 
Expensive but VERY good - payed out huge claims on my mare without a quibble.
Bit rubbish on the paperwork as well, especially where renewal reminders are concerned.
But I'm currently with ED and will be shopping around when the renewal comes up, so will definitely go to PP for a quote.
 
Kept putting my premiums up & then when my mare was PTS they would not pay or pay for disposal costs even though she was covered. then to add insult to injury they sent through a renewal reminder 2 months later.

Would never ever use them again.
I have used KBIS & Shearwaters & found them to be great esp KBIS in paying up quickly & with no arguement.
 
I won't say how i feel about Petplan, i think it would probably warrant me being banned!! Suffice to say, i had 5 horses insured with them up until recently and had (up until a while ago) received fairly good service. It was only when my mum bought a new pony and they added ridiculous exclusions following the 2 stage vetting that there level of customer service really turned sour. Added to the fact that my 4 year olds policy went up by 50% from £270 to £404 per year and i have never even claimed on this mare and she has no exclusions, that was the final nail in the coffin for me. I find them rude (we too have dealt with Vicky!
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), unhelpful and extremely abrupt and compared to NFU, they are rather slow at paying out on claims too. I have had so many sagas with this company, i could write a thesis but in my opinion you'd be better off getting more quotes from other companies.

Have you tried SEIB? I've heard they're very good!
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Im so glad im not alone on the Vicky front!! hahaha All she had to say was hello and i asked to speak to someone else...which she refused to do so id end up having to hangup and try calling again!
 
I cannot rate them highy enough.

My friend and I have had a rubbish year to say the least with our horses. Petplan have been excelent for us both.
 
She was too busy chewing gum when my mum called and had the priviledge of speaking to her. It always amazes me why people work in these customer service roles when they can't be bothered to seak to jo public and help them with their enquiries!!
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Petplan were fab with my old horse, and I reckon they paid out-without quibble-more than I ever paid them...however I have my 3yrold insured with them and they are expensive..
 
If you'd asked me a year ago, I would have said they were great, always efficient and always paid out promptly although the premiums have really crept up over the years (had same horse insured with them for the last 10 years).

I wonder if there's been a change in management or policy recently as the overall attitude there seems to have totally changed.

They were nowhere near as competitive as NFU when I wanted them to quote for my new horse recently and when I wanted to renew my dog's insurance earlier in the year, they upped the premium by more than 50% (for a one year old dog with no claims made!).

The horse I have insured with them has recently gone on loan and they now want a vet to warrant that he is safe to ride & handle .....
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While my vet is happy to warrant that he is safe to handle, he's never had any reason to watch him be ridden so would have to charge me to come out to watch before being able to write PP a letter saying so (I suppose I could go to him to reduce the call out charge but it's still going to cost a fair bit). It just seems a bit unnecessary to me although in fairness, it's not them who will be making the money from their request.

The policy is up for renewal shortly so I will definitely be getting NFU to quote. I'm really disappointed to be honest as I've always rated them up until this year.

x
 
I'm definitely thinking Amtrust are the way to go.

Just spoken to SEIB and they have refused to cover him. Say they would want a letter from the vet stating that the treatment he's currently having for hock spavins is finished (why? it's an exclusion anyway now so I wouldn't be claiming from them!) and a 5 stage vetting! Bizarre. Both Petplan and Amtrust were happy to provide cover and just exclude him for hock spavins.
 
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She was too busy chewing gum when my mum called and had the priviledge of speaking to her. It always amazes me why people work in these customer service roles when they can't be bothered to seak to jo public and help them with their enquiries!!
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im sorry i must have to disagree i have spoken to viki a number of times and i must say i was very impressed with her service very chatty and helpfull every time very nice agent.
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I have one with Petplan but have never claimed so cant comment. HOWEVER, I did have one with SEIB and had a nightmare (have recently won my case by going through the ombudsman and got my money back), and SEIB 'were' underwritten by Allianz, who also underwrite Petplan.

The reason for the nightmare I had was they (SEIB and Allianz) had an issue with my vet, yet I had sought their permission to use this vet for a second opinion and was not advised not to, but they then tried to get out of paying out. It took 10 months of fighting to resolve the issue, and there is still an investigation going on into the professionalism of someone at SEIB.

Suffice to say, I wouldn't insure anything else with PP because of the nightmare I had with their underwriters (the pony I have insured with them is 18 hence why I have not changed him over), and barge and pole springs to mind with SEIB.
 
plus i do not think names should be mentioned on this it is not fair, as i said i had brill experiances with her and other people to i know have aswell...

i think this is very rude...
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Surely there may be more than one Vicky/Viki/Victoria working at the call centres for Petplan? Anyhow, I have had various rather abrubt/rude conversations with their staff, although I am rubbish at listening to the name of who I am speaking to!
 
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plus i do not think names should be mentioned on this it is not fair, as i said i had brill experiances with her and other people to i know have aswell...

i think this is very rude...
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I'm assuming you don't mean me, as I have not mentioned anyone's names?
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plus i do not think names should be mentioned on this it is not fair, as i said i had brill experiances with her and other people to i know have aswell...

i think this is very rude...
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[/ QUOTE ]

I'm assuming you don't mean me, as I have not mentioned anyone's names?
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lool no deffantly not you!!

xx
 
I've used them years ago, was not overly keen on them for various reasons.

SEIB have been excellent to deal with, have used them for years, never had any bother with them, have always paid out when needed. Also had a horse with Shearwater, and they too, were excellent.
 
I have also spoken to vikki(same one im assuming) and found her informative and polite. I dont think slagging her off on a public forum is the way to go!
ps-petplan were more expensive for me but the level of cover is great-low excess, cover my pony until 25, ongoing illnesses, alternative treatments etc etc
 
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plus i do not think names should be mentioned on this it is not fair, as i said i had brill experiances with her and other people to i know have aswell...

i think this is very rude...
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I'm assuming you don't mean me, as I have not mentioned anyone's names?
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Don't worry, i think Nobbster was referring to me and another users posts about a certain member of staff. I'm pretty sure there will be more than one member of staff within that very large organisation with that name.
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To be honest, the majority of staff there with the odd exception were all unhelpful in my experience.

Chesnut cob asked for our opinions and experiences, i was merely giving mine.
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QR

Have you tried NFU? I can't speak highly enough about them. They are very helpful, quick and so easy to deal with. Rang on Monday for Claim form, arrived Wednesday, vet sent it back on Thursday with first invoice and they paid the first invoice straight away. Sadly on I'm on my third claim with them - two this year so far!
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but have no hesitation in their ability to deal with everything calmly and efficiently.

They even answered questions whether it was a requirement (legal and policy) to wear hi-viz whilst riding on the roads and it had nothing to do with the claims I was making. BTW - under nfu it isn't a requirement to wear hi-viz or even a hat
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(and I am most certainly not suggesting people should not wear hats and hi-viz!!)
 
Im giving mine to, dont appreciate being called rude and im quite upset by that comment. I am able to talk about my experiences and that girl at petplan had me in floods of tears a handful of times. I am always extremely polite on the phone as at the end of the day i needed them to pay up.

right good luck on your choice of insurance, im sticking with PP despite my feelings on certain matters.
 
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