1300 Insurance

my real experience -
purchased insurance for my dog at 2 yrs old, then discovered eye catarat 1 yr later. My fluffy went to a lenthy eye surgery and countless consultations for $6k. 1300insurance paid $5.9k ($100 excess) within 10 days of claims, no question asked.

1 year later, my dog was discovered another life theathening situation with her blood. 15 vet consultations and blood tests within 2 months. expensive medicines were introduced by the vet. Bill was $3k. Again, got reimbursed by 1300insurance without any delay or questions.

My dog is now 5 yr old and I have told my story to all my friends. a pet insurance is a must have. 1 claim would get all your money back. and this 1300insurance is a good option to choose if you haven't got any in mind.
fast claim experience, quick phone response, easy to understand statement
premium rises too much every year. (20% increases last year!)

I spent a long time comparing what seemed the lesser of two evils and purchased a 1300 Insurance Pet Protect Insurance plan
All I can say is that I’m ever so grateful my claim was less than $200. Heaven forbid I would have had a $5000 or more claim rejected.

I have paid them a steadily $30 a month premium for over the past year. I recently had a trip to the eye specialist for my pet which cost $170.

I lodged the complete paperwork and information to them however they sent me a letter in the post a week later stating that not all the information was provided. When I contacted their claims department they informed me that documents were missing. I assume their incompetent staff did not upload them correctly as they were all neatly binded together in an express post envelope.

Also, why don’t they call or email their customers? It’s a bit ironic they are “1300 Insurance” yet most of their correspondence is via snail mail. Is it to make you give up trying after waiting so long in a drawn-out process, so they can be more profitable?

I have now received a letter stating that my claim does not qualify for assessment and won’t be paid as this is apparently not covered (????)Furthermore I thoroughly checked the policy wording, schedule and booklet and cannot see anything that excludes “eye conditions” other than pre-existing, which this is not.

It sounds like from previous reviews, this mob are just happily taking everyone’s money with no intention of ever paying claims. (I would call that robbery)
What’s more is I work in the insurance industry, and our brokerage’s clients expect the very best of claims service within 2 days.

I really hope this organisation, and others who are underwritten by the same Insurer, be more closely scrutinised and/or investigated. They will be getting my cancellation and a letter from the ombudsman!
Premiums may be cheap, but to me...all I am paying for is a piece of paper really.

They don't intend on paying claims

I have been with 1300 Pet Protect for 6 years now and the service has plummeted while the price has increased sky high! The cost has increased every year quite dramatically and what is covered changes every 5 minutes. I pay more for this then own my top private health cover!! A vet consult at home isn't covered because it's not considered a consult?? I recommend opening a bank account for your pet and putting the money aside rather than paying for this lack of service.

I've been with this insurance for 7 years with 2 dogs. They have looked after us really well. I'm so happy we chose this insurance.

I just bought pet insurance for my two newly arrived Pomeranian puppies at 1300 Insurance and it has been the best deal I've got this year. The premiums are cheap, can be as cheap as 28 cents a day if you want it to, and the cover is incredible. It covers vet bills and accidental injury and illnesses. To put the cherry on top, I got a discount for my second pup for insuring two pets!
inexpensive, cheap

I lodged my first ever claim in relation to a veterinarian bill of 7 January 2013 for an amount of $352.50. The claim form obtained from the 1300Insurance website was completed and signed by both myself and the attending vet, and posted to the address on the form.

On 18 January I received a reply in the mail re claim advising that ‘We have recently received your claim but unfortunately we are unable to finalise your claim based on the information provided’. The following documents were requested to finalise the claim: Claim form, Invoice, Vet history.

I then scanned the necessary documents, minus the original claim form which was already posted and which had obviously been received given they had responded to it in the letter dated 18 January. These documents being tax invoice, payment and vet history were emailed to [email protected] as per the instruction on 24 January.

I heard nothing back so after four weeks of silence I rang but was unable to get through and sent an email on 25 February. Again I had no response so followed up again with an unsuccessful phone call and an email dated 11 March. It took until 12 March from my 24 January email for a response to be sent which repeated a request for the claim form – already received, and the Invoice – which was scanned in the documents forwarded on 24 January and again on 25 February.

Yet again I responded on 18 March in an email requesting a call as I could not get through on the telephone number provided despite several lengthy attempts but again nothing happened. On 20 March an exact repeat of the previous letter was sent ie ‘We have recently received your claim…unable to finalise…provide us with the following’ – claim form and tax invoice.’ Again I tried to get through to the telephone number but waited for almost an hour. I then contacted my bank to put a stop on my direct debit.

On 3 April at 10.15am I received a text message from an unidentified caller +7387873 and with no way of responding saying: Hello, we were unable to process your 1300 Pet Protect premium instalment this morning. To avoid disruption to your cover, pleas…(The message didn’t continue).

Yet again I rang the 1300 number and rather than going to claim processing I waited on the line for client service re cancellation but still couldn’t get through to anyone.

The product disclosure statement is also particularly confusing regarding cancellation. Page 8 for example is unclear as to whether the cancellation applies as of the date the policy expires or the date the cancellation request is made. Then on p20 it says you keep paying regardless on the one hand but on the other it seems to imply that as long as you haven’t had a claim processed then the cancellation applies as of the date of cancellation. Continuing on it says if the payment isn’t forthcoming then the insurer has the right to terminate the policy after 30 days.

As I have not had any claim processed after three months despite the stated 15 day turnaround and have been unable to get any sensible response to my inquiries I believe I have the right to cancel my policy with immediate effect.

So I wrote to their complaints unit (for which there is only a locked bag address) on 4 April with all the correspondence in relation to this claim matter and what happens? Six days later the same letter as before arrives in the post: We have recently received your claim…unable to finalise…provide us with the following’ – claim form and tax invoice.’ At the same time another sms hits my mailbox from +7387873 and with no way of responding saying: Hello, we were unable to process your 1300 Pet Protect premium instalment this morning.

I am terribly disappointed that Pet Protect has been unable to provide the services it claims to offer. It has failed to deliver and proved to be an unnecessary expense for me. I am now writing to the Financial Services Ombudsman but given the write up in the Sydney Morning Herald today I won't be holding my breath!
How quickly they signed you up!

I had my boxer insured with this company and in the last two years he had over $10,000 worth of claims due to his cancer. All claims were paid quickly and without question. When he passed recently the were very understanding and I spoke quite easily to a customer care person who was very compassionate and cancelled my policy for me straight away. All claims were paid within two weeks and I have recommended this company to other friends. When I get my next dog I will insure again with them.

I have had my pet insurance policy for three years. In June this year, my dog was diagnosed with Lymphoma (cancer in the lymph nodes)..... and I have been nothing but 100% satisfied with my dealings with 1300 Pet Insurance. I have paid the oncologist directly and then claimed back 75% from the insurance company. All accounts have been refunded directly back into my bank account promptly -- from posting claim to receiving funds it takes about a week. I honestly have been very impressed!
Efficient processing of claims. They made contact with me when necessary via phone and e mail.

I have been with 1300 insurance for a number of years & have make as many claims with no problems

Have two dogs with them one had a minor claim which they paid Put in a larger claim for poisoning and you guessed -- under the terms of our policy Rah Rah Claim is not accepted. Don.t go near them

I’m a traveler by heart and I’ve been traveling locally and abroad almost every month. Because I am a business woman, I’m always in search for things I can benefit from and one of which is an insurance plan for travelers such as myself. The frequent traveler insurance of 1300 insurance is just what I need. The best thing about it, it covers my cancellation fees every time I cancel my trip last month April 3, 2013 due to business reasons. I saved a lot and found this insurance reliable and reasonable!
Reliable, cheap and dependable

I submitted a pre-approval request for major surgery on my dog's eyes. The problem is a hereditary problem from in-grown hairs on his eyelids. I selected their product which specifically covers hereditary problems. Due to my dog having conjunctivitis (a bacterial infection) before the cover was taken out they deemed the to be the cause of his hereditary problem. I am trying to enter into a dispute resolution process, hopefully I will get some answers as to how a bacterial infection can cause a hereditary problem. This is extremely unsatisfactory and displeasing.

I had my Labrador insured with them for >6 years. I claimed for a minor skin infection a few years back and what a fiasco trying to get your claim paid out!
Now my dog has reached 11 years old and they have inflated the renewal premium by 35%!!! This is blatantly unethical in my opinion. They know I won't get the dog insured with another provider now she is in her senior years.
I've cancelled the policy and will put the $100+ premium per month into a jar for emergencies that may arise. She is perfectly healthy other than the usual arthritis that Labs get....

I originally took out this insurance 11 years ago everything was included.......80% refund...excellent service..$500 annually..now they sent me a renewal for $2100 annually with many exclusions added during the years.

I have now cancelled my policy but they insist on the last months payment.....but take me to court....it is disgraceful......their service has gotten worse....and guess what they offered accident insurance....yeah great...she’s a boxer and lounges most of the day on the lounge....am putting my money in the bank for when my babe needs it.

Relatively cheap, in fact they were the cheapest I found for my holiday to the UK for 2 weeks. I have 1300 Insurance Pet cover and have claimed with no problems in the past - always seem to get through on the phone.
Won Cannex award for best value
dont have any

We had two dogs insured with this company for over a year. In that year only one out of four vet bills was reimbursed as they have so many exclusions. The one that was reinbursed required a ridiculous amount of extra documentation and took many months to be processed. Also, I was on hold for 30 min at a time trying to get through to their call centre, which seems to be located overseas. Not worth the money IMO
cheap
everything else

My dog was ill, took him to the vet $575 later they were unsure of cause. Snake? Spiders? Poisioned ?. Lodged a claim almost a month has passed I had to chase it up. After a long wait they advised me that it will not be covered as I only have acciden cover. I advised them my welcome letter clearly says " your 1300 policy covered you for vet expenses should you suffer an unexpected accident or illness"

They are a joke, don't bother.and they will be getting a letter from the ombudsman
Cheap
Their custome service, the policy it's self

I filed a straightforward claim for my cat's bite abscess surgery (clearly accident & emergency, which I am covered for) and was texted by the company 4 weeks ago to say my claim was being processed. No word since. I tried several times to contact but no response from 1300 Insurance. Their wait times over the phone are simply appalling (1 hour & counting today at a non-peak time ie. the start of the day). They ignored an email follow-up I sent a few days ago on the status of my claim.

This non response from 1300 Insurance is simply inexcusable. Others have given 1300 Insurance very bad reviews due to this and the company is aware of their complaints, yet have done nothing to address their appalling response times over the years.

If I don't hear from 1300 Insurance by lunch-time today I will seriously consider cancelling my policy and taking my business elsewhere.

As others have stated, I would recommend avoiding 1300 Insurance when looking for insurance for your beloved pet(s). No-one deserves this kind of incompetence and neglect from a supposedly reputable insurance company.

Customer service appalling, can never get through on phone, emails ignored, must chase up claims yourself.

It has taken them almost three months to cancel my policy (and it is still not actioned) and the claim system is so slow - I rang up to cancel my policy and was told that there were still a number of claims that had been lodged 3 months ago.

Our dog passed away in early 2013. So after having the policy for 5 years I called 1300 insurance pet protect to cancel our policy. After being on hold for just over an hour I spoke to someone regarding my policy and the payment that I needed to make to close out the policy. Firstly I was given the incorrect payout figure, after which the manager took over the phone call and told me that the person I had been dealing with had not been properly trained and that he would personally ensure that the cancelation of my policy would be carried out. They confirmed that we would need to pay back all of the insurance claims that had been paid to us in the 6 month period on top of the monthly payments we had already made. Some of the claims we had made were still outstanding - after 3 months of processing by the company! So we didn't need to pay those one back.

While waiting for the manager to send me the email confirming my cancelation, a further monthly payment was taken from my account. The manager finally sent an email (2 weeks later - after I followed them up) confirming the claims that would need to be paid back. The email stated that I only needed to reply back confirming the amount to be taken out. I sent an email back confirming the company could take the he amount to be withdrawn and that the policy was to be closed out. I assumed that this had been undertaken; however on the 7 March a further monthly payment was withdrawn from my credit card.

I called pet insure again waited on hold for another hour to speak with someone who told me that they were new to the company and so didn’t know what to do. They spoke to their manager. It was disappointing to once again have such a lack of customer service by someone who not adequately trained in such simple tasks and uses it as an excuse. After much waiting the new employee spoke to the original manager who confirmed he had missed seeing the email in his inbox and had not actioned my request. Daniel confirmed that he would contribute the payments made to pet insure as a result of his colleagues inaction and finalise my account with pet insure. Unfortunately my formal complaint has also been dealt with by the manager who the complaint is with - completely unprofessional.

This was still not actioned by the company. And still not resolved. It's been almost three months now.

This experience is more than disappointing and has drawn out what is a painful situation of losing a much loved member of our family. I would never consider using this company in the future or recommend them to anyone. I am planning to lodge a complaint to the insurance ombudsman to ensure that this doesn't happen to other people.

Unreliable processing of claims - even small ones, poor training of staff, management is unprofessional

I've had my Husky insured since 2010 and have only made 1 or 2 claims which was over two years ago.. When I first took out the policy cremation was covered which is one of the reasons I chose 1300 Insurance. Since taking out the policy it's been changed and no longer covers cremation. My Husky is now 12 and a half years old and is healthy apart from a bit of arthritis. I'm cancelling the policy as I'm paying $44.18 a fortnight and I'll be putting that money into a separate account for the time comes.