The letter Heidi Verock received from Nationwide shocked her. After 14 years of insuring her dog, Donut, the insurance company was not renewing their policy.
“We bought into your promise of it’s on your side and their not,” Verock said.
Donut is battling cancer and insurance coverage with Nationwide has helped keep chemotherapy affordable.
“It would be $800- 900 when she would walk out and and then we would go 2-3 weeks later for the same thing,” Verock explained.
Since receiving notice from Nationwide, Verock has tried to look for alternate coverage but Donut’s age and preexisting conditions have made it almost impossible. Their insurance coverage officially ended in July. Verock said she won’t be getting rid of Donut so she will have to budget to take on the new financial load.
“It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow. It’s just unfortunate that we were dropped at this point,” Verock said. “We’ve had such success with them. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Verock and Donut aren’t the only ones in this position.
Nationwide chose not to renew around 100,000 other pet insurance policies this year, according to a statement from the company.
Nationwide declined an interview but in their written statement said, “We are making these tough decisions now so that we can continue to be here for even more pets in the future.”
The company attributed the decisions partially to the increasing cost of vet care.
“Costs are going up and insurance companies are trying to keep pace with that and plan for the future because they don’t know how much costs are going to rise the 10 years,” said Harrison Stenson, a licensed pet insurance adviser at Angell Animal Medical Center.
Stenson said he’s been talking with a lot of pet owners who have been dropped by Nationwide and are scrambling for other options.
“Nationwide has put a lot of policy holders sort of up the creek without a paddle and its really unfortunate,” Stenson said.
He explained rising vet costs also means that insurance is even more vital for owners.
“There have been a lot of advancements in veterinary medicine so the costs associated with training staff to keep up with that and implementing that technology is unfortunately high sometimes,” Stenson said.
Stenson said he doesn’t foresee many other policies being dropped or other insurance companies choosing not to renew current policyholders.
Still, pet owners like Becky Chakarian is worried.
“I don’t know what the next policy renewal year might bring. If god willing, my dogs are still alive and healthy at 13, I don’t know what kind of coverage they might have,” she said.
Chakarian has insured her three dogs with Nationwide for years. None of her pets were completely dropped but premiums were raised for one of her dogs and coverage decreased for another.
“I think we just felt a little betrayed,” Chakarian said. “To have that sort of taken our from underneath us as our dogs are turning 12 it felt like a punch to the gut.”
Chakarian estimates the changes will mean she will have to pay an additional $3,000 for vet bills.
“Our dogs, their health is our priority, so we’ll make it happen but it pains me to think of folks who don’t have flexibility to make that happen on a fixed budge. The decision that they are making are going to be really heartbreaking,” she said.
Stenson said he recommends that pet owners who are unable to find coverage set aside the money they would have paid for monthly premiums and put it in a savings account for pet care.
There are also special finance options like CareCredit and Scratchpay that allows owners to spread out the payment of vet bills over time. Stenson said the American Kennel Club may have an option for Massachusetts owners who have pets under eight years old.
Owners who have an issue with their pet insurance can submit a complaint to their state’s division of insurance.
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