AKC Pet Insurance Review
70Did you know the "American Kennel Club" insures dogs health? Yep, AKC Pet Insurance is one of the leading pet health insurance companies in America.
AKC Pet Insurance Is Affordable For All
One thing that sets AKC pet health insurance apart from the rest is their dedication to making quality health insurance available at the same price point to all dogs (cats too) regardless of breed or lack there of.
By that I mean they cover all recognized dog breeds, mixed breed canines and hybrids without price the price adjustments most pet insurance companies make for "certain breeds" of dogs.
AKC Pet Insurance Is Customizable
AKC pet policies can be customized to meet your individual needs. They have policies that cover accidental injury, illness or both. They even have a wellness policy you can combine with the other insurance policies so you can have complete coverage for your dog or cat.
Health claims that are typically covered include surgery, hospitalization, lab work and prescriptions. If you add an AKC wellness option your pet will also be covered for such things as vaccinations, worming, flea control, spaying, neutering and even a yearly dental cleaning.
Use AKC Pet Insurance At Any Vet
One of the nice
things about pet health insurance in general and AKC pet insurance
specifically is it's valid at any licensed veterinarian. Unlike human
health insurance you never have to wonder "Will my vet accept my
insurance?"
This is because pet insurance is actually a form of
property insurance and claims are handled according to these rules
instead. What a relief to know you will never have to change vets just
because they don't or stopped accepting your pet health plan.
So
how does AKC pet health insurance actually work? Good question! First
you take your pet to your vet for treatment. Pay your vet. Fill out a
claim form. Send the claim form along with copies of your receipts to
AKC. They will then process your claim just as your home or auto
insurer would and send you a check for the reimbursable amount.
Shop Around For Pet Insurance Before You Buy!
Though
AKC pet insurance is a trusted name in the industry, you should always
compare companies, coverage and price before making a purchasing
decision.
Be sure you get quotes from at least 3 different pet
insurance companies. And make sure you read the fine print of any
contract before buying. Know what you are getting, what it covers, what
it doesn't cover and for how long.
Especially in the insurance
industry, whether it's auto, home, personal health or pet, knowledge is
power. Know what you are getting for your money and you'll insure your
happiness as well as your beloved pets health.
Already own this insurance? Please share your AKC pet insurance review here so we can all benefit from your experience be it good, bad, excellent or ugly.
Shelly Begarowicz, The Rat Race Rebel
is single homeschooling mom of the BEST Kid In The Whole World. She
follows her heart turning her PASSIONS into PROFIT. A few of her current
obsession’s are: Northern Michigan, Ancient Egypt, Pet Insurance,
Historic Needlework, Niche Marketing, Green Living and Internet
Marketing Tools.
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The only one that the AKC Petpartners Insurance partners with is with THEMSELVES! This company has denied my family 1,000?s of dollars in UNPAID claim inclusive of eusthanasia. I am shopping other insurance after experiencing how deplorable the customer service is. The lost claims they forever seem to misplace and the wrongful denial to claims INCLUSIVE OF EUTHANASIA when we were told it was medically necessary. I had the wellness plan – pretty comprehensive and they only pay PEANUT things – when it comes to the “true reason we have insurance” forget about the AKC since you have NOTHING at all if you are with the AKC Petpartners Insurance per our experience. You need to look for providers WITHOUT the NEVER ENDING clauses the AKC has. OTHERWISE — SELF FUND YOUR OWN POLICY. To have an AKC Policy — USELESS and HEART WRENCHING! Be certain to read the AKC catch all loop hole — PER INCIDENT, they consider EVERYTHING the same incident even when their own EOB’s indicate different diagnosis.
We had the AKC Pet Insurance. It is not worth the paper the policy is written on. When we needed the insurance -- they did not pay the claims, lost documentation. Time and time again it was the same chronicle. The customer service was discourteous, impolite on a good day, experienced long holds times and in the end -- claims were not paid. Make inquiries on other pet insurance providers and REVIEW it before getting involved with this so called insurance provider – they only provided us with heartache. Without a doubt the AKC name means nothing when it comes to this insurance. For whatever it is worth – review petinsurancereviews dot com and see for yourself what consumers experiences have been with all available insurance – the AKC – has one of the lowest ratings. With that side I was able to research and select an EXCELLENT provider that IS NOT the akc pet healthcare insurance/
The AKC has been the worst pet insurance out. They have outragous increases. They claim they pay for things they clearly don't. They won't even cover if your pet is diabetic, arthritis. Many providers do. Do yourself a favor and either self fund yourself if - OR - check out other providers. I found Embrace to be the best for our needs covering such illnesses should I need that and Embrace does not have the per incident gimmick the AKC does. Be careful if you choose the AKC and keep all your copies of submitted claims. You will need them since they lost many of mine - have a good tolerence level since the AKC will definitely be testing it as I experienced.
I am very disheartened with what I thought was a respectable insurance provider. The AKC has only provided disproportionate premium increases and not provided a practical product. You pay over a $1,000 dollars in annual premiums on the Wellness Plan; yes they will reimburse you after the deductible for heartworm, annual shots. This does not offset the despicable reimbursements (if any) being with the AKC insurance. They lose submitted claims, the customer service is rude, they pay on a fee schedule which is something unrealistic, and won’t cover hereditary conditions or arthritis, and the processing of the claim is sluggish. The frustration you undergo is incredible being with this provider. I have cancelled this insurance and so glad I did. Now my sweet baby is covered with Embrace, a provider that actually provides customer service, GET THIS even hereditary conditions, arthritis, allows you to customize the plan, reimbursements not based on a fee schedule and you select the percentage of reimbursement, no “per incident” deception as the AKC has – that is a huge one – so watch out for that! ABOVE ALL – my new carrier communicates with experienced professionals who are thoughtful, attentive, considerate, compassionate kind as well as timely claim processing, and well-informed staff. I had many an experience with the AKC insurance. I was with the AKC for 5 years so I speak with experience on how dreadful they are as an insurance provider. My advices to anyone with or considering the AKC Pet Insurance read the fine print – and stay away. When I needed it the insurance for illness they were NEVER there, I can say the AKC has disappointed me in everyway
My wife had the AKC insurance for our pups. We experienced reimbursement for dental, annual and heartworm. Then when we needed the insurance for illness they threw everything into "per incident" when clearly it wasn't and did not pay thousands and thousands of dollars in claims. My wife moved to another provider and is OVER THE MOON happy with the service she receives for our pups along with NO PER INCIDENT GIMMICK like the AKC has and the cost was better and we have the peice of mind knowing we ACTUALLY DO NOW HAVE coverage for accident and illness without the gimmick of the AKC that allows unrelated illness and diagonistics to be lumped into obne incident. We did not purchase the AKC policy for DENTAL INSURANCE we purchased for illness yet they only pay for Dental and when you need the insurance the AKC is NOT THERE. It was a good for teeth cleaning -- and in the that is what we got -- who wants to pay $1,000 for teeth cleaning -- and not have TRUE illness coverage and woe be it if you run into a herditary issue with the Akc -- ADD ARTHRITIS -- another UNCOVERED CLAIM if you are insured with the AKC and we speak with year of experience with the AKC coverage -- if you can even call it coverage. Lets call it a "dental plan" that would be more accurate to as what you are receiving. What a joke the AKC was.
What a great point about how some pet health insurance companies will charge extra depending on the breed of the animal (and how great that AKC doesn't!) I always think it's really important to compare different insurance policies before you select one and that would definitely be something important to look at when considering which pet health insurance policy to choose!
The AKC Pet Partners Insurance only provides the ILLUSION of insurance coverage. When you come to a time when you need the insurance for a "major" illness - the AKC is not partnering with you -- in fact they deny claims and don't pay -- so for all the years you pay to have insurance for your beloved pet -- it is only an ILLUSION the AKC provides you with. They denied diagonostics, hospitalization, and many other things. Yes they paid for a minor wellness exam -- I could have paid for that myself with the premium -- I did not purchase insurance for "wellness" it was for "illness" -- so I just paid for the "Illusion". I STRONGLY suggest any other provider or self fund before ever getting involved with the AKC. Be sure to know the AKC Loop Hole with "Per Incident" and realize all the heritary issues they will not cover as well. You are just throwing your money away as my experience indicated while covered with the AKC Pet Partners Insurance
I HAD THIS INSURANCE WITH THE AKC -- IT WAS BAD -- DID NOT DELIVER WHAT IT REPRESENTED IT WOULD. DON'T FALL FOR THE AKC NAME - AS I HAD. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SELF FUND. ANY PREMIUM IS TO MUCH WHEN THEY DON'T DELIVER WHAT THEY REPRESENT AND HAVE AWAY TO WEASEL OUT OF REIMBURSEMENTS. SELF FUND OR FIND A REPUTABLE PROVIDER. IF YOU CHOOSE THIS COMPANY ****READ**** THE FIND PRINT. DON'T COVER HERIDITARY, DIABETIES, KIDNEY, ARTHITIS AND MANY OTHER CONDITIONS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION WHEN INVOLVING HEALTH CARE FOR YOUR PET THROUGH THE AKC.
The AKC only provides you with the impression of insurance coverage. When you truly need this insurance as what happened to me, AKC excludes and denies coverage. This insurance is good to get the teeth cleaned with the wellness plan. Now I ask the $1,000's you pay in an annual premium you could have paid for the teeth cleaning at least twice.
So for years I thought I had respectable insurance with the AKC and really I had the "Illusion" of coverage. I cancelled my coverage with the horrible provider and moved to an excellent one. They lost claims, denied claims, hideous customer service just to name a few. Then they would find a clause which got them out of paying the claims.
Read the fine print - watch for "annual maximum" "per-incident" "hereditary conditions" "genetic conditions" and of course "arthritis" – AKC does not pay for these illnesses. See what I mean -- they offer the illusion because some medical claim most likely will fall into these categories and be denied as is what happened to me and my beloved pet.
Many OTHER providers do not have the "illusion" and offer creditable coverage for the same price!
BEWARE OF THE AKC PET INSURANCE
The insurer does a disservice to the AKC name. They work really hard at one thing . . . denying your claim. I recently submitted a claim for a visit to the vet resulting from my dog ingesting a foreign object that irritated and lacerated his esophagus/larynx. Luckily he passed the object. However, he was subsequently left with an irritated throat and cough. The claim was denied because the policy does cover "coughs" . . . . Umm, that was the result of the injury, not the symptom! Their response was to ask whether or not I filed a claim for reconsideration as if that is standard operating procedure. As this is the second time I've been forced to jump through multiple hoops, I'm guessing it is. Moreover, after talking with one of their representatives who admitted the error, I learned that had they adequately considered my claim initially it would have been denied because they only cover such injuries it the foreign object was actually removed surgically! My point is their policy is nothing but loop holes. I'm not wasting one more second dealing with these buffoons. If you like beating your head against a concrete and wasting copious amounts of time filing paperwork, then this is the policy for you!!!!
Great information on this hub.
The American Kennel Club has something they call a healthcare plan but is also often referred to as the AKC Pet Insurance program. AKC is the largest purebred registry in the US and because of this their website state that they know and understand the concerns and needs of dog owners.
Allen 19 months ago
How fabulous of experience would think this is? Apparently it is the AKC claims processing way. My family has had multiple pet policies with the AKC for years. We had the unfortunate experience of actually having to utilize the insurance. Our pup was hospitalized three times. Now we had the Wellness Plan – the most enriched plan available (short of neutering & spay). Not only does the AKC conveniently loose claims, have the rude customer service, they also have a big loop hole. So beware! We lost our pup sadly, the doctors recommended euthanasia after 3 separate hospitalizations at the young age of 8. What does the AKC do? They denied diagnostics, hospitalization and euthanasia. These hospitalizations and diagnostics were not related to the same thing despite the AKC thought process. I ask what does an MRI of the brain have to do with Nephritis and what does that have to do with Aspiration Pneumonia? The AKC loop hole is they throw everything into one category and they claim it is all related to the same incident – including euthanasia and deny all claims. Watch out for this company. I got sucked into the AKC name – well clearly it is a sad day when the AKC is affiliated with such antics and loop holes. I cannot stress enough how you need to look for insurance with a competent provider that does not have the “per incident” restriction and make certain they have an annual maximum to protect you and your pet if you are ever in the need to use insurance. Clearly the AKC scams you to believe they provide excellent coverage – including the unfortunate event of euthanasia. Clearly my experience proves that the AKC does nothing when the need arises for major services and diagnostics. For my family we will bring it to the State Insurance Dept. for review. Had I had one ounce of this knowledge I would have checked out other companies. It is my fault for buying into the AKC name and not looking further. I have since found companies that give you annual maximum without the per incident loop hole the AKC tries to use. Guess what – the other companies actually offer “quality” customer service too. Be smarter than me – go anywhere but the AKC for fear your experience will be the same as mine. Obviously we are purchasing insurance to protect our beloved pets and you will NEVER have that comfort level based off my experience with the AKC – over $8,000 in denied claim and denied euthanasia which are to be covered. Seriously do not bite into the scams of the so called “pet insurance provider”. I would have been better off self funding the policy myself for the amount of money I paid them and not had the aggravation, rude customer service, lost claims, denied claims and outrageous premiums. Check out OTHER providers SERIOUSLY – this insurance is not worth TWO CENTS do to the gross incompetence and “loop hole” mentality of AKC PetPartners Insurance.