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. This includes the financial burden it can be to have veterinary treatments, surgery and prescriptions for your dog. This is good and all but based on my experience with reviewing these pet insurance companies I’ll dig a little deeper into their website as well as do some research around the Internet to see what customers actually think of the AKC Pet Insurance.
AKC Pet Insurance Problems
One of the main problems when doing research on an insurance company like AKC is that you can read all you want on their website but you’ll be hard pressed to find anything negative about them because who would want to say something negative about themselves on their own website. Instead you can use their website as more of a fact sheet to see things like prices and different types of insurance plans and what each individual plan covers. For this AKC has created a page where you can see their six pet insurance plans put into a sheet for better comparison. What strikes me is that the six different plans (named 60-Day Trial, Accident Plus, Essential, Essential Plus, Wellness and Wellness Plus) seem to cover all the same things at first glance. My first thought was why they had created six different insurance plans if they were all the same? But scrolling down to the bottom of the sheet explains the differences.
Pet Insurance Plans
The first differences in the AKC Pet Insurance Plans are the amount they each cover named “maximum per policy term”. The trial package will only cover $1,500 while the wellness plans will cover $13,000. Quite a significant jump in coverage if you ask me! Each plan has several other more specific rules but I won’t go into those here as you’ll need to read the fine print before signing up with them anyway. One thing that you should notice though is that most plans will not cover dogs above the age of 9 years old. So if you’re a pet owner of an older dog and you don’t already have pet insurance you’ll probably have some difficulties finding one. Even outside the AKC Pet Insurance company.
Reviews of AKC Pet Insurance from customers
As with any insurance company you can find people that are happy with the company and people that are unhappy with it and that is a fact of life. But when going through the comments that people have made about AKC and the different options they provide there were a few things that kept appearing in their statements and I think that is an important point to bring up.
The first point was that when you’re in a situation where you will need to submit a claim it is really quite difficult to find the claim form. I don’t know if this has been changed recently but I found it quite easy to go to their website and just download that claim. The only thing you need to be aware of is that you will need to bring this claim to your VET before the treatment is carried out as your VET will need to fill out section 2 of the form. You might be able to have her/him do at a later state but you might end up paying for that consultation as well and there is no need for that if you come prepared the first time.
The second recurring negative comment about AKC Pet Insurance is that they’re a little slow in processing the claims that they receive and that (taken from the customers point of view) there are claims filed that aren’t accepted leaving the pet owner with the bill. I can understand that this might be frustrating to any pet owner but I find that many times the claim should never have been filed in the first place if the pet owner had cared to read and understand the fine print. Now I’m not taking AKC in defense because I also know that pet insurance company will try to pay as little as possible because it hurts their financial performance every time they pay a claim but I also know that most pet owners do spend enough time reading the terms and conditions of their pet insurance if they even read them at all. There is nothing wrong in reading the terms and if you don’t understand them then call up AKC Pet Insurance customer service and have them explain it. It’s free and will just take you a little time. But the choice is yours.
I HAVE INSURED 4 OF MY CHIHUAHUAS. i HAVE HAD THE POLICY FOR2 YEARS NEVER FILING A CLAIM. RECENTLY TWO OF MY DOGS DEVELOPED SEVERE TOOTHACHES. I FLIED A CLAIM, AND THEY WOULD NOT COVER THE COST OF EXTRACTION. THEN THREE OF MY DOGS DEVELOPED SEVERE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS. THE BILLS CAME TO OVER $200.00. i AM BEING TOLD THEY HAVE TO MEET DEDUCTABLE. AMOUONT ALLOWED SEEMS TO BE VERY SMALL. I AM NOT SURE THIS AMOUNT I AM PAYING EACH YEAR IS WORTH WHAT I AM NOT GETTING INSERVICES. I MAY SWITCH TO ANOTHER PLAN ADDING TWO MORE DOGS. I DON’T KNOW WHO IS ANY GOOD AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE.
BIG MISTAKE!!! DO NOT INVEST IN AKC PET HEALTHCARE PLAN. THIS IS WORTHLESS!!! You are better off saving your money for the rainy day (for your beloved pet).
I have had the plan for about 3 years now. I have a dog with genetic issues that ended up leading to autoimmune conditions and the like. Needless to say that when i have to go to the vet with her my bill is always looking in the 500s and up (with the latest one being 2,500.00). AKC insurance has always covered an average of 80% of my costs, and that includes medication refills! Yes, there is a deductible that you have to meet, and it is stated on your plan information. It really depends what you want to use the insurance for. I dont use it for yearly check ups, tooth cleanings or any type of preventative care. It is not worth it for that. I use it when things get really serious, like an unexpected illness. Having had experience with other pet health insurance companies in the past, i believe that AKC insurance is a good investment, if you are able to choose a plan that meets your needs wisely.
Have had it for 2 years, serving 2 dogs, have filed 2 claims, both of which were denied based on, what appeared to me, to be technicalities. I think it’s not a wise investment unless you plan to be very well versed on the fine print of the policy.
I put in a negative comment a while back over them not paying for emergency extractions on my dogs infected tooth, however, recently, one of my prize show dogs developed a secere intrauterine inection and became septic. this all happened within a 48 hour period. I rushed her to the vet on a Sunday. They examined her, did blood work, x-rays etc, and said she would definitely die if not operated on. Well, the bill would come to over $1500, but she was my “baby.” They did the surgey successfully and I submitted the bill. Well, I must say. They got their act together, as they paid 90% fo the bill in a reasonable amount of time. I find this good and will stay with them.
I have received prompt acknowledgement of claims, and a check followed soon after. I will continue as a customer.
I have had this insurance for almost 6 years and the only problem I have had was denial of allergy related expenses. I did not take advantage of the trial period when I adopted my puppy. I eventually decided to get the insurance and took him in for his physical 2 days before the policy had been in effect for 30 days. The vet decided to run allergy tests. The insurance paid for his physical, but because the allergy test was inside the 30 days, they have not covered anything related to his allergies — pre=existing condition. Everything else (so far) has been covered.
I submitted 3 legitimate claims all turned down
I very carefully kept track of every single penny I paid for care for my puppy in her first year. I bought the most expensive policy offered, and at the end of the year I ended up saving $400 by having the AKC insurance vs not having it. She had one emergency room visit for a severe allergic reaction, one visit from an attack at a dog park, an ear infection that lingered, a sprained muscle in her neck, plus her spay and all her vaccinations, heartworm and flea preventitive. I never had a single claim denied, and my vet keeps a copy of the claim form at his office and fills it out for me when I go. All tests, x-rays, meds, hospital fees, everything was covered and paid back to me in time to pay my credit card bill within a month. My biggest complaint about this insurance is the fact that it excludes genetic conditions.