RAC pet insurance

We purchased this policy for our lovey Labrador puppy. Unfortunately we have now had a diagnoses of elbow dysplasia in our puppy and hidden deep within the PDS of the policy is the exclusion of this condition. Unfortunately we will now be spending 6k for the treatment of our puppy, and most likely moving away from our other RACQ products because we simply can’t fathom this behaviour in such a community focused organisation. The exclusion of conditions should be listed night and day on the website, not buried in a PDS and should advise large breed owners not to consider their products due to the prevalence of the condition in these breeds. What do RACQ expect, that owners will simply euthanasise their puppies with elbow dysplasia?

Their customer service can’t be faulted and I have never had a bad conversation with RACQ in my years as a customer but this is pretty disappointing, our vet with his years of practice thought it was strange a insurance company would not accept claims for elbow dysplasia in puppies insured from 8-12 weeks. Additionally we learned RACQ is one of the few insurers not linked to vet practices allowing the practice to make an easy claim on your behalf. Steer clear of this insurer if you have purchased a large breed dog or don’t want to pay pet insurance only to have it let you down when you needed it the most.

I am a gold 50+ card holder. Recently tried to make a claim on pet insurance by phone. Woman who answered nearly freaked when I told her the claim was $2286, because my dog had to have several tests done to try to identify the ongoing problem. That included ultrasound, fecal and blood tests. The woman to whom I spoke was rude and insinuated I was trying to make a fraudulent claim. I asked to speak to customer service manager. Unsurprisingly, not available!. I requested a call back when available. The call never came. I rang back much later, spoke to a different person, who, to be fair, was very helpful. The claim was approved but I believe the payout amount was incorrect. I queried this and am still waiting for a call back!!! This is the first claim I have ever made on RACQ. I have other policies as well. Have just cancelled my home and contents policy and car policy. RACQ is very happy to take my money, but not quite so eager to give me some back when I have a legitimate claim. Look elsewhere!

The actual insurance product seems as good as you will get anywhere however EVERY time I make a claim, even just ongoing medication top ups, we are required to telephone RACQ. EVERY time I am on hold and don’t actually speak to a human for minimum 15-20minutes. Why isn’t there an online claim service?!! The most basic claim takes around half an hour out of my day but the actual talk time is only about 5 minutes – understaffed?! Just get the online claim service going RAC!!

Claims process took longer than expected – waited 20+ days to hear about an outcome. Paid over $1000 to treat a bad ear infection for our pup (needed sedation). Claim was rejected because he had skin allergies 6 months prior and they have assumed ear infection is linked when there is no actual evidence to suggest this – vet didn’t notice or mention any allergies at all when treating the ear infection.

The vet can’t claim for you like other major insurers, so it’s quite inconvenient. The online claim form almost never works, so you end up having to sit on hold answering repetitive questions every time you need to claim. RACQ’s customer service is far worse than RAC WA. RAC doesn’t tell you clearly that it’s with RACQ, so I feel misled. I changed over from Guide Dogs as my experience with RAC for car insurance was good and I thought it might be convenient. It was a total mistake. The annual price hikes are very significant. I just adopted a second dog and they’ll definitely not be with RAC. Considering changing my car insurance too.