Should I file a Claim or Will it Screw Me Over?
Cat has been on Embrace insurance since she was a kitten (she's almost 10 y.o. now). A few years ago I took her to vet because she seemed sick and it turned out to be just a cold. I filed a claim and got reimbursed but my premium went up $15/mo upon renewal and has gone up another $5 since then.
Fast forward to now: she was not eating her usual amount for a few weeks so I took her in. Vet felt a mass so we did ultrasound and urine culture. No real diagnosis but she does have sediments in her bladder. Nothing to be concerned about. Not a condition. More water should fix it. Kidneys are fine. Full bill came out $1158.
Should I file a claim? I worry about 2 things:
- How badly will my premium go up? Currently it's $63/mo ($756/yr) -- Which is <= to the vet bill after deductable. I don't see why they would keep my premium the same after paying out equal or more than I paid them in a 12 month period. If this is a one time thing... Increasing my bill forever would be annoying (on the other hand they may raise the premium anyway since shes older)
- What if they drop me? This one is more concerning. I've read horror stories on here of people being dropped from coverage. Obviously she's got many years left and being dropped now would be terrible. Will they see this as a sign of frivolous claims and decide it's not worth the future payout when she's older and sicker?
Does anyone have experience with Embrace claims?
Update: I read all the policy docs last night and ran them through chatgpt. Here's what I learned: BC of my state addendum I'm protected from being dropped. So there's no fear of losing coverage over too many claims.
Regarding the rate, I need to do a little more digging. There's no clause saying they will /won't use claim history to determine premiums but theres conflicting info online. It seems rate calculation criteria has to be filed with my state so I'm trying to find the specifics to see if the claim history will hike up premiums.
I can afford the bill and I made a mistake: the cat is 8yo so maybe I have 2 more years of low-ish premiums if I can avoid making them think this cat is going into its old age with a history of illness and getting a crazy hike I'd like to.