Nationwide | Pet Insurance Review

The USPS did not deliver the letter in December about policy changes, nor did I receive any further communication regarding the policy with a renewal date in April 4 months after the letter which was not in my mailbox. The policy was canceled without my knowledge or notification or warning of its cancellation. I have had my dog insured with them for 7 years and any conditions covered on previous policy will not be covered on new policy. There wasn’t even a choice to roll-over to the “new plan” the old policy was canceled and coverage starts new not covering any of the medical pre-existing conditions he had been covered on the policy for the last seven years. It’s unethical and a way out to no longer pay for my dog’s conditions they had previously covered under the policy plan they had eliminated. Premiums were always paid and except for this last year I hardly submitted any claims in the past 6 years. Just when I needed the coverage the most Nationwide made a loophole in terminating the plan my dog had and making me apply for a new plan so his illness would not be covered as they consider it pre-existing even though it existed while covered by Nationwide.

Every experience I've ever had with Nationwide Pet has been great! The agents/customer service representatives are always kind and helpful. The claims process is so quick and easy. The coverage options are clear and explained very well, I haven't run into any issues with coverage so far. The app is very user-friendly. Everything has been been amazing so far, and I'm very glad that I found this coverage for my bird(s). The reason that I only gave 4 stars is due to a new change though, which reduces the value of the policy for my new bird quite a bit. Unfortunately, the wellness coverage that my new bird will receive is capped at $500.00 for the year, while my original bird has unlimited wellness coverage. I am so thankful that my original bird gets to keep his unlimited plan as long as I continue his coverage, but I'm pretty upset that my new bird won't receive the same coverage, especially being on the same policy. Unfortunately, $500.00 doesn't go far when it comes to exotic/avian vet prices, in my area at least. Just to have your bird seen and go through the new bird/yearly health screening/tests is over $300.00. That doesn't leave much for nail/beak trimmings throughout the year, or any additional testing/follow-up exams that might be recommended... Which is what I was relying on due to my new bird not being very tame/very scared of hands. Nail trims every 2-3 months are $40 each time, which along with the original screening would be the entire $500.00, unfortunately. It just doesn't seem fair to go from unlimited to a $500.00 cap, especially for someone who already has a policy with you that includes the unlimited plan. I just wish there were different tiers of wellness coverage that we could choose from, at the very least. I've recommended you guys to SO MANY people since I started my policy, I go out of my way to tell anyone I can about it because it was such a great plan. The wellness coverage is what drew all of those people to sign their birds up... Not the sick/injured plan. Unfortunately, I can forsee you losing out on a lot of new customers due to this change because it's not an amazing policy anymore... Everyone who owns birds knows how little $500.00 will get you. It might be something for you guys to consider.

Rep was through and friendly. Premium was affordable.

Although it was an easy interface to add pets, unfortunately the system wouldn't take my billing address, no matter how many times I filled it out, and therefore the billing page refused to complete the purchase. Then I get an email saying that Nationwide received my application, which confused me, considering the webpage for purchasing the plan wasn't letting me finish. Not just that, but the email I received only mentioned one of the pets I was applying for coverage on. Very confusing.

I found on the site conflicting information so I called customer service to get clarification. One place on the site said that ACL issues would not be covered the first year but when I clicked on waiting periods by state it showed if you were a resident of Washington State there was no waiting period. I asked the customer service rep about this and she said I was looking at old information, if that's the case why is it on the site? She also quoted me $124 plus some change but the site was showing $99 plus some change, she couldn't explain the difference. I also could not find German Shepherd mix but other breeds had mix listed. One of the questions asked if my dog has seen a vet in the last 6 months and I told the customer service rep he had at the place we adopted him from but she said to mark no because that question is when the pet is with you not before. I honestly can't remember what I marked but that question needs to be clarified. I also asked if I could increase the reimbursement rate to 80% and she said not in Washington state, why does that make a difference? I ended up purchasing the policy as our last 2 dogs were covered by Nationwide and we were very happy with their coverage.