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Marian Crenshaw Austin's Reviews (1)

It's Vegas, all glitz, a few winners but Waggel always win

1
My experience with Waggel has just proven that insurance is a lot like gambling. They bet my pet will not need their services while tempting me with stories of how they saved the day with poor fluffy got run over and I bet my pet will need their services to cover medical care that may be very expensive and I may not be able to afford. Surely no one wants Fluffy to perish for a lack of room on the credit card? My claim with Waggel, (incidentally the only insurance claim I have ever made over 40+ years of having a pet), began in September 2020 and took two months to be denied. All through the process, it was up to me to chase up Waggle who blamed my vet for taking so long to send the paperwork but never bothered to chase them up themselves. I had to call Waggle to get them to do put pressure on my vet. According to the emails I received from my vet, they processed the request for my dog's history within 18 of being asked. In the end, my claim was denied because I had taken my dog for a pre-spay assessment 11 days after purchasing a policy from Waggel. It never occurred to me that taking her in for a routine spay assessment would cancel any later claims. The spay was done 20 days after I bought the policy and 9 months before I made the claim. The claim was denied and any further claim associated with her entire respiratory system because during the pre-op assessment, the vet discussed the possibility of BOAS and recommended that I have the dog's nostrils opened up during the spay. Also, because my dog is adopted and the two vets and one nurse who have seen her have differing opinions as to her age (one says she is about 2 to 3, one says she is 4 the other says she is about 5), Waggel have implied that I lied to them and thus my premium will now be increased with a penalty aka charge to change the policy to reflect her true date of birth. What I find the most interesting about Waggel's claim to be different and their multiple five star reviews is that they encourage you very, very hard to review them as soon as you have purchased a policy and well before you have needed their services. Selling me the policy and taking my money was indeed 5-star easy. Leaving me thousands of pounds of essential medical treatment (which, contrary to their text message denial I did not see coming) and increasing my premium because I do not know my adopted rescue dog's "true" date of birth rates a 1-star experience. Don't be taken in by their cute terms for things such as "customer champion" or discount offers on buying luxury dog jumpers, Waggle is an insurance company first and foremost. They make their money in getting you to buy premiums and denying large payouts. Before you say but they paid for Fluffy's life saving surgery....think about Vegas. Of course casinos have to let people win now and then, otherwise it would be bad for business, suckers won't put their money down if they think there is no chance of winning. Ultimately they make such a profit that paying a few claims to encourage more customers is how they work. Waggel is no different. Read their carefully curated Facebook group, you will not see one negative word nor indeed will you be able to find a single post about a claim being denied. So, my experience has been disappointing. Had I waited three more days before a routine surgery assessment then maybe they would have paid the claim made eight months later.... maybe not. Either way, I think my monthly premium is best kept out of their pocket. Reviewed on: 16th November 2020
Marian Crenshaw Austin's avatar
Marian Crenshaw Austin