Future VPI Products

Dennis' Diary: Part 9

VPI has been listening and adapting to customer feedback for more than 26 years. We know how important it is to keep our monthly premiums low enough to fit your budget, and we have worked hard to do so – primarily through the use a benefit schedule. For a more detailed explanation of the advantages of a benefit schedule, see my other posting on the subject.

Customers Want Choice

VPI’s benefit schedule has allowed us to keep premiums from escalating at the same high rate as average veterinary costs. We are now hearing that our customers want more choices. They understand getting a higher percentage reimbursement will increase their premiums, and many are willing to pay that higher premium. 

On the other side, we are hearing that this tightening economy has made even our low premiums difficult for some of our customers to maintain. Those with more conservative budgets are asking for less expensive products that will deliver a lower reimbursement, but still provide peace of mind.  Some would like a product with low premiums and a high deductible, designed to help them with the largest of veterinary expenses. We also know many of our customers find our current benefit schedule complex, and for these we are exploring ways to simplify the reimbursement process.  

“Our products are fully reviewed by each of the 50 State Insurance Departments for your protection. In some states it takes up to a year before we can get approval to offer a new product.”

New Products Take Time Because We Are Regulated

Given this feedback we are working on developing some new products to address these customer needs. The product development process at VPI is influenced by the fact that we operate as an “admitted” insurance company. This means our products are fully reviewed by each of the 50 State Insurance Departments for your protection. (See my other posting on regulation for more detail.)  In some states it takes up to a year before we can get approval to offer a new product. Even though this extra step can delay the launch of a new product, we want our customers to have the assurance that every product we offer has been carefully examined and approved by their state’s Department of Insurance.

Providing customers with all of the coverage they want at a price they are willing to pay is a challenge – but one we are committed to meet. We recently launched our new CareGuard^SM riders as a result of policyholder feedback, and you can look forward to additional new products that continue our mission as the trusted choice of America’s pet lovers.

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