One of the issues we have to contend with at Embrace Pet Insurance is poor customer service. Not ours, but that of our competitors.
Suppose someone gave you the most delicious chocolate in the world. You would be able to tell pretty quickly if you agree with that assessment or not. Just one bite would pretty well do it - it's immediate and obvious.
Contrast that with pet insurance. When presented with the choice of buying a pet insurance policy or not, you have to trust that when the time comes, your claims experience will be a positive one because that is really the essence of what pet insurance is all about isn't it?
And since you can't bite into it right then and there, all you can base that trust on is what you've heard about the pet insurance companies.
And that's not very comforting for a newer company like Embrace. We are building our reputation on the experience we give our customers but we are younger than the other companies and have fewer customers so we have to rely on pet parents getting over the hump of the poor reputation of pet insurance in the US.
We rely on our prospective customers having a good gut feel about Embrace, something we work hard on and I think we achieve pretty well, but we also have this bugaboo floating out there - the actions of our competitors. I have total faith in our Embracers but I see that I can't say the same about the service staff of our competitors. Relying on them doing good deeds does not help me sleep well at night.
I was perusing the Embrace Pet Insurance reviews on the Pet Insurance Review website today and I was struck by how so many of the comments refer to our staff and how helpful they are. Here are some excerpts:
...After many hours of researching the topic of pet insurance and pondering the cost vs. benefit, loopholes, etc. the Embrace staff answered every question and helped me to make this important decision... Emily Byrum-Hecht
...I had an 11 month labrador retriever that became very ill vomiting and with a fever. I had taken him to the Veterinary where they had a cat scan on him and found out they would have to do "Emergency Surgery". For the next 2 days I was on the telephone with Embrace staff and I have to say they were outstanding in customer service, compassionate with me throughout the entire time, especially "Christine"... Linda Pagan
...I asked a quote and got a fast answer. Sent them an email and got an email back within the hour. The lady I communicated with was really friendly and helpful... Christine S
I just filed my first claim, and it was incredibly easy. I was almost shocked when I found out that you CAN actually get a REAL PERSON on the phone. They even answer e-mails usually in the same day. Their communication is excellent. I think I pay maybe $5 to $10 more per month then I would at one of the other companies. To me it's worth it not to be trapped in voicemail hell, or have to talk an automated system. Angela
...I was most impressed by how much you all seemed to care about "Storm". As you know his injuries were terrible. I remember especially the e-mail from different people at Embrace with words of concern about him and of encouragement and care for how we(his Mom & Dad) were doing... Norma & Rich Kern
These comments bring joy to my heart. Our Embracers are the best, bar none.
The site also has other companies' reviews. I won't name names but this one is not atypical of many of the comments about many of the companies:
I do not recommend XXXX. They do not return my phone calls and half the time do not answer their phones. We recently sumbitted a claim that should have been covered by our plan, but they denied it for no reason. After we called to dispute, they completely changed our claim, from an injury to an illness. My dog was injured not sick! Shop around before using them!! Also, they were supposed to get back to us and they still haven't. We are canceling immediately and looking for other coverage.
The Embrace Difference is how we win over pet parents who are skeptical about pet insurance. This is how we change the fly-by-night reputation of pet insurance in the US.
It won't happen over night but by golly, it will happen. We are missionaries and we won't give up until it's done; you are seeing the birth of the pet insurance revolution.
Will you join the Embrace revolution today?
