The lawsuit alleges that with little warning, Nationwide canceled its Whole Pet with Wellness Plans, which left the families of more than 100,000 pets in the U.S. scrambling for coverage. (Credit: Kadmy/Adobe Stock)
A group of insurance customers has filed a proposed class action against Nationwide that alleges the insurer pulled a bait-and-switch to get them to purchase Whole Pet insurance policies.
The complaint claims the plaintiffs purchased “nose-to-tail” Whole Pet insurance policies from Nationwide Veterinary Pet Insurance Company that the company promised would never be canceled due to a pet’s age. However, after paying premiums on these policies for years, the pet owners allege Nationwide dropped their policies — leaving them with unable to cover health care expenses for their now-senior dogs and with little hope of finding another pet insurer as most exclude pre-existing conditions.
The Whole Pet insurance policy is one that — according to Nationwide’s advertising — includes coverage for a variety of accidents and illnesses, including broken bones, poisoning, heart disease, being hit by a vehicle, diabetes, ingested items and more. There are two options for these plans, offering 50% and 70% reimbursement respectively, which range in price from $34 to $46 per month for a cat or dog. This plan excludes wellness services like vaccines, flea control, bloodwork and checkups.
The policy at issue in the suit is Nationwide’s Whole Pet with Wellness Plan, which was supposed to provide coverage for chronic conditions and would not expire based on the age of the pet.
The lawsuit alleges that with little warning, Nationwide canceled customers' Whole Pet with Wellness Plans, which left the families of more than 100,000 pets in the U.S. scrambling for coverage. It notes that Nationwide claims the decision to drop these plans was based on inflated veterinary costs and other similar factors, and that it was not based on the pets’ ages, breeds or claim history.
However, plaintiffs in the case allege that these cancellations only affected their pets who were aging or had significant medical needs.
The suit states, “Nationwide’s decision to cancel the Whole Pet with Wellness Plan, especially for loyal customers whose pets were covered by Nationwide since they were kittens/puppies, is callous and unjust because these customers were left with no protection and no alternatives. Nationwide had the ability to transfer all of these Whole Pet policies to a different Nationwide pet insurance policy. It chose profits and deceit over consumer fairness.”
The suit alleges the actions from Nationwide violate Massachusetts’ Consumer Protection Act as well as other state statutes prohibiting unfair and deceptive acts and practices, and that they constitute negligent misrepresentation and fraud.
The class has requested a jury trial seeking compensatory, consequential, statutory and punitive awards as well as legal fees and an injunction to prevent “Nationwide’s ongoing deceptive conduct.”
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