petplan pet insurance

rossbyuk · 23 September 2016 at 12:46PM

hi all just after some advice i bought my son a puppy last friday as an early bday present.
we booked it straight in for a puppy pack which included a health check jabs and 4 weeks insurance with pet plan.Vet did the health check on the puppy stating it had a little diareeah prob due to change of food.overall it was signed off as healthy and they signed it off for the insurance on monday.i have had a message confirming the insurance .now on thursday i have had to rush puppy into vets due to it been sick and not been able to stand up very ill.
puppy was kept in over night with glucose levels dropping so low it was treated over night with costs rising to over 500 pound.the vets have since told us we may not be able to make an insurance claim as it already had diareah when it was checked monday in which the same vets but another branch said the puppy was healthy.Im just wondering if anyone knows anything about this and is it supposed to be me who contacts the insurance company or the vets as i think they are trying to stop me speaking to insurance company at the moment thank you

Smodlet · 23 September 2016 at 1:10PM

Hi and welcome. It is you who will have to contact PetPlan; it is not the vets' problem how you pay them and the insurance contract is between PetPlan and you, not them and the vets. Having said which, no insurance company I have ever had a policy with (four, I think) will pay up unless the vet completes their part of the claim form and signs it to declare the treatment was necessary.

You should be able to download a claim form from PetPlan's website so I suggest you read it carefully. There will be exclusions such as they will not pay for pre-existing conditions (any that were evident before the cover was taken out) You will also need to find out if the puppy is covered at all as there is usually a minimum age and a period (often the first two weeks, I think) during which the animal is not covered, in case any conditions become evident that were pre-existing (a shot of steroids can cover a multitude of sins, just saying)

If the policy is less than two weeks old, I imagine the puppy will not be covered. This may be miss-selling on the vets' part as they surely must know this (I do and I'm no vet but I have had pet insurance for twenty years) With luck someone with more legal/insurance knowledge will be along to help soon.

How is the poor puppy, btw? I hope he/she makes a full recovery. While I suppose the vet(s) must be given the benefit of the doubt in that they could not know the condition would deteriorate so quickly and so badly, I get the impression from your post that you might do well to look for another surgery which is not part of their group. HTH and please advise how the puppy is doing.

dacouch · 23 September 2016 at 4:30PM

Speak to the vets. many have direct billing facilities with Pet Plan eg they do all the paperwork and get paid direct.

The reason why your vet may be palming you off is they suspect it's not covered, either way speak to the vet and ask them to put a claim in and see what happens

rossbyuk · 23 September 2016 at 6:32PM

thank you the puppy is home at the moment still with no proper diagnosis but a bill of £600.still doesnt seem 100% but been told to give honey or jam if it looks like her health is dropping.hypoglycimia is what they have put down on the claim form still shes been home 3 hours and has had 3 bouts of diareah since shes been home.she is to go back monday for a check if it doesnt need to go in before then

sheramber · 23 September 2016 at 6:47PM

from this link you will see cover for illness does not start until 14 days after you activate the insurance.

https://www.petplan.co.uk/covernote/aboutcover.asp?Campaign=VOUCHER&Code=4CV

Smodlet · 23 September 2016 at 6:53PM

Hi again. Could it be hypoglycaemia on the form? Because all that means is low blood sugar! It's what we all get when miss a meal, to a minor extent. Of course, the poor, little thing's blood sugar is low, she can't absorb any nutrients because of the diarrhoea, stuff is going straight through her and I doubt it is advisable to give a dog actual sugar, which is pretty much all that honey and jam are.

Sorry, OP, but were she my puppy, I would be on the phone to a different vet's practice right now. How can they justify £600 for failing to do anything, even to give a proper diagnosis? If she is in such a bad way she surely should be on a drip to prevent dehydration/malnutrition?

Where the heck is Sagz? That is who you need, right now, imho; Sagz is either a vet or a veterinary nurse, I think.

rossbyuk · 23 September 2016 at 8:19PM

yes sorry it was also on a drip through the night also had bloods to see how white cells were reacting that was 70 quid at moment head seems to be too heavy when it walks it lifts it ok after a rest just after a while it looks at floor when it wals

Smodlet · 24 September 2016 at 11:19AM

She sounds like a very sick puppy indeed, to me. She is obviously in a great deal of pain if she is wailing and being unable to lift her head denotes serious weakness. Please, please don't wait until Monday to take her to the vets', she could just be dead by then, from what you describe. If your child were displaying such symptoms, would you just leave it over the week end?

I stand by my assertion that I would choose a different vet, as well. I don't understand why they let her out if she is so ill and they don't even know what's causing it. Some (many) vets are brilliant; some are total rubbish. There are two very local to us; no-one who cares about their pets uses either; we all drive ten miles to the good vet. It's a total drag but worth it if you care about your furry or feathery friends.

ETA: I am sure I don't need to mention that a pet is a responsibility; if someone is not prepared to do and spend everything they need to, to keep him or her healthy and happy, they would be better not taking them on in the first place.

rossbyuk · 24 September 2016 at 1:55PM

the puppy seems absolutly fine today full of life and like nothing is wrong i hope i dont sound like i am complaining about the cost as i am not at all i told the vets do do every test possible we have only had the puppy 6 days when she fell ill and we was devastated it is already a massive part of our family but she seems like a new puppy today my partner slept downstairs all night getting up every hour to check on her its unreal how its recovered so fast.we think the head hanging was prob just lack of energy from infection.

rossbyuk · 24 September 2016 at 1:55PM

and we will look for another vets thanks

Smodlet · 24 September 2016 at 2:52PM

Wow! What amazing news, rossbyuk. That is wonderful to hear, thank you.

I hope you didn't think I was implying any neglect on your part; that was not my intention at all and I don't blame you for being concerned about the cost. While blood tests and in-house care such as being on a drip are both expensive, £600 sounds exorbitant to me, depending on how long she was there. Vet's costs do vary considerably around the country but also from practice to practice.

Something which occurred to me late last night, which I hope very much is of help, is that if the cover does not start for 14 days you can cancel the insurance right now and shop around for the best deal. 14 days is the cooling off period, after all and I doubt this veterinary practice have given you the best price, somehow. Was the cost of this insurance included in the £600 bill? If so, and you decide to go elsewhere, they would surely have to refund that amount, at least?

Whether you stay with PetPlan or not, you will have to advise the insurance company about the puppy's illness as pre-existing conditions are not usually covered. They do not pay out without a full medical history from any and all vet's practices who have ever treated the animal. It can be a right pain getting places who have not seen your animal for years to dredge up their records and fill in forms. You just don't quit until they do.

It would help if you knew what caused the illness. If it was just that the food you offered her did not agree with her, you might be OK. Have you tried offering a different type? Do you know what she was having before you got her? Was she even weaned? I don't think you said how old she is. If she was still having milk from her mother, it is not surprising she has suffered, given the stress of leaving her mum and being in a strange environment with, possibly, food she has never seen before.

I am so relieved she is doing much better and what amazing humans she has. No parent could take more diligent care of a newborn infant than your OH did of this puppy (does she have a name yet?) I do so hope the she is now adjusting to her new home and new diet and lives a long and happy life. Good luck to you all.

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