E & L Pet Insurance Take Forever to pay

hushpuppy

Hi all,

Thought I'd share my experiences of Equine & Livestock (E&L) Pet Insurance Group with you.

On the 18th of July my cat got into a spot of bother and required treatment by the vet, I submitted an on-line claim form on the 25th when we knew he wouldn't need any further treatment and heard nothing until the 2nd of September when E&L Claims sent me a letter asking for his medical history.

Co-incidentally that same morning he got into another scrape with a feral cat that comes sniffing around after the ducks that have adopted our back garden and ended up with a broken leg. So at the same time I completed another claim form and the vet was able to supply me with his history, both of which were posted on the 3rd.

I telephoned E&L on the 30th of September to be told that they had received both claims but the assessors were in-undated with claims and mine was due to be processed on the 3rd of October, and to call back the following week.

I called on the 13th as I had not received any remittance as expected and spent an hour trying to get through and left a call back request that was never returned.

I then sent an e-mail via their on line 'contact us' facility, which to date has not been replied to.

I finally got through to customer services on the 20th of October and I explained all the above. She claimed that I should not have been given a date and when I asked to speak to a Supervisor she told me that she was it and that she would speak to the CS that had mis informed me. She then placed me on hold and after a few minutes came back to say, (surprisingly) he was on another call and couldn't verify what he had told me!

I asked to speak to a Manager but she said I could not speak to anyone higher unless I put it in writing and sent it via the post! I said that I thought that I had waited long enough for a very simple claim, and another week whilst my letter was received (and if it would be actioned) was unacceptable, but that was the only option to escalte my complaint that I was offered.

She then said that she was confident that the claim would be settled by the end of last week, but I'm still waiting!!!!!!!!!

The total of both claims come to about £350, minus the excesses for both will mean I get £250 (if they honour the claims) which to some isn't a lot of money but to me is. I have since found out from the vets that E&L are notorious for getting out of paying claims and use all sorts of stalling tactics to do so.

So over 3 months since the first claim was submitted and nearly 2 since the second and I am no closer to knowing if I will get any money back, is this fair?

I will not be renewing with E&L and urge all of you to weigh up the supposed savings that this companies prices offer against my experience and suggest that you seek advice from your Vet as to which are the more friendly and ethical pet insurers.:mad:

lesley1960

We had a horse insured with them , they never did pay , the vet at the time said they would never recommended them as insurers because they always had problems getting them to settle claims .

trudij

They are a nightmare. I hope you get your money out of them, but you wont even get the 350 less 100 excess - they also sting you for 15% of your claim asn extra excess.

They refused to pay my hospitalisation fees for my dog as they claimed he didnt have a life threatening condition - he was admitted to the hospital with what we later found out to be poisoning, and he died in the vets, they have yet to tell me how much more life threatening a condition can get.....

lowis

your vet is technically not allowed to recommend or give advice re: choosing an insurer under the FSA guidelines.

HOWEVER, i asked my vet this question "if you were insuring your own pet, who would you avoid", E&L were the first mentioned, followed by most of the supermarket branded insurance. i then asked them which insurance companies they found it easy to work with on their direct claims...I was told Petplan and M&S.

gomer

I think you'll find most people don't need a warning about E&L because they have such a terrible reputation that just i quick search online would have told you what a disgrace they are to the profession.

Unfortunately people tent to look for the most affordable insurance & E&L are a perfect example of why it is not always wise to go for the cheapest cover.

Did you really (honestly) research insurance companies thoroughly before chosing E&L? Even just a 5 second search on the internet for reviews on E&L would have shown you how terrible they were to deal with - in fact just a quick search on THIS forum will give you an idea of just how many people have all found themselves in your situation (and worse) with this company.

The amount of negative reviews i found on them when i was looking for insurance for my dog was nothing short of disturbing.

hushpuppy

In fairness I was with them several years ago when I had two dogs that were forever getting into trouble and needing vets attention at that time I couldn't fault E&L, having then got a new pet, the first since the dogs died several years ago I wrongly thought that E&L would be ok, how I regret not doing my research now.

Purpledaisy_2

I had my two of my horses insured with them a few years ago and would never use them again / recommend them to anyone.

There customer service is awful, I can only sympathise with the trouble you are having