Insurance claim - supplying medical history for an adopted cat?

lowis

I adopted a 14 year old cat from Siamese Rescue in early September, we could not get a full medical history as his previous owner had died and the owner's brother (who she had not spoken to for 3 years) had no idea which cat the vet was registered with, so just handed him in to Siamese Rescue for rehoming with no other info.

Just before I took out my policy with AXA I explained all of this to them and they said that it did not matter, they would take his medical history from the date of when he was put up for adoption as he was a rescue cat.

I had to make a claim last month for a tooth extraction and a heart scan, and this morning I just received a letter from AXA now asking me to supply his full medical history!

I called them up and reminded them that my cat was adopted and that when I took out the policy was informed that this was not an issue, they then said I need to fax over any info I have - which will basically be a letter from Siamese Rescue stating that he had a clean bill of health at the time of adoption, and this will hopefully be backed up by a letter from their vet. AXA said this would be 'helpful'.

Has anyone else been through similar...and what was the outcome?

Thanks!

UKTigerlily

Not been through similar but i'd be interested to know the outcome as I have a rescue cat & dog! I think it'll be ok though, most accept you can't possibly know a history, I think it's only if you withold info you do know that there's issues

mineallmine

As per last post, as your cat was a rescue, the medical history is taken from that date. Had several rescue animals and been ok. Asking for the full medical history is standard practice - basically they are trying to check if the animal suffered said illness prior to you taking up the insurance.

Best of luck and hope the cat is ok.

Paparika

sounds like the typical sales person, tells you its all ok until you need something, can you remember the date and time and name of the person that said it was ok.

I know it sounds like a lot to remember but I've been caught out by companies claiming their staff would never say such and such, that i always write down a name time and date and always ask if the call is being recorded.

simontheiceman

This happens all the time - we generally find that the company will pay. They often get a bit tricky around cases where chronic disease which MAY have been apparent at the time of adopting the cat.

I would always advise a health check for all new pets, paid for by the adopter and recorded by the vet. This helps to persuade companies that the pet was healthy at the time of inception of the policy. Of course this is irrelevant where the insurance is taken out through the Vet in question and has been underwritten on that day. Sure you might pay a little more for the policy but at least you will have some peace of mind.

lowis

Thanks Simon, I had the cat for 6 weeks before I took him for his health check - mainly because i was aware of the 14 day clause at the start of the policy (which I took out the day I adopted him, indepedently of my vet), and with my cat being 14 I was concerned something may show up...unfortunately it did...a lesion on his tooth and a suspected heart murmur so he needed a scan, hence the claim. His previous owner died and there was no record of which vet he was registered at, and no record found relating to any medical history for him. So, it's a bit of a worry as to how AXA will assess the claim.

lowis

Just had a call from my vet - AXA paid out for the tooth extraction and the heart scan for my old, adopted rescue siamese cat even though he had no medical history...phew! I just have to pay the £75 excess on each condition...so I 'only' have a bill of £150 instead of the £800 I was anticipating if the claim was turned down.

In effect, AXA have paid out to the value of two years worth of premiums - I have only had the cat 4 months. Insurance is definitely worth it in my eyes!

Thank you AXA!

:j