Pet Insurance Claim refused - pre-exisiting condition

julies0708

Can anyone please help and give us advice?

We took our puppy home at 8 weeks old and in the puppy pack was free 8 week insurance with PetPlan. During these 8 weeks (approx 14th November 08) we visited the vet as puppy seemed to be in discomfort after eating and the vet diagnosed colic - no claim was made to insurance company.

As free insurance plan was coming to an end we researched other plans and decided to take out a new policy with MoreTh>n and this policy started on 28th November 2008 which took over from the petplan insurance.

This week our puppy became seriously ill and once stablized by our local vets we had to take him to the Royal !!!!!! animal hospital in Edinburgh where he has been diagnosed with a condition called a Portosystemic Shunt (PSS). We tried to claim through MoreTh>n but they have refused our claim as our puppy was seen back in mid November and although was not diagnosed with PSS at that time the symptoms we described to the vet turned out to be symptoms of PSS.

We do not understand how a condition that was not diagnosed as such in mid november can be classed as a pre-existing condition. Are the insurers correct in refusing our claim which will amount to around £5000 if surgery is to go ahead

We would be delighted if someone can advise us on this.

thanks Julie

_Andy_

Did you disclose to the new insurer that the dog had seen the vet?

thesim

As it is relating to the original reason your puppy went to the vet it is classed as a pre-exsisting condition as you were with pet plan & not more than at the time the onset started.

Unfortunetly all insurance companies say they have the right not to cover pre-exsisting conditions. However, it may be worth speaking to the breeder & seeing if you can find out if it happened before.

julies0708

_Andy_ wrote: »

Did you disclose to the new insurer that the dog had seen the vet?

probably not as it was only "colic" and no medication was given for it, just feeding advice

thesim

I would recommend telling the insurance company that you pet was diagnosed with colic, as they have the right to void your policy otherwise.

giger

Julie, this is a very serious condition and you need to have a serious discussion about this to the insurer. If necessary speak with a supervisor or ask them to refer it to their underwriters. Our cat had a PSS which was fortunately covered under our insuranmce with petplan but there were many more fees involved besides the actual surgery (additional scans, medication etc).
Our claim did get complicated because ours also occured during the 'free' period. Stick to your guns and if necessary discuss with the FSA but due to the circumstances it is a difficult one. It sounds like it was mis-diagnosed originally but these conditions do not often show until the animal is a few months old. Therefore 'colic' was one issue and now the PSS is another that has materialised later. The animal will have been born with a PSS but as mentioned cannot generally be identified until a few months old.