Pet Insurance guide discussion area

sheramber

What I did was pat for insurance but also out money away in a separate account. Once that had built up I then stopped the insurance. 
However, that was when my pet was older and I knew I would not be putting him  through extensive treatment

buckrogers

Just been to vets, our dog needs surgery for her knee and socket at a cost of £4000,  i have dog insurance upto £7000.

Which i bought so wouldnt have worries finding the money for this situation.  She's been going to the same vets for 8 years and this is the first time anything been wrong with her. But i was told that i would have to pay the £4000 upfront before surgery and then I have to claim off the insurance.  I always thought having insurance was not having to find this sort of money and not having to worry, but it seems i was wrong. Is this the 'normal' now with Vets wanting payment upfront?  Iam unemployed and explained but doesnt seem to matter, i have to find the money for surgery or wont be done.

I even told the surgery, the insurance can pre autorise vet costs, but vets said no they dont do that.

Luckly my daugher and her partner are lending me the money from there flat deposit.

Jenni_D

One of my boys needed an operation last October to remove a (thankfully benign) lump from his eyelid. We had to pay the vet bill there and then and follow up with an insurance claim (which the vet helped with). The insurer* is being a bit of a nightmare though - it's still not settled - as they said they wanted the notes from his previous vet. (We rehomed him - we had nothing to do with the previous vet, and I made this clear with the insurer that the previous vet had no liability to me or any reason to help). They then changed their tune and said they needed the notes from his post-op appointments, which have been given. Just waiting for their next bout of prevarication and procrastination. 🙄

Fortunately I was in the position to be able to pay the vet at the time, and the insurance pay-out will just be a bonus if/when it appears.

* Purely Pets for anyone interested.

Jenni_D

Just to update on my previous post ... I got a communication today that they're paying the claim (less the contractual excess, and charges for Metacam [not covered] and COVID PPE 👀 [not covered]).

buckrogers

Jenni_D said:

Just to update on my previous post ... I got a communication today that they're paying the claim (less the contractual excess, and charges for Metacam [not covered] and COVID PPE 👀 [not covered]).

Thats good news :-).   Never had to make a claim, first time needing to use insurance as she always been well.
Just waiting for a date from Vets to do her surgery.

Jenni_D

If it's any help, this was my first ever pet insurance claim.

sheramber

Too late now. but if it is important that your vet claims direct you need to check what companies they will claim direct from.
If a vet has had problems getting payments or there has been a delay in them being paid then they will no longer claim direct.
 A previous vet would only claim direct from Petplan.
My last vet would claim direct  from any company but,  if the account was not paid within 30 days interest would be charged.
The vet has bills to pay and if they do not get the money in they can't pay  their  bills.
Wanting money up front suggest they do not know you as a customer and have experience of people not telling them they cannot pay until after the operation.
I have never had to pay upfront but I was known to the vet from annual visits  for boosters etc.

Jenni_D

To be clear ... I didn't pay upfront (in the traditional sense), I paid after the operation. However I did have to pay prior to making the insurance claim. (My vet knows me and my dogs - I've had previous pets like rabbits and guinea pigs registered there too - but this seems to be their policy).

buckrogers

I have been using the same vets for 13 years, i have 2 dogs and they get there annual visits  for boosters etc
They even done there doggy traing there when puppy.
They didnt even ask who the dog was insured with, i payed £300 for a xray on the dog last week and after the xray they told me my dog would need 2 surgerys on her knee and one on her socket , at of a cost of £4000, i mentioned i have insurance policy to £7000 and straight away they just said we dont do insurance you have to pay upfront and make a claim afterwards. Which was a bit of a shocker.  Even the vets web site says to have insurance to cover costly vet bills, no mention you have to pay upfront. Also i notice they use,
'Because we are a Vetsure accredited practice, all claims will be settled direct. This means at the time of treatment, simply pay the policy excess contribution and leave the rest to us!'
Wish at the time when the dogs were puppys and been resgistered there they mention this and said any other insurance you have to be paided upfront. So it seems they do there own insurance and not others.

dirtmother

I don't know what the situation would be with going elsewhere? Would they actually be doing the surgery in-house? It may be worth checking out whether your current circumstances mean are eligible for treatment through PDSA.
We had a puzzling but very serious situation with our dog (we'd've had to put her to sleep she was in so much distress) We pushed for X rays even though the vet said there was no point, there was no evidence for it being relevant. But to their surprise several things which could have been causing it showed up, in particular a badly deteriorated hip. So we were looking at a referral for that to be replaced or fixed, and no insurance. However, whilst we were debating and deciding where she should be referred to and which type of surgery... she just got better... five years on I couldn't tell you which hip it was.