Pet insurance renewal - pre existing condition

j4ynut

My pet insurance is up for renewal in 2 days which I just got the letter for when I got back from holiday on Monday, so I got it a bit late.

The problem is, our dog was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia about 2 weeks ago, just before we left, but we haven't had any treatment for him and we haven't submitted a claim because there's nothing to claim for right now.

What I'm unsure of is whether to declare the condition to the pet insurance company at the moment when we don't even know what the treatment will be or having not claimed for it at all on the last premium anyway. The Vet specifically said that our dog was to lose a little weight and take joint supplements and then they would decide what they want to do, hence why nothing was immediately done about it.

I guess I just don't want the premium to be increased when we haven't had a chance to claim for it yet because we haven't been told what the treatment will be. There's a possibility that it will simply be diet and medication controller rather than an operation, but in the event that there may be an operation, I'm worried that I won't be covered.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Thanks.

whichwhydoIturn

Hello J4ynutFor the sake of the increase I'd tell them
That way you can relax knowing that you're covered IF any treatment is needed.
I've had to claim sadly for my very handsome Tommy and one of the questions was has the condition been previously diagnosed and if so on what date
Good luck with it though hope your doggie is good x

gettingready

The new premium should already be quoted with the reneval papers.

The dog was diagnosed while being insured already so pls do not even think about changing the insurer as new one would class this as a pre-existing conditions but the current one can not as the dog was already insured while diagnosed.

Who is your dog insured with?

Fire_Fox

Welcome! Read the terms and conditions, that should specify when you need to declare new diagnoses.

j4ynut

@whichwhydoIturn, my only problem with declaring it is that technically if he needs treatment then it should be covered by the old policy and not my new one but I have a feeling they won't see it like that, so that's the only reason I'd be annoyed with a premium increase because technically I haven't yet claimed. Plus, I doubt I can really give them the answers they need about the condition like how serious or whatever cause we don't really know ourselves yet as he hasn't been seen by the specialist so we're right in the middle of it all. Thanks though, hope Tommy is doing better now.

@gettingready, the new premium is quoted, but this premium is without this condition listed as we haven't declared it yet, which is why I'm worried that they'll decide to increase it considerably even without having previously treated him.

It really couldn't have happened at a worse time. He's insured with the PDSA, it's very vague about the whole renewal process covering previous conditions. I know I can't switch insurance now until I've basically milked then dry of any claim for the condition I do make. I'm just worried that they'll pull a fast one and try to say that somehow the insurance has to increase even though I've not even had a chance to get any money from them in the first place. So far he's had x-rays and that's all which we paid for ourselves as they were only about £70 so there was no point claiming and didn't really mind paying for.

It's not a great situation because I just feel like we'll be out of pocket no matter what.

gettingready

dysplasia is not something that can be cured and done and dusted - it is an ongoing condition so it is lucky your dog is insured

yes, the premiums can go up but...

my dog's Xrays were over £500, an operation on ONE of her legs (hip replacement) around £5700.. and she needs another leg done too

yes, displasia as well

so.. stick to the same insurer even if the premium goes up but I really do not understand this thing about "declearing" anything now - they will know when you make a claim relating to the condition

it is NOT a pre exisitng condition that you would have to declere if you were moving to another insurer

the dog was already insured when it was diagnosed...

j4ynut

Hi gettingready, thanks for the advice.

I guess what I'm worried about is that say in 2 weeks time we find out he needs an operation, but the insurance company ask when he was diagnosed and we say "2 weeks before renewal" I'm worried they then say that because we didn't mention the condition at renewal then he's not covered, even though he was covered when he was diagnosed.

The vet has said that because it's shoulder dysplasia in his front legs then it's a complete last resort for an operation as they don't generally like operating unless it's severe. When he first went to the vet he was limping every day and could barely walk in the morning but since we've put him on a diet and he's now getting joint supplements he's not limping and he's not even stiff in the morning which is incredible the difference in him.

So that leads me to think, what if we end up not having to claim for the condition at all? Am I doing myself out of more money by declaring a problem that ends up being controlled by diet and exercise but puts the premium up just because they were simply told about it?

It's like car insurance, if you bump into someone but just cover the costs all yourself rather than go through the insurance then you don't have to declare it. So if his treatment is minimal and I cover the costs myself would I ever have to declare it?

I'm confused and I want to do the right, but I don't know if I'm just being to paranoid by rushing into telling them.

gettingready

I really do not understand - this is a reneval not a new cover.

Is there anything on the reneval form asking you about dog not being well?

My renevals just tell me how much money, I confirm I want to renew and that is the end of story.

My lot were all insured with Argos and then moved some of them to PetPlan living the 2 with previous claims with Argos.

I never had to notify insurers about anything, vet was simply sending claims through when they were happening.

Hips displasia will NOT be controlled by diet and exercise forever, it WILL get worse and you will need the insurance.

How much is your dog insured for? Is it for life policy with a set amount renevable and available to use every year or is it "per condition" policy?

What breed is your dog? How old is it?

krlyr

Pet insurance works slightly differently to car insurance and you may find that notifying them of a condition doesn't affect your claims as much as you're worrying. Many insurers base premiums on overall claims, any increased claims in particular breeds or age groups, your postcode, etc. rather than your claim history or conditions the pet has.
I would definately notify them of it ASAP - worst case scenario, they increase the policy by a huge amount and you have to reconsider if insurance is worth it (calculate the cost of medication and whether you could put enough money by for further treatment, e.g. surgery, yourself.
At the end of the day, the vets now have a diagnosis noted on their system. Short of bribing your vet to remove that (and then I'd seriously question their ethics and whether I trusted them with my pet), nothing can be done to remove that and the insurance company are very likely to request comprehensive notes in the event of a claim, see that the diagnosis was prior to the renewal date and simply say "Tough, you broke your side of the deal, we're not paying out - but we'll keep all those premiums you've paid us so far ". Not worth the gamble IMO.

krlyr

Seems their smallprint requires you to give notice of 'accident, illness or incident' within 60 days of occurence anyway so you may need to cover your back by logging the diagnosis now rather than trying to claim in a few months time

https://www.bdmlconnect.co.uk/pet/app/%28S%28aijnj12rmfs41r45l10gromd%29%29/Brands/PDSA/fsa-docs/PDSA.pdf
"Section 1:
Veterinary Fees Cover
We will pay You for all reasonable and customary
charges made for Treatment carried out by a Vet. Cover
is provided for an Accident, Illness or Incident
occurring to Your Pet, subject to the indemnity limit of
£2,000 (PDSA Petsurance 2000) or £3,000 (PDSA
Petsurance 3000) or £7,000 (PDSA Petsurance 7000)
dependent on the cover selected and Excess as
specified below and subject to written notice of such
Accident, Illness or Incident having been given to
PDSA Petsurance Cover within 60 days of occurrence.
The limit of cover and Excess are on a per Incident
basis."

Also

"General Conditions - Applicable to all sections of
each policy:
You must comply with the following conditions, to
the best of Your knowledge and belief, to have the
full protection of Your Policy.
If You do not comply We may at Our option cancel
the Policy or refuse to deal with Your claim or
reduce the amount of any claim payment.
1. It is a condition precedent to liability that Your Pet is
free from any Injury, Illness or physical disability
whatsoever at the commencement date of this
insurance (except as declared by You and accepted
by Us). "

And again on the 60 day thing (note the "likely to result in a claim" too)
"Claims Conditions - Applicable to all sections of
each policy:
You must comply with the following conditions, to
the best of Your knowledge and belief, to have the
full protection of Your Policy.
If You do not comply We may at Our option cancel
the Policy or refuse to deal with Your claim or
reduce the amount of any claim payment.
1. In the event of any possible claim under any sections
of this insurance You must notify PDSA Petsurance
as soon as possible and not later than 60 days after
any possible Incident likely to result in a claim.
If You do not notify Us within 60 days and this
prejudices Our ability to verify the claim then, other
than in exceptional circumstances, no payments
will be made in respect of the claim."

I see they're underwritten by Axa - I'm insured directly with Axa and with a recent leg injury, treatment fell under my excess but I had to get a claim form for another condition anyway so asked if I needed to log the leg injury incase further investigation was needed and she said she'd put a note on the system. Not sure if it was a requirement but wanted to cover my back anyway - a leg condition can definately cost a lot more than the small rise in premiums that the notification may now cause.

Fire_Fox

AFAIK if you have continuous cover it's not an old or new policy, you just have one long insurance period with the same company. You really need to adhere to the terms and conditions or you may never be able to claim. Don't worry about what questions you can or cannot answer, that is absolutely normal in the circumstances. You are not going to be out of pocket either way, chances are you will claim more than your premium this year, you will only be out of pocket if you don't follow the terms and conditions and make your claim void.

Don't think of this as like car insurance, it is not at all.