Claiming - why won't the VET claim for me ?

smgreen69

Hi

All  my pets are insured, at quite some considerable cost. Over the last bank holiday my young dog injured his front leg (running into a load of rubbush that had been dumped !). seeing as it was an extended bank holiday and  the injury occured on the Saturday, we couldn't leave it 2 days for him to be seen. I paid the extortionate fee of £180 just to be seen (Vet didn't need to come in from home as she was already at the surgery seeing 2 other animals) and a further £54.00 for meds - leaving with a diagnosis of a Soft tissue Injury.

On completion of meds - still no improvment and back for another checkup - X-rays this time - confirmed fracture - op needed - a further £313 paid for xrays.

Likely cost of op - £1300 - £1500

OK I thought...I have Pet Insurance - all covered - Tick the box for vet to claim (insurer is happy to pay vet direct)- just excess for me to pay BUT no !!

I was asked who I was insured through (Royal Sun Alliance) - apparantly who you insure with makes a difference - vet wouldn't submit the claim for me

Now - If you insure, I was under the impression that you take the worry of huge vet bills away - knowing that it's covered and your animal will receive treatment....but this is not the case as the Customer has to pay in full, for treatment- and in the words of my vet - JUST IN CASE THEY HAVE PROBLEMS MAKING A CLAIM and they might be left out of pocket.

Now doesn't this kind of defeat the object of having insurance - I'm not rich, but have to find £2000 + to give to the vet and then claim it back - Luckily - I can afford this but what about low income people, what happens then - no treatment ???

and to add insult to injury - I've noticed 2 charges for PPE - due to coronavirus !!! - I am being charged for PPE that is legally the employers responsibility to provide to their staff by law - and are now passing this charge on to the customer because of COVID-19 !!! - reeks of just another way to make more ££'s by an industry that grossly overcharges in the 1st place.

If I sound bitter and twisted, it's because I am - As a nation of animal lovers, we are routinely overcharged and like fools continue to pay over the odds for treatment for our pets - and because of the way Vet charges are pretty much unregulated - they get away with it and it is greed that is their true motivation.

sheramber

I always advise to check with the vet who they will claim direct from, if that is important to you. The vet is out of money until the insurance pay up so they will not claim direct from companies where they have experienced delays   or disputes over payment.
The vet does not know if your insurance company may reject the claim for some reason.- not covered for the condition  due to a  pre existing condition, or not enough cover on the policy.
Some companies take longer to pay out than others.

My previous vet would only claim direct from Petplan .
 
My current vet will claim direct from any insurance but if the account is not paid within 30 days  then an interest  charge is added  until it is paid , which you , the client, has to pay as the insurance company will not pay that.

WhY would you not pay for PPE? Your bill is for all the costs of the treatment down to the last bandage. It  costs the vet to buy the PPE so  that is part of the cost of your treatment just as much as the pain killers are.

If you are so distrusting of vet costs why do you have pets? 

elsien

It doesn't negate the point of having pet insurance at all. Because without insurance you'd be £2000 out of pocket with no chance of getting any of it back.

I know in some circumstances the vet can claim directly.  But I have always expected to pay up front. If the claim is turned down for any reason the vet still needs paying and doesn't want to be stuck in the middle while you and the insurer argue the toss.
I could understand you being bitter if your claim was rejected.  But it hasn't been. 

davidmcn

OP, are you actually wanting advice about anything, or should this have gone in the rants forum?

oscarward

 our vet won’t make a claim for you at all. But will complete the form and post off for you. Foc. The other supervet we used once claimed on our behalf ( it was £4K 😳) but charged £36 to do it. Then took 4 months to send us an invoice for the balance after excess etc.

TELLIT01

This shows the necessity of checking both the terms of the insurance, and the terms of the vet regarding insurance claims.  The OP has not been refused insurance payment, but has to submit the claim themselves.  The vet is claiming for all the costs involved in the treatment including PPE and callout.  The fact that the vet had already been called out for another case is an irrelevance if their terms state a call out fee will be charged for out of hours work.

Soot2006

Our horse vet will sort out the claim directly with any insurance company, but our small animal vet won't do it at all, not even for continuation costs of an approved/going claim!  I have discussed this with them at length and have finally got verbal confirmation that for huge bills they could be talked into direct claims for continuation claims. I've been with them 15 years and never complained about a bill.

The itemized "charge a fortune for every last stitch" is quite normal albeit, and it is what the insurance company will expect to see. My vet charged £18 for a roll of duct tape on a recent bill (to the insurance company that one went!) ...