Pet Insurance Help please!

DickyRobbo44

So my dog has been diagnosed with a form of daibtetes that requires treatment with very expoensive trial tablets (£178 for a months worth).

I made a claim to my insurer and they have started to pay out.

My issue is, as soon as they accepted the claim they sent me an exclusion notice saying they will no longer cover me for this condition going forward. So I can claim for 365 days after. So what are my options? As far as I can see I now wont be covered and will be left paying out nearly £200 a month! Would another insurer even consider my dog now? I actually feel a bit robbed, I never claimed and when I do they are quick to screw me over. Is there anything I can do?

elsien

They probably haven’t screwed you over, that will be the terms of the policy you bought.
Some insurers such as Petplan will reset after 12 months but there is a higher premium for that. 

You won’t find another insurer who will cover that condition now.

Who are you insured with and what does the policy document say? 

My other thought was if these are trial tablets is there a cheaper alternative in the long run? 

KxMx

It sounds like you bought a policy where each condition has cover limited to one year. 

DullGreyGuy

DickyRobbo44 said:

So my dog has been diagnosed with a form of daibtetes that requires treatment with very expoensive trial tablets (£178 for a months worth).

I made a claim to my insurer and they have started to pay out.

My issue is, as soon as they accepted the claim they sent me an exclusion notice saying they will no longer cover me for this condition going forward. So I can claim for 365 days after. So what are my options? As far as I can see I now wont be covered and will be left paying out nearly £200 a month! Would another insurer even consider my dog now? I actually feel a bit robbed, I never claimed and when I do they are quick to screw me over. Is there anything I can do?

There are a few types of policies out there and how they treat ongoing conditions. From budget to most expensive:

1) Pay out up until the sooner of the limit and the end of the policy
2) Pay out up until the sooner of the limit and 12 months
3) Pay out up until the limit
4) Pay out up until the limit which is reset each year

Sounds like you bought at the more budget end of the spectrum.

You will be free to switch to another insurer but this condition, and any other prior ones, will all be excluded as pre-existing conditions and therefore it doesnt help you at all. 

Penguin_

You could try Pet Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions | Petsure 

DickyRobbo44

The provider was pet-insurance.co.uk

The drug is a trail drug because its approved for human consumption only at the moment. These are Desmopressin and Co-amilozide. I can find them for about £1 a tablet but thats still nearly £100 a month. SO is that my only option, buy them myself? I didnt realise an insurer could just make a condition exclusion so they dont have to pay out on it further. The exact wording is:

Following the assessment of information recently submitted to our Claims Department, we will be placing an exclusion on your policy: With effect from 18/06/2022 cover excludes eczema and all related conditions. With effect from 15/07/2023 cover excludes Diabetes Insipidus, the kidneys and all related conditions. This amendment to your cover is designed to exclude the re-occurrence of a condition.

Please allow me to clarify that if a claim has been submitted for this illness or disease and liability has been accepted within the normal terms of your cover, we will continue to provide cover up to 365 days from the onset of the condition or up to the maximum recoverable, whichever comes first. The settlement of any claim is subject to receipt of the appropriate policy premiums. Please refer to your policy schedule for details of your maximum recoverable.

cullet

Another good reason to self insure methinks !

DullGreyGuy

DickyRobbo44 said:

The provider was pet-insurance.co.uk

The first page of their website states they have two policy levels on offer... standard gives 365 days cover and Lifetime which covers for life as long as premiums keep being paid. When you get a quote it defaults to standard but the Lifetime is there above it as a button to switch to it.

Sounds like you bought the standard policy rather than paying the 50% increase in cost to get the Lifetime. 

The obvious issue with lifetime cover is that the premiums go up each year  based on claims experience, inflation and the age of the animal and so even with the better cover you may find in time that it comes cost prohibitive. This where the likes of PetPlan come in who state they dont use claims history in pricing so the price still goes up each year but only due to age/inflation.

Penguin_ said:

You could try Pet Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions | Petsure 

Certainly worth a try but typically they wont take on any medications that have already been prescribed nor routine checkups for it... they would however cover an acute episode or if the medication has to change 

KxMx

cullet said:

Another good reason to self insure methinks !

Rather a good reason to get proper insurance and not a cheap policy... Been several articles in local paper recently, advertising Gofundme appeals for owners who chose cheap insurance (£1k limit). 

sheramber

I can sympathise as  one of my dogs was diagnosed with Diabetes Insipidus.

At that time the tablets were £80 per month.

Lavendyr

cullet said:

Another good reason to self insure methinks !

Nonsense. The point is rather around the type of insurance you take out. 

OP, it sounds as though you have taken out a policy that covers a certain condition to a certain amount, rather than what is commonly known as a "covered for life" policy. The former offers typically cheaper policy fees but as you are finding out, has its limits. 

My cat was seriously ill last year and his vet fees went over my £7k insurance cover (petplan), they paid the full policy amount with no quibbles. Now my cat is back in hospital and we are waiting day to day on updates as to how he is. However his insurance has renewed and because I have "covered for life" cover, we have another £7k for this year to claim against, regardless of whether his current illness is related to his previous illness or not.

If I'd been putting away the £20-25 a month his insurance costs, I wouldn't have made a dent in the costs I've incurred. It's very easy to say "self-insure" but when things get tough it's really not anything like enough. 

Edit to add that despite claiming the full cover last policy year, my insurance premium has only gone up by a really small amount and I'd expect that anyway as premiums are higher for older cats; Petplan promise that they won't increase premiums if you claim but I know other pet insurers do.