Sigh...cat's tooth, and insurance

dgerrard

Groan...about 4 months ago, vet told us that our cat has a bit of tooth decay, and she recommended she have the tooth out before it gets worse.  Cat isn't showing any sign of pain & we've been busy, have now booked to have it pulled on 4th March.

Reached out to double-check today, and found out that the John Lewis pet insurance we've been paying £60 a month for since 2020 on their top tier plan, doesn't cover dental work unless it's the "result of an accident". Their new policies all do, of course, but we're apparently on the OLD plan even though they charge us more every year.

So now have to choose between, ignoring the vet's advice that we have our cats tooth pulled now as there's some decay (although she shows no signs of discomfort). Or ponying up £1000 to have it pulled, on top of the ~£4000 we've spent on the insurance that helps us nought.

Anyone ever dealt with similar? I can't imagine there's any way I can convince them to cover...maybe bribe the vet to say it's caused by an accident? 😅

DullGreyGuy

The new policies require an annual dental checkup and you acting on all dental advice from the vet otherwise you are back down to accidental damage only.  Have you been taking your pet to the cat dentist annually?

Policies change in multiple ways over time, normally a mixture of good and bad. Whilst you've missed out on this positive development you have also potentially avoided some negative developments too. Do you have your prior renewal notices? They should contain a summary of any changes to the coverage your policy provides. Go back and see if any of those mention the introduction of dental cover. 

You won't convince them to modernise your policy for this claim. I'll assume your suggestion of bribing the vet to help you commit fraud was a joke. 

elsien

Many policies don’t cover dental work as a rule. I will disagree with DullGreyGuy though – to those that do cover it you don’t need to see a dentist every year. For my dog, the annual checkup where they look in his mouth is sufficient.
£1000 seems a lot though unless you’re London prices. My large dog’s dental which included a couple of teeth out and a general tidy up was around the 700 quid mark. And that was with the extra blood tests because he’s older.

DullGreyGuy

elsien said:

Many policies don’t cover dental work as a rule. I will disagree with DullGreyGuy though – to those that do cover it you don’t need to see a dentist every year. 

Then tell JL/RSA that they are wrong as its note 3 at the bottom of their website https://www.johnlewisfinance.com/insurance/pet-insurance @elsien... wasnt talking in general but explicitly the policy the OP is referring to.

FlorayG

Cats rarely show signs of pain. I rescued a feral who dribbled a lot but seemed otherwise perfectly fine. One day his jaw swelled up so I took him to the vet and it turned out he had advanced untreatable jaw cancer. Your cat is probably in more pain than you think. Sorry about the insurance, you really do have to read the tiny print on those policies

sammyjammy

£1000 is about standard for cats dental treatment because of the general anaesthetic.  No doubt they'll pull the tooth and a few more!  

Green_hopeful

Independent vets can be a lot cheaper than the big corporate vets. Last year I paid £265 for up to five teeth removed by my local vets. I paid an extra £30 for a drip to help our cat deal with the anaesthetic but that was the total cost. You can check if your vet is independent by checking who the directors are at companies house. If it’s one of the vets then it’s independent. 

DullGreyGuy

Green_hopeful said:

Independent vets can be a lot cheaper than the big corporate vets. Last year I paid £265 for up to five teeth removed by my local vets. I paid an extra £30 for a drip to help our cat deal with the anaesthetic but that was the total cost. You can check if your vet is independent by checking who the directors are at companies house. If it’s one of the vets then it’s independent. 

Personally would check who the persons with Significant Control (ie the owners) are which is the other tab on the same page on Companies House. Corporate vets would be owned by a corporation whereas independent will be individuals and likely one or more of the vets. 

kimwp

She'll be in pain, cats are very good at not showing it.

KxMx

I work with cats and frequently recall the thyroid disease cat, she had no clinical signs, no behaviour changes, no physical changes, the disease was discovered during routine tests and was so far advanced she was almost fatal. Thankfully treatment was started just in time and she is in her forever home 3 years on. 

Green_hopeful

DullGreyGuy said:

Green_hopeful said:

Independent vets can be a lot cheaper than the big corporate vets. Last year I paid £265 for up to five teeth removed by my local vets. I paid an extra £30 for a drip to help our cat deal with the anaesthetic but that was the total cost. You can check if your vet is independent by checking who the directors are at companies house. If it’s one of the vets then it’s independent. 

Personally would check who the persons with Significant Control (ie the owners) are which is the other tab on the same page on Companies House. Corporate vets would be owned by a corporation whereas independent will be individuals and likely one or more of the vets. 

Yes that is exactly what I do. Nearly all the vets in the uk are owned by big corporations. My vet is owned by two of the vets that work there. Lots of the staff work there because it is independent.