Insurance

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WE CANNOT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF INSURANCE, BUT ENSURE YOU HAVE A GOOD POLICY.

We suggest that all owners read this guide from the Association of British Insurers.

If you have any worries about your insurance or payments then please contact us. We just want your pet to get better and will always try to help out.

INSURANCE CLAIMS-TERMS

A DIRECT CLAIM is where payment is made directly to a Veterinary Practice to pay for treatment that your pet has received.

A NON-DIRECT CLAIM (PAYABLE TO POLICY HOLDER) is where you pay the Veterinary Practice up front for treatment and then claim this back from your insurer.

Pet Insurance has become extremely complicated in the last few years. Unlike Private Human Healthcare Insurance, such as BUPA, which has its own specific hospitals, Veterinary Practices are individual businesses, which must deal with many different insurers. There are hundreds of different animal policies available, all with varying degrees of cover. It is impossible for Veterinary Practices to keep up with what policies are available and so we are in the unfortunate situation of being unable to accept Direct Claims as we cannot be sure that adequate cover is always in place.

We will allow direct claims with Pet Plan in certain circumstances. In order for this to be done we will need to see a copy of your insurance cover note. This is so that we can determine when the cover was taken out, what excesses there are, whether it is a lifetime or 12 month policy and if there are any exclusions. We will look at your pet’s clinical history and make a decision as to the likelihood a claim being paid out.

We reserve the right to decline a direct claim.

Where a direct claim is made and subsequently an insurer does not pay out for the claim, you will be liable for the payment of your pet’s treatment.

You are responsible for paying all excesses to us at the time of treatment.Often this is a set figure, but increasingly insurers are asking owners to pay a percentage of the total amount.

In all claims we will endeavour to submit a claim within two weeks. However, this may be affected by the volume of claims at any one time.

Please note that insurers will not cover for preventative healthcare such as flea/worming treatment, routine neutering and vaccinations. They will generally not cover for the return of an animal’s ashes after euthanasia.

Most insurers will not cover for dental treatment and so we will not accept direct claims for this.

Most insurers will give a pre-authorisation for claims. We reserve the right to obtain pre-authorisation before allowing any direct claim. This is where we send all the information about the illness to your insurer and ask if it will be covered prior to initiating treatment.