Pet insurance provides cover for veterinary fees if your pet becomes injured or unwell. It
can provide peace of mind that you’re able to afford the veterinary care your pet may need.

Advances in veterinary medicine mean that we now have access to a wider range of
diagnostic and treatment technologies offering the best possible care for your pet. These
treatment options can sometimes be expensive.

As a veterinary practice, we strongly support the idea of pet insurance but are unable to
recommend any one individual insurance company. However, we can advise on the best
type of policies to look out for.

There are a multitude pet insurance companies available, with many different levels of
cover and policies to choose from and it can be a bit of minefield.

Insurance companies will cover most accidents and illnesses; some may cover dental
treatments – but it’s important you read the policy terms and conditions as some
companies may not. Preventative treatment (such as vaccinations & flea and worm
treatment) is not covered by insurance companies, even when it is used to treat some
conditions.

The benefits of pet insurance

  • Pet insurance mainly provides cover for veterinary fees if your pet is injured or becomes ill.
    However, other benefits may include:
  • Third party liability cover if your pet injures someone or damages
    someone else’s property.
  • Paying you the price you paid for your pet if they become lost,
    stolen, or die as a result of injury or illness.
  • Paying the costs of looking after your pet if you have to go into
    hospital for emergency medical treatment.
  • Paying the cost of your holiday if it’s cancelled due to your pet
    needing emergency surgery close to the date you were due to
    leave.
  • Paying the cost of emergency veterinary treatment for your pet if
    you take them abroad under the Pet Travel Scheme

Common Types of pet insurance policies

12 Month/Annual/Time Limited Policies

These policies will cover a condition for 12 months from the point when it was first noted on
your pet’s clinical history; after that time, the condition will be excluded – even if no
treatment has been given. Financial limits may also apply.
Maximum Benefit Policies (Individual Condition Cover)

With this type of policy, you can claim a maximum amount for each condition without a
time limit. After the maximum has been reached, the condition will be excluded.

Lifelong Cover

Lifelong policies provide cover that renews the amount available at the start of each policy
year. As such, these policies provide ongoing cover for long-term conditions (arthritis,
heart/kidney problems, skin disease etc.) Benefit limits can be ‘per condition’ or an annual
amount for all conditions.

Policy types and cover included vary between insurance companies. Please read the terms &
conditions for each policy carefully.

What you need to know

In most cases, insurance companies will not cover any pre-existing conditions. A pre-existing
condition is something that has been noted by you or your veterinary surgeon to be of
concern with your pet before the insurance policy was taken out, whether treatment was
required or not.

If you make a claim with one insurance company and cancel this policy to change to a
different insurance company, the new company will usually exclude that condition and any
previous noted conditions from your new policy.

It is important to find an insurance company that you wish to stay with throughout your
pet’s life.

Most insurance policies will deduct a policy excess. A policy excess is the amount you pay
towards each condition per policy year.

Some insurance companies will also deduct a co-payment which will be a percentage of the
treatment claimed. Co-payments may also be added as your pet gets older.

Direct Claims

When your insurance company reimburses your practice

What we need from you:

  •  Insurance company name.
  •  Policy number.
  •  Inception date. (the date you took your insurance out)
  •  Excess amount, including any co-payment or percentage excess.
  •  Name & address of policy holder. (if different from details we hold)
  •  A claim form signed by the policy holder (dependent on your insurance company)
  •  Permission granted to the insurance company to speak to them on your behalf.

What we’ll do:

  • Complete the claim.
  • Aim to send it promptly to the insurer by email, post or through the insurance
    company website or portal.
  • Attach the full clinical history, along with each claim form.
  • Provide any information requested by the insurer during the processing of the claim
    e.g. blood results, x-rays, etc.

We will contact you if we’ve not received payment from the insurer 8 weeks after sending
the claim form (most insurers request 8 weeks to process a claim) in order that you may
query this with your insurance provider.

How we’ll do it

Most insurance companies are now accepting electronic claims via email or have their own
online portals/hubs that we can submit claims on, removing the need for paper claim forms.
We also submit claims through VetEnvoy, if the insurance company is underwritten by
Allianz.

However, there are still some insurance companies that require paper claim forms. We hold
blank copies of claim forms, from different companies, should you require to sign one.

Please note:

If the insurer declines to settle the insurance claim, it’s your responsibility to settle the
account in full within 30 days.

By offering a direct claim, we are not creating a contract between ourselves and the insurer.
Any disputes regarding the claim will remain your responsibility and we are not required to
investigate for you or deal with queries. However, we will help when possible, but most
insurers will only speak to the policy holder, unless you have granted permission to speak to
us.

Indirect Claims

When your insurance company reimburses you directly

What we need from you:

  • Full payment of your invoice(s) before your claim can be processed.
  • A completed claim form for each condition you wish to claim for, if required by your
    insurance company.
  • If your insurer asks you to complete your claim online, what we need from you will
    be greatly simplified. Please note the process may differ between insurers.

What we’ll do:

  • Complete the claim form and have it signed by a member of the insurance team.
  • Aim to send it promptly to the insurer (assuming your account has been settled in
    full and the claim form has been completed appropriately by you)
  • Attach the clinical history, along with a copy of any payments you’ve made (you do
    not have to keep any receipts)
  • Provide any information requested by the insurer during the processing of the claim
    e.g. blood results, x-rays, etc.

Policy Excess

This is a payment which must be paid by you, regardless of whether you’re making a direct
or indirect claim.
An excess is charged per condition, some insurance companies have an excess per year, so
please check your policy documents.
If your policy year ends and restarts whilst making a claim, you may be required to pay two
excess.
Some policies charge a percentage excess or a co-payment, as well as a fixed excess, on the
total of a claim.

How to Claim with Your Insurance Company

Please contact us if your insurance company is not on this list.

Name of

Insurance Company

VetEnvoy Online Portal/Hub Digital Claim Form Paper Claim Form Who Needs to Raise The  Claim?

Please click to be taken to company website

Admiral
Ageas
Agria
Argos
Owner
Animal Care
Animal Friends
Asda
Co-op
Direct Line
Owner
E&L
EveryPaw
Owner
Healthy Pets
Insurance Emporium
John Lewis
Kennel Club
LV=
Many Pets
Marks & Spencer
More Than
Napo
NCI
PDSA
Owner
Petplan
Pet-insurance.co.uk
Pet Protect
Sainsburys
Owner
Scratch & Patch
Tesco
Waggel
Owner
4Paws

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