£160 vet bill - claim through insurance worth it?

[flowerlady]

Thanks for the advice guys, i'm not going to claim, the excess is in fact £130.

Really not worth it!




This concerns me. If I inform them he had antibiotics to treat chest infection which cost me £160, but I dont want to claim....


Can they then turn down my £3000 claim in the future lets say if he needed some expensive respiratory work doing as they would say he's had problems in this area in the past? even though I didnt claim?

I think they could yes. The old saying is correct if in doubt tell them.

 

[kaiserchief]

It strikes me that horse insurance is almost pointless these days, having read this thread I think I would insure in my first year with the horse but also 'self insure' until I had an appropriate level of funds in the bank.

This is what I do with my current pony after I had nothing but vet bills and problems with the insurance company with my first pony. I put £30 a month into a savings account for vets bills and have a credit card with a large limit on it which I do not use but is set aside for paying vets bills if required (at which point I would then pay that off monthly instead of adding to the savings account).

Luckily current pony who I've had 3.5 years has only needed the vet to date to treat mud fever (when I got him), to be gelded, and for his annual injections so his savings account is pretty healthy (as is he).

 

[CobSunshine]

I'm going to ring them and inform of treatment and say to them "i dont want to claim for the sake of £30 (£160 - £130 excess), but as i'll have to declare this treatment next year, and as you require all the treatments on file, what should I do"

and see what they say!

 

[Natch]

Naturally - what do you consider 'appropriate'?

In the last 5 years I have paid 3k ish in premiums and claimed nearly 9k back. Nothing has ever even needed surgery. One claim went 1k over my 5k vet limit. The only exclusion the horse carries is one for gastric ulcers.

My excess has never been increased, my premiums are broadly similar each year - unless I had 10k in the bank I would not self insure - and then what happens when the 10k is gone?!

I haven't really thought this through I must admit. 5K always used to be (10years ago) the general limit, and last year I chatted with a vet who said 5k was still a reasonable limit. It just strikes me that last time I was responsible for insuring (10 ish years ago) they excluded every damn thing they possibly could, and that was a well thought of company at the time.

This is what I do with my current pony after I had nothing but vet bills and problems with the insurance company with my first pony. I put £30 a month into a savings account for vets bills and have a credit card with a large limit on it which I do not use but is set aside for paying vets bills if required (at which point I would then pay that off monthly instead of adding to the savings account).

See this would tempt me these days: and I used to be of the opinion that horses should alwyas be insured unless you were very rich!

 

[conkers]

So. What happens if you already have an exclusion on your policy and you have a recurrance of that issue e.g. laminitus. Should you inform them if you have a recurrance? As you can't claim for it anyway?

 

[Wagtail]

So. What happens if you already have an exclusion on your policy and you have a recurrance of that issue e.g. laminitus. Should you inform them if you have a recurrance? As you can't claim for it anyway?

That is an interesting question. I had not thought about it before. I suppose if they were looking for a way out of paying a future claim then they may use it as an excuse. Best to request and read the 'policy wording'.

 

[Persephone]

This is what I do with my current pony after I had nothing but vet bills and problems with the insurance company with my first pony. I put £30 a month into a savings account for vets bills and have a credit card with a large limit on it which I do not use but is set aside for paying vets bills if required (at which point I would then pay that off monthly instead of adding to the savings account).

Luckily current pony who I've had 3.5 years has only needed the vet to date to treat mud fever (when I got him), to be gelded, and for his annual injections so his savings account is pretty healthy (as is he).

I have to say I insure my horse for less than £ 30 per month. I currently have a 2K claim going through. It's a no brainer as far as I can see

Remember that it is not a 5k cap per animal either, it is per case/year. I had 12K in vet's bills paid in one year. I wouldn't fancy having that on a credit card!