Any one claimed through horse insurance.co.uk? Help!

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merry mischief

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Just had an email from the insurers who are processing my claim for Jims colic surgery. They have asked for a copy of Jims vetting certificate or want it in writing if he does not have one.
I didn't have a formal vetting :-( I did have him generally looked over by my vet but they have closed down. Jim was under the value stated on the website for needing a cert.
Has anyone claimed without a vet cert from them? What happened?

I'm panicking now!
 
Is he a relatively new purchase? Why have they requested a vet certificate? Unless they asked for a vet certificate at inception of your policy in order for you to be able to have the cover you wanted, there is no reason for them to request a veterinary certificate from you now so I would tell them no, you do not have one and they did not request one at inception.

Horse-Insurance.co.uk is E&L insurance so don't take any cr*p off them - they are talking RUBBISH. Usually a veterinary certificate is requested when you want insurance for a horse for various reasons - ie the value of the horse, the age and value of the horse or may be dependent on what cover you require. If your horse did not hit any of this criteria when they agreed cover then that's their underwriting decision made. Usually there is a 14 day exclusion for claims for illness or disease and if you horse was taken ill after this 14 day period then they should not be quibbling over the claim.

Ask then WHY they want a vet cert now when you have not be asked for one previously?

I worked in horse insurance (underwriting) for nearly 7 years - finished in 2010 - many years before that though we tried to claim through E&L for something (before we knew how horrendous they were!) and they were a nightmare. However, they are bound by the same regulations as every other insurance company, they just try and kick out claims and hope you waon't fight but PLEASE don't like them take the p*ss. They give all insurers a bad name to be honest. Keep notes all all your conversationsand copies of any letters received or sent. Also make sure your vet doesn't give them anything they could use against you!
 
I've had him for 8 months, all that time insured with them. Just found there original email that states:
"Depending on the value of your horse, it is a condition of our policy that we require a 2 or 5 Stage Veterinary Certificate and x-rays to be provided. If your policy requires such, you will have been advised of this whilst completing the application form. To clarify, our vetting requirements are as follows :
"A 2 Stage Veterinary Certificate must be provided for any horse under 3 years of age, or unbroken, with an insured value of £5,000 and above.
A 5 Stage Veterinary Certificate must be provided for any horse age 3 and over, or broken in, with an insured value of £5,000 and above."

Jim didn't meet any of these requirements so I have quoted the email back to them, blumin slippery eels insurance companies! X
 
Hi,

I've claimed with them several times and yes each time i have to send off the vet cert. If you don't have one, just call them and say. I originally wanted to keep mine quiet so didn't send it off originally but had to in the end when i claimed as my vet made a reference to it in her notes. The vetting was done by a different practice you see so wouldn't have been on the vet notes if she hadn't mentioned it. I'm sure it will be fine, afterall i'm not sure what would be on a vet cert to exclude colic and as you already said, they don't require one for horses under 2k.
Hope all goes well.
 
I used to insurance my horse with horseinsurance.co.uk and they were a nightmare. In my experience they are weasles and will try everything to not pay out. My vet was v supportive and helped fight my claim.

I've since changed insurance company..
 
What did they try to get out of? I don't think there's much to get out of, Jim has never colic'ed before and scope etc was clean, just was one of those unfortunate things, anything in particular to watch out for? X
 
What you have to watch out for is they are E&L insurance and they have a terrible reputation and have doen for well over 20 years! God knows how they're still running as you'd think everyone would know about them by now. Mind you, the fact they don't like paying out on claims probably helps their finances and theguy in charge probably makes enough money from Queen Ethelburga's school fees he gets he doesn't really care....!!!!
 
ladyt25 said:
What you have to watch out for is they are E&L insurance and they have a terrible reputation and have doen for well over 20 years! God knows how they're still running as you'd think everyone would know about them by now. Mind you, the fact they don't like paying out on claims probably helps their finances and theguy in charge probably makes enough money from Queen Ethelburga's school fees he gets he doesn't really care....!!!!
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E&L have payed me when I claimed.Got my money within 2 weeks of claimimng,so they cant be that bad!!!!!!
Don't know about this other company tho.
 
It's weird that they would ask for it, especially as a vetting isn't going to give you much information on history of colic!

I worked as a claims assessor for a well known equine insurance company (not E&L!) and we would ask someone if they had a vetting cert if they had an injury/illnesss close to inception or if the vet said it had a long history of a condition, we would check the vet cert to see if anything was picked up. However, if the client didn't have one we would just ask for a vet history.

I think they're being funny. See what they come back with when you tell them it wasn;t a stipulation of your policy to have a vet cert carried out!

Good luck
 
Your not alone they tryed to get out of paying for my girl when she had colic op. I soon got on phone to ombudsman soon payed up. They tryed getting out of paying saying she had colic back in march and i never told them i had just did not clame as it was my excess anyways so was pointless. Do not let them try get out of paying it as they will. I give it to E&L they payed the lot even when someone got new horse on yard with flu and my girl got it so had vet out. good luck xx Hope your horse better and doing well xx
 
New name to try to get away from their dreadful reputation. If your horse is insured for UNDER 5k, then according to their own terms, no certificate is needed. If however, you have insured him for more and do not have a vet cert then I think you might struggle..and if that is the case I would seek expert help now. It is, however, standard for insurance companies to request a vet certificate if the value is normally more than 3k
 
I have my horses insured through them and they never asked me for a vets certificate because none of my horses are insured for over 5k. To be honest, despite the bad name they seem to have, when i put in a claim for my ponys lami last year, apart from doing a history check on her (which is understandable)they were great with me! They paid out nearly 1k in vets fees, no questions asked or hassle! I'd certainly call them to find out why you need a cetificate if you havent insured the horse for over 5k ;)
 
Call them and chase them. It took them 8 months to pay a vet bill for me and I'm dreading having to do his lameness work up soon as I know i'll be in debt with my vets for ages again. I ended up calling them fortnightly and in the end threatened them with the insurance ombudsman if they didn't hurry.
Saying that however they never asked for a vetting certificate (and I wouldn't have had one) as i rescued him from a charity but only 6 weeks after getting him he developed a problem and they didn't question that...

I don't like them... but his insurance with decent insurers is phenomenal. :(
 
Oh, they'll pay you eventually - you will have to watch with the vets though - do they know who you're insured with? Many vets will ask you to pay upfront if you are insured with E&L as they are so renowned for dragging their feet or refusing to pay at all, many vets have been left out of pocket over the years!

Ok, so some people have had successful claims with no hassle but, sadly there are more negative stories about this company than there are good. I do not work inhorse insurance anymore but as I said, I did for several years and you get to know a lot more about the ins and outs of your competitors than you do as a customer!

I would never insure any of my horses with them. There are many more, reputable companies out there.
 
I always avoided them
Like the plague but when my insurance went up to £50 p/m I moved to E&L- they settled my claim within two weeks even though the vets never diagnosed a condition (horse was a bit skinny and lethargic but then picked up again) although they did worm out of paying for his supplement prescribed by the vet.. But sure that is in my t&c's
 
OakleyEarth said:
I always avoided them
Like the plague but when my insurance went up to £50 p/m I moved to E&L- they settled my claim within two weeks even though the vets never diagnosed a condition (horse was a bit skinny and lethargic but then picked up again) although they did worm out of paying for his supplement prescribed by the vet.. But sure that is in my t&c's
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I don't think supplements are included on insurance.Ive had no problems with E&L either,like you had my claim settled in two weeks.
 
I've had cortiflex paid for by insurers no e&l though. My first horse was ensured with them ( I was naive ) was found dead in the field after a thunder storm e&l tried every way to worm out of paying took legal threats in the end and over a year !
Would never risk insuring with them again and googling review centres on per insurance their no better there either!
 
Hmmm this is not filling me with confidence! Fingers crossed it gets sorted soon, I see nothing obvious that they can use to get out of the claim, doesn't mean they won't try though!
 
Try not to worry there are so many stories and all you seem to here is bad as thats all people seem to mention.

I've had one tb had two different operations for injuries and e&l paid out in full and on the first also paid for hydrotherapy at vets recommendation.

My other baby tb last year smashed her eye up and had a big claim too, with horseinsurance.co.uk, they paid up for that and also the treatment she received at liverpool veterinary hospital for her eye too.

None of my horses are over the value to require vets cert and never been asked for one either its prob just a mistake.

If you have a good equine veterinary practice like I obviously do they are usually experts at dealing with the insurance companies, they can be slow to pay out but my vets accept this.
Good luck.
 
Quote “Jim didn't meet any of these requirements so I have quoted the email back to them, blumin slippery eels insurance companies!”

E&L & their sister companies have always been slippery. They will hang things out for ages, making ridiculous demands for stupid information. They try & grind you down so they either avoid a payout or manage to significantly reduce it.

Quote "they can be slow to pay out but my vets accept this.
Good luck."

They are very slow to pay out. There are many vets that consider you to be uninsured if you are covered by E&L & require you to pay the bill & you to try & recover your outlay from E&L. They have learned this over years of trying to deal with this company.

E&L advertise extensively in H&H, Your Horse, etc both in the pages & by leaflets that cascade out of the mags when you open them. They capture many newbie horse owners as their premiums are much lower. Despite their horrendous track recordof settling claims their adverts still appear month after month in these mags. The editors seem to disregard the bad rep they have & just want the advertising revenue. :(
 
E & L are underwriters to other equine insurance please ask for conformation for underwiters before taking anything out especially if you do not want to have a connections with E & L Insurance.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
Quote “Jim didn't meet any of these requirements so I have quoted the email back to them, blumin slippery eels insurance companies!”

E&L & their sister companies have always been slippery. They will hang things out for ages, making ridiculous demands for stupid information. They try & grind you down so they either avoid a payout or manage to significantly reduce it.

Quote "they can be slow to pay out but my vets accept this.
Good luck."

They are very slow to pay out. There are many vets that consider you to be uninsured if you are covered by E&L & require you to pay the bill & you to try & recover your outlay from E&L. They have learned this over years of trying to deal with this company.

E&L advertise extensively in H&H, Your Horse, etc both in the pages & by leaflets that cascade out of the mags when you open them. They capture many newbie horse owners as their premiums are much lower. Despite their horrendous track recordof settling claims their adverts still appear month after month in these mags. The editors seem to disregard the bad rep they have & just want the advertising revenue. :(
Click to expand...

Well personally I have had NO problems with E&L THEY PAYED OUT WITHIN 2 WEEKS.
 
Tinseltoes : Try doing a search on E&L & you will find they are subject of more critical posts than any other company mentioned on this forum. If you search on other equestrian forums you will find the same. You were extremely lucky getting paid out at all, let alone in a fortnight.
 
Oh my god, This has put the fear of god in me now, I have just started my insurance through horse-insurance.co.uk last month :( and currently have a claim in for my horse being kicked in the face in the field and has ended up with a broken jaw! I had always been through NFU/Petplan and didnt realise they had anything to do with E&L

OH MY GOD!
 
Problem is, when someone has had a bad experience with any company, they are more likely to spread this information than if they had a wonderful experience.

Generally, you need to look at what the complaints are. A lot of the time if someone has complained about a claim being rejected, we don't know what the terms are. I've looked up comments for the company I used to work for and there are people complaining about not receiving money, but with my insurance head on I can understand why not.

All I will say though is...check with your vet before making a claim that they are happy to go through insurance and not demand up front payment. I noticed while assessing claims that a few practices specifically state they will not deal direct with E&L.
 
Yeah, Actually so far they have been great,
I faxed all my paperwork over, gave them a call to check they had received it and was advised i would receive an email in 5 working days as to which i have,
Hopefully all will go smoothly with any luck, Maybe the name change is them upping there game?
 
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