Horse insurance help!!

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BlackVelvet

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My horse died a month ago, as soon as he became poorly we told the insurance and kept them informed until he died.

I have recieved a letter this morning telling me that i owe them nearly £800 for the policy because its been cancelled :/ my horse has died and we were told over the phone to cancel it! I am angry and obviously dont need this right now when ive just lost my horse!

Help! What can i do?

Also i have to pay £800 before the 24th 0ctober or they are taking me to court!
 
Why do you owe them money? If you told them the horse died and the poliucy was to be cancelled then you do not owe them money - if you paid the premium in full for the year then they would owe you a pro-rata return from when you cancelled the policy or, if you claimed under the policy then they should just settle the bill for your claim. IF though you paid by DD and had say maybe only 1 month or so of cover then claimed for the illness death but had not paid the full annual premium then they would want this off you BUT they would normally just deduct this from the claim amount being paid out.
 
Means i will be making an angry phone call! We have had the same policy for 8 years and renewed in September with the same policy, we were told we could cancel it so its more stress i dont need right now!
 
What an awful situation, you have my sympathy!

Even if the money is owed, it seems a bit heavy handed to threaten you with court straight away - surely that should be a last resort, not a first one! On the other hand, I'd hope (optimist that I am) that the company has a heart and the court threat letter is just an automated thing they send out when a DD payment is missed - and in your case they forgot to stop it!

It's probably a nuissance, but it might be worthwhile digging out the policy and reading through the small print as to what happens in the case of the insured horse having passed away. Alternatively, you can always ask them (in writing if possible) to break down what they claim is owed, what areas of the policy show this to be the case and proof that you agreed to those terms.

I'm a humble layman (so don't take my word for this), but I understand that if an (alleged) debt is in dispute, then recovery action must cease to allow the dispute to be resolved. So don't be afraid to ask questions if you think you've been treated badly, you just might be right! :D

It's not E&L is it?
 
Sorry to hear of your dilemma but im sure youve nothing to worry about. Ring the insurance ombudsman, I'm sure they are in the wrong. Usually if you cancel a policy you only have to pay one month's premium.
 
Im hoping that it is just an automatic letter that they send out, its not personalised in anyway really so fingers crossed!
They had september and october and we had the same policy for 8 years and just kept renewing it. Shall give them a ring when they open,
 
I'm no expert, but this does'nt sound right to me, definitely give them another ring, when I lost my horse, I rang and informed my insurance company, it was cancelled over the phone, I paid monthly and was never asked to settle the balance, hope you have better luck, let us know how you get on and I'm sorry for your loss x
 
DropbearUK - no it wasnt E&L it was one of the 'best' companies, also found out they have only just settled a claim for lami going back 18 months! The vets had to chase for money which they paid in bits and peices!
 
I reckon you just received an automatic letter. Sometimes unfortunately they do slip through the net but it's the last thing you want at a time like this. We had something similar with our dog's insurance policy. He was put to sleep just before we renewed and received a letter saying "we note you haven't renewed" and going on to say we should keep him insured. My mum was not happy!

They should record all their phone calls so should be able to trace it to where the agent told you to cancel now.
 
I'd imagine it was an automatic letter and possibly the person on the phone didn't note the reason for cancelling.

I wouldn't call unless you state your recording (which most won't accept). I'd do a recorded letter/email with the facts in it. Or if you do phone ask for an email stating that you do not owe any money whilst you are still on the phone.
 
BlackVelvet said:
DropbearUK - no it wasnt E&L it was one of the 'best' companies, also found out they have only just settled a claim for lami going back 18 months! The vets had to chase for money which they paid in bits and peices!
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DropbearUK said:
What an awful situation, you have my sympathy!

Even if the money is owed, it seems a bit heavy handed to threaten you with court straight away - surely that should be a last resort, not a first one! On the other hand, I'd hope (optimist that I am) that the company has a heart and the court threat letter is just an automated thing they send out when a DD payment is missed - and in your case they forgot to stop it!

It's probably a nuissance, but it might be worthwhile digging out the policy and reading through the small print as to what happens in the case of the insured horse having passed away. Alternatively, you can always ask them (in writing if possible) to break down what they claim is owed, what areas of the policy show this to be the case and proof that you agreed to those terms.

I'm a humble layman (so don't take my word for this), but I understand that if an (alleged) debt is in dispute, then recovery action must cease to allow the dispute to be resolved. So don't be afraid to ask questions if you think you've been treated badly, you just might be right! :D

It's not E&L is it?
Click to expand...

Sounds like insurance company in the wrong.
NOTHING WRONG with E&L they just payed me £2000 for my stolen horse and I got one months premium back after he got stolen.
 
Tinseltoes said:
Sounds like insurance company in the wrong.
NOTHING WRONG with E&L they just payed me £2000 for my stolen horse and I got one months premium back after he got stolen.
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I'm glad that SOMEONE has been treated well by E&L, but from what I've read and also from my own experience (£4000 out of pocket) you're in the minority - they're the cheapest for a reason! Google them - they're notorious for poor service and not paying up.

I've made the point on a previoaus insurance related post, but it's worth re-iterating, vets aren't allowed to recommend insurance companies, but if you ask your vet off the record, they'll probably tell you to avoid E&L!

The vets we took our late horse to for colic surgery asked us who we were insured with, we said E&L and they immediately (and apologetically) asked to be paid up front due to problems with E&L almost always refusing to pay out. Anyone else but them would have been fine. It seems that if you're with E&L, many vets will treat you as if you're uninsured.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread! Rant over!
 
PandorasJar said:
I'd imagine it was an automatic letter and possibly the person on the phone didn't note the reason for cancelling.

I wouldn't call unless you state your recording (which most won't accept). I'd do a recorded letter/email with the facts in it. Or if you do phone ask for an email stating that you do not owe any money whilst you are still on the phone.
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Didnt think of that, good plan!

Rang them this morning, had to go through the 'debt department' and the lady was really nice and apolagised. Prob because I was upset by this point, they are making a horrible situation alot worse for me! His death was completely unexpected and I had lost him within a few hours. Im still getting used to him being gone, and I have the cremation and other costs to sort. No amount of money will bring him back but i would like to settle costs and move on without getting threatening letters!

My policy WAS NOT cheap, the monthly cost had doubled and we had stayed with them as we had heard good things.
 
OK, so i spoke to NFU yesterday and lady was lovely and said she would sort it...however for my own piece of mind I rang again this morning. Spoke to a lady and she has argeed to cancel the policy from the day he died and it would not effect the claim so fingers crossed its sorted!
 
I know it's not quite the same but hubby had a policy for a motorbike that he wad paying monthly, one month in to the new policy year the bike wad vandalised and written off yet a small print clause said that in the event of a 'total loss' the rest of the year's premium is due in full so we had to cough up 11 months premium for nothing

Sounds like you may have a similar clause
 
That's is funny because I was with the NFU and I had to keep the policy in place until they had finalised my claim. Then after a month or so they refunded the premiums. Hope you get it sorted, this is the last thing you want after losing your horse.
 
Black_Horse_White said:
That's is funny because I was with the NFU and I had to keep the policy in place until they had finalised my claim. Then after a month or so they refunded the premiums. Hope you get it sorted, this is the last thing you want after losing your horse.
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I thought that too. I even rang back to check and she confirmed that it was okay..
 
UPDATE - I have my cheque in front of me right now. Finally my vets have sorted the claim and I have got the money he was insured for and a little extra for help with the cremation.

Seems weird to have a cheque and to not be excited as the money doesnt really make me feel better, but atleast its sorted.
 
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