Insurance question!

[poiuytrewq]

I’m currently mid claim. After the last payment I had a email from insurers saying that although the limit isn’t reached they are not guaranteeing liability for any further invoices. They will look at them and consider but may say no or may be a separate claim, so another excess (another point I’m not sure I’m totally fine with tbh but maybe that’s my problem) or I may need to pay the whole thing myself. The latest invoice is about £400.
The horse is still not right so ideally I’d keep going further but am too worried incase I run up a huge bill that I can’t afford. They won’t pre authorise. My vet has also discussed the treatment plan with them.
Next issue, my policy is due renewal on the 24th. That’s another £400. I have that, I put it aside knowing it was coming up.
I cant afford £800 and still have a lame horse though.
If he doesn’t come right I won’t Insure anymore anyway. I suspect if I don’t renew they will definitely not pay (or might they as he was insured and the claim running at the time?)
Can I swap to monthly payment and cancel in a few months if need be? Not sure if that will incur even more charges?
Hopefully that makes sense!

 

[PSD]

I’m currently mid claim. After the last payment I had a email from insurers saying that although the limit isn’t reached they are not guaranteeing liability for any further invoices. They will look at them and consider but may say no or may be a separate claim, so another excess (another point I’m not sure I’m totally fine with tbh but maybe that’s my problem) or I may need to pay the whole thing myself. The latest invoice is about £400.
The horse is still not right so ideally I’d keep going further but am too worried incase I run up a huge bill that I can’t afford. They won’t pre authorise. My vet has also discussed the treatment plan with them.
Next issue, my policy is due renewal on the 24th. That’s another £400. I have that, I put it aside knowing it was coming up.
I cant afford £800 and still have a lame horse though.
If he doesn’t come right I won’t Insure anymore anyway. I suspect if I don’t renew they will definitely not pay (or might they as he was insured and the claim running at the time?)
Can I swap to monthly payment and cancel in a few months if need be? Not sure if that will incur even more charges?
Hopefully that makes sense!

I think it depends on the insurance but I’ve just cancelled mine as I’ve sold the pony and they’ve not charged me for cancelling. I always pay monthly just in case anything happens

 

[poiuytrewq]

I think it depends on the insurance but I’ve just cancelled mine as I’ve sold the pony and they’ve not charged me for cancelling. I always pay monthly just in case anything happens

Ok that’s good to know. I feel like I’m just burning money at the moment!

 

[PSD]

Ok that’s good to know. I feel like I’m just burning money at the moment!

It’s awful when they’re going through things isn’t it. I hope you get to the bottom of your issues!

 

[poiuytrewq]

It’s awful when they’re going through things isn’t it. I hope you get to the bottom of your issues!

Thank you! So do I, although I’m not at all hopeful any more.

 

[AFB]

I don't think you can cancel a policy you've claimed under - although happy to be corrected.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Ok that’s good to know. I feel like I’m just burning money at the moment!

If you have an ongoing claim or have had a claim in that policy year if you stop paying monthly payments, the whole premium becomes payable then. So no, you can't just stop paying. Some insurers will let you cancel part way through the year and may charge an admin fee but if there is a claim , then you'd have to pay the whole premium.

If this was me and there was an ongoing issue , I would renew the insurance but would pay monthly. Knowing that I'd be committed to paying monthly for the entire year.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I don't think you can cancel a policy you've claimed under - although happy to be corrected.

Strictly speaking you can ,.but you'll have to pay the entire premium then for the whole year.

 

[poiuytrewq]

The claim will be from the previous year though If that makes any difference?
I guess I need to speak to them, and the vet again. Unfortunately she’s on holiday.

 

[Sossigpoker]

The claim will be from the previous year though If that makes any difference?
I guess I need to speak to them, and the vet again. Unfortunately she’s on holiday.

If you don't renew , most companies will stop paying on the open claim.
As long as your current claim remains open , if you cancel part way through the year they will charge you the whole premium then , most likely.
Most insurers will do this.

 

[Polos Mum]

I would have a long practical conversation with the vets - the treatment options offered for undiagnosed lameness for uninsured horses is quite different from insured ones (assuming you don't know exactly what is wrong).
Rather than spend all you have now maybe the vet can advise on other options if they know the insurance isn't likely to pay out.

The current habit seems to be max out the insurance (usually £6k) on expensive diagnostics which find loads of little stuff non of which could definitively be the sole cause. Then suggest the horse has time out in the field for 12 months to see if rest works.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I don’t really understand why they have stopped half way through.
The original investigation was lameness and tripping, the tripping was my main concern.
They diagnosed arthritic changes in his neck which was impinging slightly on his spinal cord. This has been injected and he had physio, but the lameness worsened, so I couldn’t ride to see if the tripping had stopped.
They paid for full feet xrays, neck xrays, work ups and the injecting. Then said they may not pay further. They excluded his neck but didn’t count that as a diagnosis ?‍
Nerve blocked to his hocks, injected those.
He’s still tripping, I believe wrong behind and lame off fore.

 

[throwawayaccount]

I don’t really understand why they have stopped half way through.
The original investigation was lameness and tripping, the tripping was my main concern.
They diagnosed arthritic changes in his neck which was impinging slightly on his spinal cord. This has been injected and he had physio, but the lameness worsened, so I couldn’t ride to see if the tripping had stopped.
They paid for full feet xrays, neck xrays, work ups and the injecting. Then said they may not pay further. They excluded his neck but didn’t count that as a diagnosis ?‍
Nerve blocked to his hocks, injected those.
He’s still tripping, I believe wrong behind and lame off fore.

i'm not sure what I can add with regard to the insurance question, it seems unfair though. your boy is lucky to have you.

may i ask, what made you have his neck checked? i would never have even considered this! xx

 

[criso]

You can't cancel mid claim but you can choose not to renew when that is due and they still have to pay out for the 12 months even though you are no longer with them.

I did that but what i did find is i couldn't get insurance with another insurer with an active claim. So i cancelled, took out catastrophe cover which i could get and continued to send bills to the old insurer. It was a liver issue so treatment and testing continued for 6 months after cancellations including a hospital visit for a biopsy.

Whether further bills are part of this claim or a new one is a separate issue but if the new claim is for a condition that arose during the insurance term then the same would apply

 

[Sossigpoker]

The current habit seems to be max out the insurance (usually £6k) on expensive diagnostics which find loads of little stuff non of which could definitively be the sole cause. Then suggest the horse has time out in the field for 12 months to see if rest works.

Certainly not in my experience. I've always been insured but my vets only reger for diagnostics if they think that will help with the diagnosis.

 

[Sossigpoker]

You can't cancel mid claim but you can choose not to renew when that is due and they still have to pay out for the 12 months even though you are no longer with them.

That depends on the company. Some will pay for the 12 months even if you don't renew , some will stop paying if you don't renew- OP needs to read their policy terms.

 

[Laafet]

If you don't renew , most companies will stop paying on the open claim.
As long as your current claim remains open , if you cancel part way through the year they will charge you the whole premium then , most likely.
Most insurers will do this.

This was not the case for me. NFU treated me so appallingly over one claim that when my policy came up for renewal - they also decided to double the cost and exclude the horse for everything - I upped sticks and left for a more reasonable company that covered my horse fairly. NFU paid out for the rest of the 12 month period from the claim going in originally, despite me being with another company. They had little choice as I had reported their awful behaviour to the Ombudsman anyway so knew they were being watched.

 

[criso]

That depends on the company. Some will pay for the 12 months even if you don't renew , some will stop paying if you don't renew- OP needs to read their policy terms.

I've been with 3 different ones where this came up and they all would pay out for 12 months even if not renewed. I only actually claimed on one as in the other two cases in one I decided to stay and the other the horse had retired. The latter was NFU and they put up the annual fee to about £900 and I figured I wouldn't spend more than that on vets on a retired horse.

And I've just checked Shearwater who I'm currently with and they would too. They regard a claim as falling into the same accounting year as the policy even if it carries on past renewal.

I had paid up front for the year in all cases but one.

 

[poiuytrewq]

i'm not sure what I can add with regard to the insurance question, it seems unfair though. your boy is lucky to have you.

may i ask, what made you have his neck checked? i would never have even considered this! xx

He failed a neurological work up, suggested by the vet at the original lameness check.
It hadn’t occurred to me either although have since, whilst researching found some samey stories on here. YCBM had similar I believe.

I’m not planning on claiming and cancelling mid term, but it’s due for renewal before they will have made the decision. I don’t really want to pay the renewal and the bill if they say no. Not to mention the fact insurance will be pretty useless after all this as he will have so many exclusions!

 

[Sossigpoker]

I've been with 3 different ones where this came up and they all would pay out for 12 months even if not renewed. I only actually claimed on one as in the other two cases in one I decided to stay and the other the horse had retired. The latter was NFU and they put up the annual fee to about £900 and I figured I wouldn't spend more than that on vets on a retired horse.

And I've just checked Shearwater who I'm currently with and they would too. They regard a claim as falling into the same accounting year as the policy even if it carries on past renewal.

I had paid up front for the year in all cases but one.

I recently got several quotes for my horse and one of them stated that if the policy wasn't renewed they'd stop paying for an ongoing claim. I can't remember which one it was hence why OP needs to check their conditions of insurance.
Every company can set up their own policies with regard to this so it's impossible to say what OP's insurance company will do.