Pet insurance claims top 1 billion

[cobgoblin]

In defence of vets, I don't think they are all the money grabbers that some people think - our local small animal practice are lovely and are always happy to treat conservatively if that's what I want. They treat wildlfe without charging and when I had a poorly pet chicken who wasn't going to recover, they put her to sleep for me (don't laugh!!) and charged me £20.

I think sometimes (and this a very general statement) owners need to take a bit more responsibility in educating themselves and making their own decisions on what they want, rather than just leaving it all to the vets, who will tend to assume that the owner wants everything possible done. I usually discuss with the vet what my hoped for outcome is, and what I'm willing to do / spend / put the animal through to achieve it. Occasionally I do say "throw everything at this" but that's rare. We've used multiple vets over the last ten years (different animals and locations) and I've never had a problem taking this kind of approach.

Most people don't have the knowledge to act this way, and rightly or wrongly they expect a professional to give them a balanced view, this is one of the things they are paying for. Without a basic understanding of biology, physiology, anatomy and pharmacology , Googling to 'educate' themselves could be a pointless exercise. If you can't trust your vet, what is the point of them?
There are some decent vets still about but finding them is a problem and I suspect many of them are nearing retirement, it doesn’t bode well for the future.

 

[eggs]

In defence of vets, I don't think they are all the money grabbers that some people think - our local small animal practice are lovely and are always happy to treat conservatively if that's what I want. They treat wildlfe without charging and when I had a poorly pet chicken who wasn't going to recover, they put her to sleep for me (don't laugh!!) and charged me £20.

You are lucky! My small animal vets charged me £100 to put a chicken down

 

[Landcruiser]

I think we all know what's written in this article already, but it's good to see it written down.

I wonder if there will be any reaction from the RCVS.

The article was from 2009 (and in The Daily Mail).

In my experience (8 years as a receptionist in a corporate owned practice) - vets give options of treatment, and the options are extended by insurance being in place. Certainly in my practice they all start with conservative treatment - Metacam for a non specific lameness, probiotic paste for vomiting and diarrhoea, etc. They will talk through the options with the client, which will range from "wait and see" right up to MRI/exploratory surgery or whatever, and of course insurance means that the owner can choose to progress further up the treatment scale if necessary. Vets can recommend the gold standard, but they can't MAKE anyone go that way.

It is a fact that vets don't go into the work to get rich. There are very few rich vets, despite what people think. Most UK practices are now incredibly short staffed and under huge pressure, both from above (Corporate shareholders wanting profits, corporate (non veterinary) management pushing and squeezing for every penny, and from below (Clients struggling to pay vet fees, animals suffering or neglected because of it.) Vets and their staff are on their knees. In my practice mental health is suffering, there are often tears, and as front line staff on reception we take a fair amount of abuse from clients, as well as getting pressure from above to press and chase for payments.

There has been a shit storm coming for a long time, and it's begun to hit the fan big time. Insurance is maybe part of it, but the picture is more complicated. Corporate greed is the big one, and Brexit is a big factor too, both because of lack of EU vets in the job pool, and much increased paperwork requirements, as well as increased costs of EU meds and products. Add in the extra 2,000,000 extra pets taken on during the pandemic, and here we are.

 

[meleeka]

It is a fact that vets don't go into the work to get rich. There are very few rich vets, despite what people think. Most UK practices are now incredibly short staffed and under huge pressure, both from above (Corporate shareholders wanting profits, corporate (non veterinary) management pushing and squeezing for every penny, and from below (Clients struggling to pay vet fees, animals suffering or neglected because of it.) Vets and their staff are on their knees. In my practice mental health is suffering, there are often tears, and as front line staff on reception we take a fair amount of abuse from clients, as well as getting pressure from above to press and chase for payments.

There has been a shit storm coming for a long time, and it's begun to hit the fan big time. Insurance is maybe part of it, but the picture is more complicated. Corporate greed is the big one, and Brexit is a big factor too, both because of lack of EU vets in the job pool, and much increased paperwork requirements, as well as increased costs of EU meds and products. Add in the extra 2,000,000 extra pets taken on during the pandemic, and here we are.

I don’t think i’ve ever encountered anyone complaining about the costs at an independent practice, so I think it is largely down to corporate greed, and of course the actual vet usually has no control over how much is charged, although I suspect some care more about their targets than others.

 

[cobgoblin]

The article was from 2009 (and in The Daily Mail).

In my experience (8 years as a receptionist in a corporate owned practice) - vets give options of treatment, and the options are extended by insurance being in place. Certainly in my practice they all start with conservative treatment - Metacam for a non specific lameness, probiotic paste for vomiting and diarrhoea, etc. They will talk through the options with the client, which will range from "wait and see" right up to MRI/exploratory surgery or whatever, and of course insurance means that the owner can choose to progress further up the treatment scale if necessary. Vets can recommend the gold standard, but they can't MAKE anyone go that way.

It is a fact that vets don't go into the work to get rich. There are very few rich vets, despite what people think. Most UK practices are now incredibly short staffed and under huge pressure, both from above (Corporate shareholders wanting profits, corporate (non veterinary) management pushing and squeezing for every penny, and from below (Clients struggling to pay vet fees, animals suffering or neglected because of it.) Vets and their staff are on their knees. In my practice mental health is suffering, there are often tears, and as front line staff on reception we take a fair amount of abuse from clients, as well as getting pressure from above to press and chase for payments.

There has been a shit storm coming for a long time, and it's begun to hit the fan big time. Insurance is maybe part of it, but the picture is more complicated. Corporate greed is the big one, and Brexit is a big factor too, both because of lack of EU vets in the job pool, and much increased paperwork requirements, as well as increased costs of EU meds and products. Add in the extra 2,000,000 extra pets taken on during the pandemic, and here we are.

Corporate ownership isn't working then. For anyone.

 

[criso]

In my experience (8 years as a receptionist in a corporate owned practice) - vets give options of treatment, and the options are extended by insurance being in place

There is a question here (and I'm not sure what the answer is) is how much input the vet should have on choice of options.

The expensive, intrusive and painful series of operations, may be the one chosen by the owners if they are presented by a list and money isn't an option.

People see programmes like the supervet and have expectations of what is possible and reasonable.

 

[twiggy2]

In defence of vets, I don't think they are all the money grabbers that some people think - our local small animal practice are lovely and are always happy to treat conservatively if that's what I want. They treat wildlfe without charging and when I had a poorly pet chicken who wasn't going to recover, they put her to sleep for me (don't laugh!!) and charged me £20.

I think sometimes (and this a very general statement) owners need to take a bit more responsibility in educating themselves and making their own decisions on what they want, rather than just leaving it all to the vets, who will tend to assume that the owner wants everything possible done. I usually discuss with the vet what my hoped for outcome is, and what I'm willing to do / spend / put the animal through to achieve it. Occasionally I do say "throw everything at this" but that's rare. We've used multiple vets over the last ten years (different animals and locations) and I've never had a problem taking this kind of approach.

I agree not all vets are money grabbers, many of the younger vets believe they are doing the right thing with some of the treatments that many of us question.
As for the treating wild animals without charge they have to prevent suffering for any animal they are presented or they risk disciplinary action from the RVCS, or thats what we were told as vet receptionists.

 

[Widgeon]

It is a fact that vets don't go into the work to get rich.

There wasn't really a suitable emoji reply to this post - I think it's a really good post and I agree with it, but "love" was the closest option I could get and that definitely isn't quite right!

 

[Widgeon]

As for the treating wild animals without charge they have to prevent suffering for any animal they are presented or they risk disciplinary action from the RVCS, or thats what we were told as vet receptionists.

That may be the case but I have previously found that not all vets are as generous and helpful about it as others. In this case it was a a Sunday, they weren't really even open (I was expecting the emergency vet's mobile for some advice) but there happened to be someone in the practice and they told me to just come on straight down while they were there to take him in. The hedgehog recovered, I picked him up, and when I tried to offer them some payment they refused to take anything.

In the past other vets have tried to head me off with "ring the RSPCA" (who told me to ring the vet) for wildlife, even within standard weekday working hours. Quite a different attitude.

ETA - sorry, this is a bit off topic. I probably shouldn't have started on this point but the vets I know are not rich, work very hard, and put their hearts into their jobs, and it upsets me to think that the public think all vets are money grabbing or greedy. I'll drop it now!!

 

[twiggy2]

That may be the case but I have previously found that not all vets are as generous and helpful about it as others. In this case it was a a Sunday, they weren't really even open (I was expecting the emergency vet's mobile for some advice) but there happened to be someone in the practice and they told me to just come on straight down while they were there to take him in. The hedgehog recovered, I picked him up, and when I tried to offer them some payment they refused to take anything.

In the past other vets have tried to head me off with "ring the RSPCA" (who told me to ring the vet) for wildlife, even within standard weekday working hours. Quite a different attitude.

ETA - sorry, this is a bit off topic. I probably shouldn't have started on this point but the vets I know are not rich, work very hard, and put their hearts into their jobs, and it upsets me to think that the public think all vets are money grabbing or greedy. I'll drop it now!!

Thats all very true, as a receptionist if we had a vet in the building I used to just tell people to bring the animal in and we would deal with it, sometimes you would ask your vet on site and they would tell you to pass it to the RSPCA people never got anywhere with that and the animal would be suffering whist everyone tried to palm of its care on someone else. Its often the person who answers the phone who makes the decision rather than a practice policy.
They have to prevent suffering in an animal they a presented with so the key is to deliver it to them

 

[ycbm]

You are lucky! My small animal vets charged me £100 to put a chicken down

I was charged £96 to deal with the corpse of a cat who was already dead on arrival.
.

 

[Widgeon]

I was charged £96 to deal with the corpse of a cat who was already dead on arrival.
.

That's so awful it's actually comical in a very black kind of way. The only way I'd be paying that would be if they could resurrect it - otherwise I'd be taking my money to go and buy a spade...

 

[ycbm]

That's so awful it's actually comical in a very black kind of way. The only way I'd be paying that would be if they could resurrect it - otherwise I'd be taking my money to go and buy a spade...

I ended up grateful he was squashed on the road a few days before his £65 jab instead of a few days after!

To be scrupulously fair we were offered his corpse but I really didn't want that to be my last memory of him.
.

 

[SEL]

I was charged £96 to deal with the corpse of a cat who was already dead on arrival.
.

That's shocking!!

Our two local vet practices willingly take in any cats people find dead at the side of the road to see if they are chipped and they can get hold of the owner. There are definitely no charges otherwise the village FB page would be in uproar.

 

[ycbm]

That's shocking!!

Our two local vet practices willingly take in any cats people find dead at the side of the road to see if they are chipped and they can get hold of the owner. There are definitely no charges otherwise the village FB page would be in uproar.

I was the owner, they didn't charge the people who took him in, thankfully.

 

[SEL]

Thats all very true, as a receptionist if we had a vet in the building I used to just tell people to bring the animal in and we would deal with it, sometimes you would ask your vet on site and they would tell you to pass it to the RSPCA people never got anywhere with that and the animal would be suffering whist everyone tried to palm of its care on someone else. Its often the person who answers the phone who makes the decision rather than a practice policy.
They have to prevent suffering in an animal they a presented with so the key is to deliver it to them

I stopped donating to the RSPCA after a few issues with them palming me off onto vet practices.

My current cat was a Friday night find - tiny stray, skin and bones and without much hair. It was one of the local cat rescues who were full to the brim who said to take her straight to the vet Monday morning but don't phone ahead in case they say they can't see her. The RSPCA were beyond useless and just kept asking me if she needed euthanising. Vets to be fair said they would check if she was chipped and thought they might have a cat fitting her description in their missing cat book. They didn't and ended up having to put her on a drip and when they phoned me later with an update I obviously adopted her so they got their bills paid!

The other was a large crow that I found in my back garden entangled in some kind of mesh. It had obviously been like that for a while with large cuts around its neck infected and full of maggots. I was furious with the RSPCA because it definitely needed to be PTS so ran it down to a vet practice. Apologized profusely and offered to pay for PTS but they rolled their eyes when i told them about my RSPCA interaction and told me they'd take care of it.

 

[SEL]

I was the owner, they didn't charge the people who took him in, thankfully.

I realised that - they definitely don't charge the owners either.

Public service sadly on the roads around here.

 

[Landcruiser]

I was charged £96 to deal with the corpse of a cat who was already dead on arrival.
.

That's pricey - but then it IS covering the time taken by staff to deal with the paperwork and physical aspect of storage until collection, as well as the actual transport and cremation itself. All of our dead beasts are individually and carefully bagged up in appropriate coloured bags, and tagged according to what is to happen to them. This is all recorded on paperwork and tickets for the crematorium, which is then scanned to be kept electronically, as it has to be by law. Deceased pets are then kept in cold storage until collection day (usually once a week). They are collected by the cremation company.

Clients always have the option to take deceased pets home (free), or have a general cremation (no ashes back, but all of the above applies). There is also the option of individual cremation with a multitude of options of casket, urn, scatter tube, but all of these are relatively expensive. It isn't reasonable to expect vet practices to cover cremation costs and do the work involved for nothing. I don't believe that any vets do, to be honest. Obviously in the case of deceased pets brought in where the owner can't be traced, or wildlife, we DO cover the costs.

 

[Reacher]

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