Petplan insurance – making a claim

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Sprat

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So it looks like the sarcoid my mare has is getting worse, the vet came out and had a look yesterday and has recommended laser (due to the location, not a great candidate for banding). Now I’m very lucky in that I’ve not had to make an insurance claim before, and I know the insurers can be slippery little whatsits, so I’m here for advice on what not to do!

I’ve had the estimate through and the surgery, general anaesthetic and hospital stay is likely to be in the region of £2200, so definitely worth putting through the insurance (albeit with a £500 excess). With the time of year, I’ll be booking her in to the clinic into the early new year, so I guess my question is, do I call the insurance and let them know now that I will be doing this, or shall I wait until I have booked her in?

Is there anything I should make sure I don’t say when I speak to the insurers? I’ve heard good things about PetPlan, hence insuring with them, but I’m still a little nervy about all of this! Thanks in advance!
 
When was the sarcoid first spotted? As in, when it is first mentioned on the vets medical records? Does it say anything like 'owner noticed sarcoid x weeks/months ago'. If it's over a year since it was first noticed/spotted/mentioned, they (as in most insurance companies) won't cover it, or at least will try their damnedest not to cover it. Which can be tricky for things like sarcoids, where the initial advice is usually 'keep an eye on it'!
 
Luckily, I hadn't mentioned it to the vets at all, until I booked them to come and look this week, so I'm hoping that shouldn't mean they try to exclude!
 
Hi, I've never had any trouble with Petplan. I'd download a claim form from their website and fill in the owner part (pretty much the first page) and sign on the back and either hand in or scan over to your vet to complete the rest. If you scan it over to them, include on your email that you are happy for them to add information if they feel a point is missing as long as you are happy them doing that. It is really straightforward which is part of why I went with them. They pulled out all stops a few years ago when my dog needed MRI scans and spinal surgery.
 
You need to read your small print OP about the timings of informing them of treatment. I’ve always phoned my insurance company (NFU) prior to making any claim, just to give them a heads up.

My understanding is that PetPlan are pretty good, generally.
 
You need to let the insurance co know ASAP. They will likely ask you to send in your recent vet history, this is routine. They will check through it for anything which can lead to them declining the claim.

To be correct and above board you should tell the insurance co when you first noticed the sarcoid, not just when you first called the vet out to see it. Lots of people don’t do this... The year’s cover would start from the date that you spotted it, not from when the vet first saw it.

You have to declare the sarcoid to the insurance co whether you claim for it or not, it’s not like car insurance, so you may as well claim. They’d still exclude sarcoids in the future even if you don’t claim now.
 
Amyway In A Manger said:
You need to read your small print OP about the timings of informing them of treatment. I’ve always phoned my insurance company (NFU) prior to making any claim, just to give them a heads up.

My understanding is that PetPlan are pretty good, generally.
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When I had my old stallion PTS after a field injury I wasn't able to get hold of petplan due to it being a sunday. They paid out with out a question and were really sympathetic and understanding as I blubbed down the phone. Although this is slightly different as he was 'PTS on welfare grounds' its my only dealings with an insurance company for my horses and I was happ with the service provided.
 
Petplan have been fab for me. I’ve kept them updated with what's been going on but they will only authorise treatment once they have received a claim form. Also be aware of what they don’t cover! The small things add up!
 
Thanks all, I’ll be giving them a buzz tomorrow. I hadn’t mentioned the sarcoid to the vets until last weds when I booked them to come out, so i think we should be fairly ok regarding first mentions and the year to claim.
I’m not looking forward to her having to go into hospital at all. I’m sure that these operations happen all the time but it gives me the shivers thinking about having under GA ☹️
 
Sprat said:
Thanks all, I’ll be giving them a buzz tomorrow. I hadn’t mentioned the sarcoid to the vets until last weds when I booked them to come out, so i think we should be fairly ok regarding first mentions and the year to claim.
I’m not looking forward to her having to go into hospital at all. I’m sure that these operations happen all the time but it gives me the shivers thinking about having under GA ☹️
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Best not to think about it too much. I made sure to keep myself very busy on the day, so I wasn't sat there worrying about it the entire day.
 
Nasicus said:
Best not to think about it too much. I made sure to keep myself very busy on the day, so I wasn't sat there worrying about it the entire day.
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yes that’s my concern - I’ll likely take the day off work to take her there so I’ll need to busy myself to take my mind off it ?
 
Unless they've changed their t&c's in the last few years, they won't cover any livery charges and possibly not transport either.

If you're concerned about them not paying out for any reason, they used to offer a pre-authorisation process, where you basically filled the claim form out as usual (you and the vet) and then the vet attaches an estimate of the expected costs and you send it through for an absolute guarantee before going ahead.
It's usually worth doing if the bill will be big enough to cause you issues if they don't pay for any reason or if you have reason to think they may not pay such as an existing exclusion for something that may be related.

Otherwise just call them, notify them of the issue and send the claim form and invoice in when you're ready.

I'd suggest sending via email or recorded delivery though - things can and do go missing so it's always handy to evidence when they arrive.

They usually seem to operate on a 3 week backlog, depends on how busy they've been.

Generally speaking though I rate them well :)
 
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