Vet seeking court case as Insurance slow to reimburse?

[JulesT]

Has anyone had any issues with the vet seeking repayment and issuing court proceedings against you when the insurance company is being so slow to pay out the vet fees?

The vet knows it is being processed via the insurance, they have submitted forms and been received, but the insurance company is being very unhelpful and dragging their heels in processing payment.
The vet is rightly getting peeved off with the slowness of them to sort the payment out and I'm not in a position to pay the bill?

Apart from chasing the insurance company weekly, I do not know what else to do? The vet will be paid in full when processed but until then the court case is looming.

 

[ihatework]

Technically you are responsible for the bill, not the insurance company - most vets will have this in their T&Cs.

That said, most will be as patient as possible with their client and wait for insurance to come through.

If however they are insisting the bill is paid can you not just put it on credit card?

 

[frostyfingers]

Not E&L is it? I know my vet won't deal with them directly at all - you have to pay the vet first and claim from them first.....

 

[JulesT]

ihatework if we had a cc, it would have been paid by now but I did say in my write up I'm unable to pay it

frostyfingers yes. but vet was ok to start treatment and know who insurance company is, but not for the long delay

 

[madlady]

E&L are worse than useless - not much help to you I know.

In your situation I would find the money for the vet (borrow or offer the vet a payment plan) then you can chase E&L yourself - if E&L can find the tiniest reason not to pay they will.

I would have thought that your vet would accept a payment arrangement from you given that they are aware of the circumstances.

 

[ihatework]

Well you might need to get a credit card by the sounds of it, especially if you have insured with E&L!!

 

[Pinkvboots]

My vet practice chased the insurance company for me for both of my claims, I am insured with E&L didnt know it was them as the policy is under a different name, and although they were slow paying out both times,I had two claims for the same leg which they agreed I could do and they paid for two MRI's so I cant really complain about them to be honest.

 

[webble]

My vet practice chased the insurance company for me for both of my claims, I am insured with E&L didnt know it was them as the policy is under a different name, and although they were slow paying out both times,I had two claims for the same leg which they agreed I could do and they paid for two MRI's so I cant really complain about them to be honest.

I'm exactly the same as above. My vets chased them and they were slow but paid

 

[fatpiggy]

E&L's reputation for tardiness and not paying out at all is legendary. A friend of mine had a horse which showed signs of navicular. Went to horspital who contacted insurers saying this would be ongoing treatment for at least 12 months, was that OK? E&L said to go ahead and then refused to pay a single penny when the bills came in. Luckily my friend wasn't short of a bob or two and was able to pay the bills herself but it was a lesson learned - cheap is often nasty.

 

[JulesT]

Well you might need to get a credit card by the sounds of it, especially if you have insured with E&L!!

Didnt realise cc's magically appeared for everyone! Must be with the money tree ive got growing. Not everyone is able you know!

 

[JulesT]

My vet practice chased the insurance company for me for both of my claims, I am insured with E&L didnt know it was them as the policy is under a different name, and although they were slow paying out both times,I had two claims for the same leg which they agreed I could do and they paid for two MRI's so I cant really complain about them to be honest.

Same here!!!! Had no idea it was them at the time, and only found out too late. Very sneaky of them.
That is positive news.

I did chase them yet again today and spoke to a very helpful woman who said there were several cheques due to be issued to the vets but couldnt say when or how much so fingers crossed this will resolve issues.
It certainly wasnt a NO which was promising. Slow is acceptable when better than no payment at all

Sounds like they may have made some changes to how they manage customers and trying to improve things?

 

[Kat]

Are the court proceedings against you? If so come to an agreement asap to pay by installments. Then make a formal complaint to your insurance company and to the ombudsman if they don't deal with your complaint promptly.

 

[TheSylv007]

I'd threaten your insurance company with the Ombudsman, that seems to spur them on a bit - helped when I had problems with Admiral car insurance. In fact I would write to the Ombudsman straight away and send a copy to E & L.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact/index.html

 

[Pinkvboots]

Same here!!!! Had no idea it was them at the time, and only found out too late. Very sneaky of them.
That is positive news.

I did chase them yet again today and spoke to a very helpful woman who said there were several cheques due to be issued to the vets but couldnt say when or how much so fingers crossed this will resolve issues.
It certainly wasnt a NO which was promising. Slow is acceptable when better than no payment at all

Sounds like they may have made some changes to how they manage customers and trying to improve things?

My second claim started last May and they only paid it a few weeks back so they are slow, I hope you get a pay out soon !

 

[Victoria25]

My old horse was insured with E&L (now with KBIS who are AMAZING!) but never had a problem with payouts from E&L (although only ever needed the one thankfully) x

 

[JulesT]

My second claim started last May and they only paid it a few weeks back so they are slow, I hope you get a pay out soon !

Slow! Thats a year for you to wait.
I have had good news today that they are in the process of creating the cheques to send out but couldnt say when they were actually posting them or for how much. Only been 3 months for me.
Much more relieved to say the least.
Have sent this information to the court and vet so hopefully there will be some breathing space

 

[conniegirl]

Didnt realise cc's magically appeared for everyone! Must be with the money tree ive got growing. Not everyone is able you know!

Credit cards are realy easy to obtain! you dont need money tree's. At 18 and just going into uni I was approved for one with a £5000 limit.
If you have a bad credit history then you wont get a very good APR but you can get one! and then having it and using it responsibly improves your credit rating so your APR will come down and your credit limit go up.

 

[skint1]

I think a credit card would be a last resort for me, I don't have the right sort of mindset for it and could easily end up in all kinds of trouble.

 

[conniegirl]

yes it should be a last resort but being taken to court for non payment of vet bills can result in CCJ's which will prevent you getting loans and mortgages in future. Far better to put it on a creditcard and deal with paying it off than to end up with a CCJ.

 

[fatpiggy]

Stick it in a freezer bag full of water and freeze it solid. If you REALLY need to use it you will be patient enough to let it all thaw. If you just have a fancy that you want something then by the time it has thawed the urge will probably have gone. I have 3 credit cards. Only one is truely active. The others have paid for my kitchen extension and my car and the savings to cover the bills are in a cash ISA earning at least little interest.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Slow! Thats a year for you to wait.
I have had good news today that they are in the process of creating the cheques to send out but couldnt say when they were actually posting them or for how much. Only been 3 months for me.
Much more relieved to say the least.
Have sent this information to the court and vet so hopefully there will be some breathing space

So glad you managed to get some money paid my vets are brilliant they sort out all the insurance stuff and are very patient thankfully.