vets new t&c's regarding insurance :-/

china

china

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i currently have a claim on the go and have £375 outstanding with the vets, i rang yesterday to pay £120 of that for my mares colic and for the other invoices to go into the post to nfu. i couldnt find my debit card to pay the 120 so i have just rang back today and the acountant was out at lunch. she said thats 375 to pay. i explained i was paying for the colic and the rest was insurance and she said well we have new t&c's that clients now have to pay the vets upfront and the insurance pay you . this is fine but the acountant never said this yesterday and im now having palpatations about forking out £400. i have it in a horsey acount so can afford to but along with everything else this month i could do with it staying in there! i have to ring them back after two as she said that as my claim is near to end and has be ongoing since june i might be ok. is this standard practice at most vets. i thought the idea of having insurance was to cover you for big bills. mine has been over 3 grand. i certainly wouldnt have had 3 grand lying around if i had to pay it up front...
 
nfu. up untill now the vets have dealt directly with nfu. but the vets are now saying they have new t&c's and i have to pay them upfront and claim my money back ..
 
Not sure about most vets but my vets are very good and just send invoices directly to my insurance and wait for their payment. I only pay them the excess and any non insurance bills. I never have to pay for the invoices that are subject to an insurance claim. (I'm with KBIS who seem to pay same day though)

However I had to pay Willesley Equine Clinic directly when he was referred to them for his kissing spine op and then claim back from insurance. I had to get a credit card for that one!
 
NFU are very, very good at paying out - and your vet's will be aware of that.

Ring your vets back and ask them what the date was that they sent out their letter outlining their new terms and conditions - because they will have had to have done that to inform all of their clients of its existence.

Then tell them that they either take the 120 payment from you - or wait until NFU had paid them - at which point you'll settle up the rest of your account.
 
Vets are getting wise to the new NFU outsourced claim handlers who take months to pay even simple, straight forward claims :mad: they are now considered on a par with E&L according to the vet hospital we visited recently :( the claim made in September for a hock that needed stitching has only just been paid last week- and thats only after we threatened to take away all the farm business :mad: NFU used to be one of the very best but not any more :(
 
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bounce said:
Not sure about most vets but my vets are very good and just send invoices directly to my insurance and wait for their payment. I only pay them the excess and any non insurance bills. I never have to pay for the invoices that are subject to an insurance claim. (I'm with KBIS who seem to pay same day though)

!
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this is what i have been doing since last june untill this phoncall today. good job nfu have recently paid as i would have to find a grand from somewhere!!
 
Darkly_Dreaming_Dex said:
Vets are getting wise to the new NFU outsourced claim handlers who take months to pay even simple, straight forward claims :mad: they are now considered on a par with E&L according to the vet hospital we visited recently :(
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unfortunatly i have been on the recieving end of this, i have had to ring them up numerous times to find out what was going on as i was being harrased by vets. it took six weeks longer than it needed to.
 
Without taking you to court the vets can not force you to pay, they will also as amymay says be well aware that nfu have a reputation for settling their claims really quickly.I suspect Vets also get the bulk of their money from insurance claims.

The reason we have insurance is so we can afford the big bills, the vets know this they are trying it on. Either that or they are financially very shaky and liable not to be around much longer.
 
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lannerch said:
Without taking you to court the vets can not force you to pay,
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I wouldn't be so sure about that. The OP needs to check the wording of her insurance policy - my previous policy said I had to settle claims directly with the vet then claim it back. While vets are will send invoices to the insurer, you are the one who has the account with the vet so you have ultimate responsibility for paying the bill. The vet has no relationship with the insurer, you, as the policy holder, as responsible for making sure the bill is paid.

In my case (I was with Equestrian Direct so ended up having to deal with the awful Equine First, the people who NFU are now outsourcing to) my policy stated I had to settle directly. To begin with the vet was happy to send invoices and wait for the insurer to pay them, but after a while EF were taking so long (many months) to settle that I had to pay my bill in full then threaten EF with action for not paying. ATEOTD I was responsible for the bill.
 
Our local vets will not recommend one company but will not deal directly with one heavily advertised company, so you would have to pay upfront.
I think it is unfair if they did not tell you in advance of changing their T&Cs, most vets are fairly sympathetic to payments in steps.
 
Since the development of insurance for pets and horses, the vet bills have risen exponentially. Part of the reason of course is the new surgical developments, part is due to business mangers and accountants running the firm
 
amymay said:
NFU are very, very good at paying out .
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Unfortunately I have to disagree with this. It took them MONTHS to pay my last claim, nothing to do with any queries on the claim just poor admin. I rang weekly to try and chivvy things along but to no avail.

My vets used to let me pay the excess and claim the rest from NFU but they will no longer allow this due to NFUs poor settlement times.

TBH the vets have done the work so need paying and I'm sure they aren't worried where the money comes from as their agreement is with you as their client. Perhaps you could speak to them and plead your case - I know I had to!

Good luck
 
i have just paid for my colic and the acountant said nothing :-/ i think as my claim is coming to an end that maybe they are happy to wait for payment from the insurance.
 
china said:
i have just paid for my colic and the acountant said nothing :-/ i think as my claim is coming to an end that maybe they are happy to wait for payment from the insurance.
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It would still be good for you to get clarification on their position re: new T&C's though - for future reference.
 
iv just looked on the back of my invoice and the terms and conditions state it, but i wouldnt have know the change if they hadnt of said. im just going to dig out an old invoice and see what has changed and what hasnt.
 
I'm another with KBIS and with a recent claim (first vet claim ever!) the vets I was dealing with (not mine as she was on loan so down south) wanted me to pay them direct; not surprising as I'm a new client. I paid the first bill, told KBIS I had paid it and within two days had a cheque back for the amount less the excess; the vets sent any future invoices straight to KBIS and were also paid within two days. Cannot knock KBIS at all, brilliant to deal with and many other companies should take a leaf out of their book as to how it should be done. I might add, the vets were very impressed with them too.
 
My vets having started doing this too, they recently told me that my account is with them (the vets) therefore I have to pay them on the day the invoice becomes due.

They do not have to deal with or wait for the insurance company to pay out - I have to pay them and claim it back myself.

It is down to me to sort out directly, they will provide all the relevant paperwork etc. but that is it. :(
 
I really feel for you. I'm with NFU, who are now appallingly disorganised if you have to make a claim. They are more than happy to efficiently take on your business and your money, but can't cope with being able to effectively manage any claims! Their staff are rude too!

NFU took 7 months before they fully paid my last claim, and my vets made me pay the balance after 6 months. I paid the vet (as I was scared if I had an emergency they might not come out), and I was planning on how I was going to take NFU to court over this debacle, when all of a sudden my vet phoned me to say the insurance company had sent them a cheque meaning my account was now in credit. That was over 7 months after I'd put in the claim.

TBH if NFU are treating customers like this, then no wonder the vets are getting peed off. It doesn't help you or I though. I don't think other insurance companies are this bad, does your vet have a list of their preferred insurance companies. Perhaps your vet has just blacklisted certain insurers like NFU who don't pay for months?
 
My vets have that policy. You have to ring and get special permission otherwise.

When my mare was referred and booked in at Liphook I had to sign a form saying that my total bill would be paid before I could discharge her, and that I then had to get the money back off my insurer.

It then had a whole paragraph about E&L!!!!!!
 
amymay said:
NFU are very, very good at paying out - and your vet's will be aware of that.
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I DISAGREE with that statement. 5 years ago, I think most people had good experiences and NFU, who were easy to deal with and paid claims quickly and efficiently. However, I know a lot of people who have recently had similar problems to me; ie very delayed payments and disjointed, uniformed staff telling you conflicting information about the progress of your claims every time you phone. I had to resend all of my receipts because they lost the first set my vet sent in. I heard that happens a lot now!

My vet has actually advised me to renew my insurance with a different company! That is how bad NFU are these days.
 
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