The fact is that pets aren’t cheap. A simple operation on a cat or dog can easily cost £1000, and that’s where the thought of insurance should come in. This post aims to give a view of one insurer (PetPlan), for those thinking of using them.

Personal experience with Pet Plan update: 17th May 2009

One of my cats had an issue with his teeth when he last visited the vets. They recommended he be put under anesthetic so they could look a little closer, and do any necessary work… I obviously obliged.

Work done, and a couple of teeth down, I’ve put a claim into Pet Plan and its been initially rejected despite my discussions with them on the phone before submitting the claim. Another phone call later, and they’ve asked for the vet to call them as they have an exclusion on this cat for gingivitis… round the loop another time, and the vet has been told the exclusion covers the whole of the mouth, so they don’t want to speak with him!

Painful an exercise as this is, I did know there was an exclusion in place that may cause the claim to be a bit of a pain, even though its not gingivitis (according to my vet) that caused this issue.

I still recommend Pet Plan, as they seem to be more willing to discuss things rather than many companies who say “our decision was final”. The thing to remember with Insurance companies is that they are businesses. You’ll speak to customer service, who are there to be nice and polite, but your claim will go to the insurers, whose job it is to save the business money by rejecting claims where there is grounds for it. Over the years, Pet Plan have been very good to me, but if you have an exclusion, you will find that they question any pet claim that could in any way be related. Sometimes the link they make is very slight, but it’s fair that they question, afterall, you’d have to pay more if they let more claims through!

Update: 22nd Feb 2012

Having checked with PetPlan this week, they’ve confirmed that the exclusion was put in place for 2 years, so can now be disputed. I’m taking the cats down to the vet this week for booster injections, so will be asking for full medical history so that I can dispute the exclusion going forward for one of my cats. Fingers crossed that will get him fully insured, in-case of an issue in the future!

Update: April 2012

Sent the full medical history to PetPlan, and I must admit, they responded by letter REMOVING the exclusion! I really wasn’t expecting that after all this time and trouble. It does however show that they are prepared to remove exclusions once 2 years has elapsed with no sign at all of a related issue, and proof in the medical history that the pet has been look over every 12 months to check for any signs of the problem reoccurring. Good job PetPlan! My cats are no fully insured with NO exclusions again!