To think vet fees are taking advantage?

[Catlady332]

There is making a financial commitment to a pet, and then there is paying extortionate fees.
I pay monthly for a vet healthcare plan for my cat who is older, and this is supposed to cover certain things and include discounts.
They suspect he has a thyroid issue and needs a blood test, and I've been quoted £250 for the blood test.
I think these fees are extortionate and taking advantage. This is in the north West, as I said I know pet ownership is a financial commitment but I'm worried about having to pay these sorts of costs regularly.

We’ve had insurance for our cats since kittens. The oldest one recently had to be PTS. She had had some issues that were all paid by our insurers. She deteriorated on the Friday night hospitalised at vets on Saturday and PTS on the Tuesday. The bill was over £2k and paid by our insurers. She was 17. Her 2 kittens are nearly 15 have health issues and insurers pay up without issue for all of the visits and medication. DD’s horse almost died from a micro organism picked up in the soil. The bill for just over a week in Ireland, where fees tend to be lower, was over £7k. Insurers paid full limit of £5k. We’ve paid many £00’s in insurance for our pets but wouldn’t be without it - particularly as 2 of my old cats lived to 24 and 26 respectively!

Have you seen what private human health care costs?

You don't have proper insurance cover. I understand that you might have been confused about the health plan and insurance, but it was your responsibility to understand the costs and cover. I spent nearly £7k on my dog just before Chrstmas because he needed an operation. Most was covered by insurance. If you can't afford £100's or £1000's then you need good insurance cover. I understand that most people can't afford the costs - that is what insurfance is for and if you can't afford either, sorry but you shouldn't expect the vet to pay for it.

They have computer databases, it's called fraud, and they will take it seriously.

I don't quite see how that's fraud. If I cancel the existing insurance he will no longer be insured, and I'm intending to change to another, cheaper vet.

Do you actually have insurance at all or just Pet Health Plan?

Pet Health Plan isn't insurance, it's just a way of spreading the costs of standard treatment such as flea, wormer and vaccines.

Dental is usually excluded from insurance so you always have to pay for that.

And given you have been told the cat needs investigations for thyroid, that automatically counts as a pre-existing condition if you take out insurance now so nothing would be covered - unless you pick an insurer that allows pre-existing conditions.

Yes I do have separate insurance, I am looking for a different one though.

It's not fraud, providing you declare it fully and correctly in the part of the application when they ask if your pet is awaiting any investigations.

If you lie on an insurance application, at best your cover is voided and you are blacklisted (so will have to self-fund). At worst they can prosecute.

It's ok if they won't cover pre existing conditions, but ideally I could find one that will cover a bit more than £21 towards the blood test. I find all the insurance stuff confusing

With another insurer and claim that it isn't pre-existing even though you know it is? That is what you said. That is fraud. They have databases. They can check. You might see it as not fraud. I can guarantee that isn't how they will see it. Even if they simply refuse the claim on that basis and don't involve the police, you will go down on an "alert list" - any insurance for anything you try to take out will see that, credit cards will see it, banks will see it. These people keep records.

I didn't say I would claim it wasn't pre existing. I am looking for one that accepts pre existing.

I don't think you are getting it. The blood test is already a "pre-existing condition" - you need it because you know the cat is sick!

I am specifically changing to look for an insurance that covers pre existing..

Yes this. I can’t stand people whinging about vet costs.

In that case - pay for the tretament and forget insurance. Do you know how much the cost will be for pre-existing conditons to be covered??? They don't know what the "condition" is because it isn't diagnosed yet, but you know it needs to be. They'd be idiots to insure any pet under those conditions. You are asking them to quote for a cat you know is older and has a problem, but not what that problem is. It could easily cost them many, many £1,000's. I can't see an insurer going for that.

We paid more than this for an emergency locksmith call out on a Saturday afternoon (for perspective)

This would now be a pre-existing issue. You know about the blood test, the vet knows, therefore it’s pre-existing for any other insurance company you go to so £0 paid towards it.

For an older cat, 2 known issues that need immediate treatment/investigation, IF any will cover pre-existing you’d probably be paying £250 in less than 2 months of fees.

You'll have to ring around and ask about T&Cs for pre-existing conditions.

The only companies I've asked about this will insure a pet with pre-existing conditions but that condition is excluded until (specified time, around 2 years?) after cure with no further claims.

Vet fees are ridiculous and should be regulated. I hope,your kitty is well soon x

Ok that's good to know, thanks.
I've found out the previous owner had him for 6 years and never took him once to the vets..

Thanks for the info re insurance it makes more sense now.

Have you checked what your excess is (mine is £99) and whether once results are in whether this would be classed as the same for any claim you put in or whether you'd have to pay another excess for the condition

My dog is on pet health club and for me it includes, his vaccinations including kennel cough, flea & worming tablets, 2 annual health checks and I don't pay the admin fee when they fill out an insurance form for me. The not paying the insurance admin means it's worthwhile as my dog is regularly rinsing my insurance so I probably save £100 per year.

If this is a pre existing condition, does that mean I couldnt get any future blood tests insured either?
Ok paying for this one, but what if he needs several over the next couple of months?

When you apply to a new Insurer, they will ask you for previous pet history from any vet the cat has ever been seen by. If you say that it has never been seen by a vet, that would be a fraudulent claim, and would void the insurance, if they accepted the application. If you attach the pet history, it will make anything related (and boy can they stretch the bounds of what they perceive to be related), a pre-existing condition, and so not covered, unless you apply for cover that encompasses pre-existing conditions.

Based on the age of the cat, lack of veterinary care for the majority of its life, and the recent vet's assessment of necessary investigation and potential treatment, insurers are not going to be lining up to underwrite this risk, and any that are prepared to accept it will charge like a raging bull to do so. I wouldn't cancel cover without finding someone prepared in principle at the very least, to pick it up.

Your pet plan is to cover maintenance costs. Insurance is to cover the risk of unforeseen health issues and injuries. When they are readily foreseeable, that materially impacts the willingness of companies to accept that risk, and the price they will charge, as it is that much more likely that they could lose substantially on the risk accepted.