Trisven13 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I have a friend who got a dog as an adult and she is trying to process a claim. They won't process the claim without getting records from the previous vet but the old owner is not responding to their emails. Any suggestions on what to do from here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Call the Insurer and explain that they don't have contact with the previous owner or knowledge of the vet. Surely not everyone maintains contact with the people they got their dog from, especially in a rescue situation, so they must have a process for dealing with cases like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchnauzerMax Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Can she ask her vet to contact the previous vet for details? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 When I did a claim for my dog that hadn't needed to visit a vet in about 2 years, they didn't believe there was no medical history for that time period, so they just asked me to sign a Stat Dec stating that to my knowledge, this was the complete history for the dog. Perhaps your friend can say something relevant to the previous owners being non contactable on a Stat Dec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I got my rescue as an adult, with no known history and her claims were processed with no query about her previous "life"? I provided them with her vet history from when I got her. Have they specifically asked for her history from her previous owner? If not, I would just provide what she has. If they want an entire history then I would ask for a refund and the insurance company should specify that they don't cover rescues or rehomes from unknown backgrounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Mine did the same for a claim for my 1 year at the time. I got her at 3 months and they wanted vet records from 0-3 months. I just signed a Stat Dec saying that she was a healthy pup when I got her with no previous illness history. It's ridic the hoops they make you jump through sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 They did that with Lewis as well, a total pain in the arse and I did have contact with previous owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 What insurer is this? My bet is that it would be one of the cheaper ones? From what I have heard they do make it harder to claim, pet plan only asked for the history of my rescue from when I got her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I am with Petplan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 If my dog was a rescue with unknown history then they would have had to accept I couldn't find out for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I am just about to send in my first claim to Bow Wow Meow ... I have had both the puppies covered since about 3 months old in the hope that this would rule out any possibility of "an existing condition" but my vet mentioned the other day that some insurers will not cover hereditary problems such as hip dysplasia as this is regarding as pre-existing. Does anyone have any experience regarding this? My boy went in because he wasn't putting any weight on one leg. When he got to the vet he got so excited (they must have some very tasty treats there... never saw a dog who like going to the vet so much!) that he forgot all about the sore leg and walked normally from that point on! All morning he had been telling me that he was dying... I had to carry his 22kg butt up the stairs because he couldn't manage... but once he go tot the vet he was fine! In the course of trying to work out what had caused the lameness we did a hip xray which shows that he has some degree of hip dysplasia. As he is only 9 month old apparently they can't determine the severity just yet but the vet didn't think it was too bad. I'm just hoping if there are issues down the track that the insurance will cover it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I am just about to send in my first claim to Bow Wow Meow ... I have had both the puppies covered since about 3 months old in the hope that this would rule out any possibility of "an existing condition" but my vet mentioned the other day that some insurers will not cover hereditary problems such as hip dysplasia as this is regarding as pre-existing. Does anyone have any experience regarding this? My boy went in because he wasn't putting any weight on one leg. When he got to the vet he got so excited (they must have some very tasty treats there... never saw a dog who like going to the vet so much!) that he forgot all about the sore leg and walked normally from that point on! All morning he had been telling me that he was dying... I had to carry his 22kg butt up the stairs because he couldn't manage... but once he go tot the vet he was fine! In the course of trying to work out what had caused the lameness we did a hip xray which shows that he has some degree of hip dysplasia. As he is only 9 month old apparently they can't determine the severity just yet but the vet didn't think it was too bad. I'm just hoping if there are issues down the track that the insurance will cover it. What does your PDS say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Well the way I read it doesn't exclude it... I think the vet might have freaked me out for nothing lol. I will admit that I am a novice in the insurance world. I guess I just always expect insurance companies to use any wriggle room they can. I guess if a condition is inherited it is there from birth and therefore could technically be called pre-existing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 From what I understand, it's only pre-existing if you knew about it, and consulted a vet about it before you were insured. Otherwise, there's no record of anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Well the way I read it doesn't exclude it... I think the vet might have freaked me out for nothing lol. I will admit that I am a novice in the insurance world. I guess I just always expect insurance companies to use any wriggle room they can. I guess if a condition is inherited it is there from birth and therefore could technically be called pre-existing... HD is not entirely genetic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 From what I understand, it's only pre-existing if you knew about it, and consulted a vet about it before you were insured. Otherwise, there's no record of anything. Depends (your interpretation would encourage people to hold off seeking medical attention). I believe it is defined as pre-existing if a "reasonable person" would have realised it is there. For example, your dog is limping. You take out insurance and then take them to the vet, you can't then say it wasn't pre-existing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 I have been with Bow Wow Meow (underwritten by Hollards) since August 2009. Today I received my renewal notice for both of my dogs for the next year. Bow Wow Meow informed me they no longer cover 100% of the total vet bill and have reduced their cover to 80%. In addition to this they have increased the premium for my dogs by 49.8% each, up from last year. Basically I pay a lot more for a lot less cover. I also pay an excess for any claim. A reasonable policy increase per year is acceptable but a 49.8% increase is well beyond acceptable in my opinion. It's probably worth mentioning that I have made no claims during the year. Surely this is opportunistic. My dogs have recently turned 8 and 9 years of age respectively. Taking out a policy elsewhere is not a viable option once a dog turns 8 years old. This leaves with with the option of either paying up or cancelling and leaving my dogs uninsured. Reading the PDS really is of no great benefit because the customer cannot predict any changes these pet insurance companies can and will make when it's time for policy renewal. They appear to be legally able to move the goal posts whenever and however they wish. Nevertheless, I strongly advise reading the PDS very thoroughly. The list of exemptions increases every year and you need to know what the exemtpions are before taking out any pet insurance policy. I advise CAVEAT EMPTOR to anyone who is thinking of insuring with this company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Ok I guess I will stop worrying until I have an issue haha ... at least 10 people didn't jump in and tell me I'm doomed :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lasareina Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 ...and then I saw cavNrott's post! My policy has always been for 80% of bill with $100 excess so that bit is not a surprise. I think a lot of the companies I looked at won't even cover a pet for anything other than accidents once they reach about 9 years old so I understand your point about being unable to change! I hope it works out for you... I have just lodged my first claim so I guess I will see how that goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coogie Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 I am with Petplan and they requested histories,but accepted what history we could provide plus a stat dec when told the dogs are rescues. They pay for HD after a short exclusion period when you first sign up and paid several thousand dollars for Issy's femoral head ostectomy. We pay a higher premium because our dogs are considered a "select breed". I like to ask lots of questions and spoke to a supervisor to get more information when our premiums jumped about 18 months ago,she was very informative and told me what they deem "select breeds" make up around 5 or 6 % of the dogs they insure and account for around 80% of their claims. Given that sort of context it makes sense at least that our premiums are higher. The percentages may have changed of course as it was a while ago, but for us they have always been fair with claims and paid pretty promptly. Even if we had been putting the amount of the premiums into a bank account we would have got nowhere near the amount of bills they have paid out for Issy alone. Our excess has increased to $125.00 but they pay all the rest currently. I know when the dogs hit 7 the cover reduces to around 70% of the claim as they are termed older dog or something on their policies then. I find they are very clear with their information so you know what you are getting into and what you are likely to get back. Others have complained they take ages to pay but around 3 to 4 weeks is the most we have ever waited, they send us a text when they receive the claim as well. So far we are very happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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