Marks and Spencer insurance-please read

[JBalways2000]

I was wondering if anyone else is with marks and spencers cat insurance? i have both AJ and Raven with them and i had planned to swap them over to petplan with Hernie and Rhino when the year ran out at the end of this month. However, as some of you will know Raven has just came back home after being kept at the vets for three days following a blockage in his bladder. the end bill was £267 so i decided to make a claim and brought my forms with me as told.

when i handed over the form i was told i needed to pay the full amount up front to the vets and claim it back myself from marks and spencers i told them that i have an excess of £50 on my insurance and that was all i could afford to pay(isnt that the point of insurance??) so she went to speak with the manager and i was told they would "make this one exception for me just this one time" she made a very big fuss of it all infront of a packed waiting room which was highly annoying. when i said that i could only pay the excess and that i was under the impression that was all i needed to do as they were the ones that i thought should be claiming the rest she informed that if i had been with petplan they would do that but with any other insurance company they prefer the client to make the claim as other companies take longer paying out!

i couldnt believe this was their reason, how is that even right or fair to except just the excess no questions asked with one pet insurance company but to kick up a fuss with every other?? surely that isnt right at all? i am very worried now as if i need to claim again i dont know how i would be able to pay that sort of money upfront, as i said before surely the point of insurance is so you dont need to worry about money at all at times like that as you are covered for most things(depending on your policy of course). this really did have me annoyed. i have said many times that if it wasnt for 2 particular very good vets at this practice i wouldnt go because they overcharge compared to other vets and their attitude is appalling for the most part. over the last four years i have been going there i have paid out literally thousands to them and still get treated this way.

has anyone else found this problem when trying to claim with any company other then petplan? are all vets this way? are my vets in the right to be able to do this?

i know this is very long but i needed to get it off my chest. after worrying for days about my poor Raven, to then be treated this way infront of a whole waiting room full of people i thought was disgusting. im not ashamed of not being able to afford that sort of thing upfront, this is the whole reason i knew i had to get insurance. my cats and all my animals have the best of absolutely everything and i dont know many people that could afford hundreds of pounds on the spot for vet bills so i dont know why i was made to feel so bad over this. the slightest sign of something not being right and i get my pets to the vets, im a very responsible owner and with how many times a year a visit this vets you would think they would have caught onto that by now.

im trying not to over react and i realise im a little more sensitive as ive had a very bad week but just wanted to get your views on the situation and ask for any suggestions as to what people think i should or could do about this?

[Carole]

I am with M&S and with any previous claims we have just paid the excess and the vet fills in and sends away the form.

There is a sign up in our vets saying that insurance claims are taking up to a month to pay out due to the number of claims nowadays. We are lucky that our vet is quite happy to wait for the money from M&S.

[JBalways2000]

Thankyou for telling me that, it confirms that i am right and that they can do it they just didnt want to. i understand it must be a pain to wait for the insurance companies to pay out but the vets arent going to be out of pocket for weeks like an owner would so it really isnt fair to say that when they are the ones making the money. i think i might just ring marks and spencers about this and inform them of what my vets are doing because it would honestly discourage you from being with any other insurance company but petplan if you didnt know any better. im glad i stood my ground now!

i probably will still move AJ to petplan with the others but obviously Raven will have to stay put with M&S now so id rather get this delt with now then have to worry about it in a time of emergency.

[candyshandy]

The vet is the one who decides whether they recieve payment from you or the insurance company.

My vets have a policy of being paid upfront and then the client reclaims the £ from the insurance company, irrespective of insurance company.

I am in an odd position where if Fabes receives treatment from the small animal hospital they claim direct to the insurance company. However, if Fabes receives treatment at my vet I have to pay and reclaim the charges.

If the hospital had the same upfront payment policy I would be having to take loans out - Fabes recent hospitalisation cost £1200 alone.

When Foofoo had her ear polyp removed the specialist surgery also asked for payment upfront. I think its quite common.

Fabes is with Petplan and Foofoo Sainsburys.

[Kim]

Candyshandy is right in that it is the vet who decides whether they want full payment or wait for the claim to pay out. My vets have always wanted the money at the time of treatment. When my previous dogs, Ben & Daisy were referred to a specialist I had to pay the vet too - around £2000!! so my vet isn't unusual. I put the bill on the credit card and then just pay it off when the claim is paid.

[yola]

Mine is the same as Kim's. It would put the vet in a difficult position if the claim were refused for whatever reason so I can understand their policy.

[JBalways2000]

if this is true im wondering what on earth the point of insurance is. if i needed to bring one the cats to the vets as an emergency and was asked to pay £1000 plus up front i wouldnt be able to do that which is what i thought the purpose of insurance is. i really do think it is sickening that vets do this, it really is all about the money for most of them. i wonder what would happen if i was put in that situation and asked to pay up front and i told them i couldnt-would they refuse to treat the animal? if so, surely that is animal cruelty. i remember having to rush one of my rabbits to the emergency vets one night and seeing the sign on the wall saying if you couldnt afford to pay before seeing the vet(yes they asked for the consultation fee BEFORE even seeing the animal) then you needed to speak with them. luckily i had the £100 that night, but my bunny still died 20 minutes after getting him home because the vet charged us £100 plus meds and didnt give him the right treatment

sorry to go on, i am glad you have all told me this so i can be prepared and i would hope if i was ever put in that situation again that the vets would be willing to wait for payment from either myself or the insurance company if i couldnt afford it straight away. this really is one hell of a reality check on how most vet practices are, and for the most part money seems more important then the animal in question

knowing that my vets will accept just the excess and claim the rest from petplan i will definately put the other three with them now. thanks again everyone for your input in this-i better start putting the pennies aside for rainy days because my credit card doesnt stretch as far as a couple of thousand!

[Fran]

I have only ever been with petplan (with exception of horse insurance) and other than the excesses on the policies, I have never had to pay a penny to my vet. On the form you fill in, it gives you the option of who you want the claim money paying to i.e yourself or the vet. I have always chosen the vet option and my vets are more than happy with this, no mater how long it has taken to settle

[yola]

Look at it from the point of the insurance company and the vet's practice; you could be a serial claimer; or your could actually be commiting some kind of fraud . . . if this was the case and the vet treated your pet and your claim was turned down where would the vet be in all this? Spending time and money chasing you for payment for treating your pet.

Now I'm NOT saying this is the case with you, so please don't jump down my throat - but it's a common scenario that faces insurers. I don't work in insurance - infact I've been battling with mine for 4 months over a burglary claim . . . and I won!

However, vets have a duty of care to treat any animal in pain/sickness or distress so they cannot (as far as I am aware) technically refuse to treat. This is what I've been told by my CP people anyway.

And as for not having the money to pay? Surely if you have pets you need to allow for all eventualities and that includes hefty vet fees. I've been in a position where I've had to put over £1500 on a credit card for my old FIV boy because he couldn't be insured. Yes, it hurt financially, but I made sure I had kept the capacity on the card for just that kind of eventuality.

Insurance is a safety net rather than a panacea for all potential situations and conditions as there are certain instances where it won't or can't provide cover.

[candyshandy]

One of my clients is a vet and his debtor book has a few long standing debts as he has treated the animal before money was received.

I can see it from the vets point of view tbh - yes they are there to treat our animals but they are not charities and the bad debt risk should not fall on them. What would happen if the insurance company refused payment?

Its very difficult to divorce the profession with the fact that it is a business. Would you work for nothing, I know I wouldn't. My vets are great and I don't blame them for insisting on payment upfront. Its inconvenient but they complete the form immediately so that I don't have to wait too long for the cheque.

I think a credit card kept purely for paying upfront is a good compromise.