# Pet insurance claim unfair deductions?



## Parazard2 (18 Sep 2020)

Wondering if anyone may be able to help.

I had to shell out almost 2k for a pet scan etc. My dog is over 7 so was very aware of having to foot 35% of the bill as well as the usual excess. However, it looks like the insurance company have also deducted another €200+ under a clause whereby they can get a second opinion regarding cost of procedures etc. How can I challenge this?

I didn't have an option to shop around as:

(1)  vet made referral to a specific practice

(2)  no other places offered this within a reasonable distance as far as I am aware


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## Sue Ellen (19 Sep 2020)

Hi,

Have you challenged the insurance company on this additional deduction and what exactly was their response?

What did your vet and specific practice have to say about this extra deduction?

Many moons ago I agreed a price with a specialist for an expensive treatment on our dog.  The procedure went ahead but they tried to charge more than the agreed figure which I objected to.  They said that the procedure had taken longer than originally anticipated but they backed down straight away when I challenged it.

Presume you have your pet insurance with Allianz as they operate the 35% deduction system along with the €100 excess.  I have always found them to be very fair and efficient so am quite surprised at this extra charge.  If you do not get a satisfactory resolution through your vet or specialist then you may be able to pursue your complaint with Allianz through their .

Best of luck with this as its expensive enough to have to forego €100 excess and 35% deduction without this also.


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## Leper (19 Sep 2020)

On other threads I have complained about Irish Insurance when it comes to settling claims. The only kind of insurance I left out was Pet Insurance. I note Irish pet owners are responsible for at least the first €100.00 in a claim and depending on the age of the animal the owner is responsible for more. If anybody referred to Irish Pet Insurance as a joke, they are right. We have two dogs and after talking with the Insurance people we decided not to take out animal insurance. Simply, it is not worth the money and is a joke/rip-off on animal owners.

Off-the-Point:- (i) I wonder if the same terms apply to animal insurance in the UK - I bet they don't. 
(ii) While enjoying live coverage of the Tour-de-France during the week I note some UK (Life) insurance companies will pay out 100% of the claim within a short period of death and some will pay out before death if the insured is subject to terminal illness. I have never seen anything like that on Insurance ads on Irish television. There's something wrong somewhere and you don't have to be an artist to draw conclusions.


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## Itchy (19 Sep 2020)

OP, I'm not familiar with pet insurance, but for types of insurance, if they request a second opinion and the conclusion is the same, its normally covered. What do your T&Cs say about it?




Leper said:


> (ii) While enjoying live coverage of the Tour-de-France during the week I note some UK (Life) insurance companies will pay out 100% of the claim within a short period of death and some will pay out before death if the insured is subject to terminal illness. I have never seen anything like that on Insurance ads on Irish television. There's something wrong somewhere and you don't have to be an artist to draw conclusions.



My personal experience doesn't tally with your rant Leper and neither does this.


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## Parazard2 (19 Sep 2020)

Itchy said:


> OP, I'm not familiar with pet insurance, but for types of insurance, if they request a second opinion and the conclusion is the same, its normally covered. What do your T&Cs say about it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


They have a clause whereby they reserve the right to seek a second opinion re fees from a vet of their choice. However this was for an mri, which is not widely available as far as I know and we were referred to a specific practice by our vet. We didn't exactly get a chance to shop around... It therefore seems unfair they would make further deductions.


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## Parazard2 (19 Sep 2020)

Leper said:


> On other threads I have complained about Irish Insurance when it comes to settling claims. The only kind of insurance I left out was Pet Insurance. I note Irish pet owners are responsible for at least the first €100.00 in a claim and depending on the age of the animal the owner is responsible for more. If anybody referred to Irish Pet Insurance as a joke, they are right. We have two dogs and after talking with the Insurance people we decided not to take out animal insurance. Simply, it is not worth the money and is a joke/rip-off on animal owners.
> 
> Off-the-Point:- (i) I wonder if the same terms apply to animal insurance in the UK - I bet they don't.
> (ii) While enjoying live coverage of the Tour-de-France during the week I note some UK (Life) insurance companies will pay out 100% of the claim within a short period of death and some will pay out before death if the insured is subject to terminal illness. I have never seen anything like that on Insurance ads on Irish television. There's something wrong somewhere and you don't have to be an artist to draw conclusions.


To be honest I have found it to be the one insurance I have religiously renewed without haggling. Anything going wrong with a pet and it can quickly run into hundreds or thousands. I would never want to have yo make the choice of not seeking treatment for my pet because I can't afford it...


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## Thirsty (20 Sep 2020)

There are those who will howl at me, I know.

But if I was looking at treatment costs into the thousands for a companion animal & didn't have the funds (possibly even if I did) I don't believe I would consider it.


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## Leo (22 Sep 2020)

Leper said:


> The only kind of insurance I left out was Pet Insurance. I note Irish pet owners are responsible for at least the first €100.00 in a claim and depending on the age of the animal the owner is responsible for more.



Not sure I get the point here, are you surprised that an insurance policy has an excess, or are you suggesting UK pet insurance policies have no excess? A quick search suggests they're not far off the market here, but on a few of the UK providers you have to complete the full quotation before they'll tell you what the excess is, they also state the excess will increase as the animal ages.


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## Leper (22 Sep 2020)

Leo said:


> A quick search suggests they're not far off the market here, . . . .



You're right policies are dearer in Ireland and there can be more conditions.


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## Leo (22 Sep 2020)

Leper said:


> You're right policies are dearer in Ireland and there can be more conditions.



I certainly didn't say that.


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## Leper (22 Sep 2020)

Leo said:


> I certainly didn't say that.


You said " . . . . . A quick search suggests there're not far off the market here . . . "
I said "You're right. . . . " and to reiterate not far off the market (to me) means the price of insurance policies outside of Ireland are cheaper than what Irish companies are quoting.

Are you saying Irish Insurance companies are cheaper than those outside of Ireland?


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## Leo (22 Sep 2020)

Leper said:


> and to reiterate not far off the market (to me) means the price of insurance policies outside of Ireland are cheaper than what Irish companies are quoting.



OK, so that's what it means to you. It's certainly not what it means to me.



Leper said:


> Are you saying Irish Insurance companies are cheaper than those outside of Ireland?



You have to look at the market, not just the policy price. What's the price of veterinary procedures here compared to the UK? When an endoscopy is advertised as €1,000 here and £500 in the UK, or cardiac work up is 'up to €1,500 here and £300 in the UK...maybe the UK should be outraged that some of their policies are only marginally less expensive than ours.


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## Leper (22 Sep 2020)

Leo said:


> OK, so that's what it means to you. It's certainly not what it means to me.
> 
> 
> 
> You have to look at the market, not just the policy price. What's the price of veterinary procedures here compared to the UK? When an endoscopy is advertised as €1,000 here and £500 in the UK, or cardiac work up is 'up to €1,500 here and £300 in the UK...maybe the UK should be outraged that some of their policies are only marginally less expensive than ours.


 No Leo, the Irish should be outraged that some of their policies are less expensive than ours.


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## Leo (22 Sep 2020)

Leper said:


> No Leo, the Irish should be outraged that some of their policies are less expensive than ours.



It's illogical to be upset about a small difference in policy prices when they provide cover for significantly more expensive outlays here. You're comparing apples and oranges.

Car insurance is a lot cheaper there than here, but again, claims are lower there too.


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## Sue Ellen (22 Sep 2020)

Leper said:


> No Leo, the Irish should be outraged that some of their policies are less expensive than ours.



What the Irish should be outraged at is that the procedures cost far more here than in the U.K.  Common sense would tell anyone, Irish or English, that the policies will automatically be more expensive when the procedures are far more expensive.


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## Ryan (14 Feb 2021)

Our vet advised us against pet insurance for the reasons above, they do whatever it takes to get out of paying. He said you better to make sure you have a bit of cash in the credit union to cover these things


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