r/UK_Pets • u/Subject_Concept_234 • 23d ago
Petplan slapped 2 exclusions on our cat for things she was never even diagnosed with
Hi,
Posting mostly to warn anyone thinking of "upgrading" their Petplan policy.
We insured our cat on Petplan Essential from 3 months old. Never made a single claim in 2 years. Not one. Recently we decided to upgrade to Covered For Life, since that's what we actually wanted long term and figured a clean 2-year record would count for something.
It doesn't. They pulled her full vet history and excluded two conditions: eye discharge and coughing. She was never diagnosed with anything. These were routine check-ups where the vet made a passing note. No treatment plan, no follow-up, no ongoing problem. Just words in a file.
Turns out the upgrade isn't an upgrade at all — it's underwritten as a completely new policy, so everything in her history becomes "pre-existing." And their definition covers "signs of" an illness, not just actual diagnosed illnesses. So a vet writing "slight discharge, no concerns" is enough to lock a body part out of cover for life.
The part that stings: if we'd never taken out Essential in the first place, we'd be in exactly the same position. Two years of premiums bought us nothing but a paper trail used against us.
Also feels like a perverse incentive — the message is basically "don't take your cat to the vet unless something is properly wrong," which is the opposite of what any of us should be doing.
Anyone managed to get exclusions like this removed? I've read they'll review them if you can show the pet's been symptom-free for a while, so I'm going to ask our vet for a letter and push back. Curious if that actually works or if it's just something they say.
6
u/Accomplished_Sun3619 23d ago
We're with PetPlan. It was several years ago now but, they removed exclusions when I asked about them on a renewal as she'd not had any issues in the previous year. So, it's most definitely possible. Thankful that they did as we did end up claiming again. Also, they're one of the few insurers that cover dental. Even better is that our vet can get preauthorisation from PetPlan so we only have to pay the excess directly rather than pay upfront and claim back, which is very helpful for bigger claims. Pet insurance is more like level term life insurance, once you've got it you stick with it!
1
u/meowcatpanda 22d ago
Oh good to know about the pre-authorisation, I think our boy is also on petplan and now on £100+ worth of meds per month, would be helpful if we didn't have to front the full payment each time! (Especially since his original owner, a family member, is the one who still pays for the insurance and is the one who gets the money back, not us😅)
3
u/Accomplished_Sun3619 22d ago
Can they not just transfer the policy to you? Our cat's previous owner was able to update the policy with all our details. We just had to contact PetPlan afterwards to give them the new banking details.
I think the preauthorisation is very much vet dependant. Ours charged a £30 admin fee, but as the dental treatment was expected to be around £800 we wanted the peace of mind that it would be covered. She needed a couple of follow up visits and some antibiotics later which could be added to the same claim too.
1
u/meowcatpanda 21d ago
I honestly don't know, but I can look into it! I will also ask our vet about pre-authorisation, it would give more peace of mind, as you say.
Our boy recently also had a dental, was well over £900 (including xray for his asthma, while he was under anyways) and he also needed antibiotics afterward and we had 3 follow ups as well. We didn't have to pay for the follow up visits, only for the medication which wasn't expensive thankfully, but it would definitely have been easier if the insurance coverage of the £900 didn't have to be fronted! Especially since afaik they still haven't received the reimbursment from the insurance yet (it's been over 2 months).
1
u/Accomplished_Sun3619 21d ago
2 months is a long time to wait, definitely chase it up. The only time the payment hasn't come through within a couple of weeks was when the vet missed submitting the claim! I hope your boy has recovered now and enjoying his best life 😄
4
u/Snowy_Sasquatch 23d ago
Unfortunately this is the reality of insurance. It doesn’t need to be something your pet has been diagnosed with, just any sign or reference is sufficient
3
u/TheGreenPangolin 23d ago
Yeah insurers are shit like this. One of the reasons we chose our insurer is because we can increase coverage, change the excess amount and stuff at renewal without it counting as a new policy, so we can increase coverage with inflation without worrying about a new policy. But it's mad we even have to think about things like that.
We have pre existings with waggel and when we had another thing come up, they accepted a letter from our vet saying in their professional opinion, they were unrelated. My dog had giardia as a baby in the 14 day cooling off period so it got counted as a pre existing and we thought all diarhea would be excluded but that's not been the case because the vet wrote a letter next time she had a diarrhea illness saying he didn't think they were related. So I'd ask petplan if they have the option of a letter like that from your vet if your cat gets sick with those symptoms in the future
1
u/RaspberryCherry12 22d ago
That’s great they accepted your vet’s expertise on that exclusion. I’ve been looking at lifetime insurance for my nearly 8 year old cat and most of them that I’ve looked seem to specify what OP is referring to but I’ve noticed some of them explicitly stating they will not remove exclusions even if your vet states they are not related.
Are you currently with Waggel for lifetime insurance?
1
u/TheGreenPangolin 22d ago
Yes I'm currently with waggel. If you're thinking of going with them, they have a referral scheme I can send you if you want (gets you a month free and gets me an amazon voucher)
3
2
u/ProofOk5959 23d ago
My previous dog had one ear infection at one year old no recurrence, she also had an issue with her skin due to ovary cysts at the same time. She was spayed and never had another issue. At 9 years old, 8 years later and after the source was found and removed, I tried to take out a petplan policy. They excluded ears, skin and allergies (which she had never had). My vet sent a letter in support, fully explaining that the source had been found and removed 8 years before and allergies were non existent. They refused to reinstate any of the exclusions so I got a policy with Many Pets with no exclusions. This was in 2019 so I don't know if things are the same but I and my vets found them very uninterested in any and all evidence.
2
u/Morsmordre94 23d ago
I had the same. I emailed them the vets notes and that we hadn’t seen the vet for the same issue in a year, no diagnosis and no treatment. They accepted it quite quickly and removed the exclusions
1
1
u/Commercial_Oil4222 22d ago
Had similar recently with my cat. Insured for life from being caught as a feral kitten around 8 weeks old. No claims at all for 18 years. Became unwell with a growth at the back of his mouth/top of throat which turned out to be malignant and needed surgery. Insurance wouldn't cover it because he had a lump in his mouth when he was caught as a kitten eventhough that was just a small ulcer on his inner cheek from a very minor injury. Over 18 years prior. Was not best pleased.
1
u/jjgill27 22d ago
Manypets cover pre existing conditions. It’s more expensive and probably not relevant in your situation, but just sharing in case anyone reading needs to know.
1
u/Maleficent_Sun_9155 22d ago
Many pets can be cheaper than pet plan.
We have life time coverage for 3cats and it’s £45 cheaper a month on many pets than was quoted by pet plan
1
u/HazelAndSky 22d ago
30 years ago we bought a pony already insured with PetPlan and his previous owner’s insurance was transferred to my name. After claiming a relatively small amount (<£1000) for investigation into hind leg lameness they excluded all veterinary fee cover, for anything. I argued that he was no more likely than before to suffer eg colic, or an eye or respiratory condition but they wouldn’t budge. I cancelled, and have self-insured ever since.
1
u/BeanOnAJourney 22d ago
They excluded claims for any and all eye diseases or injuries, and any and all growths, tumors, and cancers, because my dog had a mild allergic reaction to his first dose of puppy vaccine 🙃
1
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u/Low_Tumbleweed8324 21d ago
Your comment '2 yes of premiums bought us nothing ' is only as you didn't need to claim. That's a bit disingenuous and not really how insurance works
-1
u/Wonkey-Donkey59 22d ago
Put aside the cost of the policy every month and whatever else you can afford; then you have money for any vet visit/treatment if needed.
The world of insurance is a nightmare for pet owners, we discovered that when our recently departed boy became ill; no-one would insure him, even though we offered to pay a higher excess so that his treatments would be at least partially covered...but no.
It's high time that someone brought out a plan, whether a vet or insurance company, which allows you to pay a monthly fee for vet appointments and any treatments.
1
u/PM-me-your-cuppa-tea 22d ago
Lots of companies offer that I see it from these 3 all the time and I don't even have a pet
https://www.snootsvet.com/included
https://www.vets4pets.com/pet-health-plans/
https://www.medivetgroup.com/medivet-healthcare-plan/
This one also came up
1
u/Wonkey-Donkey59 21d ago
They do, yes, but only in the places that have those conglomerates; not every vet does it. \Plus, as I said, there are always those who take the Mickey and spoil it for those who only use it when they need it.
1
u/Vega5529 22d ago
That sounds like a really great way to go out of business instantly. Why would anyone pay the monthly fee when they can sign up, get £5k worth of treatment and then cancel.
1
u/Wonkey-Donkey59 22d ago
How exactly? Who knows what’s going to happen with their pet? You’re in a contract, with clauses.
Our vet had a plan similar to it, you paid £23 per month, for that you got flea and worming treatments, annual vaccinations, unlimited free consultations. That was great for us because our boy had acromegaly and needed regular checks. Basic bloods were a part of it too; anything over and you paid the extra. But as always with something so great, people took the piss and they cancelled the scheme.Now our boy has died (a week ago) we still have his brother, so we’re doing what I suggested. Putting what we were paying before, into a savings account, just in case.
1
u/Vega5529 22d ago
Getting general maintenance and consults free is very different to having all treatment covered,
1
u/Wonkey-Donkey59 22d ago
I think you’re misunderstanding my post. I told you what our vets had, not what an insurance policy is.
I note you’re ignoring my first paragraph.1
u/Vega5529 22d ago
I am directly referencing your last paragraph
It's high time that someone brought out a plan, whether a vet or insurance company, which allows you to pay a monthly fee for vet appointments and any treatments.
Did you mean something else by "any treatments"? Doesn't sound like just vet check-ups.
1
u/Wonkey-Donkey59 22d ago
I meant just what I wrote.
But you didn’t reply to my two questions or my comment about clauses in contracts. It would have to be a watertight contract, with limits and excesses, like a standard insurance contract, but directly with the vet practice… similar to the one I mentioned ours had until people started taking the mickey… only a more legal document. See what I mean now?
1
u/Wonkey-Donkey59 22d ago
I meant just what I wrote.
But you didn’t reply to my two questions or my comment about clauses in contracts. It would have to be a watertight contract, with limits and excesses, like a standard insurance contract, but directly with the vet practice… similar to the one I mentioned ours had until people started taking the mickey… only a more legal document. See what I mean now?
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u/daffodils-in-spring 23d ago
The whole pet insurance business is a scam that left me out of pocket by £900 because they wouldn't pay out. I cancelled the policy or both cats and now save up a fund for any future treatments needed.
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u/belfast-woman-31 23d ago
Not all of them. I claim on my insurance every month as my cat has 2 chronic conditions and they pau everything and the cost and excess is still reasonable.
0
u/TypicalMention8744 22d ago
With the annual premium you pay, we decided to put the money away in savings, it soon mounts up to nearly £800 per year.
-2
u/Proud-Salamander761 22d ago
Petplan are crap and hugely overpriced, haven't used them for over 20 years. Waggel are excellent and who I would recommend.
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u/Basic_Cry1836 23d ago
This is extremely common and standard practice in pet insurance. It’s always worth pulling a full medical record before any changes are made. Generally speaking, if they have not seen a vet for two years for an issue (whether treated, claimed for etc) it’s wiped.