Vets & Excess

[Maria]

I think it depends on the vet. Our vet is happy to claim directly from a few insurance companies (ours being one), so we just pay the excess, give them a form, and they do the rest. Our old vet was the same, but both have / had companies they refused to deal direct with because they were so slow (or argumentative) about paying out.
The only time we've had to pay up front was when Smudge was in the RVC - they didn't deal directly with any company.
When I do home visits for rescues and we discuss insurance, I always suggest people chat to their vet to see if there are any ones they will claim directly from.

[JennyBee]

Brodie is with PetPlan and our own vet claims directly from them so I just have to worry about the excess (been great not having to worry about it during her recent illness). However, recently we got referred to a specialist vet about Brodie's ears and I had to pay them up front. She has been twice within a few weeks: once at £640 and again at around £350 . I had to borrow money from my parents the first time and was very relieved when the cheque came through the post!

I find the way my vet deals with things much less stress free, especially at a time when you are worrying over your pet's health. They have been totally fine with waiting for any other payments I have to make (such as for her food) and aren't chasing me for it. I really love my vets

[Helen]

I'm with the very expensive M&S - kind of stuck with them due to previous claims. 

However expensive they are, they pay quickly.  I take a signed form into my vets, and the vets fill out the form out for me and send it - last time we got a text saying M&S had received the claim and were processing it (3 days after it was sent), then 10 days later a text saying that they were posting a cheque...which arrived the next day.

Yes, we pay the whole lot up front to the vets and then M&S pay us less the excess.

[JaspersMum]

Sainsburys here with all the dogs (and the house and car), always found them to be very quick and they've paid for bits they didn't need to (ie some wormers that were on one of the bills)

It does depend on the vets whether they expect you to pay first, most do just in case the insurance refuse to cough up then the arguement is between the customer and the insurers but the vets have their money

[Nicola]

It's up to the vet rather than the insurance company whether or not you have to pay upfront or if they'll claim direct from the insurer - they're the ones who'll have a cash flow issue if the insurer doesn't pay up quickly (or at all). Some vets won't direct claim at all, some will with certain insurers (usually Pet Plan) and some (luckily!) will consider each case as it arises. The vet I use never usually does direct claims for any insurance company, you have to pay the entire bill at the time of treatment/collection of your pet, but because they are also the Hearing Dogs vet and I know them really well they thankfully made an exception and claimed directly from Healthy Pets when I had to have Tilly x-rayed last year and the bill came to over £600.

[MOO-MOO]

I'm with Petplan and they pay the vets direct, I just pay the excess normally with my bestest friend (credit card!).

There is a charge now though for submitting a claim form with my vets but hey ho.

[jasper_boy]

It's up to the vet rather than the insurance company whether or not you have to pay upfront or if they'll claim direct from the insurer - they're the ones who'll have a cash flow issue if the insurer doesn't pay up quickly (or at all). Some vets won't direct claim at all, some will with certain insurers (usually Pet Plan) and some (luckily!) will consider each case as it arises. The vet I use never usually does direct claims for any insurance company, you have to pay the entire bill at the time of treatment/collection of your pet, but because they are also the Hearing Dogs vet and I know them really well they thankfully made an exception and claimed directly from Healthy Pets when I had to have Tilly x-rayed last year and the bill came to over £600.

I was going to say the same. Its very much down to the individual vet practice. When we first moved here and changed vets we went in to talk to them about our insurance coverage and the fact that we had 10 dogs and wouldn't be able to afford to pay for bills fully, etc. The vets had a discussion and agreed that for the more expensive dogs (so those who were on daily medication and needed routine tests) we would be able to do direct claims. But as my vets do not do this for anyone else its very confusing for the reception staff when they are taking payment as we have 1 account her person rather than an account per dog so sometimes they have tried to charge me for something that they are then going to claim directly for. I think it was Christmas 2 years ago when they discovered that they had claimed and asked me to pay over £280 in error so I got that back from them!

[Geordietyke]

I'm fortunate that Argos Platinum pay our vets direct, the only time I've paid is the yearly excess.  To be fair, they've paid up quickly and without hassle re. Odie's Addison's, thank dog!

[twiceover2]

We don't have to pay up front.  The vets fill out the forms and are paid directly from the insurers.  We do have to pay the vet a £5 admin fee though, but I think it's worth it.  I think a lot of people around here would struggle to find the money up front to pay vets' fees (isn't that the reason why we have insurance?).

[sox]

We don't have to pay up front.  The vets fill out the forms and are paid directly from the insurers.  We do have to pay the vet a £5 admin fee though, but I think it's worth it.  I think a lot of people around here would struggle to find the money up front to pay vets' fees (isn't that the reason why we have insurance?).

Aye thats what I thought the excess was for! but by the looks of previous posts its all at the vets discretion, some do and some dont, I know I would burst a blood vessell if I had a bill knowing that I could'nt afford to pay it  but im sure that my vets would understand as they let me pay off this bill in 2 installments