Making an insurance claim

At Oathall Veterinary Group we understand that you may have insured your pet to allow you to manage your cashflow if your pet is ill or something unexpected happens. Below you will find options that are available to you when wishing to make a claim.

It is important that you discuss your intention to make an insurance claim with us as soon as possible; some options may not be available to you if you do not discuss your intention with us in a timely manner.

If you are looking for general information regarding pet insurance please see Pet Insurance: Protecting Your Pet’s Health and Your Peace of Mind.

Types of Insurance Claim

You many wish to make an insurance claim for a new condition or injury (the initial claim) or submit a claim relating to an ongoing condition (a continuation claim).

There are then two ways in which you may wish to proceed:

Indirect claim – this is where you pay all outstanding balances and then claim any insurable items back from your insurance company.

Direct claim – this is where you pay your excess, any co-payments and an amount against any uninsurable items and Oathall Veterinary Group then submits a claim to the insurance company. The insurance company makes any payments directly to us; should there be an outstanding balance remaining after this you are required to settle this. If the payment received leaves your account in credit we will refund you the amount of the outstanding credit. Any alterations to payee instructions following claim submissions may be treated as fraud.

If you are a not the owner of the pet receiving treatment (for example a Pet Sitter) and wish to submit an insurance claim against a Business Insurance Policy please talk to our insurance manager.

How to claim

The process regarding submitting an insurance claim differs between insurers. In your policy documents you will find details on how to submit a claim. If you are unsure, please contact Oathall Veterinary Group with the insurer’s name and your policy number and we will discuss your options and the process with you. Irrespective of what your insurance company may tell you the decision as to whether a veterinary practice chooses to accept a direct claim lies with the veterinary practice.

Usually insurance claims are submitted in one of the following ways:

• You, the pet owner, provide Oathall Veterinary Group with details of the Insurance Company, Policy Number and Email Address linked to the insurance policy via a claim portal.
• You, the pet owner and policyholder, provides a Completed and Signed Claim Form, either emailed to insurance@oathallvets.co.uk or handed in to a member of the Oathall Veterinary Group team. We will complete the vet section, provide any required documents and submit the claim to the insurance company.
• You, the pet owner, may be able to initiate the claim with the insurance company. Please provide our insurance@oathallvets.co.uk email address and the insurance company will then contact Oathall Veterinary Group to complete the claim information.
• In some circumstances Oathall Veterinary Group can submit the claim on your behalf.

Please Note

• Excess: All insurers have a pre-agreed, set amount of money you must pay out-of-pocket toward a claim before your insurer covers the remainder (the Excess).
• Co-payment: Some insurers have a compulsory Co-payment or introduce one to the policy when your pet reaches a certain age. Alternatively you may have voluntarily opted to have a co-payment to reduce your insurance premium. A co-payment is a fixed percentage of a claim, or a set fee, that you pay towards costs, in addition to any initial excess..
• Policy Limit: Most insurance policies have a limit either per policy year or per condition.
• Yearly/Lifelong Cover: Your insurance policy may cover each condition per year or cover the condition for the life of your pet as long as the policy is not cancelled.
• Insurance Caps: Some insurers will set a fixed maximum amount they will pay for some treatment. Therefore, not covering the complete treatment amount.
• Renewals: If the lifelong policy is due to renew, you will be required to pay another excess.

I wish to make a Direct Insurance Claim, what should I do?

If your pet requires treatment and you are considering making a Direct Claim you should raise this with the Reception Team immediately.

Usually we are happy to submit Direct Claims for any treatment that is estimated to be above £500 in total. If you would like us to consider a Direct Claim for an amount lower than this please talk to us.

Before we can consider any Direct Claim you will be asked to complete some paperwork, provide photographic identification and provide proof of address.

You will also be asked to provide your pet’s

• Insurance Company
• Policy Number
• Excess
• Co-Payment
• Policy Limit

We regret that in some circumstances we are unable to accept a Direct Claim.