One of the most common questions we hear is: “Will this be covered by my cat’s insurance?”
In most cases, the answer is yes! As long as your cat insurance was active before the illness or injury (condition) began, we would expect treatment at Vet Eye Care to be covered – subject to the terms of your policy. That said, it’s important to review your cat insurance policy in detail.
What is cat insurance?
Cat insurance is simply health insurance for your feline friend. It helps towards the cost of unexpected vet bills if your cat gets sick or injured. You pay a monthly, or annual premium, and when something happens, you raise a claim.
Types of cat insurance policies
1. Covered for life (lifetime policy)
This type of insurance provides cover for ongoing illnesses and injuries throughout your cat’s life, provided you renew the policy every year without a break in cover. As long as the policy remains active, your cat is typically covered up to an annual monetary limit for all conditions.
2. Maximum benefit
These policies offer a fixed amount of cover for each condition. Once that amount is used, no further claims can be made for that condition – even if your cat still needs treatment. If you’re thinking of this insurance option, make sure you understand these limits.
3. Time-Limited
With a time-limited insurance policy, each new condition is covered for a fixed time period (usually 12 months from the first date of treatment) or up to a set financial limit. When either the time or cost limit is reached, cover for that condition ends.
Other policy features you need to understand
1. Excess
This is the amount you pay toward a claim, often between £80 and £200, depending on the t&c’s of your cat insurance policy. An excess is usually paid per condition per policy year. For example, if your cat’s treatment begins in April and your policy renews in May, any continued treatment in June may require another excess payment.
2. Co-payments
Some cat insurance policies include a co-payment – meaning you pay a percentage of the remaining bill after the excess, usually 5%, 10%, or 20%.
3. Inner limits
Some cat insurance policies have caps on specific treatments. For instance, our consultation fee is £230, but if your insurer limits consultations to £200, you’d pay the £30 difference, in addition to your excess and co-payment. This can also apply to blood tests or hospital stays, for example.
4. Inception date
The inception date is when your cat’s insurance policy started. It helps us determine whether the condition being claimed for existed before cover began.
5. Policy dates
These include the start and renewal dates for your current policy term. This is useful when planning treatment, especially if you’re close to renewal and may need to pay another excess.
6. Renewal documents
When renewing your cat’s pet insurance policy each year, it’s vital to check the updated documents. Yes, price is important – but don’t overlook changes to your excess, or the addition of co-payments, which are often introduced as your cat enters their senior years.
Many owners are surprised to find out they need to cover 20% of their vet bill at the time of treatment. It’s always best to know this in advance before visiting Vet Eye Care.
Thinking of switching cat insurance providers?
Pet insurance doesn’t work quite like home or car insurance. We generally don’t recommend switching insurers annually just to save money.
Instead, it’s best to take out cat insurance as soon as you bring your cat home – and stick with that provider. Changing insurers can lead to exclusions for pre-existing conditions – it is uncommon to find a comprehensive pet insurance that covers pre-existing conditions These might not become clear until you make a claim and your cat’s full medical history is reviewed by the insurance underwriters.
How cat insurance works at Vet Eye Care
We offer two ways to process insurance claims:
1. Direct claims
You pay less out-of-pocket at the time of treatment. We claim most of the costs from your insurer directly. You’ll only need to cover:
- Your excess
- Any co-payment
- A £30 administration fee
To make a direct claim, please email us your insurance certificate or policy schedule before your cat’s appointment. With a direct claim, we do ask you to sign a ‘direct claim consent form’. This just means that if your insurer doesn’t pay within a reasonable time, we may ask for your help to follow up with them and if they decline the claim, you would be responsible for the outstanding balance.
2. Indirect claims
You pay the full amount up front. We submit the claim to your insurer, who reimburses you directly. There is no admin fee for indirect claims.
Why we charge a direct claim administration fee
Our £30 administration fee for direct claims covers the extra time needed to liaise with insurers and manage the process. Some insurance providers take up to eight weeks to settle claims, which means we’re managing the balance while waiting for payment.
We don’t charge this fee for indirect claims, as payment is received at the time of treatment.
How to claim on your cat’s insurance
This depends on your insurer. Some insurers now use online claims portals instead of paper forms. Many insurers allow us to start the claim on your behalf, while others require you, as the policyholder, to log in and begin the process. We will always guide you through the steps based on how your insurer handles claims.
Whether you want to make a direct or indirect claim, we are very happy to lessen the load by doing most of the claim admin for you.
Please note that direct claims are only approved at the discretion of Vet Eye Care management and are available only for treatment exceeding £500. You’ll need to provide a copy of your cat insurance policy and agree to our direct claim terms.
If you have any questions about your cat’s insurance policy or how to make a claim, please contact us. We know it can be stressful and we are here to help and will do our best to support you through the process.