Client Insurance Policy

The current process time for our claims is 10-14 working days

Pet insurance can sometimes be considered confusing, complicated and a bit of a headache. We have dedicated insurance coordinators who liaise directly with your insurance companies to make the process as smooth and straight forward as possible.

Why insure?

28% of the 9.9 million UK dog population are insured
12% of the 10.9 million UK cat population are insured
Insurers settled £2.2 million in pet claims per DAY in 2019 (£815 million per year)
The average claim was £822.
75% of claims were for dogs, 21% for cats, 4% other pets.
(Association of British Insurers 2020, PDSA Paws Report 2019)
These statistics show that pet insurance is an important consideration for pet owners.

There are two different ways you can claim via your pet insurance policy.

Indirect claim

Indirect claims are often the easiest way to make a claim. It requires you (The account holder) to pay the total outstanding balance of your pets’ veterinary treatment. We can then process your claim (Free of charge) and your insurance company will pay the costs back to the policy holders bank account).

For example, Daisy has diabetes, she requires monthly insulin treatment to keep the diabetes managed. Mrs. Bloggs requests a repeat prescription of £52. When she arrives, she pays the outstanding balance and gives us a claim form to process. We process the claim with her insurance provider and she receives the £52.00 back to her bank account. No admin fee will be charged for an indirect claim.

Direct claim

Often there are times paying the full veterinary bill is not possible due to the size or the bill or during unexpected emergency treatment. Therefore, we do offer an alternative of making a direct claim. A direct claim requires you (The policy holder) to pay the policy excess amount, admin fee and provide an insurance claim form. This allows you to then leave the remaining balance outstanding with us and we will claim the money back directly to Park vets.

*Please be aware, excess amounts differ from policy to policy, please make yourself aware of your own excess amounts, we will not be able to advise what your excess amount is *

For example, Rocky had a fall at the beach and is now limping. He was brought in for an examination in which Xrays were recommended at approximately £500. Mr. Jones, does not have access to £500 at the time of treatment and requested a direct claim. He paid the £95 excess charged by his insurance provider and also paid £30.00 admin fee to leave the balance outstanding with us. We then claim the money back directly to Park vets.

On repeat medication or small balance claims, it may be worth considering whether a direct claim is the best way to claim your money back. The admin fee we charge is not claimable from your insurance company.

Direct claim contract

If you would like us to process a claim directly, we require the account/policy holder to sign a direct claim contract, that will cover the condition you are claiming for up to 6 months.

Admin fees

We do require an Admin fee (£30) is payable for each condition you are claiming directly for. Your admin fee will cover any claim regarding the same condition for up to 6 months. For example, Rocky came in for x-rays in October due to falling at the beach. Mr. Jones paid an admin fee at the same time as his excess and also signed a direct claim contract for a ‘limp front leg’ claim. During the x-ray the vet noticed Rocky had a small fracture that would require surgery in November and follow up x-rays in January. His previous admin fee paid towards a ‘limp’ claim will cover all of Rocky’s treatment for his ‘limp’ until March. In November, Mr. Jones also noticed Rocky was having persistent problems with his ears. He wanted to make another direct claim for Rocky’s ear treatment. Therefore, we would require another excess, admin fee and direct claim contract for ears. Which would cover all ear treatment until April. If Rocky required further treatment beyond the 6-month time frame, another admin fee and contract would be due.

Co Payment excess

Some insurance policies require the policy holder to make additional excess payments, also referred to as a Co-payment. They are usually 10-20% of the total veterinary bill and are often added to older pet policies, when the pet is over 7/8 years of age.

For example, Bertie, who is 10 years old, comes in for regular treatment for a skin condition. He is required to have monthly injections at £115. Ms. Smith, requests a direct claim for the treatment. She has already paid her excess of £95.00 at a previous appointment. However, Bertie has a co-payment clause on the insurance policy which requires Ms. Smith to pay 20%. Therefore, she is requested to pay £30.00 admin fee plus £23.00 (20% of £115).

It is important to check your insurance policy for limits, exclusions and additional excess’ added to the policy.

Pre-Authorisations

Some insurance companies can offer a pre authorisation service, often for treatment that is considered expensive. This is when we provide your insurance company with an estimate of costs before treatment has begun and the insurance company will advise whether your claim is likely to be successful or not. If you are concerned about whether your insurance claim will be processed successfully, please speak to our team to see if it is possible to process a pre-authorisation. It can be useful when you have lower policy limits or exclusions on your policy.

For example, Ralph, needs an orthopedic operation on his leg which has been estimated to cost around £3000. Mr. Jones is concerned about the costs and is not sure if his insurance company will cover the treatment. We processed the pre authorization in which it was advised the treatment can be covered, in full but he does have a co-payment of 20%. Therefore, Mr. Jones is aware of any bills he needs to pay on the day and can focus his attention on getting Ralph better.

Repeat medications

If we claim via your insurance company for medication. Unfortunately, if you need to return the medication for any reason, we will not be able to issue any refund once it has been claimed. We are also unable to direct claim for the following;

Prescription food
Written prescriptions
Non prescription medication
Sharp boxes i.e. for diabetes.

Claim forms

Every claim that is made, whether direct/indirect we require a signed and completed claim form, Unless, you are insured with:

Petplan -Just let reception know you want to claim and make sure we have your policy number
Animal friends – Just let reception know you want to claim and make sure we have your policy number
Many Pets (previously named Bought by Many)- If you are paying the bill and claiming the money back to yourself you will need to contact Many Pets to process the claim, we will provide you with the invoice. If you are leaving the balance with us for Park Vets to claim back we will require your policy number.
Argos - You must call Argos to request the claim and they will contact us.
Sainsburys - You must call Sainsburys to request the claim and they will contact us.
Directline - You must call Directline to request the claim and they will contact us.
Waggel- You must call Waggel to request the claim and they will contact us.