Hi Everyone,

Just wondered if someone can help.

I recently changed Pet Insurance Companies from Tesco to E&L on the 1st September.

I got the Lifetime cover for her

At the end of September we noticed a lump on our beloved 9 year old Boxer. We have had this removed and have been told is is cancerous.

I have put in a claim and E&L have turned it down for the following reasons:

We can advise that a thorough review of liability has been undertaken and we regret that we are unable to accept liability for your claim. For the purpose of clarity please may we courteously refer you to the applicable sections of your policy wording, namely General Exclusion 1 and Your Promise, which clearly states:

“We are not liable for the following:

1 Any medical condition that existed before this insurance policy began.”

and

“You promise that your pet is sound and in perfect health at the start (or renewal) of the period of insurance, and that your pet does not have any illness or injury. So any pet that does not meet these health standards will not be covered for any liability relating to the illness or injury in question in any period of insurance that it enters in that state. This insurance is intended to provide protection against unexpected rather than inevitable events.”

It is apparent from the clinical history submitted that a lump was first noticed in the clinical notes on the 26th July 2011. Had this material fact been disclosed at the inception of your insurance contract on the 1st September 2011, we would have been granted the opportunity to make a full assessment of our presented insurance risk in regards to insuring Kella. This would have allowed us to make any appropriate changes to the terms offered before the contract became effective, including excluding growths, cysts and tumours from cover. This policy is intended to provide cover for a standard level of risk and therefore any increased risk presented by your pet at the inception of your policy will not be covered by your insurance contract.

In Part this is true, we did discover a lump in July but we had this tested and the vet told us it was just a fatty lump and nothing at all to worry about. This lump we have claimed for is a totally different lump on a different part of her body and has nothing to do with this claim whatsoever.

When we took out the policy she fit and healthy and did not have any illness. Is there anything I can do about this as I am devastated. I cannot afford to pay for Cancer Treatment and the thought of losing my baby is driving me to despair.

I do not feel I have broke the policy conditions.

Please Help

I am also very angry as I cancelled my Old Insurance to go with them, and now my Dog might Die because of this

You are going to need the help of your Vet. The Insurers have read the notes about previous inspection and believe the condition existed before the Insurance was taken out. You need your Vet to help make the Insurers understand that this was not the case.

Can your Vet help by writing to the Insurers regarding the 26th July 2011 inspection ?

In future can I suggest that you don't take out Pet Insurance other than through your Vets practice. My experience is that you have a lot less hassle with the Vet helping with the claim, rather that you having to batlle with your own Insurers. Yes the Insurance via a Vets practice is usually more expensive, but in these situations it can prove to be worth the extra.

Thanks for your reply.

I have spoken to the Vet and he has said that he will write a letter to the Insurance Company stating that the Lump found in July was just a fatty lump and that this has nothing whatsever to do with the claim we are making now.

Hope Kella is OK. What was the outcome of your battle with E&L? Because I too am in dispute with them and would be interested in what happened next? I suspect I will have to resort to the insurance ombudsman as they dont want to take responsibility for any claim if they can find a loophole to wriggle through!