Your Guide to Insurance Claims

Direct and standard claims

Insurance information update: 1st January 2021

There is now a £25 administration fee for dealing directly with your insurance. This will include our referrals team contacting your insurer, screening your policy information and checking through your pet’s clinical history. We will then advise you on whether we believe your insurer will cover the condition your pet has been referred for.

If the policy or clinical history does not meet our screening criteria, we will be unable to deal directly with your insurer however, the £25 administration fee will still be applicable. Once the referral has passed our screening process and your pet has seen us for treatment, our client accounts team will ensure your claim is submitted with all the correct information required. They will also assist with any queries you may have regarding your claim and keep you up to date with the claim status. This charge will be applicable per policy year, per condition, and will be chargeable when booking your appointment.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Pet insurance will usually cover the cost of treatments we provide however, some policies have limited cover and will not. You must check with your insurer to ensure that you have adequate cover. If you have any insurance claim queries, please call +44 (0)1425 485615, and press option 4 to speak to our client accounts team.

There are two types of insurance claim:

Direct Claims

When your insurance company reimburses us directly

The company pays us directly, less any amount which is not covered, e.g., insurance excess, or any amount over the ceiling of the policy. Some policy ceilings are per condition, some are per year, and some are for the lifetime of your pet. Ensure you know which applies to you.

Please note that:

We regret that we cannot process direct claims for certain insurance companies, please contact us if you have any queries about the insurance company you are insured with.
A number of insurance companies require clients to use a ‘Preferred Referral Network’ or they have to pay an enhanced excess. SCVS are members of that network, so normal policy terms apply. Please contact us to find out if your insurance company is part of this network.

What we need from you:

Your permission to discuss your policy with your insurance company. This involves a phone call from you to your insurance company to provide us with permission. Before we agree to give you credit, it is important that we verify the terms of your policy.
We will need one or two (possibly more for long term treatments) completed claim forms, with your part completed and signed. You can get copies of claim forms either from your chosen insurance company directly or online. (We will usually make serial claims and we will require several forms).

Standard Claims

When your insurance company reimburses you directly

You pay us the full amount owed at the time of discharge and then claim the money back from your insurance company, less any excess or policy ceiling. In these cases, we will process your claim within 5 working days of receiving the completed claim form.

What we need from you:

We require completed and signed claim forms from you, and we aim to process these within 5 working days of receipt.
We require full payment at each visit or at the final discharge.
Claims will not be submitted until the balance is cleared.

Points for you to check before treatment commences

For both Direct and Standard Insurance Claims

Confirmation that your pet is still covered
Confirmation that the condition being treated is still covered. Some policies will offer a maximum level of cover per condition; whereas others will only pay 12 months from the first signs of the condition or only pay a certain amount per 12 months
Maximum cover, and how much of that has been “used up” by work carried out by the referring veterinary surgeon
Confirmation of the excess required to be paid when a claim is made. This may be a fixed amount or a percentage. It may be applied once per condition or once per year
Insurance companies tend to deal with serial claims in chronological order. Should there be claims for work done by the referring veterinary surgeon prior to referral to SCVS, the claim for the previous work should be submitted as soon as possible to prevent delays on any subsequent claims.

Please remember that ultimately, the contract with the insurance company is with you. If your chosen insurance company refuse to pay for any reason, you will still be responsible for paying SCVS. Therefore, we strongly advise that you contact your insurance company before treatment commences to verify the terms of your policy.