Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: Millys Mum on February 07, 2010, 21:40:16 PM
-
I put my first claim in with Axa last week and i got post from them yesterday, great i thought, as quick as Petplan who i also had post from. But alas they have been unable to process my claim as they want a full clinical history to be able to proceed with it. Apparently its needed to deal with a first claim, if this is the case why doesnt it say so in black and white on the claim form and are they going to pay the handling charge each time i have to give it back to my vet and postage?! I bet not :tired: wouldnt mind if it was my mess up but no where does it inform me about posting a full history >:(
-
can I ask if you switched from PP, if so, any reason?
-
:hug: MillysMum you don't need extra hassle when you babies have needed treatment. But thanks for posting as it's helpful to us AXA newbies.
-
I'm just about to get pet insurance with AXA for Pepsi, but as she's a rescue cat I don't know her full medical history. Does this mean that if she ever got ill I wouldn't be able to claim it from them? :shocked: Are all companies like this? I think I'm just being daft as there's so many rescue cats now, but I've never had to sort out insurance for anything before so don't really know how it works lol
-
I have been paying them for Alice for the last 2 years. As she is also a rescue cat, does that mean all the premiums I have paid are down the drain as I don't know her history?
I will phone them tomorrow and change providers if I don't get satisfactory answers. :tired:
-
I wondered about this when I signed Tosker up to Axa - I was surprised that at no stage are you asked if a cat is a rescue, and if you know of any previous history
you don't even get to say that the age is only a guess
now I am wondering if the vagueness is deliberate so they can get out of paying after they've taken your premiums
-
I know lots of people with rescues who have switched or joined AXA and have no problems. Can't say I've ever heard of them not paying up either whether ped or rescue.
-
I'm assuming MM means the full clinical history of the condition she's claiming for, not the cat's entire life since a kitten? :shify:
-
I have claimed for Tom and Billy and have not been asked for a full medical history. Could it be that vet surgery did not supply all required info?
First claim I had for Tom was when he was aged 18 and they paid up with no problems. Only delays were with surgery not sending claim off straight away as they process insurance claims once a week.
I know Gill initially suffered delays with Franta's claims but not sure if this was resolved and whether latest claims are being processed OK :shify:
-
Reason why I asked about PP (pet plan) is because we've never had any problem like that with them so was a little surprised AXA asked for history. I know peeps say PP is expensive, we've been with them for some time and it's worth every penny considering we would of had to fork out a lot of money for vet expenses in the years we've been with them.
-
They do this for all first claims. What they mean is a full clinical history as far back as possible. If there is none then there is none.
My vet provided this for Lexy. Its just so they are sure this is not a related claim to a condition diagnosed prior to the insurance being taken out.
-
Yep, same happened with Zia. They should make it clearer though, but apparently it is only for the first claim.
-
Sounds like a pain. Petplan didn't ask for that information when I claimed from them in the past.
-
This is a pain, did you say your vets filled in the form for you?
I always got my vets to do the forms and they were never queried, but I do know that they had to supply more info than usual on the first claim, particularly as it was an ongoing treatment with Max.
Hope you get it sorted out quickly :hug:
-
Not surprised they want full medical history to rule out any previous existing conditions prior to policy commencing. I don't recall our vets ever charging me a handling fee for dealing with claim form but perhaps they charge insurance company. I agree MM that it is ridiculous that claim form doesn't specify full history required for 1st claim but perhaps this is a common requirement for initial claims and, as done by vets, we don't normally get to see it.
Sorry if I sound like an apologist for Axa but I just saved £120 by switching my car insurance to them ;)
-
It's normal for them to ask when the cat first started showing symptoms etc. but if they want a full clinical history, they should say so up front. I have always sent off the petplan claim forms after the vet has completed them, and they have never wanted loads of information beyond a description of the illness and when it started.
-
my problem with axa was not this type of problem. i had changed vets in the middle of his treatment and the second vet put the claim in before the first vet, so they did not have all the paperwork
I never had any probs with Axa and it could be scant info was put on by the vet.
I have had claims paid for Franta and Sasa and maybe Misa but cant rememeber. no additional info was asked about Sasa and it was her first claim. Have to say they had all my cat details already cos I was with M&S and they were the underwriters.
Maybe as they and Petplan are the only ones who offer proper insurance now they are starting to get a lot of ummmm false claims, my vets told me that people were claiming every tiny thing from M&S, just because they could.......there was no excess at the time,
-
I rang AXA right after signing up as I needed to clarify what is and is not an ongoing condition. I explained Noah was a rescue that I didn't know his exact age, and asked if I needed to declare any conditions at the start and they just said it would be dealt with as part of any claim. So I assume from that they do insure rescues! My only concern now is that the current vet says Noah is older than the three years I was advised by CP.
-
It should be stated on their claim forms that if this is the first ever claim for any condition that your vet will need to provide a full history.
However, that being said, by requesting this they ensure that any future claims you make can be verified as not being preexisting. So I understand why they would do this.
My vet did this immediately for me, in the form of a letter. They paid up immediately and quickly. As I had two vets treating Lexy for the same condition, the second vet (surgeons) put in their claim before my vet so they returned it instead of holding it, but as soon as my vet had sent hers in, the second claim went in, all paid without issue.
-
I'm with Halifax (who are underwritten by AXA) and it clearly states on their claim form that a 12 month clinical history is required for every claim you make so it is a bit silly that AXA themselves don't make it as clear on their forms
-
Mabey its to try and reduce fraud they asking for more info, Fraud is on the rise with all insurance comapnies weither household motor or pet or whatever. They may just be tightening up cause in the end the more fraud there is the higher the premiums go so good for us genuine people they catching the bad people
All insurers seem to be tightening up to try reduce fraud by adding extra checks and stuff
I reckon it will just be what history u know and relevant
-
can I ask if you switched from PP, if so, any reason?
I didnt switch gooey from petplan, because hes an older chap the available cover for him wasnt good enough so i decided to start him with axa who offer same policy cover whatever the pets age (they still werent cheap as many say, £14.59 a month)
All my others are with petplan who have been A* with all their service so far, i will stick to them where i can ;D
I'm just about to get pet insurance with AXA for Pepsi, but as she's a rescue cat I don't know her full medical history. Does this mean that if she ever got ill I wouldn't be able to claim it from them? :shocked: Are all companies like this? I think I'm just being daft as there's so many rescue cats now, but I've never had to sort out insurance for anything before so don't really know how it works lol
I have been paying them for Alice for the last 2 years. As she is also a rescue cat, does that mean all the premiums I have paid are down the drain as I don't know her history?
I will phone them tomorrow and change providers if I don't get satisfactory answers. :tired:
They want to know whats happened from when he was registered to when he went for treatment, a time span of just over a year. You dont have to provide everything from kittenhood so dont panic!
I would say sort your cover for pepsi sooner rather than later tho, i delayed with Simon and have now possibly shot myself in the foot big time ;)
I have claimed for Tom and Billy and have not been asked for a full medical history. Could it be that vet surgery did not supply all required info?
Not surprised they want full medical history to rule out any previous existing conditions prior to policy commencing. I don't recall our vets ever charging me a handling fee for dealing with claim form but perhaps they charge insurance company. I agree MM that it is ridiculous that claim form doesn't specify full history required for 1st claim but perhaps this is a common requirement for initial claims and, as done by vets, we don't normally get to see it.
General procedure is my vets return form to client to send off, sometimes they send them for me but i have seen his claim and its all filled out fine. Axa sent the whole lot back, invoices and claim form! :tired:
My vets have an admin fee for doing forms as they handle 100's a week, it takes a big chunk of the nurses time so i dont mind, however this is axas mess up
Yep, same happened with Zia. They should make it clearer though, but apparently it is only for the first claim.
This is what has annoyed me, no where does it say about the need for clinical history, petplan have paid a huge amount out for Lola and never tried to squirm out of it or demand extra info on her history.
It sounds like Axas admin are pants, Lola had treatment under 3 vets in 24hrs and a simple covernote on each meant they sailed through no probs, was very surprised.
-
I finally got a settlement cheque on saturday, phew! Roll on next one... not :tired:
-
The nexy one should be easy peasey :innocent: