What is the difference between lifelong and annual cover?
FAQ
Pet insurance is a way to budget against the unexpected expenses of owning a pet.Our experience has shown it is invaluable and takes much of the stress away from the owner if an animal becomes ill.
You pay a monthly premium to the insurance company,and in exchange of your pet becomes poorly and needs veterinary care ,the insurance company will refund you the costs of this treatment subject to the terms of their contract with you.
If you need to make a claim,our office will help you fill in a claims form.All insurance policies take one excess per condition claimed for,and some policies take a percentage of the remaining fees in addition to this.
The premium paid will depend on the company you choose and the cover you request.A major consideration is whether to choose’ lifelong cover ‘ or ‘annual cover’.You must also be careful to read the small print as some insurance companies can refuse for instance to pay for hospitalisation fees ,and some companies prove difficult to contact once you make a claim.Sadly we are not allowed to advise you specifically on companies difference between Lifelong Cover and Annual Cover.
With Annual Cover, your policy will only pay out for 12 months from the first time your pet had symptoms ,or symptoms that could be related to the disease claimed for.These policies can be very frustrating for the owner .They are in my opinion good budget policies and better than nothing BUT you must understand the limitations of the policies.
With a Lifelong Policy,should the illness last more than 12 months,for example arthritis , the policy will not stop covering your pet 12 months after the first presentation.Lifelong policies are much better BUT cost more.You get what you pay for!.Personally my advice would be to search out a Lifelong Policy,and several companies now offer these.
We understand the reason many people have taken out pet insurance is to better budget for unforeseen expenses.Therefore we offer an option wherein the owner pays us the excess due,and can sign the claims form over to us.However there are a couple of companies we have had very poor experiences with claiming the money back from,and although I am not allowed to put these down in print,if your policy is with one of these companies ,then this option will not be open to you.We are happy to advise you of this before we proceed with the work.
It is worth noting that an excess is taken for each condition claimed for,AND once yearly in addition to this.The year is taken on the policy anniversary.
If there is doubt as to whether a policy will pay out ,you can request a preauthorisation from the company and we can help with this.
Martin and Carr is a private veterinary practice and receives no state help.The fees charged pay towards the building and running costs,the staff salaries,investment in most up to date diagnostic equipment,staff training and continued education.
For up to the minute quotation of fees please ring our reception on 01386 553631.We are also happy to provide a quotation for any work we propose to do for you.
Our normal hours are: 8.30am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday
8.30am to 1.00pm Saturday.
If you contact outside our normal hours you will be directed to the emergency vet.
Our emergency vet will be one of the vets from our practice, and emergency cases are generally seen at the Pershore surgery.If you normally attend one of the branch surgeries then you should be reassured all the surgeries are linked through the computer and we will be able to draw up your pet’s medical history.
It is worth noting we at Martin and Carr vets do our own night and weekend work unlike many practices that now export their out of hours work to night clinics very often some miles away from the home town, and staffed by unfamiliar vets. We charge an extra fee in addition to the normal treatment fees and presently this is £61.00 for cases seen before 11.00pm, and this goes up to £73.32 for cases seen between 11.00pm and 8.00am the following morning. Fees correct at 2010.
Please remember this service is for genuine emergencies only.
Open surgeries and appointments
We offer we a combination of open surgeries and appointments.
With our open surgeries you simply turn up between the times listed for each clinic and you will be seen with your pet on a first come first served basis.
We also offer appointments at our Pershore and Evesham clinics .Please phone the surgery for further details.
We understand sometimes a home visit maybe necessary. There is an extra charge for this service as inevitably it takes up more time for our staff.
We reserve the right to judge whether a home visit is safe for the attending vet to perform.
Insurance companies will seldom pay for home visits.
Please phone the surgery for further details.
Should you feel our service to you falls below what you expect we would kindly request you call and ask to speak to either Mr Tom Carr or Mrs Alison Carr.We take all complaints seriously and will endeavour to investigate and treat all cases sympathetically and fairly.