petguard insurance problem ** RESOLVED SUCCESSFULLY **

[melbury]

I had intended to put the letter I received yesterday from NIG on here, but unfortunately because I scanned it, I can't copy and paste it which is a shame - I didn't realize that!

 

When I have a bit more time, I will sit and type it out. Nothing new though, basically just sorry but tough luck.

[PeKay]

Had a phone call from Petguard today asking why I had not taken up their offer for pet insurance, (revised policy, no longer lifetime, does not cover previous conditions and 150% more premium than last year) .

 

Not really surpised that the operator who phoned neither knew I had already tuned it down in writing, nor that I had made a wriiten complaint and had a reply from them explaining why they could not offer the same terms that I had originally signed up for 2 years ago.

 

I tried to engage her in converstaion about the policy and problems encountered but I have to admire her professionlism by not getting involved in dialogue there was a long silence, most likely instructions from above.

 

It seems here people that avenues for complaint are just not producing anything except in my case an invitation to take them to court!

 

Anyone else have anything?

Edited August 24, 2011 by PeKay

[TINK660]

Hi all,

 

I spoke to FOS today regarding this and was told that my comlaint is still waiting for an adjudicator to review it. I was told in a letter a while ago that it would take 8 weeks for this to happend and the 8 weeks is up beg of September so should hear something soon. Will keep you all posted on outcome.

Keep complaining. The more the better.

 

Tink

[Tilbarn]

Firstly I would just like to offer my sympathies to everyone who is having a bad time with Petguard. I insured my dog Rosie, on a Lifetime policy with Petguard from February 2011 when she was 3 months old. I only discovered the problems Petguard were having when I was searching the internet yesterday for new insurance quotes for my new puppy and came across this forum. So I rang Petguard today and they confirmed that they have now got themselves a new underwriter but because of different underwriting rules Petguard are not renewing existing policies, nor are their policyholders being contacted to advise them of this until their renewal date. In my case, that would have been next Feb 2012, by which time my dog could have developed a health issue which would be then be classed by any new insurer as a pre-existing condition and therefore not covered. For me that would be a horrendous prospect as I have another dog with Lymphoma cancer in which his insurance company (Animal Friends - don't touch them with a bargepole) are refusing to pay out. So I have bitter experience of what it's like to pay for 'peace of mind' when really it's not.

 

But at least I hope I have got away from Petguard early enough in Rosie's life not to have any pre-existing conditions to worry about. How they can morally do this to people I just don't know, so I hope that everyone who has gone to the Ombudsman wins.

 

I asked the Petguard girl on the phone if she was encountering many complaints about this and she sighed a big 'yes'. I don't envy anyone who works for Petguard at the moment. By the way, I found John Lewis insurance offering £10000 pa cover renewable each year, underwritten by Axa, and they seem to have good reviews...

[fidel]

Bad news first - got final response from NIG which basically just says sorry but tough; nothing we can do so I too will now progress onto the Ombudsman. Haven't even had any acknowledgement or response from FSA so am going to chase them up.

 

But here's the good news. A reporter from The Daily Telegraph contacted me regarding our situation and they're intending to run an article this weekend about pet insurance and will include some details about my particular experience with petguard. Hopefully if the article runs it will at least raise awareness for petguard customers who haven't reached their renewal date and who are therefore still unaware of the situation they're in. And it will raise awareness amongst the pet-owning public in general of the way in which these policies are underwritten and sold and that these so-called 'lifetime' pet insurance policies are not what we think we're paying for. I know the reporter is talking to NIG, petguard and the Ombudsman.

 

Cross fingers it makes it into the paper!

[k8.taylor1]

It seems I am the latest victim.

 

I have had my policy since this time last year, blissfully unaware that my insurance was useless from the beginning of 2011 it seems. No wonder the website was down.

 

I have a four year old Weimaraner who in the last month has started having medication for a urinary tract problem. Unfortunately for me.. looks like he will need it for life. Now no other insurance company will touch me with a barge poll.

 

I've done the usual, contacted the Ombudsman and Petguard. Just await a response. I'm gutted. Can't see how I can afford to pay for the medication. Don't really know what to do. I can't put into words how upset and angry I am. I'm always so careful with my dog insurance, to make sure I have the best cover available, and for what?

 

IF ANYONE ELSE CAN.. I INTEND ON CONTACTING THE PRESS AND WATCHDOG TO TRY AND GET SOME SUPPORT. PLEASE DO THE SAME.

[k8.taylor1]

Just sent an email to watchdog. Was really easy.

 

Search watchdog in google and follow the link for having a story.

 

The more people the better- lets make this national news and shame them into doing something about it.

[fidel]

 

We made it into the National Press! See today's Telegraph. Still unable to post links on this forum as I haven't made enough posts..grrr.

 

All of you affected could now contact your local press and TV with your story about petguard and get us even more media attention. My complaints to the Ombudsman, the FSA and Office of Fair Trading continue..

[PeKay]

i will look it up

[PeKay]

I am short of posts too, wait one....

[PeKay]

............or two more

[PeKay]

Yes I have found it, and will post shortly

[PeKay]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/pet/8784009/Owners-bitten-by-pet-insurance.html

 

Please remember that The Telegraph is copyright and excerpts may not be reproduced here or anywhere else without permission of the copyright holder.

 

Well done fidel, our way is now open to challange the decision by NIG with some hope of winning provided the Ombudsman agrees.

[fidel]

Thanks for posting the link PeKay. We got two articles in the online Telegraph and a double page spread in the Saturday Telegraph's Your Money section of the actual newspaper!

 

For me the important points are that by not informing us that our policies would not be renewed until very shortly before they were due for renewal, petguard removed our choice and continued to take our premiums. Given my dog's history of injury and illness, had I known that his cover was not going to be renewed, I would have liked the choice to cut my losses and move to another policy in case he fell ill/was injured in the period before the policy renewal date and so avoiding what would inevitably become another 'pre-existing condition' in any other insurance policy's eyes. I didn't have that choice because petguard didn't tell me until 3 weeks before my renewal date that my policy was going to be cancelled and they had 6 months worth of premiums (I paid monthly by direct debit) that I may have chosen not to pay had I been given all the information in a timely fashion and given the opportunity to take out another policy if I decided that was best for me. There are inevitably others still out there who have yet to reach their renewal date who aren't being given that choice either. I feel petguard/JLT online have no right to continue taking your premiums when they are not disclosing material facts about your policy that were you to be made aware of, may persuade you to cancel your policy and find alternative cover with another insurer.

 

The description, wording and marketing of this and other similar polcies is also very misleading (which is why I wanted petguard to provide me with the website text that was live when I first took out my policy in 2008). The word 'lifetime' should not be used in pet insurance policies because it's just not true that you are insuring your pet for its lifetime - you are insuring your pet for a 12 month period and may be able to insure for any condition that lasts for longer than 12 months if your policy offers that option and your cover is renewed every 12 months.

 

NIG who were the original underwriters of the petguard policy withdrew their cover for commercial reasons. NIG are part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group who we, as tax payers, bailed out and own the majority share of. The Royal Bank of Scotland have other underwriters within the group including one called UKI. UKI underwrite other pet insurance policies such as Virgin pet insurance. Why couldn't existing petguard policy holders have been offered alternative cover underwritten by UKI? I've asked Stephen Hester, Chief Executive of RBS and his board to explain this and await their repsonse with interest..

Edited September 25, 2011 by fidel

[frankie37]

I have exactly the same problem. Claimed on my insurance for what seemed to be a liver problem in my gorgeous golden retriever pup. Turned out after several tests later, all was clear. Petguard paid out over £1000 back in June 2011. Great! Now that is where the problem starts. You know where im going with this. My renewal is up middle of October. Yet to receive a letter. Expecting one though! Stayed with them, paying my hard earned money for a 'For Life' policy, knowing that it is not going to be. Hoping they come up with new underwriters. Looks like there not going to in time for my policy. Blame myself for not choosing one of the 'Big Boys' in the insurance game. What can i do, what can any of us do. Same old story, its the consumers who have to foot the bill.

[Tilbarn]

In reply to frankie37, I wrote a post earlier in this thread and had only had my insurance for one of my dogs running for 6 months duration when I rang Petguard last week regarding all this mess. I'd not made any claims but didn't want to wait another 6 months for my renewal before getting a letter advising me they weren't going to renew my policy. They told me they DO have new underwriters in place but that their new underwriters were not allowing any existing policies to be renewed under their cover. The girl on the phone agreed I would be wiser to cancel and move my insurance elsewhere now, before my young dog developed any potential health issues. So I did (to John Lewis, £10000 annual cover, for life). However, if you read the Telegraph articles from one of the links in this thread, they seem to state that Petguard aren't renewing policies where claims have already been made, which is a little different to the girl telling me they weren't renewing policies at all. So if I were you, I would phone Petguard today to clarify what's the case for you. If you had to make another claim between now and your renewal, would they pay and then continue to honour and pay your ongoing claim once your renewal is due? Or will payment for that claim then cease because they won't then renew your policy? Once you have the answers to these questions, you may be in a better position to know whether to cancel your insurance with them now, or stay with Petguard until your renewal before starting again with another insurer. No doubt any new insurer will then exclude any pre-existing conditions that your Goldie may have, such as with her liver. But in the greater scheme of things, at least your Goldie would still be insured for any new problem that may develop after you start your new insurance. And in the event she did develop any liver problems in the future, ok so you'll have to pay for that treatment yourself. You don't really have much choice. Many people it seems have taken their complaint to the Ombudsman and it might be worth the effort, if there are enough complaints, that the Ombudsman may rule that Petguard has to offer a better alternative. But there’s no guarantee that will happen. And in the meantime you still have to insure your dog (if you want to of course). I've learned from bitter experience with one of my other dogs who is over 8 years old and has lymphoma cancer. Unfortunately for me he is insured with Animal Friends insurance (keep well away from them) who took 5 months to decide whether to pay or not, then eventually agreed, only for me to discover that their £6000 of Prestige Lifetime annual cover was in fact NOT the amount they would pay out per year, but only £6000 of annual maximum vets bills that they would consider. The vets bills I submitted came to £10200, so they ignored £4200 of them, deducted my £99 excess and 35% co-payment from the remaining £6000 bills, leaving me with a payout of only £3836. So I've had to pay the difference of £6364. The point of this story is that it's a fair old amount on the credit card, but to me it's a small price to pay to give my dog another year or two of his life, as he is now in full remission. So I'd say to you, don't panic too much about not being covered for future liver problems - deal with that in the future if it happens. After you've decided whether or not to stay with Petguard until your renewal, phone John Lewis - I'm really pleased with their level of cover which is £10000 renewable per year AND they've confirmed the £10000 per year figure is the amount they will pay out, and not the total vets bills figure from which the excesses are deducted to result in a much lower payout. And when your dog goes over 8 years old, their co-payment excess is only 15% too which is a far more reasonable excess to pay than Animal Friends insurance who charge 35%!!. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. x

[fidel]

Just heard from The Telegraph that they are running another article this Saturday about pet insurance because yet another insurer has pulled the plug on its pet insurance policies: Lloyds Banking Group which includes Halifax and Lloyds TSB. This means that literally thousands of customers will be in exactly the same boat we are in.

 

I understand that existing policies with Halifax that come up for renewal between now and September 2012 will not be renewed whereas policies with Lloyds will be renewable only up until February 2012.

 

It may be sensible for anyone with pet insurance from Halifax or Lloyds TSB who hasn't yet made any claims to cancel their policy and seek cover elsewhere but that's a decision only each individual can make.

 

And of course we now know that any underwriter of any pet insurance policy can pull out at any time leaving anyone with a claims history for their pet in a situation where they may not be able to obtain insurance cover for any conditions they have previously claimed for their pet. 'Lifetime' cover does not exist and pet insurance brokers/retailers should not be allowed to refer to 'lifetime' cover at all. If you're in this situation complain to the Financial Ombudsman and compain to the regulator, the FSA , and let's change the pet insurance market for good (and for the better)

 

I do get the feeling that the pet insurance market is like a house of cards and it's all about to come tumbling down..

 

Since I can finally post links on this forum; here's the link to the current Telegraph online article about Lloyds Banking Group pulling out of pet insurance:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/pet/8805322/Lloyds-and-Halifax-to-pull-pet-insurance-cover.html

 

and here are the links to the previous two online Telegraph articles about petguard here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/pet/8784021/There-was-no-warning-no-explanation-and-no-apology.html

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/pet/8784009/Owners-bitten-by-pet-insurance.html

Edited October 6, 2011 by fidel

[melbury]

Wow! Haven't been on here for a while, but my goodness things have certainly been happening.

 

On reading that article in the Telegraph via the link provided in an earlier post, I thought it said that the new underwriters for Petguard were a company that is part of Lloyds Banking Group, but on re-checking it is Lloyds of London, which is just as well if Lloyds Banking Group are pulling out of pet insurance.

 

Like many of you, I live in fear of my dog's ongoing problem flaring up (and it will), knowing that it will be me who has to pay everything for the treatment. I still feel very bitter and totally cheated as a result of all of this.

 

Petguard acted disgracefully and I simply cannot understand why anbody would insure a pet with them, but I suppose unless you were an existing customer, you wouldn't know that there was a problem at all - lambs to the slaughter!

 

The pet insurance market seems to be crumbling. I do feel that in some part the vets are to blame and jumped on the bandwagon of running up excessive bills purely because a pet was insured.

 

So what do you think will happen about all of us now? I don't think we will get any joy from NIG, but at least the problem has received some publicity.

Edited October 6, 2011 by melbury

[TINK660]

Hi all,

Had a call from adjudicator at Financial Ombudsman letting me know that he is going to commence work on my complaint - will keep you updated.

[melbury]

Hi all,

Had a call from adjudicator at Financial Ombudsman letting me know that he is going to commence work on my complaint - will keep you updated.

 

That's really interesting TINK660, please let us know how you get on. I basically got the "brush off" from them, said they couldn't do any more.

 

As feared my dog's ongoing problem flared up again yesterday, broken bleeding claw and now limping, so undoubtedly will end up with him having to go the vet and being put out yet again - another £400+ but this time I will have to pay it all:-(

 

I still think they should give something in the way of compensation to cover these ongoing costs.

[melbury]

I was going to give up on it all, but then decided to contact the Financial Ombudsman again and they are now going to take my case to the next level, which I think is the Adjudicator.

 

My dog has been unwell again - usual claw problem - but luckily it came right off and the vet let me have some antibiotics and anti inflammatory medicine, so this time it didn't mean an operation. It did shake me up though, I was fully expecting having to incur a mega bill.

 

I just hate the fact that the peace of mind has been taken away.

 

I still don't think it will get me anywhere in the long run, but I'm just not ready to give up completely yet.

[melbury]

Just to say, I see that Petguard have got their new website up and running:-x Promising the earth........

[TINK660]

I've received a letter today from the Adjudicator at the FOS basically saying that the policy we had was an annual one as there is no mention of "lifetime" on the policy documents. Now I know that we purchased a lifetime policy and we paid extra for it. What I really need now is a screenshot of the old petguard website to prove that we bought and paid for lifetime cover. Petguard are obviously not going to supply me with this - so if anyone on this site who reads this has one (I know its a long shot) please let me know.

 

The letter goes on to say that if we have been sold an annual policy when we requested lifetime cover, this is not the underwriters responsiblity but the insurance company (Thistle) and we would need the complaint to be amended and set up against Thistle. This means waiting ANOTHER 8 weeks for them to respond before it can go any further. It also says that the FOS consider it fair and reasonable for the policyholder to read the documentation they have been provided with about a policy and that the documentation we provided them with states that the policy is an annual one.

 

How can something that is so obviously the fault of the insurers underwriters get twisted around so that it appears to have been our fault for not reading the documentation. We had to supply the documentation because apparently Petguard were dragging their heels and now this - I am totally disgusted. PLEASE PLEASE everyone see if you have a screenshot so that I can prove that these people are cheating us all.

[Gail Booker]

I've received a letter today from the Adjudicator at the FOS basically saying that the policy we had was an annual one as there is no mention of "lifetime" on the policy documents. Now I know that we purchased a lifetime policy and we paid extra for it. What I really need now is a screenshot of the old petguard website to prove that we bought and paid for lifetime cover. Petguard are obviously not going to supply me with this - so if anyone on this site who reads this has one (I know its a long shot) please let me know.

 

The letter goes on to say that if we have been sold an annual policy when we requested lifetime cover, this is not the underwriters responsiblity but the insurance company (Thistle) and we would need the complaint to be amended and set up against Thistle. This means waiting ANOTHER 8 weeks for them to respond before it can go any further. It also says that the FOS consider it fair and reasonable for the policyholder to read the documentation they have been provided with about a policy and that the documentation we provided them with states that the policy is an annual one.

 

How can something that is so obviously the fault of the insurers underwriters get twisted around so that it appears to have been our fault for not reading the documentation. We had to supply the documentation because apparently Petguard were dragging their heels and now this - I am totally disgusted. PLEASE PLEASE everyone see if you have a screenshot so that I can prove that these people are cheating us all.

 

 

Hi

 

I am currently searching through all my documentation relating to Petguard and my orignal booklet that I have come across states:

 

'we offer 'annual' (also called lifelong cover). This allows you to claim up to the level selected every year (providing you renew your policy of course). An excess needs to be paid by you for each condition each year, but it's often a wise choice for pedigree pets which have a tendancy to suffer from longer term of congenital problems.'

 

My next step is to complete the FSA complaint form as I am not happy with the fobbing off letter received from NIG. I only received my letter from Petguard in December informing me of the changes to the policy which really annoys me as they obviously knew this a long time ago and should have informed everyone at the same time not upon renewal of your policy.

 

Good luck to everyone making a complaint. A friend told me he saw a Watchdog programme regarding Petguard - I wish I could have seen it.

[labrat]

also try the internets archive's way back machine it may have a copy of the old website