Lloyds cave in on pet insurance fiasco

[Michael Browne]

Victory for pet owners as Lloyds caves in and agrees to renew 'cancelled' insurance policies

 

Lloyds Banking Group is to offer new insurance policies to 4,000 pet owners after it abruptly withdrew cover last year.

 

 

 

Lloyds Banking Group has bowed to pressure from the regulators, media and its customers and will now offer new insurance policies to 4,000 pet owners after it abruptly withdrew cover last year.

 

A spokesman for the bank said it was writing to the thousands of customers who had bought pet insurance under either the Halifax and Lloyds TSB brands, but whose pet has since developed a medical problem. These policyholders were unable to get comprehensive insurance elsewhere when the bank stopped offering pet insurance last year.

 

However, a spokesman said if customers did not want to take up this offer it was prepared to discuss whether compensation, such as a refund of premiums paid to date, would be due,

 

The u-turn follows a slew of bad publicity as thousands of pet owners complained that they were now unable to afford treatment for their dogs and cats because they could not get insurance elsewhere.

 

Most insurance policies won't cover an animal that already has an existing health problem. Dogs Today, which has spearheaded a campaign against the bank, said it knew of at least one case where the owner was forced to put a pet down because they couldn’t pay for the vet’s fees.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/pet/9267266/Victory-for-pet-owners-as-Lloyds-caves-in-and-agrees-to-renew-cancelled-insurance-policies.html

[citizenB]

Lloyds tries to ease pain for pet owners with new insurance policies

Lloyds will offer new pet insurance policies to owners left in the lurch following its sudden withdrawal from the market.

 

The banking group has bowed to pressure, saying it would offer 4,000 pet owners, whose animals have pre-existing conditions, a stand-alone policy.

It will not re-enter the pet insurance market, but is developing a policy which it said would be available from the end of June to former customers unable to buy comprehensive cover elsewhere.

 

The move follows a test case ruling from the Financial Ombudsman that found Lloyds had ‘not handled fairly its decision to withdraw’ recommending it made up any losses incurred by the owner in paying for treatment for the next three years.

 

 

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/899229-lloyds-tries-to-ease-pain-for-pet-owners-with-new-insurance-policies#ixzz1v1bfNzJt

 

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