written by Sophiaj228 on 20/05/2023
AVOID Healthy Pets Insurance. I was with them for many years. Paying over £117.00 a month yes £117.00 monthly. Penny was 12 and had some health issues. On monthly meds costing around £130 so with 20% reduction was hardly worth continuing. In December Penny deteriorated and needed fluid and further tests coming in at over £700. A week later we had to make the decision to put her to sleep as she was in pain. Heartbreaking enough without Healthy pets refusing to pay for this treatment as we paid monthly and had not paid the 12 month policy....DISGUSTING Having paid out thousands in pet insurance cover. Don't go through what we had to AVOID!!!!!!
written by 483Sims on 21/06/2021
Avoid this pet insurance company don't buy from them. They do there best to get out of not paying. You are told it takes 10 working days to be assessed. It's always the same when you call them to see how your claim is going on. Always need more informations from your vet. They have a system they send emails if you don't get the information they require from your vets they will close the claim and it will have to start again. Absolute rubbish customer service. I am in touch with citizens advice bureau now. I am sick to the back teeth of this company. I would never fiddle a claim but they make you feel like you are doing this. I have all receipts and paid my vet upfront because the vets do not deal with this company direct. Still no news about my claim. It's going on to 1 month plus. 10 working days ????
written by Polly2shoes on 02/05/2019
No no no. Been a customer for over 10 years. Dog insurance keeps going up and up. Now over £80 per month. They have lots of tricks not to pay out for claims. Just cancelled policy.
written by on 12/01/2017
Have recently lost my adorable border collie after 13 great years. Have been with Healthy Pets for years. Never made a claim and in fact my dog had no medical history as he'd never needed any treatment. As I pay monthly by Direct Debit (£23) I expected my policy payments would cease after he died. But I have been told that if I make a claim for his treatment (total £96 after excess) I will have to pay the premium till the end of the policy term (July 2017). Therefore they have been paid to cover him till he died but want another 6 months payments if I claimed. That's £42 I will owe them after he died. Their original T & C stated it would be not be asked for if the pet died. But not now. My advice would be for anyone using this company to think again!!! I think their policy is despicable, particularly at your most distressing time. It will be easy to say read the small print but at the end of the day you expect a certain degree of cover, especially if you have never claimed over the life of the animal. I will never use them again in any shape or form and will not be pursuing a claim, as it now cost me more money!! Is there any point in insurance?? Might be better to put money aside and 'pay as you go'. Needless to say I will be warning EVERYONE I know not to insure with Healthy Pets and I will probably never insure another pet. I've paid a couple of thousand pounds out over the years and have got nothing back ever from insurance.
written by AliceMitch on 17/11/2015
The hoops these people expect you to jump through are ridiculous. I had pet posters made up for a missing pet. So nothing relating to a medical condition. They expected a full 12 medical history for the pet and a form stamped and signed by the vets practice. This I did. I then got a letter back saying that an actual Veternary Surgeon needed to sign the form as it had been signed by a royal veternary nurse. Bearing in mind that this was not a medical claim I called Heatlhy Pets to query this. The person I spoke to went to check with his manager and admitted that it was their error, that I did not need to get a surgeon to sign the form and he would see that the claim was processed. A month later I call them back as I still haven't received any funds. I speak to someone different who says that I do need to get the form signed by the vets surgeon after all. It has been two months since I first submitted the claim and I am still no closer to seeing my money. I will now need to go back to the vets to get the form signed for a second time. I am sure that they will go on to find another reason for not approving my claim. All this for some missing pet posters. I am furious and will be switching insurers as soon as possible.
written by JulianaMontgomery on 06/08/2015
I have a GOLD healthy pet lifetime policy for my JRT. So my thoughts are .... this insurance company will shaft you at every turn. There are so many clauses and hidden elements in the small print you will never have a leg to stand on. Get this I bought some long term medication for my dog in a large bottle and it was buy 2 bottle get 30% discount, so you would think well this insurance company is going to be better off as I'm saving them money in the long run...yes? ..NO you are not allowed to buy more than 1 months medication ... WHAT MADNESS !!!. They also have really high excesses and ask you to pay 20% even when your dog is 6! Then they have limits on operations -if you need a cruciate repair they will only pay £1200 towards it (then take off your excess & 20% as well. What if your dog needs to be referred for the operation -you're shafted again! I hate this company with a complete passion. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy let alone a friend. Be warned you will be making a huge mistake if you use this insurance company. And don't be drawn in by the cheap cost... they will just double the premiums the next year ... and yes shaft you once again. Money grabbing ********* is all I can say.
written by Dogmad on 09/01/2014
We had three dogs insured with this company, for around 8 years but have had to move two away as the premiums have increased way more than necessary each year, the third has to stay with them as he has two different pre existing conditions, payment used to be quick and straight to the vet, over the last year or so they've been getting slower and slower, to the point the vet said he wouldn't wait any more for payments from them, we now have to pay at point of treatment. We have to chase them up for every claim, usually they say they haven't received the claims from from the vet, he now posts them signed delivery, for which we have to pay, he usually has to fax it over eventually any way. They've also tried to wriggle out of paying by saying both conditions are related, which meant we would have used the policy payment limit up very quickly he has heart failure, and had surgery to his spine when a disc burst. Once we've used the allowed amount for both conditions we'll drop them like a hot potato. Currently we have a claim it was sent in nine weeks ago, after chasing it up we received a letter saying it would be processed with in 14 days, 12 days later we received another letter saying the claim was approved and would be paid by BAC's with in 14 days, I rang them and asked why BAC's took so long when I use the system regularly and the payments usually take two days at most, all I got was excuses that it was a very busy period blah, blah. blah! In the three years we've had the other two dogs insured with another company, rises have been minimal, ten pounds a year at most for the eldest who is now 12 years old, in the past three years Healthy pets premium has risen from £127 to the current amount of £382. They start off cheap, but once your locked in with an existing condition they pile on the premiums. Avoid them at all costs.
written by on 29/11/2013
Have had this insurance for 4 years and never claimed before. Recently my cat had a skin conditions, which needed several anti-biotic injections, investigations and biopsy. Phoned for a claim form and spoke to pleasant lady who sent me a form which I received the next day. Phoned today to see if my claim was going through and told I would receive a cheque within the next couple of weeks. I have a continuation claim for this condition, which my vet will be sending to them shortly. Hope it's as easy. Did have to pay excess plus 20% of the claim, but I knew that. Good so far.
written by on 25/08/2013
Insured two of my cats with this company, first claim kicked out, I suppose I could pursue and try get payment, but having read the other posts on this review page I am not sure I can be bothered. My advice to anyone is do not go near this company, saw one review saying would "not touch with a barge pole", my sentiments exactly. I might be well out of pocket myself, but if this goes some way towards someone else losing out to this lot then I will feel a lot better.
written by on 20/07/2013
Honestly the worst company I have ever had to deal with. Refused claim and then I spent weeks of sleepless nights trying to sort this out with the financial ombudsman. Finally settled the claim but took an age and left me severely out of pocket. What's the point in taking out the best level of cover for your pet and then having it refused on the small print, only to have the claim upheld later on. Rude, unhelpful customer service who talked me round in circles and then held it against me! Will take ever better care to read reviews in future.
written by on 22/03/2013
Having read the reviews I was expecting dissapointment, my dealings with Healthy Pets turned out to be sympathectic, pleasent, hassle free, speedy settlement following surgery on my dog. A pleasure to deal with. I would definately reccomend!
written by Blueeyes78 on 10/09/2012
I have insurance with this company for my three cats (gold cover). I made my first claim approx six months ago and it took numerous phone calls and 8 weeks for a cheque to arrive. I put it down to bad luck. This time around I sent the claim form on three seperate occasions, once by recorded delivery (after the last claim took so long) on 27th August 2012, I chased on 9th September and was told they hadn't received it. My vet then faxed it over to them on 9th September (receipt kept), I phoned this morning (10th September) to be told they still didn't have it and could my vet e-mail it to them! They did this and they confirmed receipt but then told me that they were the new administration company and the old one should be dealing with my claim!! They said they are unable to contact the old admin company and could I do it??? Fuming, I phoned the old company who asked for my vets details, and the form again and informed me it will be a 14 day processing time. Oh, and they'd call me back, still waiting! The whole thing has been incredibly stressful, my cat is still poorly and I am struggling to get the cash together to take her back to the vets as they haven't reimbursed me in a timely manner. If you care about your furry family members, don't even consider this company, go to Petplan which is exactly where I will be going as soon as I can!
written by SaraLe1 on 29/12/2011
We made our first claim 2 years ago for our springer which went through fine but felt the excess was a little steep for such a small claim. I remember shopping around at the time comparing Healthy pets to a few other insurers but actually they are quite competitive for the cover they offer. Still we started to consider dropping the expense and not having pet insurance all together but forgot to make the call. Thank god we didn't as our cat recently needed some very expensive surgery and without cover we could have never of afforded it. Almost fainted when I saw the bill lol! Thankfully the claim went through fine, extremely relived. Mixed feelings about pet insurance in general but glad we have it in place.
written by LisaC2906 on 03/12/2011
Customer service at Healthy Pets is ok when calling, however beware of the small print! Our dog had an injury to one of her legs and had to have an operation. Healthy Pets were great and paid with no problem. The following year, unfortunately my dog injured her OTHER leg in an entirely separate incident (obviously) and the insurers will not pay as it's classed as the same injury??!! Although a different leg and incident. Anyway, despite my vet writing and finding it ridiculous that this is the case, no joy and we are left with thousands of pounds worth of vets bill to pay, despite being fully insured :( Whilst I was told that this would be the case across the board of insurers, I have been assured by my vet that this is NOT the case at all. Cheapest is not always the best when you end up having to pay anyway! Shop around and most definitely avoid Healthy Pets!
written by dogdude1 on 31/10/2011
I made a claim to them 2 months ago for my dog and i am still waiting. I have phoned several times only to be fobbed of and offered a call back service within 48hrs which they do not honour,the vets have even rung me wanting to know were there money is. Do not take out insurance with these and do not go to Axa for your pet insurance as it is them who underwriters so they are the same company. I phoned axa to complain on there number and it is the same persons recorded voice on there and exactly the same music. THEY ARE ONE BIG CON THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY.AND WHEN U CLAIM THEY DOUBLE YOUR PREMIUM.
written by Clive54 on 25/10/2011
Have been insured for years,at one time you could not better them, paid out within a fortnight, Now it takes over six weeks. I went for years & years without making a claim then a few years ago my dog was attacked & we had a claim of £1500 which they paid but then doubled my monthly payments on the next yearly renewal, which I think is totaly wrong considering all the money they had when i had not claimed. I would not recommend them to anyone as they are going from bad to very bad.
written by on 24/10/2011
I chose Healthy Pets 6 years ago for my dog as they claimed to be award winning and easy to deal with when making a claim. A year ago I made my first claim for a mild skin complaint which took 4 months to settle. I decided earlier this year to change the insurance company for my other dog and Healthy Pets cancelled the wrong policy leaving me paying for 2 policies on one dog and none on the other! This was only realised when I needed to make a claim for my first dog for diabetes. Despite having one small claim and only being 5 years old they added a 25% charge on top of the insurance excess - I felt tied in to them as I couldn't possible change to another insurer at this point so I've had a hefty bill and will have to pay 25% of all futher treatments for her diabetes. It's a similar story for the investigation into a heart murmur and the claim has been ongoing for weeks - thankfully I have authorised my vet to deal with them but I know he has found them to be the most difficult company to deal with. They actually phoned today asking for permission to speak to my vet about the claim despite me having sign their claim form. :( Overall their premiums look good but there are hidden charges down the line that they don't openly show on their website so beware!
written by on 08/10/2011
This is my second year with Healthy Pets pet insurance but currently going through my first claim with them and the service is worse than terrible. They advertise that they hope to complete your claim within 10-14 days, well 6 weeks later I am advised that my claim has not even been looked at yet but has been received. I am just glad that it is for a smallish amount as financially I would be in serious trouble should it be for a large amount. Customer service is a waste of time as they seem to have very little experience in insurance and on the numerous times I have tried chasing my claim they openly admit that they can't help. They advise that they usually experience 1000 claims a day and are currently experiencing 5000 claims a day (which as a sales advisor for an insurance company I cannot believe). This is not the consumers fault. We regularly pay our premiums and hope to get the service they advertise. Personally, I cannot wait to get to my renewal date to move companies. I will not be recommending this company nor renewing.
written by on 04/10/2011
I was reassured that my claim would be dealt with promptly, but 6 weeks later there is still no sign of a payment from Healthy Pets. Every time I call they are
written by on 29/09/2011
Total waste of money, I've been with them for over 6 years and they have gone downhill big time, I've recommended them over the years but now I am warning people away from them, very poor value for money with their premium & eccess hike, watch out for the £75 + the extra 25% excess of the claim once your animal passes 6yrs! it now takes them an averge of 3 months to settle a claim. They still say 7-10 days to process but when you call Customer Service they dont seem to know anything about anything even though they have had your claim for many weeks/months. As a standard procedure they now ask for a years clinical history from your vet so if they see anything on there which might relate to your claim they will refuse it for not notifing them of it (however trival) within 60 days, watch out if your animal sneezes but then developes something more serious after 60 days!
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Ericwhitepaws's Comment
Written on: 18/10/2011
They really are appalling! they gave me the same spiel at the beginning of the year! took them nearly 4 months to settle a simple ongoing treatment claim! After the massive increase in premiums from us all I think its time they sorted themselves out!