How far should a veterinarian go to assist with pet insurance?
It is believed that, at least in the US, veterinarians have been wary of pet insurance because they don’t want to take the extra time to fill out paper work, fax over forms, etc. Some have even found themselves recommending a particular company, only to have that company go out of business shortly there after, and then find themselves with a bunch of angry pet owners. Luckily, pet insurance companies are realizing this and attempting to make the process as seamless as possible.
However, some veterinarians still can get stuck in the middle. For those companies who reimburse based off “usual and customary fees” or fees that the company deems reasonable for a given procedure, the pet owner may then feel like they were over charged by their vet. From some veterinarians that we’ve heard from, they don’t want to get stuck in the middle so they don’t go out of their way to recommend companies, but they will do their best to honor their clients wishes and fill out necessary paperwork.
Of course there are veterinarians on the other end of the spectrum, who love pet insurance and have seen how it has helped save lives when the pet owner wouldn’t normally have been able to afford a given procedure.
As a pet owner, would you feel your vet was doing you a disservice if they weren’t informing you of pet insurance, if it turns out it could have helped you? Do you think it should be their job to help process paperwork? If I have any veterinarian followers out there, I’d love to hear your opinion as to why or why not you may tell your clients about pet insurance.
Hi Melissa…I don’t necessarily think it would be a disservice. I think it’s my vet’s job to inform me on health issues. I think a good vet could mention insurance but I wouldn’t see it as a disservice if they didn’t. But maybe I feel that way because insurance has really come about more in the last 5 years or so.
I think vets see how insurance helps families afford good quality care for pets so again, a good vet that cares, should be willing to fill out the paperwork. I even had a vet who helped fight an exclusion for us and she did so happily.
All the vets at the office we go to have been great at filling out the claim form, and then I have sent in the paperwork to the pet insurance company no problem. I have found it to be quite easy to have pet insurance and thankfully my vet office has been accommodating as well!
I think it would be nice for vet offices to have pamphlets of different pet insurance companies available, since different companies are good for different reasons, and then if asked could be a little more informed on the topic. However I strongly feel everyone is their own best advocate and should really look into it themselves thoroughly before committing.
Melissa, let me chime in as a veterinarian. I think it is a veterinarian’s responsibility to inform pet owners of potential costs of pet healthcare and ways to help pay for it e.g. insurance, CareCredit, etc. In the past I have given out brochures to pet owners, but I don’t do it anymore. I’ve been burned before by recommending a company and when something wasn’t covered (pet owner didn’t read the policy before purchasing it), I got blamed because I had recommended the company even though it wasn’t the company’s or my fault. The exclusion was right there in black and white in the policy. Just as an aside – this is the one thing that every pet owner must do before purchasing pet insurance – read and understand the policy!
Even though you see pet owners advised by blogs and websites to ask their veterinarian which company to buy insurance from, this may not be wise. Why? Because some veterinarians have a brochure from a pet insurance company just because the company offered to send them a display and brochures. They may not know much about pet insurance, much less the company, but have the brochures as a convenience to give clients in case someone asks about insurance.
If a veterinarian recommends one company, they should be very familiar with the company, all it’s policies, exclusions, etc. and be willing to explain it to pet owners.
While veterinarians should make the availability of pet insurance known to clients, in my opinion, it is the client’s responsibility to do the research and find the best company and policy for their situation and pet.
For the time being, filling out paperwork is relatively easy for virtually all the pet insurance companies. Hopefully, it will get even less if insurance companies can even automate the process of claim submission, medical record submission and even reimbursements.
What most veterinarians fear is having to have an entire department for just billing and filing insurance claims, dealing with insurance companies, etc. This would increase their overhead and these costs would have to be passed on to their clients in the form of higher fees for their services.
Dr. Kenney,
Again, thank you for giving your point of view as a veterinarian. I think I have made the recommendation of asking your vet who they prefer and while I agree, not all veterinarians know and understand the company, I would encourage pet owners to ask if their vet has dealt with a certain company and if they like them. As pet insurance gains popularity, I imagine it won’t take too long before vets have a pretty good idea as to which companies they like working with and which ones they dont. They’ll likely hear what pet owners have to say about these companies, and give more solid recommendations. But you bring up a good point and one that pet owners should be aware of: if all you veterinarian can tell you about a give pet insurance company is “Here is their brochure” then I wouldn’t necessarily take that as “advice”.
As for your fear (shared amongst all veterinarians), I think that you’re right on. As pet insurance companies progress, so will their technology advance. Trupanion’s Canadian counterpart, Vetinsurance, for example already has express payments set up. Essentially, the veterinary clinic can choose to supply the company with their banking information and the insurance company can directly wire the money into their account before the pet owner even has to pay the vet bill.
I’d like to see veterinarians get more involved with helping with the insurance paperwork and getting the claim paid. In a previous comment I mentioned that if the Vet could prepare an estimate of services and get a guaranteed payment from the insurance company via phone using a credit card that would help everyone.
I also think that Pet Insurance carriers should work harder on building networks of veterinarians and have this process set up ahead of time.