Good morning Dave,
Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear that you have not been contacted since we last exchanged emails.
I passed your concerns over to our underwriting and management teams to open up further discussions surrounding your views on the 14 day exclusion period. I will contact them again to check on the progress for you and ensure that you are contacted accordingly.
Thanks again for contacting me to enable me to chase this up for you.
Kind regards,
Karen M
Complaints Specialist
In reply to Dave Parker’s original email dated 22nd February 2021 to Karen M
Hi Karen.
I thought I’d drop you a quick line as it’s been a month since we last exchanged emails, and I’ve not had any follow up from either yourself or any of your colleagues. I was wondering if you could give me an update as to whether there’s been any further feedback internally as to my comments.
Kind regards
Dave
In reply to Dave Parker’s original email dated 20th January 2021 to Karen M
Hi Karen.
Please feel free to address me as Dave rather than Mr Parker!
Regarding Danny and authorisation, I attach an email from my Dad who gave me the authorisation to discuss anything to do with the sad circumstances surrounding Danny. If it helps with the process, please feel free to call him. Just to let you know, he is partially deaf, so he might need to pass you over to my Mum to relay anything you need to ask him about. If it helps with opening the discussion around the 14-day clause, I am more than happy for you to do that.
I appreciate you forwarding my comments internally. I hope it opens up the conversation and that somehow, we can make pet insurance easier to understand and fairer for those of us who only want to protect our much-loved pets and give them the best chance of recovery, where possible, by getting expert medical attention at the time they need it – especially during those first 14 days.
With regards to Lulu, the injury happened way back in October 2019. We were, at the time, insured by Petplan, which are owned and underwritten by Allianz. When I contacted them at the time, they said that as the injuries had happened during the 14-day period, we would not be able to claim. At the time, we let it go, as our number one priority was getting Lulu back fit and well, whatever the cost. However, it was the sad set of heartbreaking circumstances around Danny’s death that spurred me into action.
I do want to make it clear again, as I have done with Alex, that this is not about pointing fingers, blame, recrimination or calling anyone out. I understand that underwriters must protect the business. But I do want to see if we can make things fairer for pet owners. Even if the 14-day clause could be lifted for certain conditions (such as what happened to Danny), that would be a positive move. There are so many things that could be changed for the better, and I hope that somehow I might be able to be the catalyst for change by telling Danny’s story. The thought of pet owners not just overwhelmed by grief at the time of losing a pet, but worrying about how they can pay a huge vet bill when they thought they would be insured is my driver. Hearing my Mum and Dad crying down the phone because they had to let Danny go, and not knowing how they would afford the £1000+ vet bill was truly heartbreaking.
I look forward to hearing back from you and your colleagues in due course.
Thank you for your time, as ever.
Dave
In reply to Karen M’s original email dated 20th January 2021 to Dave Parker
Dear Mr Parker,
Thank you for your response.
I appreciate you providing the details of your parents policies, with no authorisation on either policy to discuss them with you I am unable to comment further at this stage in respect of Danny’s specific situation. However, I do understand that you are querying the 14 day exclusion in general, for all customers rather than looking to discuss your parents policies specifically.
I have forwarded your views about the 14 day exclusion to the management team and our underwriters for them to look into your queries further. They will be in touch if they require any further information.
My role as a complaints specialist within the customer relations team is to address concerns raised with claims. Could I please ask if your cat Lulu is insured with us, as many policies only exclude illnesses within the first 14 days of the policy start date rather than accidents and injuries. If you have Lulu insured on one of our policies I would like to check the claim for you to determine if the correct decision has been made.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us and provide your views and feedback on the 14 day exclusion.
Kind regards
Karen M
Complaints Specialist
