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can petplan do this?

xSmeffy123x

Alpha Buck
Hi just gotten back from the vets and my bun had a tooth removed and the rest filed down, she is ok and i am so glad she is moving about happy to be home.
This happened six months ago too and petplan covered the claim as this couldnt have been prevented but put a clause on there to not pay out for teeth filing again.... But the vet has told me this isnt (morally) right for them to refuse further claims as its an ongoing thing for the rest of her life but he isn't hopeful they will. I will try and claim anyway but i'm confused about my rights and struggling financially and it mayilda is likely to recieve dental care every 4months .any advice?
 
It depends, what does your policy terms (small print) say? It may also depend on what you vet diagnoses as the cause - teeth problems can be diet related, genetic, injuries etc.
 
I was always under the impression from PetPlan that while they may pay out for the first tooth treatment as a goodwill gesture, you're on your own after that. Certainly at my local rabbit rescue when they have rabbits with ongoing teeth problems, they are adopted under 'assisted adoptions' where the rescue centre covers part of the cost of regular dentals to help get the animals a home because PetPlan won't cover the costs for dentals.

Where there is more than one issue with teeth problems (eg GI stasis as a result of dental issues, or dental issues as a result of frequent GI stasis) it gets far more complicated and there doesn't appear to be much consistency with what they will and won't pay out for.
 
When i was initially looking into insurance, the policy clearly stated about dental issues, but I'm not sure f it was petPlan or pets at Home insurance. Having had dental buns in the past (with resulting absess) and knowing that insurance companies will always try to get out of paying up, I decided not to go down the insurance route. It really depends on the policy smallprint, and how it is worded (usually to their advantage). So I guess they can get away with it, and will...large company with tonnes of money to throw at solicitors if anyone dares to challenge them.
 
My vet believes it wasn't preventable and he considered it to be genetic too.Hmm it does say it won't pay out for burring rabbits teeth... So i have my answer :(
The list of what they wont pay out for is huge...
Im wondering whether thwy help pay for the rest other than burring, i.e xrays and medicine etc?
 
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A lot of the time it is down to how your vet words it. My vet is great, and often with dental problems there tends to be some soft tissue damage in the mouth, and so he always puts that down as the reason for the claim, not that it was actually for dental work, and they have always paid. The trouble with dentals is that they tend to go in with the neutering, vaccinations as in down to us to maintain our pets as such. Dipsy had a accident on new years day, and split his head open when he crashed into the wall indoors, and had to have an anaesethic, x-rays, and it sutured etc, and he was booked in to be neutered 2 weeks later, but my vet suggested he neuter him then, as it wouldn't be good for him to have the 2 anaesethics in such a short space of time, because he is a 'special needs' bun with neurological issues, and also instead of it costing me £75, I only had to then pay £25 for the actual neutering, as Simon put all the rest of it onto the claim for the head injury, which Petplan have paid in full. I think they are great and very fair. My little blind dutchy who was nearly starved to death, has got an exclusion on any GI claims for 6 months, because apparently bunnies that have been in that terrible situation are quite prone to those kind of problems, but we are halfway through it now with no problems, and at the end of the 6 months, Simon has just got to fax a report over to them confirming that he hasn't seen Pippa for any GI problems, and they are then going to remove it. To be honest, I'm very happy with that.
 
I 'think' saying it is genetic would suggest it was a problem at birth so prior to insurance which would suggest they won't cover. I would keep the word genetic out of it!
 
My Daisy has neurological problems that cause her to only eat on one side of her mouth. Petplan only paid for half of the first dental and none after that.

However, perhaps if you vet wrote a letter/spoke to Petplan to say that it was as a result of injury they might change it?
I know PetPlan policies (even for cats and dogs) won't generally pay out for "routine" dental work, we had a challenege with one cat who had peridontal disease, I think they eventually paid out for that.
 
Hmmm thanks for your info i will ask my vet about what clinical notes he is going to write. To be honest even if it was genetic she had lots of check ups from 8 weeks and her teeth were fine so we couldn't have anticipated it anyway... Insurance! What a nightmare:(
 
I initially had insurance out on Fiver but decided to cancel it when I realised they didn't cover dentals. :roll: The main reason for a bunny needing vet treatment is going to be dental related so I figured it wasn't worth it. I would, however, take out insurance on any future bunnies just in case I needed to pay for an emergency vet appointment or an operation on a broken bone, blockage etc, as these are obviously very expensive!
 
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