Insurance Glossary

Your formal request for payment from your insurance provider.

A document, either printed or filled out online, which notifies your insurance provider of your request for payment.

These are treatments which can be given by a non-veterinarian, and are used alongside traditional veterinary treatment.

Examples include acupuncture, osteopathy, or hydrotherapy.

A disease, disorder, illness, or injury.

For example: arthritis, dental disease, cystitis, separation anxiety, or a broken bone can all be considered medical conditions.

The treatment, medication, procedures, etc. which your insurance provider has agreed to help pay for.

The Association of British Insurers provides information on what policies typically cover and do not cover.

A request for an insurance provider to make payment to a veterinary clinic directly.

The client is still responsible for payment of any and all excesses, exclusions, administrative fees, or treatment for other conditions.

If all or part of the claim is denied, for any reason, the client is responsible for paying the full amount owed to the veterinary clinic.

The amount of a claim that you, the policyholder, will have to pay. If you are claiming for an amount that is less than your excess, your insurance provider will not pay anything.

There are multiple different types of excess:

Fixed excess: A flat amount that will be charged the first time you make a claim for a condition, or for the first claim you make in a policy year. The amount and how often you have to pay can vary widely depending on an individual’s provider and their policy.

Voluntary excess: this is an extra amount (on top of the fixed excess) that you choose to pay every time you make a claim. In return, your premiums will typically be lower.

Percentage excess (aka co-insurance, co-payment): This requires you to pay a certain percent of the costs you are claiming for. This percentage is typically calculated from the amount remaining after your fixed and/or voluntary excess has been taken.

A condition or treatment for which your insurance provider has refused to provide cover.

All of your pet’s medical records or notes, from the time they were born (or the time that you adopted/bought them), to the present day.

Your clinical notes do not automatically get transferred from one vet to another.

When you visit a new veterinary clinic, it is important to inform them of the clinics where your pet has previously been seen - even if they’ve only been to a certain practice once or twice.

The company from whom you purchased insurance for your pet.

For example, Kennel Club, Many Pets, Pet Plan.

A brief online quiz, which notifies Pet People that you would like to make a claim for recent treatment, and gives us the information we need to process this.

The maximum amount your insurance provider will pay. Depending on your policy, you may have a limit per condition, or per policy year.

Some insurance providers allow policyholders and/or veterinary staff to initiate claims on their website. This web service is typically referred to as an “online portal”.

The particular coverage agreed between the insurance provider and the policyholder.

Almost all insurance policies will have their own unique number or code, which lets the insurance provider, the vet clinic, and the policyholder know exactly which pet is being referred to.

Your policy number should be on any printed paperwork or emails from your insurance provider.

Policies will have different amounts of coverage, different premiums, different excesses, and may cover conditions for life, for a set period of time, or not at all.

Many providers will have different names for their different types of policy.

There may also be subtypes of that different policy, offering a similar policy at different price points.

You can read more about different policy types from the Association of British Insurers.

A 12 month period of cover, which commences on the start date agreed with your insurer.

For example, from March of 2024 to March of 2025.

The person who bought the insurance policy, and pays its premiums. This is often, but not always, the pet’s owner.

You can submit information about an upcoming treatment to an insurance provider to see if they are able to cover it according to the terms of your policy, and/or to what extent.

Not all insurance providers offer pre-authorisation.

Pre-authorisation needs to be sought in advance of any treatment.

Pre-authorisation is not the same as a direct claim.

A condition which your pet has showed signs or symptoms of prior to you purchasing an insurance policy.

Some policies, and some providers, will cover pre-existing conditions if they have not required treatment for a certain amount of time.

Other providers will exclude all pre-existing conditions at the time the policy is purchased.

The amount you regularly pay your insurance provider in exchange for coverage, whether this payment is made on a monthly or yearly basis.

A document which contains details of your insurance policy, such as coverage, start date, excesses, and exclusions.

You will have been given a copy of this when you purchased your policy, either as a physical document, or as a version you can access online.

The policyholder pays the veterinary clinic in full on the day their pet receives treatment.

The claim is then submitted to the insurance provider, who will reimburse the policyholder for some or all of the amount they have paid.

The date when your insurance policy starts. This does not mean you will immediately be able to make claims (see Waiting Period).

Most policies renew every year, on the same day.

When your policy renews, aspects of it, such as your cover or premiums, may change.

Insurance which will help pay for costs incurred by your pet injuring a person or animal, or damaging property.

Third party coverage is sometimes included as part of a regular insurance policy, or purchased as a standalone product.

A policy which will cover costs for a condition for up to 12 months since it was first noticed, and then will exclude the condition from any future coverage.

Intervention of any sort (examinations, diagnostic procedures, surgery, medication, nursing) needed to manage, cure, or care for a pet’s injury or illness.

A service which allows vet clinics to initiate claims with certain providers through our Practice Management Software.

At Pet People, this is our preferred way of sending claims, due to its simplicity and efficiency. It also means pet owners do not need to initiate claims themselves.

To see if your provider is integrated with VetEnvoy, check out their list of partners.

A period between when you sign up to a new insurance policy and when they will start to cover the costs of treatment for illnesses and injuries.

Typically this is about 14 days. During this period you may be able to cancel the insurance policy without incurring any penalty.

This is in place to prevent people from only taking out insurance after it has become necessary.