Posted on 9th August 2016 Don't expect a refund
Having had to have our pet Moss put to sleep I cancelled her Pet Insurance with Animal Friends on 3 August 2016. A premium had been taken on 26 July for the next months cover and I phoned on 9 August to enquire if I was due a partial refund. In Sections 12.2 and 6.1 it states I can cancel and readsas follows :-
Should you decide to exercise this cancellation right, you will be entitled to a refund of premium less an appropriate pro-rata charge for the period of cover given before the cancellation right was invoked.
However I have found out that Animal friends do not offer a partial or pro rata refund if you pay monthly. Although there is nowhere in the agreement that states this I am expected to call them to find out if I don't understand the policy clauses. I told them on reading the notes iI was of the opinion that a pro rata refund would be due they informed me my understanding was wrong and I should have called to clarify this. When I said this was misleading they said not at all I could have called at any time to clarify their stance on the matter. When I asked where the money for the period of cover for the remainder of the month after Moss had died went I was told it went to Animal Friends. No pro rata refund applied to my payments and in any case the appropriate pro rata charge for the period of cover 26 July to 2 August when Moss was alive was in fact the whole months fee. So I was therefore not due any refund whatsoever.I asked where this appropriate charge was defined or how it was calculated and was told this was Animal Friends general policy of charging and was not in fact in my policy. I also asked if an annual payment had been made would the appropriate charge be a whole months premium and was told yes. I said that this was very misleading and was nowhere in the policy to enable customers to make an informed decision. Certainly a money maker for Animal Friends. So once again Animal Friends refusing to pay out, in my case a few pounds but it is the whole principle of how they operate and hide behind hidden interpretations of the policy. The wording is not defined or specific to inform clients of the full facts and biased towards Animal Friends not paying out and pocketing money. In my case at a very upsetting time.
Should you decide to exercise this cancellation right, you will be entitled to a refund of premium less an appropriate pro-rata charge for the period of cover given before the cancellation right was invoked.
However I have found out that Animal friends do not offer a partial or pro rata refund if you pay monthly. Although there is nowhere in the agreement that states this I am expected to call them to find out if I don't understand the policy clauses. I told them on reading the notes iI was of the opinion that a pro rata refund would be due they informed me my understanding was wrong and I should have called to clarify this. When I said this was misleading they said not at all I could have called at any time to clarify their stance on the matter. When I asked where the money for the period of cover for the remainder of the month after Moss had died went I was told it went to Animal Friends. No pro rata refund applied to my payments and in any case the appropriate pro rata charge for the period of cover 26 July to 2 August when Moss was alive was in fact the whole months fee. So I was therefore not due any refund whatsoever.I asked where this appropriate charge was defined or how it was calculated and was told this was Animal Friends general policy of charging and was not in fact in my policy. I also asked if an annual payment had been made would the appropriate charge be a whole months premium and was told yes. I said that this was very misleading and was nowhere in the policy to enable customers to make an informed decision. Certainly a money maker for Animal Friends. So once again Animal Friends refusing to pay out, in my case a few pounds but it is the whole principle of how they operate and hide behind hidden interpretations of the policy. The wording is not defined or specific to inform clients of the full facts and biased towards Animal Friends not paying out and pocketing money. In my case at a very upsetting time.
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