Insurance companies are notorious for providing pages of small print. Rather than joining the call queuing system of a faceless company, clients will often call their helpful reception staff for an explanation! It is useful to have a good grasp of the terms used by insurance companies, and the following in particular may prove helpful:

BROKER - An insurance broker is a business that sells policies offered by a range of different insurers. Because they are not usually 'tied' to any one insurer, they are able to shop around for the cheapest policy they can find, on behalf of a client. However, brokers usually sell from a selection of policies, not all of them. So, it is possible that the cheapest policy sold by one broker will still be more expensive than the cheapest policy sold by another.

CONTINUATION CLAIM - A continuation claim is a claim for veterinary fees after an initial claim has already been submitted. Such claims are not usually subject to an excess unless the policy is due for renewal during the period of treatment.

DIRECT CLAIM - A direct claim is one settled directly with the practice rather than the client. Whether your surgery offers this option depends upon your practice policy. Most surgeries prefer fees to be paid up front, and may add a substantial administration fee to bills settled this way.

EXCESS - An excess is the sum deducted from a claim by the insurers. This works in the same way as the excess on, say, a car insurance policy. The customer is expected to pay a set amount or percentage of the claim. If the claim was for £150 and the excess is set at £50, then the customer will receive £100 back from the insurers. An excess can be fixed or variable. Some insurance companies increase the excess in line with the pet's age, whilst others add a percentage to the fixed rate when many claims have been made for related conditions.

EXCLUSION - An exclusion is a condition placed upon the policy for which the policy holder is not allowed to claim. Any illnesses or injuries incurred prior to the inception of insurance will be classified as exclusions. For example, if a dog is a known sufferer of epilepsy, and a client wishes to take out a new policy, then the exclusion would be worded along these lines: - "Exclusion: any illness or medical condition arising directly or indirectly from epilepsy, fits and related disease". This means that if the dog fell down a flight of stairs whilst suffering an epileptic fit and sustained injuries, they would not be covered. 

An exclusion may also be placed on a policy if the maximum benefit for a certain condition is reached. For example, if a policy is taken out that offers benefits of £2000 per condition, and a claim is made that is £2500, the client will only receive back £2000 from the insurers (less an excess) and will not be able to make any further claims for that particular illness.