Ask the expert: heart murmur excluded from pet insurance, what’s next?

Helen contacted me after she was told her policy wouldn’t cover heart murmur come her renewal.

I intended to upgrade my cat’s saver insurance with Saga to lifetime when it becomes due on 6th October 2011. I had been told by two vets that she has a very slight heart murmur which is not worth treating or taking into consideration. The cat was ill in September following a routine vaccination, and I took her to Medivet who performed a scan. The result was that all functions clear, but the vet made a big issue of the ‘very slight heart murmur’ and prescribed medication.

This has upset my plans as I have been told that I can no longer get the heart murmur covered although it does not affect her. Is this correct and is there anything I can do to ease the financial burden of continuous medication and no cover?

Hi Helen,

Thanks for contacting me. Really sorry to hear about the recent problems you’ve had. It is indeed correct and the heart murmur won’t be covered by any other provider if you switch. Saga will cover it up to a financial or time limit, depending on your cover level: see your policy schedule to check exactly the extent of your cover and you may want to put a claim through and renew for the time being.

This should pay for medication for a while but when the condition stops being covered by Saga you’ll need to find another way to finance it – maybe start putting money on the side if you can.

I would also maybe get a second opinion as heart murmurs don’t always need to be treated from what I understand – but note I’m not really an expert at that matter.

Once Saga excludes the condition, nothing will hold you from swapping to a lifetime pet insurance provider. I hope this helps and please let me know if you need anything else.

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