Halifax in the doghouse as cancelled pet cover leaves 30,000 pet owners stranded

By
This Is Money Reporter

04:40 EST, 28 March 2012

|

04:43 EST, 28 March 2012

More than 30,000 pet owners left stranded when state-owned Lloyds and Halifax cancelled their insurance have been thrown a lifeline.

Consumer watchdog the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has ordered Halifax to pay top-up payments for a customer whose pet’s ‘lifetime’ cover had been cancelled.

The customer had previously paid around £10 a month for her dog Lucky’s cover.

In the doghouse: More than 30,000 pet owners left stranded when state-owned Lloyds and Halifax cancelled their insurance have been thrown a lifeline

In the doghouse: More than 30,000 pet owners left stranded when state-owned Lloyds and Halifax cancelled their insurance have been thrown a lifeline

The animal suffered a skin condition that costs around £700 a year to treat, and its owner could not afford that herself.

The Ombudsman ruled Halifax should pay for any condition a new insurer would not cover for three years. It must also offer £200 compensation for ‘distress and inconvenience’.

Last year, more than 30,000 policyholders with Lloyds TSB and Halifax were told their animals’ ‘lifetime’ cover with the insurers had been cancelled.

Many with sick cats and dogs feared they would be unable to find pet insurance elsewhere.

They worried they would have to fund veterinary bills themselves, totalling thousands of pounds, or put their animals to sleep.

Halifax says it will contact customers with pets with pre-existing conditions in the next few weeks.

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Lots more reports like this as long as they contain photos of really cute dogs please!

Good!

Just canceled my 2 dogs insurance saving £30 pcm as I always say you are covered until you claim which I did had payed in as much as 1op cost then still had to pay for it so it cost me double they all have small print so you do not get what you pay for

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