The excess is the part of the veterinary bill that you take on. It is one of the three numbers that really determine what an insurance policy costs you, along with the reimbursement percentage and the annual limit, and it is also the one that is most misunderstood.
Excess and reimbursement percentage are not the same
They are constantly confused, and they are different things.
The reimbursement percentage is what proportion of the bill you are paid back. There are policies in Spain that cover 50% of the vet’s bill, others 70% and others 90%. Petplan reimburses 100%.
The excess is a fixed amount that is deducted from the reimbursement. At Petplan it is €45.
A policy with 90% reimbursement and no excess is not necessarily better than one with 100% and a €45 excess: it depends on the size of the bill. On large bills, which are precisely the ones that need to be covered, the percentage weighs much more than the fixed amount.
Per illness, not per visit
This is the part worth reading slowly, because it is where policies really differ.
At Petplan the €45 excess is applied per illness, not for each visit.
The difference is considerable. A veterinary process is rarely resolved in a single consultation: there is a first visit, tests, a check-up, sometimes a procedure and then the follow-up. If the excess were per visit, each of those steps would deduct again. Being applied per illness, it is deducted once for that process, however many visits it requires.
An example of how it is calculated
If your dog develops an ailment that requires a consultation, diagnostic tests and a procedure, all of it is a single process. The veterinary expenses of that process are added up, 100% reimbursement is applied and €45 is deducted just once, within the €3,100 annual limit.
If later in the same year a different and unrelated ailment appears, that is another illness, and it carries its own excess.
What to look at when comparing policies
Before taking out a policy, there are four figures worth having in front of any insurer: the reimbursement percentage, the excess and whether it applies per visit or per process, the maximum annual limit, and the waiting periods. With those four you can really compare. Without them, you are comparing monthly prices that do not mean the same thing.
Frequently asked questions
Is the excess paid to the vet or to the insurer?
To neither directly. You pay the full bill at your vet, send the invoice and the report, and the reimbursement you receive by bank transfer already has the excess deducted.
How much is the excess at Petplan?
€45 per illness, not for each visit.
Is there an excess on the indemnities?
The excess applies to the reimbursement of veterinary expenses. The indemnities, such as the one for death by accident or for theft, work with their own limits.
What percentage of the bill does Petplan reimburse?
100%, up to a maximum of €3,100 a year.
