“It is important to note this is a pilot and we have not made any changes to customer policies" - RSA.

Insurance company apologises for confusion

There will not be any changes to RSA policy conditions, according to a statement issued to the Pet Insurance Guide.

RSA has also apologised to its customers and the veterinary community for any confusion their communication caused.

In May 2015, RSA wrote a letter to vet practices informing them of 'important changes to their policy conditions'.

The letter said that if a pet needed to be referred to a specialist for non-emergency treatment, then the owner would need to contact the insurance company first. RSA would then work with the customer to agree on which practice they can take their pet to, depending on individual circumstances.

Now, in a further statement to the Pet Insurance Group, RSA say that they have not made any changes to customer policies:

“It is important to note this is a pilot and we have not made any changes to customer policies. A number of our policies already state that a customer should contact us before receiving referral treatment.

"Customer claims will continue to be honoured as long as the customer is adequately covered by their existing policy. We apologise for any confusion our communication has caused for our customers and the veterinary community."

The Pet Insurance Group briefly checked current policy documents and found that More Than policies are the only policies which require pre-approval.

They advise anyone with an RSA policy to check their existing policy documents to see whether there is any requirement to get pre-approval.