Range of Payment Options: Pet Insurance and Payment Plans

You can pay for our services in a range of ways, including through your pet insurer, through instalments, over the phone, by booking online, by requesting us to email you a payment link, or even by post!  Payments are required upon booking.  Our accepted payment methods include...

• Bank transfer
• Cheque
• Debit or credit card
• PayPal
• Pet Insurance - claim-backs or direct claims
• Instalments

Our merchant payment providers are Authorised Payment Institutions regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and  comply with all the strict required industry standards (PCI-DSS compliance). They never sell information to third-party vendors.  They protect their systems with industry-leading technology and security controls.  Security is of the utmost importance to us, so you can rest assured that your data is handled with the utmost care according to our privacy policy.

Note there is a cooling-off period of 14 days from the time of booking.  However, if you choose for the service to take place within these 14 days, then you lose your right to cancel with a refund.

After the cooling-off period, regrettably, we only provide refunds in exceptional circumstances, which unfortunately excludes an animal no longer being in your possession.

• The fee is non-refundable for clinic and first aid call appointments, as various resources need to be organised for your pet for the day.
• For all other services, if you cancel more than 5 working days before the appointment day, £100 is retained to cover admin costs, or you can reschedule your appointment (no more than two times).
  • Any cancellations received within less than 5 working days of the appointment will result in retention of all the fee. 
  • Please note that the full fee for a behaviour consultation is due once you have had the initial assessment, even if you choose not to take advantage of all aspects of the service.

The full terms and conditions can be read here.

Using Pet Insurance to Pay for Our Pet Behaviour Services

With our qualifications, our clients can often claim back the fees for our pet behaviour services on their pet insurance policies. All individual policies are different, so you will need to check with your insurer.

Usually, we recommend that you pay for the consultation on booking and then claim the money back to yourselves via the insurance. For many insurance companies, this means that after the behaviour assessment, you submit the receipt for the consultation to your insurance company along with your vet referral and clinical history.

Sometimes, insurers also request our report, which you will receive soon after the consultation. Note that sometimes, insurers will change cover as a result of a claim.

We accept direct claims from a range of select insurers. This means you can request your insurer to pay our fees straight to us.

How Direct Claims Work

Getting Your Pet Insurance to Pay Our Pet Behaviour Fees Directly

1.

Check your pet insurer is on our accepted list

2.

Request a vet referral

3.

Email us your a copy of your policy

4.

Pay us £75 to cover your minimum excess 

5.

We raise a direct claim

6.

Your pet is booked in for our next available appointment.

7.

Claim is completed soon after your appointment

8.

Tell us of any insurer comms and please respond to them promptly

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Some insurers, such as Petplan or Agria, can review and preauthorise claims in advance of services being booked.  We are happy to help with preauth requests, but we still require payment of the £75 deposit first, as these requests take time for us to process. 

If the preauth fails, then we will refund the deposit.  If successful, then we book you into the next available appointment.  If you change your mind during this process and no longer want a behaviour consultation, the deposit is retained.

Different insurers have different claim processes. Sometimes, we can raise a claim on your behalf, or you need to raise the claim through your insurer’s online portal before the appointment.

If we are unable to raise the claim for you, then please do so yourself at least 7 days prior to the appointment; otherwise, you may be responsible for the full consultation fee.

This doesn't mean our fees are not claimable - in fact most insurers cover behaviour problems.  This means that you need to pay our fees first yourself, then claim back after your appointment. We can help you with the documentation for that.  Your insurer will not be on our list either because they do not offer direct claims, or we have not yet developed an efficient process with them.

Generally, the vet refers one of the animals as being the primary instigator of any behaviour issues.  Sometimes claims can be split between different animals' policies, but then extra excess will be payable.

We are not responsible for helping to process claims involving third parties, such as psychoactive medication prescribed by your veterinary surgeon.

You are responsible for understanding the limits of your own policy and any/all outstanding fees due to us.  Different policies have different levels of excess and cover.  Not all claims are successful, such as if a behaviour problem was noted as starting before you took out the insurance policy, or within the first 14 days of your policy.

If, for any reason, we do not receive the full payment from your insurer within 4 weeks after the appointment, then the remaining balance will be taken from your card, or you can opt to pay in instalments (next section).

Sometimes, an insurer may change your level of cover as a result of a claim, such as your pet's third-party liability cover.

Tell your insurer that you were referred by your vet and about our qualifications, accreditations and associations (e.g. CCAB, ABTC-CAB) as shown here:

https://secondnature.bio/about/our-team/

We need your policy schedule, policy wording, vet referral and clinical history.  We may ask you for other details as well, such as the names of any other vet practices your pet was/is registered with.  Please also advise us if there is an existing related claim.

Keep in mind that your insurer will not allow us to fully complete the claim until after the appointment.  Please look out for any communications from your insurer and inform us of them immediately. 

If your insurer deems the insurance excess deposit we have taken is too much, then, of course, we will refund the deposit.

Note this £75 deposit is needed at the outset, even if you think you have already paid the excess through your primary veterinary practice (e.g. for behaviour medications). Our deposit will be refunded to you after your insurer has settled the claim and declared the excess owed to us.

Some policies have £100 excess per condition, while others charge a percentage of the total fees as the excess.  We will charge your card any remaining fees if your insurer does not pay us the total due within 4 weeks after your behaviour consultation. Alternatively, you can opt to pay in instalments (through Klarna/Clearpay/PayPal - see below).

If you cancel/postpone with less than 7 days to the appointment, then the full fee is still due, and the insurer is unlikely to pay for it.

Regrettably, we only provide refunds in exceptional circumstances, which unfortunately excludes an animal no longer being in your possession or having passed away.  The full fee of a consultation is due even if you choose not to go ahead with all aspects of the service or disagree with our advice.

If you cancel at least one week before the appointment, then the deposit is retained to cover administration costs, or you can reschedule your appointment (no more than two times).  Any cancellations received with less than 7 days to the appointment will result in the retention of all the consultation fees.  Any rescheduling with less than 7 days to the appointment will result in a further £300 being charged.

NB:  it is essential we receive your pet's vet referral and clinical history prior to the appointment, otherwise the appointment will be postponed and there will be a further charge.

Find out more about the direct claim process.

Paying in Instalments:  3 Options

There are three interest-free pay-later or instalments payment options, particularly for our UK-based client - via either Klarna, ClearPay or PayPal.  If you miss a payment to one of these providers, then late-payment fees may be charged by them, but late fees are capped at £25*. If you have any questions about your payment plan, then as your payment agreement is with Klarna/ClearPay/PayPal, you would need to contact them directly.

*These fees and terms are subject to change, so please check each provider's full T&Cs for their latest information.

1. Book online with Klarna

3 monthly payments or delay for 30 days

Choose Klarna at checkout through our online booking calendar.

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2. Book over the phone with ClearPay

4 instalments over 6 weeks

Call us on 0121 299 0188.  During our call, you will receive a text message and select the ‘ClearPay’ option.  Follow the on-screen instructions while you chat to us.

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3. Book via invoice with PayPal 'Pay In 3'

3-6 monthly payments

For 3 interest-free payments, choose 'PayPal Pay-In-3'. Alternatively, there is an option for longer monthly repayment plans (called 'PayPal Credit'), but this may incur interest. Please request us to email you an invoice with Paypal as a payment method, then we can schedule you into the next available appointment.

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