The insurer says the condition was pre existing: how do I answer?

With documents, not opinions. Ask the vet for a statement giving the date symptoms first appeared and attach the clinical history of the preceding months, which often shows the absence of compatible signs. If the condition genuinely existed but was unknown, check how the contract defines pre existing: some policies tie it to documented knowledge rather than to biological existence.

I paid with a relative's card: is the claim lost?

Not necessarily, but fix it immediately. What matters most is the name on the invoice, which must match the insured person. If the invoice is right and the payment came from another card, attach a statement explaining the relationship and evidence of the internal repayment. If the invoice itself is wrong, ask the clinic for a written amendment.

Can I send photographs of documents instead of the originals?

Almost always yes, and it is standard practice on online portals, but keep the originals until settlement. The images must be complete and legible: header, body, amounts, date and signature. An invoice photographed halfway or with an unreadable number counts as missing and restarts the clock.

The payment arrived but it is lower than expected: what do I check?

Ask for the settlement calculation and rebuild it: start from the admitted amount, remove the excluded services, apply the percentage co payment and then the fixed excess, and finally check that no limit was exceeded. In most cases the gap is explained by one service that was not admitted, or by the order in which excess and co payment were applied.

Budget and expenses50 minLevel: IntermediateUpdated on August 3, 2026

Preparing a pet insurance claim step by step

How to file a pet insurance claim: the clauses to reread, the documents you need, how to submit, common mistakes and what to do after a refusal.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: All species
Scope: Italy, European Union

What you need before you start

Le condizioni di polizza complete, non il solo depliant commerciale con cui è stata venduta
La fattura veterinaria dettagliata, con le singole prestazioni e non un importo unico
La relazione clinica dell'episodio, richiesta al veterinario che ha visitato l'animale
Numero di polizza e coordinate bancarie intestate alla stessa persona che risulta assicurata

A pet health policy pays for what you can evidence, not for what happened. That difference tends to surface late, usually when the claim comes back with a generic reason and the invoice is already weeks old. Claims that get refused are rarely refused because the cost was not covered: far more often a clinical report was missing, the invoice showed a single total with no breakdown of services, or the claim was opened after the deadline. This guide sets out what to reread before you start, which documents to request and from whom, in which order to send them, and what to do when the answer does not arrive or arrives negative.

Four clauses to reread before opening a claim

Before filling in any form, open the policy conditions and look for four things. They determine whether the claim is worth making and what you can realistically expect: without them you risk spending hours on a reimbursement the contract never promised, or one that disappears inside the excess.

Excess and co payment: the first is a fixed amount you carry, the second a percentage of the cost. Many policies apply both.
Limit: the cap per claim, per year or per condition. These are different limits and can coexist in the same contract.
Waiting period: the interval after signing during which some cover does not yet operate, usually longer for illness than for accident.
Exclusions and pre existing conditions: what was already present at signing, what is excluded by nature and what depends on a prescription.
Notification deadline: in Italy the civil code sets a general term of three days from becoming aware of the event, unless the policy sets a different one, which is usually longer.

The documents you need and who issues them

Claim documents, source and minimum content
Document	Who issues it	What it must contain
Claim notification form	The insurer, through its portal or by email	Policy number, animal details, date and description of the event
Itemised veterinary invoice	The clinic or the practitioner	Each service listed with amounts, date and the animal's details
Clinical report for the episode	The vet who examined the animal	History, examination, diagnosis or working diagnosis, treatment
Test results and imaging	The laboratory or diagnostic centre	Date, type of test, results and a signed report
Proof of payment	Bank or merchant	Amount, date and a reference to the matching invoice
Animal identification document	The companion animal registry or record book	Microchip number matching the one written in the policy

The document most often missing is the clinical report, because it is not issued automatically: you have to ask. Ask while you are still at the clinic, not two weeks later, and say it is for an insurance claim. A report written with that purpose usually states the date symptoms first appeared, which is the fact that decides disputes about pre existing conditions.

The procedure in eight steps

Open the claim within the deadline, even without everything
Opening the claim is separate from submitting the documents. Report the date and the event straight away, within the notification deadline, and state that the clinical paperwork will follow. Waiting until the file is complete is the most banal reason a valid claim gets closed as late.
Ask for an itemised invoice before you pay
At the moment of payment ask for the invoice to list each service: consultation, tests, medicines, hospitalisation, materials. A document that only says veterinary services with one amount forces the insurer to ask for more and adds weeks to the process.
Check whose name is on the invoice
The invoice must be in the name of the insured person. If someone else pays, the claim gets complicated and under some contracts it stalls. Check too that the microchip number shown matches the one in the policy: a single different digit is enough to have everything rejected.
Request the clinical report in writing
Send a short request to the clinic stating the animal, the date of the visit and the purpose. Ask for the date symptoms started and the diagnosis, even a provisional one. If the episode is still ongoing, ask for an interim report rather than waiting for the conclusion.
Assemble the file in a fixed order
Put together form, invoice, proof of payment, report, test results and identification document, in that order, with readable file names containing the date and the document type. A tidy file reduces requests for further information, which are the leading cause of delay.
Submit through the channel the contract names and keep the receipt
Use the portal or the address given in the conditions, not the seller's. Keep the submission receipt or the reference number you are given: it evidences the date and it is what you need if you later have to challenge a delay.
Record the claim and the answer deadline
Note the claim number, the submission date, the amount requested and the date by which an answer is due. Keeping that line in /budget next to the original expense means you always know how much of the invoice is still genuinely yours.
Chase once in writing, then escalate to a complaint
If the deadline passes with no answer, send a written chaser quoting the claim number and the submission date. One chaser is enough: if it produces nothing, the right tool is not another phone call but a formal complaint.

The mistakes that sink a valid claim

Mistake, effect and correction
Mistake	Effect	Correction
Notification sent after the deadline	Closed as late, with no assessment on the merits	Open the claim at once and add documents later
Invoice with a single undifferentiated amount	A request for more information and weeks of waiting	Ask for the itemised breakdown at the desk
No clinical report attached	Diagnosis and onset date cannot be established	Request it from the vet before submitting
Microchip differs between policy and documents	Rejection because the animal is not identified	Correct the policy details before any claim
Invoice in someone else's name	Reimbursement suspended or refused	Always invoice the insured, decided in advance
Service delivered during the waiting period	No cover, regardless of severity	Check the dates before opening the claim

If the insurer refuses or does not answer

Ask for the reason in writing, quoting the article of the conditions it relies on: a generic reason is not a reason.
Reread that article and check whether the point raised really matches your situation, for instance whether a pre existing condition is documented or merely assumed.
If the refusal rests on a pre existing condition, ask the vet for a statement on the date symptoms first appeared and attach it.
File a written complaint with the insurer's complaints function: in Italy it must answer within forty five days.
If no answer arrives or it does not satisfy you, you can turn to IVASS, the Italian insurance supervisory authority, attaching the complaint and the reply received.
Consider mediation or help from a consumer association before contemplating court, which for modest amounts is rarely worthwhile.

Keeping the paperwork ready all year

The difference between a claim settled in a few weeks and one that drags on is built long before the event. A tidy archive lets you attach, in ten minutes, the clinical history that shows when a problem started and, just as importantly, when it did not yet exist.

Upload every report and every invoice to /records on the day you receive it, dated correctly rather than by upload day.
Photograph paper documents in full, headers and stamps included, without cutting the edges.
Keep the conditions currently in force, not the version you signed years ago, because renewals change them.
Keep one line per open claim with number, date, amount requested and amount paid.
Reread the conditions at every renewal, checking limits, exclusions and services added or removed.
Check in /billing and in your own receipts that the premium is actually paid: a policy suspended for non payment covers nothing.

Frequently asked questions

The insurer says the condition was pre existing: how do I answer?: With documents, not opinions. Ask the vet for a statement giving the date symptoms first appeared and attach the clinical history of the preceding months, which often shows the absence of compatible signs. If the condition genuinely existed but was unknown, check how the contract defines pre existing: some policies tie it to documented knowledge rather than to biological existence.
I paid with a relative's card: is the claim lost?: Not necessarily, but fix it immediately. What matters most is the name on the invoice, which must match the insured person. If the invoice is right and the payment came from another card, attach a statement explaining the relationship and evidence of the internal repayment. If the invoice itself is wrong, ask the clinic for a written amendment.
Can I send photographs of documents instead of the originals?: Almost always yes, and it is standard practice on online portals, but keep the originals until settlement. The images must be complete and legible: header, body, amounts, date and signature. An invoice photographed halfway or with an unreadable number counts as missing and restarts the clock.
The payment arrived but it is lower than expected: what do I check?: Ask for the settlement calculation and rebuild it: start from the admitted amount, remove the excluded services, apply the percentage co payment and then the fixed excess, and finally check that no limit was exceeded. In most cases the gap is explained by one service that was not admitted, or by the order in which excess and co payment were applied.

What to do next

Open the claim within the deadline even without every document, ask for the itemised invoice at the desk and the clinical report while you are still at the clinic, and check that the name and the microchip match the policy. Submit a tidy file through the channel named in the contract, keep the reference number, note the answer deadline, and if nothing arrives move to a written complaint rather than another phone call.