Thoughts needed please.

Monty's operation is coming up pretty soon now (27th May) and all the usual worries and doubts are going through my mind and unfortunately the biggest one is money.

For those who don't know Monty has a cluster of cysts on his head that have been diagnosed as Dermoid Cysts. He was born with this condition although at birth they were in the form of bald patches and up until about 5 months ago they were purely flat patches. Then they started growing into raised lumps and are continuing to grow. The operation is not essential but is strongly advised to remove them whilst he is young and to give him less complications later in life.

I've been thinking of a number of things over the last few days that might be worth a shot but will need to act quickly on if they sound feasible.

My first query is with insurance. We are currently with Direct Line who for those who know the situation will know that they won't pay out for this operation on his because they class it as a pre-existing condition that appears on his notes before the date our policy with them started.

The reason for this is that we used the Kennel Club's free 6 week insurance from when we bought him home which was 16th December '08. He first went to our vets on 19th December '08 to be microchipped and have a general check-up and it was at this point the patches were noted on his records. We took out our policy with Direct Line at the end of January when the Kennel Club free one ran out.

What i'm wondering is whether I could call the Kennel Club and try to insure him with them again and whether they would not see it as a pre-existing condition because they have previously insured him??

I know it's a bit of a long shot and deep down I probably know the answer will be no but with the expense looming over me like a black cloud i'm about ready to try anything.

Does anyone know whether this is worth looking into or am I clutching at straws?

Any help, advice, suggestions are much appreciated as i'm feeling a bit swamped by it all at the moment.

I have no ideas. But it will only cost the phone call and might be worth a try you never know they might surprise you and say yes, if the answer is no it won't be a total shock will it.

Good luck with it I can imagine how worried you must be.

I'm going to call them on my lunch tomorrow. The whole thing is stressing me out now as realisation that it's happening has kicked in. I don't regret my decision to get it done at all but the money is worrying me.

We have had some help from Monty's breeder which we are incredibly grateful for but the fact we don't know exactly how much it will cost until it's done is a big worry. The vets have said they will do their best to keep it down as they know we are paying for it and not insurance.

Wishing you loads of luck tomorrow. Let us know how it goes.

I agree it is a worth a call, but my hunch is that the fact you were insured with them previously won't matter. Even if you started with the Kennel Club now, they would start the policy from now therefore it would still be classed a pre-exsisting condition.

You and Monty are in my thoughts. I hope you can come to some solution with finances.

Thanks, i've pondered over it for a few days as realistically I know I won't get the answer I want and i wasn't sure I could go through the disappointment and anger again that I went through with Direct Line. I guess it's like Lynn said, if you don't ask you don't get.

No advice, but just wanted to say, will be thinking of you and Monty....

I think you should fight it out with Direct Line.

If I remember rightly, on the notes it stated bald patches didn't it? Nothing to do with dermoid cysts. Therefore it can't be a pre-existing condition. Surely?

I'm sure he will be fine. I remember taking Harley in to have a dermoid removed off his eyeball only after 4 days of having him, and I was in bits, so understand your anxiety to a certain point, but remember to be calm when you go to the vets (I know that's easier said than done) as Monty will feed off this energy

Thank you, I will be relying on you lot to keep me sane for the 4 to 5 days he's at the vet clinic

I've put up all the fight I can with Direct Line and they're not budging and i'm not sure there is anything else I can do on that front which is annoying. I've tried every approach of arguing, being reasonable, writing and I still get the same answer.

I hope he will be fine at the vets and I definitely do my best to be normal when I drop him off!! Hopefully the less stressed he is, the quicker he'll recover and the less money it will cost!

I've also decided that I won't be visiting him whilst he's at the hospital as i don't think it's fair to get him all excited then leave him again.

Have you tried taking this up with the insurance ombudsman?