WHY WAS I FOBBED OFF WHEN MY TERRIER LILY GOT DIABETES?

MY 12-YEAR-OLD dog, Lily, has been insured ever since I collected her early one Saturday morning from Rugby.

West Highland Terriers are prone to an unpleasant skin condition, which can end up costing thousands of pounds.

Thankfully, we’ve been able to avoid that so far.

She did need to have an expensive knee operation once, which her insurer at the time, Tesco, paid for without query. I’ve stayed fairly loyal to the supermarket ever since.

When Lily was diagnosed with diabetes last September, I was insured with Animal Friends.

I made a claim for the diagnosis, which was just under £500.

It was rejected on the grounds that this was a ‘pre-existing condition’ from when the policy started in February.

Its explanation was that her medical records showed that she had been taken in to the vet for excessive water consumption (which is a potential sign of diabetes) 20 months before her diagnosis. Twenty months!

I forwarded this to my vet, who said that the rejection of the claim was totally unjustified. Lily was blood-tested for the previous complaint and, whatever was making her drink water, it was certainly not diabetes.

Despite presenting my vet’s testimony, my claim was once again rejected.

I was told the claim could only be reviewed if the vet provided even more information.

Six months on and, having renewed my policy with Animal Friends, thinking my loyalty might be rewarded, Lily became very ill with cystitis.

This time, the bill was a stinker — more than £1,000. And, once again, I was told the illness was linked to the ‘pre-existing condition’ of diabetes.

After Money Mail spoke to Animal Friends, it returned to me about £900 covering the two claims. It now says I should have complained more formally to have my claim reassessed.