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PEIA panellists urged vets to communicate better with clients and called for further undergraduate training on how to do so.
Chris Simpson
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Image: © JovialFox / Adobe Stock
Vets should not leap to ask clients if their pet is insured, clinicians were advised at the Pet and Equine Insurance Association (PEIA) Members Forum.
The London event – which was held under the Chatham House Rule, meaning speakers cannot be named – brought together a swathe of veterinary and pet insurance professionals to discuss “The Human Side of Pet Insurance”.
The forum included sessions on the human-animal bond, anticipatory grief and the emotional reality of the vet room.
One vet suggested clinicians should be more receptive to clients’ needs.
The vet said: “Sometimes, where we go wrong is we prejudge what the human wants and assume that it aligns fully with what we want as a professional. That’s not a great place to be.
“[Some vets] almost see the human part of the patient as a barrier to what we do, or an obstruction to overcome.
“We definitely need to remember that we’re in service [of patients and clients], and we should have a degree of humility in how we approach things.”
Asked how they try to understand clients’ needs, one panellist responded: “Definitely [the] really key thing is communication. It’s important not to come straight out with, ‘Are you insured?’, because not only is that a really open question – and you might be insured, but to how much, it might not help – but also, if they’re not, it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t proceed.”
They added: “You still need to – even with really good insurance – be realistic and still practise contextualised care. Just because they’re insured, you don’t have to spend it all.”
The panellist spoke of the difficulty of building a rapport and a relationship with a client within a 15-minute consultation, adding: “A big thing is giving people permission to not do everything, and permission to not spend all of their money on a case. And I think we have to guide people in that respect.”
They suggested more training for clinicians at university would help new graduates feel more confident doing so from the outset of their careers.
On insurance, another panellist agreed, noting: “It’s not something that I’ve ever treated as a target.”
But they added: “Even with your best intentions in the world, cost is sometimes the biggest barrier, even when you communicate it well.”
The panellist recommended talking clients through their examination of the animal to show the value of what they are doing, “so someone understands that you’re not just stood there next to a horse with a stethoscope, you are making meaningful conclusions that will change the treatment plan”.
On broaching the subject of insurance, they said: “I will often say to [clients], ‘If your horse is insured, then this is something they may cover, depending on your exclusions and policy’.
“So, taking that conversation away from ‘Are you insured?’, flipping it on its head and putting it back in their court, essentially.”