22 May 2024
Anna Judson tells association’s Scottish dinner it had been “painful” to see how the profession was “misrepresented” after the Competition and Markets Authority published its report in March.
Allister Webb
Job Title
BVA president Anna Judson at the association’s annual Scottish dinner.
The BVA president has slammed the veterinary sector’s portrayal as “scammers” following a review of companion animal services.
Anna Judson told the association’s annual Scottish dinner it had been “painful” to see how the profession was “misrepresented” after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its report in March.
But an industry consultancy firm has claimed that a fall in pet insurance premiums which coincided with its release was “no coincidence”.
Although the BVA and other sector organisations have been broadly supportive of the CMA process since it began last autumn, there has been recent criticism of both the authority’s handling of the issue and the justification for some of its claims.
Addressing the 8 May gathering at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Dr Judson said the sector had “needed to find new levels of resilience” to meet a range of recent challenges, including the CMA review.
Although she stressed the opportunities for reflection and reform offered through the process, she added: “We are also acutely aware of the impact the CMA review is having on the profession.
“Inaccurate and unfair media reporting, characterising vets as scammers who are preying on pet owners’ desire to do the very best for their animals, is leading to many veterinary teams reporting increased levels of abusive behaviour from clients, both in person and online.
“Of course, this portrayal of vets simply isn’t true and, as a practising vet of more than 30 years, who knows first-hand the quality of care which vet teams deliver day in, day out, it’s painful to see our profession misrepresented in this way.”
The BVA released its own response, drafted in collaboration with the BSAVA, BVNA, SPVS and VMG, to a consultation on the CMA’s proposal for a full market investigation last month.
Although it is widely expected that the probe will proceed, no final decision has yet been confirmed.
But officials from the Pearson Ham Group believe their latest analysis of the pet insurance market shows the process is already having a welcome impact for animal owners.
The firm said that, overall, prices fell by 2.5% during March, around the release of the review report and they are confident that trend will continue.
Product manager Frances Luery said the latest figure reversed “modest increases” observed during the first two months of 2024.
She said: “With the CMA investigation into the veterinary sector, it’s no coincidence that we see premiums fall back in March.
“We will hear more from the CMA in response to its recently closed consultation, but we should expect this trend to continue further into the year across all cover levels.”
The fall, revealed in the group’s latest analysis for the first quarter of 2024, follows a steep trend of increases that it estimates raised premium prices by almost 20% in the previous year.
Cover for certain breeds rose even faster than that, with prices for French bulldogs said to have soared by 24%.
The group said price reductions had mostly been seen for lifetime cover, the most commonly sought form of insurance, while other policy types have continued to experience price increases.
Lower cost policies priced at £1,000 or less also saw decreases, though the group said there were also signs of a slowdown on more expensive premiums of more than £2,000 during April.
