Pet Insurance guide discussion area

krlyr · 25 January 2016 at 7:54PM

hayleowner wrote: »

Worth asking but I suspect I'm out of luck so here goes.

I had three cats all covered with Direct line. I changed to ASDA (saved £10/month). I phoned to arrange the change over at the end of the policy for Jan 9th. I did this early December.

On Jan 14th my cat developed pancreatitis and after being in and out of the vets for 9 days she was finally put to sleep. I have looked at my policy with ASDA and there is a 15 day no claims section.

I know it's a long shot but any chance there is a loophole that if you have paid insurance all the previous year and gone straight into another there is any recourse for action?

Thanks for reading.
Rick

I wouldn't imagine so, your policy with Direct Line is nothing to do with ASDA so I don't imagine they would consider it. You could try, but I don't imagine you have a leg to stand on legally.

sheramber · 25 January 2016 at 9:23PM

llanwrst2 wrote: »

We are thinking of taking on a 4-5 year old rescue dog - a X breed stray from Romania (about the size of a small/Med Labrador - we have been told she is part Pyrenees Mountain Dog and in good health). Tomorrow I plan to start comparing prices etc. I have read MSE top 10 things to consider and the last 5 pages of this forum. With all this in mind is there anything I should look out for, be worried about or avoid etc. We have never had pet insurance before - we self insure our rescue rabbits but feel insurance is the way to go for a dog.

Any advice will be gratefully received - TIA

Go for lifetime cover with vet fee cover which reinstates each year. This is usually the most expensive but means your level of cover reinstates each year .

The next is lifetime cover but with a limit on amount available for each condition. So once you have used up that amount you have no more cover for that condition, or anything that the insurance company deem connected with that condition. E.G a claim for a damaged leg then a claim for arthritis in the same leg in later years would be deemed connected to the original claim.

I would avoid 12 month limited cover as you can only claim for 12 months from first diagnosis. If your dog develops an ongoing condition then you are without cover after the first 12 months.

Probably the Rolls Royce of companies is Petplan but it is more expensive.

If paying your vet direct is important then check with your vet which companies he will make a direct claim with.

Remember there is an exclusion period at the start of the policy so make sure you start cover immediately.

Cheap policies are not worth the money when they find excuses not to pay out.

Some rescues give a month's free cover when you get the dog. If this happens and you decide not to continue cover with that company overlap the insurance so that your 14 day exclusion period with the new company is covered by the existing policy. Any incident or illness arising during that period will be exxcluded if you then change companies so consider staying with the first one.

Remember to read the policy document- not just the summary- carefully to understand what you are covered for. Also check what the excess on the policy is and if it chnanges to include a copay of the bill after a certain age.

sheramber · 25 January 2016 at 9:32PM

diceydeb wrote: »

My lab is insured with Churchill for last 3 years. First yr no claim second he had elbow displasia cost £3800 they pd max 3000 so only had to find 800. Next yr policy up £4 to £17 which was ok with as they pd out . No more claims following yr now renewal is £22 .My dog still has some arthritis in his elbow and I know they wont pay out for this but is it worth me staying with Churchill how likely are they to pay out for anything else when I have maxed out on policy . There are many other cheaper ones but will they cough up if I switch. For the same money sainsburys offer £7500 cover on going max .I dont know what to do.He is 6 this yr.

Your policy covers your for up to £3000 in vet fees per condition for 12 months only. Ant new condition will have this cover but as you have found it is not very good cover. If you dog develops an ongoing condition such a diabetes then you will only have cover for 12 months.

Churchill will not cover anything related to your dog's leg condition such as arthritis. Neither will any new company but they might provide better cover for any other condition.

It depends on what you are comfortable with.

fd1972uk · 26 January 2016 at 12:28PM

Hi,

I'm from a pet background, but never had dog insurance.

Now bought a little Yorkie for our first family pet (daughters birthday present) and am looking to ensure the little fella (7 wks).

Got this from PDSA and though it was okay. Hopefully I'm allowed to post the details, but hoping someone could just point me in right direction.

Lifetime

All new medical conditions are covered up to the financial limit. If the limit is reached during the insurance year, the cover stops until the policy is renewed. At renewal the limit is fully reinstated and the condition will continue to be covered in the policy the following year. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the insurance provider.

Vet Fee Excess

£75 plus 10% of the rest of the cost of the veterinary treatment per condition, per year.

What's included

Vet Fees£8,000 per year. Limits reinstated upon renewal.Boarding Fees£2,000Death by Accident£1,500Lost or Stolen£1,500Death by Illness£1,500Advertising Limit£2,000UK only call centresLegal AdviceBereavement CounsellingLoss of Pet Passport£250Quarantine costs£500Third party liability£1,000,000Third party liability excess£100

I think I'm following the stuff correctly, with the exception of the VAT Fee excess. It says covered for £8000 for the year, but then says I pay a £75 excess, but what is the 10% of the rest mean, not sure what the difference is of that and the £8000 cover?

Hope that is understandable what I've put down.

TIA

FD

sheramber · 26 January 2016 at 2:28PM

fd1972uk wrote: »

Hi,

I'm from a pet background, but never had dog insurance.

Now bought a little Yorkie for our first family pet (daughters birthday present) and am looking to ensure the little fella (7 wks).

Got this from PDSA and though it was okay. Hopefully I'm allowed to post the details, but hoping someone could just point me in right direction.

Lifetime

All new medical conditions are covered up to the financial limit. If the limit is reached during the insurance year, the cover stops until the policy is renewed. At renewal the limit is fully reinstated and the condition will continue to be covered in the policy the following year. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the insurance provider.

Vet Fee Excess

£75 plus 10% of the rest of the cost of the veterinary treatment per condition, per year.

What's included

Vet Fees£8,000 per year. Limits reinstated upon renewal.Boarding Fees£2,000Death by Accident£1,500Lost or Stolen£1,500Death by Illness£1,500Advertising Limit£2,000UK only call centresLegal AdviceBereavement CounsellingLoss of Pet Passport£250Quarantine costs£500Third party liability£1,000,000Third party liability excess£100

I think I'm following the stuff correctly, with the exception of the VAT Fee excess. It says covered for £8000 for the year, but then says I pay a £75 excess, but what is the 10% of the rest mean, not sure what the difference is of that and the £8000 cover?

Hope that is understandable what I've put down.

TIA

FD

You pay £75 plus 10% of the rest of the rest of the bill.

if you claimed for a £255 bill you would pay an excess of £75 + 10% x £180 ( 255-75)

you pay £75 + £18 = £93 and the insurer pays the £162 balance.

Your vet fee limit for the rest of the year is £8000 less £162 already paid out.

If you claim again in the same year for the same condition you will not pay another £75 but you will pay !0% of the bill.

If you claim , in the same year for another condition you will pay the excess of £75 plus 10% of the rest of the bill.

So , if you claim for a cut paw £255 you pay £93 and the insurer pays the balance.

If your dog needs further treatment for the cut paw you will only pay 10% of the bill as you have already paid the £75 fixed excess.

Then a month later you claim for an ear infection £175 , you pay £75 plus £10 = £85 and the insurer pays the rest.

Each time your insurer pays out during the year that amount is deducted from the £8000 total.

At the start of a new policy year the full amount of £8000 will be reinstated but you will have to pay a new £75 excess for each separate condition claimed for , even if you paid the £75 excess for that condition in the previous year.

diceydeb · 26 January 2016 at 7:43PM

Wow sheramber superbly explained thankyou for your knowledge .Was wondering fd 1972uk how much per month was the premiums on that policy with pdsa.

PhiltheBear · 27 January 2016 at 8:47AM

Unless your pet is older than 8 years then ANY insurance that charges a percentage on top of a fixed excess is a rip-off. Look elsewhere.

fd1972uk · 27 January 2016 at 12:22PM

Thanks Sheramber, brilliant explanation.

Thanks Philthebear, yeah will need to watch that, just thinking if something went wrong with him (he's only 8 weeks on 31st) and it was say £7k, I'd need to fork out £700, which defeats the purpose of going against a slightly more expensive quote that doesn't have this percentage payment.

Thanks all.

FD

sheramber · 27 January 2016 at 1:58PM

diceydeb wrote: »

Wow sheramber superbly explained thankyou for your knowledge .Was wondering fd 1972uk how much per month was the premiums on that policy with pdsa.

Premiums are assessed on several aspects

breed of dog
Age of dog
your post code - this reflects what the average vet charges are for your area

So what one person pays is not the same as what someone else pays.

Do an online quote to find out what your premium would be.

Some companies also take into account any claims you make.

Petplan are one company who do not do this.

Premiums do however increase each year due to overall increases, just as other insurances do.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to switch companies as any previous conditions or illness ( even of you have not claimed for them) will be excluded by a new company.

owlet · 5 February 2016 at 2:58PM

I've just had my renewal through from Tesco for my 13 month old Shih Tzu. It had gone up but not too drastically (1 claim). I decided to phone Petplan & was quite amazed that they were £45 cheaper & for a higher level of cover.

With Tesco I was £4,000 Extra policy, which doesn't refresh annually
With Petplan I've got £7000 cover which does refresh annually.

Rosie had an eye infection last April, which recurred a few weeks later - so eye conditions are excluded for 12 months from the last date of infection - so May this year.

She had an incident in the garden in July last year where she choked on something & I claimed with Tesco - no exclusion.

In January this year she had gastroenteritis - 11 months exclusion

So I've just got to hope that she doesn't have any more gasro episodes for the next 11 months!

I'm just happy to now have her insured fully with a policy that refreshes the limits each year. Just goes to show that it's worth a phone call!

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