Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Bromley86

jayne. One thing to be aware of with Healthy Pets is that they have a condition limit that doesn't reset each year. So when you hit that £5k, that's it (for that condition).

That might be what your Mum wanted, but it is a different model to the M&S one.

pboae. Just did a test quote for Halifax and it's unchanged from last year, so it appears that they haven't increased their first year premiums (at least for our breed, in our location). As we have claimed, I won't be able to provide any insight on second year increases for people who haven't claimed. I'm fully expecting our premium to triple, but that would be only fair given that we've claimed hundreds and may claim thousands next year .

EDIT: I've seen a few posts where you've warned that Halifax are changing - obviously as we're tied in I'm a little concerned. Would you mind elaborating? Thanks .

westcountry. I wouldn't recommend that Pet Secure policy because it looks to me like you are only insured for a fixed amount. If you check with (from memory) AXA, NFU, Halifax and/or HSBC you should be able to find a policy for about the same price that gives you a similar level of cover that resets each year.

davetaylor

Hi Everyone, I need some insurance advice please?

I have a 3 year old cat called Arthur who is insured through Tesco. I have just got a second 1 year old cat called Jimmy. I was speaking to my vets about insurance and he said that the problem with Tesco's is that it's not a lifetime policy and the premium could shoot up the following year if the cat was to be ill.

He says I need a lifetime policy.

Here is the thing, I have tried using the search engines but find the results baffling. I think I want a joint police for both cats at a fixed rate for a lifetime policy. Has anyone else done the ground work on this that could help me?

Dave

Bromley86

hehe. Look at the post above, "westcountry" section. All those are proper lifetime policies. There's some muddying of the water with some policies that claim to be lifetime but impose a non-renewing limit, but those ones above are the good sort.

Pboae recommends PetPlan, NFU and AXA as solid companies that are unlikely to change conditions on you a few years down the line. There's PetPlan for full peace of mind. However they cost 2-3 times more, which means that even if one of the cheaper plans mentioned increases prices after you claim, they have to increase it a lot to hit the PetPlan premium levels. There's no such thing as a fixed rate, unfortunately.

As you may have seen, I'm with Halifax and they've been great at paying up. AFAIK, pets are generally seperately insured, but I may be wrong there. I know that Halifax do a discount for multiple pets and I'd be surprised if the others didn't, so don't forget to look for that.

Finally, using Quidco to get the insurance will get you a little cashback.

Get quotes from all of those insurers. It doesn't take long online (or phone in NFU's case). Don't worry about any other companies.

/end of summary .

pboae

Bromley86 wrote: »

EDIT: I've seen a few posts where you've warned that Halifax are changing - obviously as we're tied in I'm a little concerned. Would you mind elaborating? Thanks .

There's a lot of reports surfacing on dog boards of huge hikes in renewal premiums, although it doesn't appear to have been an across the board increase, but then the first round of increase with M&S was selective as well.

Also 3 different people (1 of whom I know well enough to trust what they say, as opposed to just random internet reports) have said that when they queried the price hikes they were told that Halifax were revaluating their decision to offer pet insurance, and wouldn't confirm whether or not they would continue to offer it to existing policy holders.

*But* that is still effectively unsubstantiated rumour at the moment. It's enough to make me jittery, and I wouldn't take a policy out with them right now. But if you are already tied to a policy with them, there isn't a great deal you can do, so it's not something worth jumping for at this stage.

mirrorimage0

i went with petplan the middle cover thats a for life and was quite reasonable 11.84 i think

Bromley86

Thanks pboae. As I've said, I don't mind the increase part in our case but that possible withdrawal certainly scares the pants off me. Just another reason to get her hip(s) whipped out and replaced ASAP.

carlih1

Just adopted two kittens from RSPCA, is it cheaper to insure them when they have been spayed? Got quotes from £8.00 per month each? x

westcountry_saver

Bromley86. I emailed pet secure to check if the £6000 per condition was reset each year and if it covered the lifetime of the pet and they have assured me that it does (will be printing the email they sent just in case)

lozkate

We have a 3 year old Lab and have him insured with More Th>n.

Originally the premium was £10.99 per month but this year it has gone up to £15.99.

I have tried price comparisson sites and am happy with the level of cover and their customer service side after a couple of claims (nothing that would make me unwilling to move insurers).

When I went back into More Th>n site and put in all his details the quote came back £4 per month cheaper - are they likely to match the price if I ring tomorrow?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kate

pboae

carlih1 wrote: »

Just adopted two kittens from RSPCA, is it cheaper to insure them when they have been spayed? Got quotes from £8.00 per month each? x

Shouldn't make any difference. Anything to do with pregnancy is excluded from most (all?) pet insurance anyway. Do shop around before you go with the RSPCA though. Their cover is OK, but not the best.

lozkate wrote: »

When I went back into More Th>n site and put in all his details the quote came back £4 per month cheaper - are they likely to match the price if I ring tomorrow?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kate

It's very unlikely they will, but it's worth a try, you've got nothing to lose. Ask them if they offer a loyalty bonus to match their new cutomer bonus.