Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Bromley86

westcountry_saver wrote: »

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)

Wierd. I just reread their policy and it really does look (to my uneducated eye) like they would limit to £6k max per condition over the lifetime of the pet. As you say, hang on to that email .

hopperbay

I am feeling extremely let own by M&S and their disregard for existing pet policyholders. I took a policy out with them just over a year ago after comparing the market, comparing cover, reading various forums (they were even recommended on this site as well) and at renewal they have now increased the monthly premium by over £10 per month plus in addition added a clause that the nil excess is now £70 and on top now request an extra 20% of the cost of the fees if your dog is over 9 years old (which mine will be this year).

Unfortunately my dog had some treatment last year for a bacterial infection and ear mites, so as soon as I try to quote elsewhere I am hit by the "sorry we don't insure dogs older than 8 years old" or "we won't cover pre-existing conditions". My dog is currently well and healthy, but the fact that she had been treated in the past immediately leaves the flood gates open for any new insurer to say any new conditions that may arise are linked to those previous conditions. I checked and they wont even accept a report from my vet to confirm that my dog has no current conditions.

I am therefore stuck with either staying with M&S and paying higher premiums to be able to claim nothing back unless I gest a huge bill (assuming I do ever need to claim again) or I change insurer yet again and take my chances that the ear mites and bacterial infections dont ever come back or won't be linked to any future problems. To be honest I just dont have the spare money to take a risk like that (hence the reason for taking out insurance in the first place). I had toyed with changing to Tesco who don't seem to charge the earth, have a decent level of excess and insure older pets, but then who is to say that in a years time I may not be in the same boat again and then my pet will be even older and possibly uninsurable altogether so I guess I am stuck.

The excuse I was given by M&S when I complained was that its the vets' faults and they just aren't making the money so need to recoup it from the policyholders. I could maybe understand them removing the nil excess, and by increasing premiums in line with inflation, but I cannot justify these massive increases and the extra 20% penalty on top. They are just ripping people off and they know that a lot of their current policyholders just will not or cannot afford to move elsewhere.

This is the fourth time I have been stitched up by pet insurers and have been forced to change. Firstly I was with Woolwich who stopped doing their own insurance and changed to another company who put premiums up to a crazy amount, I then fell in into the cheap E&L trap who refused to pay out for a tiny claim and then I was with the RSPCA who did a similar thing to Woolwich. Now M&S have gone one step further.

I really wish I had stuck with Pet Plan who my dog was with as a puppy. They may be more expensive, but at least I would have had the reliability of an insurer who gives a decent level of cover and doesnt increase premiums to an unafordable level on a whim.

Unfortunately though, the majority of us pet owners love our pets and would do anything to save them if they were hit by a huge vet bill, so we are forced to bow down to the insurers. Its sad to say but I can really see that we are heading towards a position where the number of older pets abandoned or rehomed increases because people just cannot afford to keep them any longer and there will be a shortage of homes willing to step forward to take them on.

When my dog dies I will certainly not be getting a replacement even though I love her to bits and could offer a good home to another.

cupid_s

davetaylor wrote: »

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

I have just bought tesco pet insurance and was assured that it is a lifetime policy if you go for the extra cover, which is slightly more expensive

Can anyone who has this insurance confirm this?

pboae

It's lifetime cover in that you can continue to claim in subsequent years, but there is a limit per condition (£4,000 I think) over the dog's lifetime.

So if your dog develops something like arthritis and needs medication that costs £50 a month, the policy will stop paying out after approx 6-7 years. If they had hip dysplacia and need a hip replacement that would use most of the £4,000 in one go, and there would be no money left in later years for related conditions.

zavarony

have found a llifetime policy from
http://www.pet-insurance.co.uk/level-of-cover/
which offers lifetime insurance for my lab for under £12 per month - it seems to good to be true it also claims to offer vets fee of £4000 per MONTH!!!
How do I find out if it is a good quality policy

HELP!!!

pboae

http://www.pet-insurance.co.uk/about-us/

Pet-insurance.co.uk is a scheme administered and underwritten by Equine & Livestock Insurance Co. Ltd.

Equine and Livestock is E&L, you'll be lucky to get £4 out of them, let alone £4,000

katface_2

pboae wrote: »

http://www.pet-insurance.co.uk/about-us/

Pet-insurance.co.uk is a scheme administered and underwritten by Equine & Livestock Insurance Co. Ltd.

Equine and Livestock is E&L, you'll be lucky to get £4 out of them, let alone £4,000

I have e&l insurance for my 10 month old lab puppy and we have had to claim twice for him having tummy upsets. We have had no problems whatsoever with them, i have found them very efficient and havent noticed long delays in paying out and they pay our vet direct. They have not had any quibbles even though we had to see an out of hours vet which was v expensive. The insurance they offer as 'Animal Friends Insurance' (underwritten by E and L) is comprehensive and truly lifetime and i would thoroughly recommend them

mirrorimage0

we have had nothing but trouble with e & l on seperate claims even now we had to have our dog put down recently and are having trouble getting them to pay out

zavarony

HI Pboae - thanks for your advice on this - I am baffled by the difference in each policy etc, but have taken your advice and called NFU who have offered me a very good quote with cover that sounds to be very comprehensive so I am a vey happy dog owner

Thanks again
Zav

aytch

I am truly angry at M&S. I have had my pet insurance with them for the past two years. In year one £10 per month, no excess. In year two it rose to £16.50 per month, £50 excess. Renewal quote arrived today only quoting premium cover rate £31.90 per month. After reading a few times with mouth open (as I have had no claims this year) I rang them for a standard quote, £22.90. so all in all it has risen to over double what I started with - what am I doing.... walking away and looking elsewhere.

Not just pet insurance, doubly expensive, pricehiking M&S insurance!