Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Bromley86

Wow! That's got to be a first when PP is cheaper. I take back what I said to you earlier - don't rock the boat with PP.

barn_in_effect

Thats the other great thing about it, you can choose the excess, £75 or £50

so ofcourse I chose it with £50, I cant see anything about any % so if its not quoted I will have to check the small print of the policy

so all in all it looks so good, perhaps other quotes deal with areas and breed, but nothing comes close to this quote so I'm gunna take it before they change their minds lol

:beer:

juliew

My three dogs have always been insured with More Than, but when one of them died last year I obviously cancelled that one. Although he had died I still had to pay a large percentage of the insurance for the coming year, which thay said was in the small print. Is this the norm with all pet insurance? I have just taken in a rescue dog and don't know which insurance to go for. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Bromley86

YOUR PREMIUM PAYMENTS

N. This Policy is an annual contract. If your pet dies, is put to
sleep, or is stolen/strays and you make a claim, it is a condition
that you have paid the full annual premium.

I know that Halifax are the same. If you didn't claim anything that year then they shouldn't charge you, but I'd assume that includes getting the purchase cost of the dog on death.

To be honest I'd be surprised if you get better terms that that as insurers do seem to see it as an annual policy with the direct debit just being a way of financing it.

For the future, depending on what you want and are willing to pay, I'd look seriously at liftime policies where the limit renews each year (i.e. not MoreThan). When I looked last year it was easily possible to get one of those policies for about the same cost.

If you haven't claimed (or visited a vet for a condition that you paid for) with the other dogs, consider switching them as you'll likely get a discount.

Money no object - Pet Plan
Ones to look at (outdated, from memory) - Halifax, AXA, NFU (phone only), HSBC.

Do get quotes from those (and others if you want) as it is worth getting right. Avoid anyone underwritten by E&L. Avoid anyone with a % excess (i.e. Animal Friends when your pet is 8 years old, although as they're underwritten by E&L they'd be excluded anyway ).

hethmar

Boy Im having trouble posting tonight - I either get no posts or three and now they have disappeared :eek:

What Ive tried to say is, M and S have certainly increased their premiums and of course they now have a £70 excess instead of the wonderful zero excess originally I am stuck with them with one dog because he has been treated for a skin allergy which including tests cost about £600 in one year. He has not had any treatment for that allergy for over a year now but Im sure another insurer would exclude it.

My other dog is a 2 year old border terrier, neutered, chipped, healthy. M and S renewal for the premier policy of £7k and unlimited costs per condition is £226 - their standard policy of £4k and £1k per condition per year is £113. Im not sure whether to go for that. I note that on top of the £70 they are also talking + 20% for dogs over 9 and whilst thats a while off .......................

I know that insurers like More Than give the impression their policies are for life but when I actually quizzed them they admitted that the benefits are per condition and so youd be well in the poo if your dog got a chronic lifelong illness. I have written to complain to them that there text is very misleading. I would add that Sainsburys is the same - I just noticed a few people are taking that out!

The other thing is Beachbeth? You would be covered for your dogs ointment after you had paid the excess - Id checked that with M and S already - so once your cumulative costs are over £70 you will be able to claim.

SO guys, has anyone spent days trawling to find the best policy - before I start again please?

The other thing Ive just noticed is my vet has a sign up saying any insurance policy claims will cost £14 to sign and send off !! Is everyone being caught by this?

Bromley86

IMO £4k per year is acceptable, although you may have to fork out £1,000 in a surgery year. I probably wouldn't risk it myself having experience a high-claim puppy.

£1k per condition is flat out not enough. If it's all that one can afford, then that's fine, but otherwise . . .

My trawling was a year ago now, so very out of date. Worth looking at Halifax, AXA, HSBC, NFU. And Pet Plan, of course. There are others, but I forget who.

Change vet - we did because ours charged (well, we weren't happy with the service either, but it was a factor). I know that it takes time for them to fill in the forms, but having insurance also ensures that they get prompt payment, saving them time chasing debtors.

hethmar

I was looking at one called Lifetime cover - I picked the leaflet up at the vets. Its not pet plan, I think its pinnacle. Anyway, once again misleading text - the leaflet tells you how this is a lifetime plan, no worries, any expenses and so on - you then have to get a quote via the net, which I did. and yes, the premier plan does cover all eventualities but when you bring up the terms of the policy, the two other plans do not - they have a per condition limit of £1k. I think these companies are so dreadful misleading people. I mean had I not been a bit savvy, Id assume the glowing description in the leaflet applied to ALL the schemes even though the total cover was lower, Id expect that the condition would be covered for the £4k not just £1k - as we have noted, just tests for an allergy come to over £500.

greencode

hethmar wrote: »

I was looking at one called Lifetime cover - I picked the leaflet up at the vets. Its not pet plan, I think its pinnacle. Anyway, once again misleading text - the leaflet tells you how this is a lifetime plan, no worries, any expenses and so on - you then have to get a quote via the net, which I did. and yes, the premier plan does cover all eventualities but when you bring up the terms of the policy, the two other plans do not - they have a per condition limit of £1k. I think these companies are so dreadful misleading people. I mean had I not been a bit savvy, Id assume the glowing description in the leaflet applied to ALL the schemes even though the total cover was lower, Id expect that the condition would be covered for the £4k not just £1k - as we have noted, just tests for an allergy come to over £500.

I must say comparing like-for-like pet insurance is trickier than getting your car insurance each year. They really do seem to mislead you in so many ways. I've been with PetPlan for the past year - not had to claim as yet - but it looks as though I'll be staying with them. I've got my renewal through for a 15 month old boxer and it's £19 a month for £4k of cover.

hethmar

Im sure Petplan is brilliant but its about £32 a month for my dog, which seems very expensive. The 4k cover you have, does that have a limit on the per condition per year of £1k like so many of the others?

Ive just got a quote from Halifax on line and Im well impressed, just want to read through the policy again but it does appear to be offering for life sith £6k cover, no per condition limit mentioned, £50 excess (no percentage mentioend) and its only £12.72 per month for my Border Terrier - in fact less than that because if you go through quidco you get £20 cash back for the policy. You also get 10% discount if you add another dog but I cant do that with my other boy because we are stuck with M and S due to the claims made in the past - sickening isnt it. The thing is you think you have the best insurer but if they change their terms and condtions a year later you can end up stuck with a duff deal

Please do check Petplan dont have a per condition limit on your policy before you renew or your boy gets stuck with one insurer. And let us know please if that is the case.

I just did a trial quote on Petplan for the £4k budget policy for my 2 year old and it came out £22 per month for the £4k cover. Still reasonable but the Halifax offers higher cover for £12.72.

Right Ive done another couple of trial quotes for the 2 year old male neutered and chipped border terrier living in Norfolk with no previous claims

HSBC is £148.68 a year with £7500 per year life time cover and £75 excess
AXA is £161 per year for £6k lifetime cover with £50 excess
Halifax is £152.66 per year for £6k lifetime cover and £50 excess (+ £20 cash back available on quid.co)

greencode

hethmar wrote: »

Im sure Petplan is brilliant but its about £32 a month for my dog, which seems very expensive. The 4k cover you have, does that have a limit on the per condition per year of £1k like so many of the others?

Ive just got a quote from Halifax on line and Im well impressed, just want to read through the policy again but it does appear to be offering for life sith £6k cover, no per condition limit mentioned, £50 excess (no percentage mentioend) and its only £12.72 per month for my Border Terrier - in fact less than that because if you go through quidco you get £20 cash back for the policy. You also get 10% discount if you add another dog but I cant do that with my other boy because we are stuck with M and S due to the claims made in the past - sickening isnt it. The thing is you think you have the best insurer but if they change their terms and condtions a year later you can end up stuck with a duff deal

Please do check Petplan dont have a per condition limit on your policy before you renew or your boy gets stuck with one insurer. And let us know please if that is the case.

I just did a trial quote on Petplan for the £4k budget policy for my 2 year old and it came out £22 per month for the £4k cover. Still reasonable but the Halifax offers higher cover for £12.72.

Right Ive done another couple of trial quotes for the 2 year old male neutered and chipped border terrier living in Norfolk with no previous claims

HSBC is £148.68 a year with £7500 per year life time cover and £75 excess
AXA is £161 per year for £6k lifetime cover with £50 excess
Halifax is £152.66 per year for £6k lifetime cover and £50 excess

The 4k per year is for all treatments in that year i.e. you could claim for 3.5k for one illness and £500 for the other illness

I've also checked with Halifax and for the same 6k deal it comes out at £411.79!