Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Stephen_Webber

I haven't claimed this year, although I have in previous years (both cats run over). Not sure if this will let me cancel or not.

I will start looking around though

Bromley86

A bad year!

If you've claimed, you're pretty much stuck. Especially as I suspect many insurers will tie just about any future condition to them being run over (but then I have a suspicious mind ).

hethmar

Ive just signed up with Halifax Bromley - it works out about £70 a year less than M and S and the excess is lower. Lets hope they dont up it next year I got the NFU paperwork through and though Im sure they are a great company, there was only scant info about the policy cover - apparently you get the full info booklet after you sign up.

So many thanks for your help in being a sounding board for me - only wish I could move the other dog over now. I guess I could let them exclude the skin stuff he was tested for as we havent needed any meds for it for over a year now so its unlikely to come back

Bromley86

That is truely odd and something I'd managed to miss. They have all their other policy documents online, so why not the one for pet insurance? I'm sure there's nothing sinister and there's a cooling off period, but I do like to read something before I commit to it .

5 weeks until our renewal date, so we should be getting a renewal letter through soon. That should still be within your cooling off period. I'll post so you can see what happens to Halifax premiums after claims.

planetf1

I'm collecting a new Puppy (Cockerpoo) on saturday and figured it probably made sense to get insurance sorted straight away.

Having read through this thread I think I've picked out the key insurers and welcome any comments

I'm only looking at policies that cover £4000+ pa with ongoing illnesses.

Looks like I may have a little problem with cover for first week as puppy is only 7 weeks old.

1. Petplan. £17.77 for their basic ongoing policy, which appears to have just about bearable cover, with no gold plating, & a wacking £33.94 for top policy

2. Halifax £20.11 for wha tlooks like a decent £6000 cover -- only problem is it struggled with the start date being this weekend. (Interestingly also tried esure. Screens, prices, cover etc really similar)

3. HSBC £12.57 £7500 pa- seems loads cheaper with high cover of £7500/£75 excess. Approx only as again I struggled with the dates. Another M&S ?

4. AXA - 13.91/£75 £7000 pa. Seemed to be ok giving quote, but conditions mention 8 weeks. As above?

5. NFU - awaiting call back.

Now the analysis.
- I'd be comfortable going with PetPlan as a well known provider, but the cover seems poor - or shall we say less-good value
- I'd trust NFU. it's a PAIN they don't do online quotes. Would pay a little over the odds. Quite like to go with them..
- No idea on axa/halifax/hsbc. They seem ok now, but what about the M&S debarcle. That could happen again... None are long established are they?

Any provider I've missed worth considering? I know there's loads, but going on reputation?

hotcookie101

Bromley86 wrote: »

A bad year!

If you've claimed, you're pretty much stuck. Especially as I suspect many insurers will tie just about any future condition to them being run over (but then I have a suspicious mind ).

My cat broke all four metatarsals (toes) and I didnt have him insured. I still ended up with about £150 bill (thats with 50% discount from my own employer!)
I decided afterwards it was worth insuring him (while I waited for xrays I had images of fractures requiring referral costing £1-2K)
At first Petplan said they would exclude all arthritic conditions of that leg-I challenged it, saying all healed, sent them copies of history and they removed the exclusion-so its worth asking companies or getting your vet to fax a copy of history to reassure them condition is unlikely to recur. (I made the point they would cover my cat for an RTA but wouldnt pay for arthritis he developed afterwards!)

hethmar

planet, I liked the idea of NFU, as you can see from my postings but I was concerned about the little detail sent with the quote and it was about £50 higher than Halifax but with lower cover - £4k. I think you will find all insurers require the dog to be over 8 weeks. If you are collecting the puppy from a breeder you will normally find they throw in a breeders Petplan policy for the first 8 weeks (sprat to catch a mackerel from PP) - check it out with the breeder before you insure with someone else. It will give you more time to sort out the best cover for you. By the way, are you entering the dog as a mongrel as it isnt a real breed is it? That should lower the premiums too.

Any illness would be excluded for the first couple of weeks if you insure with anyone else anyway. Im really surprised Halifax came out that high as it was the cheapest of the top insurers for my dogs. Have another go at getting a quote online from them and double check you have completed everything. I think you will also find that Axa underwrites the policies for HSBC and Halifax. But double check Halifax again as that doesnt seem right to me.

Thats was a very good result re PP cookie, well done.

hotcookie101

to be fair, with petplan I had a professional discount policy, plus a report from orthopods saying fractures had healed perfectly. If it had been a client I would have fought their corner. ( I had a case recently with a rescue animal with arthritis, when we xrayed had had a previous surgery-well before the owners time-if insurance refuses to pay I told the owners to go to Watchdog!)

Bromley86

planet. AXA *might* be reasonably expected to be more stable and less likely to pull and M&S bait-and-switch as they are their own underwriters.

I've seen a number of posts about HSBC giving reasonable quotes over the past year. You don't seem to get many posts about renewals for any of the companies (unless something goes horribly wrong as with M&S). With the extra £1.50 and the loss of £500 p.a. cover, I'd still go for AXA myself.

SolidSnake_3

Hi guys,

My 8 week old kitten is due to go the vets next week to have her first set of vaccination injections. The injections will cost £48.

If I took out pet insurance prior to the appointment, will it cover the injections? It seems far more economical to do it that way.

Thanks.