Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

MrsE_2

lowis wrote: »

...but that is exactly what i was saying when i said that atleast the OP had some insurance in place, better than none at all. i guess my statement can be read either way, depending on what side of the bed you climbed out of this morning

also, you should know by now Mrs E that i am not one of the snipey, negative ones on here...

x

If you want to amend it, I would be happy to amend my posts.

I'm not suggesting you do, just saying that should you decide to, I would be happy to amend mine.

lowis

i think the OP can see I wasn't being sarcastic or negative from the conversation we have had. an amendment will make everything sound confusing now

Dreamy, just to reiterate, i really wasn't being sarcastic or horrid (i'm not that kind of person) x

hethmar

Dreamy, I think you will find the more expensive policy was a for life one, which means that the insurance pot gets topped up every year, rather than the Tesco policy you have now which just runs down until there is no money left for you to claim.


Please rethink as these are big dogs and the cost of vet surgery would easily use up that sort of money very very quickly.

hethmar

jeannieblue wrote: »

I'm having a nose round at the moment and this thread has helped alot.

I found Tesco's to be really reasonable......... but having read this thread, you are not fully insured I guess with them. Re this life cover thing.

My pups 8 months old and I really don't know what to get for the best.

Jeannie, is he only 8 months?

Well anyway - if you can afford it get Petplan for life policy - check them out as they now have some non-life ones I guess to look competitive with other non-life. If not, then AXA or NFU are both good companies. I have one of mine with M and S which is a for life policy but which hooked us in a few years back with low premiums and no excesses and then virtually doubled the premiums after a couple of years. This means all of us who have claimed for a dog, or visited a vet during that time are stuck with them as those conditions or related ones wont be covered by a new insurer . My other boy is with Halifax with is actually underwritten by AXA.

The old established ones like NFU (the oldest animal insurer in the UK) and Petplan are really the best bets. I may well shift over to one of those when Diggs policy comes up for renewal with Halifax and bite the bullet re the problem he has had with an itchy ear which they will exclude.

maggie999

hethmar wrote: »

Jeannie, is he only 8 months?

Well anyway - if you can afford it get Petplan for life policy - check them out as they now have some non-life ones I guess to look competitive with other non-life. If not, then AXA or NFU are both good companies. I have one of mine with M and S which is a for life policy but which hooked us in a few years back with low premiums and no excesses and then virtually doubled the premiums after a couple of years. This means all of us who have claimed for a dog, or visited a vet during that time are stuck with them as those conditions or related ones wont be covered by a new insurer . My other boy is with Halifax with is actually underwritten by AXA.

The old established ones like NFU (the oldest animal insurer in the UK) and Petplan are really the best bets. I may well shift over to one of those when Diggs policy comes up for renewal with Halifax and bite the bullet re the problem he has had with an itchy ear which they will exclude.

Could I ask why you would switch from AXA to petplan? what is it that is so much better with them? thanks.

jeannieblue

Actually he is 9 months old - just looked up his birth date 3rd July 2008.

I'm going to have another look around at the insurance - the wording of the cheaper ones give the impression that it is 2500 to 4000 per condition. They don't state that when that amount has gone, should another condition arise, you are not covered. Or do I have the wrong end of the stick here?

The 'for life' ones - mean that they will pay out endlessly if your dog has a 'condition' that lasts, say ten years?

And what do they actually mean by 2500k or 12 months?

Re the 'cheap' insurance say:
If your dog/cat say has lots of different conditions - say one year it costs 2500k then the next year it has another condition that costs 2500k and then the year after that a different condition again that costs 2500k. Would you be covered for all these 'conditions' as they are different?

Or should I go on an insurance forum for an expert underwriter or whatever to guide a stupid ninny like me??

My bosses have just taken out similar insurances - with the 4k limit on their new lab pups. I know they are not stupid and one of them had two labs before, one with an ongoing 'condition' which was covered by insurance - so I am confused why he would pick a so called 'cheap' insurance for this new pup unless he'd done his homework....

Dreamy

I would LOVE to be able to afford the bigger insurance policies that covered you for more but at the moment I just can't I have already spoken to tescos and from what I understand and I may be compleatly wrong but the £2500 cover is per condition per year I do understand that this may not be enough for somethings and am hoping never to have to actually use it at all
As lowis said "some insurance, better than none at all"

jeannieblue

Dreamy wrote: »

I would LOVE to be able to afford the bigger insurance policies that covered you for more but at the moment I just can't I have already spoken to tescos and from what I understand and I may be compleatly wrong but the £2500 cover is per condition per year I do understand that this may not be enough for somethings and am hoping never to have to actually use it at all
As lowis said "some insurance, better than none at all"

If it is 2.5k per condition per year - I would think that would be excellent value.. I intend to find out if that is the case - if it is, I cannot see the point of the for life policy - which is double or more. The option of 4k is very reasonable per month too. And if that is on the same basis, per condition, per year - then I think that is really good value.

I've been given the name of an insurance person that will be looking into all of this for me. Apparently we are led into all sorts of policies that are very expensive, but as pet lovers, we are coerced into them, for fear of being called bad owners and stupidly we fall for it!!

Let you know when I have some stats etc.

lowis

please be careful with the tesco 'standard' policy, you do indeed get £2500 per condition, but each condition is only covered for the 12 months from the first date of treatment i.e. if you only claim £1000 in the 12 months, you do not get to roll over the £1500 for future treatment beyond those 12 months. so if your dog gets a condition in 2009 and you claim £1000, and then the same condition returns in 2011 you will not covered for that condition the second time around.

if you can find a value policy that doesn't have this 12 month time limit on their vet fees claim allowance i would suggest this might be a better option.

good luck x

malfollie_01

Hey all,
Dunno if ARGOS has ever been mentioned on here? I have the platinum cover on my two westies my older boy costs me £15 per month my little girl 8 months £12.
My little girl had to have a huge operation on her hip when she was 5 months old all together the treatment came to nearly 1000 all I had to do was pay £50 to the vets and hand them the form argos dealt with them direct so easy.
I have posted a link to their policy details below. I know mine are small little dogs so will be cheaper. I would say stretch to what you can afford though it is always a lot cheaper than the vet bills!!! Hope the post is of some help
http://www.bdmlconnect.co.uk/ArgosPet/fsa-docs/Argos_PolicyWording.pdf
xxxx