Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

amandajp_2

We have just taken my sister and her ex's two cats in and are looking at insurance. One of the cats had an accident a few years ago (fell in a vat of casutic dip) and so has damaged tear ducts and his corneas were burnt off (they have regrown). With that in mind are we better to insure with the same company that my sister used or will any eye/tear duct condition be excluded anyway as we are not the original policy holders?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Amanda

lowis

amandajp wrote: »

We have just taken my sister and her ex's two cats in and are looking at insurance. One of the cats had an accident a few years ago (fell in a vat of casutic dip) and so has damaged tear ducts and his corneas were burnt off (they have regrown). With that in mind are we better to insure with the same company that my sister used or will any eye/tear duct condition be excluded anyway as we are not the original policy holders?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Amanda

if i was you i would just tell the current insurance company that there is a change of address as you are adopting the cats from your sister who is a family member - i did this with Petplan when i adopted my ex-partner's cats after she got allergic to them. the policy remained in place and in fact the premiums went down as my postcode was different! Petplan did try to state it should be a new policy at first but i argued that the only thing changing was the address where the cats lived. they agreed in the end.

if the policy your sister had has already been ended then any new policy you take out is going to exclude anything that has been claimed for previously - even with the current insurer i would imagine - although you could always argue the point with them.

lowis

chocolatepennyfarthing wrote: »

Looking for a bit of advice please. My 15 month old dog has visited the vets twice in past year and needed ear drops. I am looking at changing insurance as currect one has put excess up 50% and we would have to pay 20% vet bills. If I go to a new insurer does that mean I will not be covered for any ear conditions at all or just the ones the vet said he had this time?

most insurance companies i assume would try to put a blanket 'any ear conditions' exclusion on a policy - petplan did this when my cat got the sniffles, she was excluded from all upper-respiratory problems' for life! just because she had a runy nose and slight wheeze for a few days!

you could always ask any potential insurer to clarify their position on this though.

killywillykaz

Hi folks, looking for help getting any insurance at all. I live in the (ripoff) Rep. of Ireland, but my vet is in the North, and no insurance company will cover me under these circumstances. Any other members out there from Eire who have experience of this and how to get round it? Need to sort quickly as I currently have 2 adult springers and a litter of 7 pups - you would think they would be glad to take my money, instead of splitting hairs over which side of the border I live!!

smcshane

Hi all,

Just a quick question if anyone can help.

I have just adopted a new cat (very unexpected) after my old boy passed away wasn't planning on getting another but she just turned up and is so gorgeous.

Anyway, I am looking for insurance that includes some form of dental cover for decayed teeth to be removed and not just through accident.

I am just being curscious as my other cat had to have a lot of work done (we adopted him in old age) and even though I can try preventative measures I would like to know what is out there.

Thanks for the help

Sx

lowis

smcshane wrote: »

Hi all,

Just a quick question if anyone can help.

I have just adopted a new cat (very unexpected) after my old boy passed away wasn't planning on getting another but she just turned up and is so gorgeous.

Anyway, I am looking for insurance that includes some form of dental cover for decayed teeth to be removed and not just through accident.

I am just being curscious as my other cat had to have a lot of work done (we adopted him in old age) and even though I can try preventative measures I would like to know what is out there.

Thanks for the help

Sx

this is a kind of grey area, as i believe some policies won't pay out if teeth need to be pulled due to lack of care...maybe one of our forum contributing vets or vet nurses can expand on this issue, i am sure they have first hand knowledge of these types of claims and what passes and what doesn't.

fyi - i made a claim last year for my cat who had a bad tooth - my vet called it a dental lesion and stated that it had to come out in order to prevent further, more serious conditions arising. the insurance company paid out. i am with axa.

hethmar

Point being that her bad teeth will be a pre existing condition so no insurer will cover that Im afraid. Or have I misunderstood that? If she develops bad teeth and perhaps that causes gum problems or vice versa then you should be covered. As Lowis says, grey area, lot depends on your vet's wording of the claim.

geoff1057

BEWARE of E AND L,they are rip off merchants:mad:, , they tried everything , not to pay us, they eventually did 8 MONTHS later, for less than half what i was claiming . they then added on that many exclusions,the policy was useless. WE CANCELLED ASAP :money:

Guinea_2

Hi everyone
Just thought I'd ask for some advice please. We have two pedigree dogs; one is just over three years old and the other is just over two years old. It's that time of year again when the insurance is up for renewal but I'm looking to try and decrease the payments NOT the level of care. I have never claimed for anything in the three years they've been insured but am paying £19.99 for one of them and £16.99 for the other. I have been looking on some price comparison websites and also individual sites and have found some good quotes from Direct Line and Tesco; both coming out around £24 as a joint insurance. The only thing I'm worried about is that if they did get anything wrong with them (fingers crossed!) then with these policies would they be covered for the whole condition or just for each year? What am I looking for in the policy?
Many thanks

hethmar

As far as Im aware neither of those are for life policies. Have you read the details or phoned them and asked them direct questions.

Read Lowis' explanation at the top of this page about what you should be looking for.

Ive got one of mine with M and S (stuck there as we have had claims for ongoing condition) and one with Halifax. The Halifax one I may well change this year. I am quite interested in the Pinnacle insurance cover. Otherwise, the old faithfuls are as above on the thread.

Just had a look - direct line, neither for life - both limited per condition. And Essential policy limited per condition maximum 12 months. Advanced policy £6k per condition over the entire lifetime of the pet. So if your dog got an ongoing condition, the essential policy would dump you after 12 months or £4k and the advanced would dump you after £6k had been claimed.





Essential policy
Covers vet's fees for a maximum of 12 months treatment for each illness, injury or disease, up to £4,000 (per condition).

Advanced policy
Covers vet's fees up to £6,000 (per condition) – with no time limit on reaching this amount


Tesco is the same, but with even lower amounts in the pot

Standard Cover
Tesco Pet Insurance Standard policy covers the cost of treating an injury or illness for up to £2,500 per eligible condition, for up to12 months from the start of the condition.

• Covers the cost of treating an injury or illness up to £2,500 per condition
• Offers a maximum of 12 months cover from the start of the condition

Extra Cover
Provides cover for the cost of treating an injury or illness for up to £4,000 per eligible condition, with no limit on claiming as long as the policy remains active.

• Covers the cost of treating an injury or illness up to £4,000 per condition
• Has no time limit on claiming as long as the policy remains active