Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

pboae

Well the new premiums certainly aren't competitive for me. :-(

Apparently the increases mainly apply to male dogs under 6. Most of the people I know with dogs in that category are getting increases of around 100%, some are as little as 25% and some 300% or more. I'm afraid I don't know anyone with cats insured with them so I haven't been able to find out about that.

Because my dog now has existing conditions, I cannot change his insurance anyway. So it looks like I have no choice but to find the extra cash. But I am really worried that there doesn't appear to be any legislation on this, and if M&S want to triple my premiums every year, they can and it's just tough luck for me. If they decide to double it next year (rather than triple it again) it'll be up to £800.

People are saying they won't do it because it will price them out of the market, but the current prices for some dogs are already way higher than anyone else, and that doesn't seem to be worrying them.

I pay for the insurance because I don't ever want to be in a position where I cannot pay for my pet's treatment. It never occured to me that a supposedly reputable company like M&S might force me into a situation where I cannot afford the insurance itself.

Bob63

pboae wrote:

People are saying they won't do it because it will price them out of the market, but the current prices for some dogs are already way higher than anyone else, and that doesn't seem to be worrying them.

Define "way higher"? How much more is M&S? My own research showed me that they are very close in price to most of the other insurers who offer similar lifetime cover and in some cases was quite a bit cheaper.

Mike

ArchieB_2

Pet is unlike most other General Insurance products due to the market-wide pre existing condition exclusion. This makes the initial buying decision critical as once you have claimed you are effectively 'locked' into that policy.

The only way round this is for an entrant to come into the market who offers guaranteed rates as per some Life contracts. The trouble lies with the cost of vet fees which is continuing to spiral out of control. The fact that Pet insurance is becoming more common means that traditionaly human medical procedures (often costly) have been introduced into the vets armoury as they know the insurance will pay. It is a snowball effect.

Pedigrees often cost more by the way as they often have a higher incidence of certain conditions.

jaxxy00

After reading this i have just put my details through their quote system to see if theres any difference in what i pay at the moment (policy taken out Jan 06). There is a slight increase from the current £90 a year i pay to £111 if taken out now. I still think that is good though due to the cover provided.
I hadnt ever had insurance for him before (he was almost 3 at the time of taking out) due to the high excesses which to me, unless you had a very expensive procedure or operation there wasnt much use in the insurance as you would always have to pay the first £50 or £80. A normal vet visit would be less than this so you would pay up in full yourself anyway.

I am a little nervous about the renewal price when it comes round though due to the claims ive had (diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia so ongoing treatment). Although a lady in the vets with a cat that had over £2000 of treatment in a year had no increase in renewal.

For anyone looking to get insurance im sure there are other good companies but M&S cover seems to be one of the best. My vet couldnt believe the cover that i got from them and thought i must be confused, especially when i said there was no excess and also when the specialist food was covered (the one which is nearly £2 a tin).

Where my dog goes swimming the lady said about the amount of people she hears of who are insured with Petplan and there was another but cant remember it, that are restricted on claiming because of the terms and conditions they put in place which prevents you claiming.
She is insured with M&S and her dog has got to go for treatment to a place about 50 miles away and she was pleasantly suprised to discover that they pay for her travel costs there and back as well as the treatment etc.

Sorry to ramble on but felt the need to add all this.

ArchieB_2

Should have added I am with M and S as well. Probably the best policy on the market and for most it is (still) competitive.

pboae

cheesy.mike wrote:

Define "way higher"? How much more is M&S? My own research showed me that they are very close in price to most of the other insurers who offer similar lifetime cover and in some cases was quite a bit cheaper.

Mike

For me, M&S will now be £75 year more than the closest comparable PetPlan policy (budget), with an excess on the M&S policy. Even on the highest (supreme) plan it would be £25 a year more with M&S.

I have no complaints at all about the service or cover I've had from M&S. My dog also has hip dysplasia, and they didn't increase the premiums at the end of the first year, even though he had been diagnosed by then and we had made claims for it.

£90 to £111 seems a perfectly reasonable increase, but if your quote had gone up to £380 (like mine has) would you still think it was good value? In actual fact, as my dog may need an op in the future, even at nearly £400 it is still worth it. But if I were taking the cover out new today, I'd be better off with PetPlan.

It still worries me that there is nothing stopping them from making similar increases year after year. I did loads of research before I took this policy out and I really thought that M&S were a reliable enough company that nothing like this would happen.

ArchieB_2

Me to that's why I chose them.

It seems they either have an incompetent Actuary or they reduced there prices in the first few years knowing full well X percent would claim and then be trapped in their product thus enabling them to recoup any losses.

Either way this is a poor state of affairs when the M and S brand was again establishing itself as a quality, british proposition. I'll be writing to the CEO when my renewal hike materialises.

oldcodger

I have just insured my kitten through Animal Friends Insurance https://www.animalfriends.co.uk. I compared policies and premiums online and
their range of policies: no age limit, lifetime cover, no increase in premium after a claim etc, seemed reasonable to me

pboae

I was warned off Animal Friends because they are underwritten by E&L. E&L have a pretty bad reputation for finding excuses not to pay out insurance claims.

Techno

I do my pet insurance through Sainsbury's. The service is great and yes I have to pay £305 this year (ouch!!) but she is a pedigree Weimaraner aged 13 and a half with 2 ongoing conditions that cost well over £300 every year but if there is an emergency then it could go into the thousands so after having had a male who developed a cardiomyopathy (heart problems) at 5 years, 6 months after I cancelled his insurance because he was so healthy (!!) I wouldn't be without it and it seems a bargain compared to M&S although I do have to pay an excess