Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

h007

looking at insurance for 6 month male kitten
ok do i go for;

axa = £14.35 per month. £75 excess and £7000 per year cover
petplan = £12.93 per month. £85 excess and £4000 per year cover

I like the sound of lower monthly payments on petplan but I dont know if I am ever likely to need more than £4000 cover!?!?!?

lowis

h007 wrote: »

looking at insurance for 6 month male kitten
ok do i go for;

axa = £14.35 per month. £75 excess and £7000 per year cover
petplan = £12.93 per month. £85 excess and £4000 per year cover

I like the sound of lower monthly payments on petplan but I dont know if I am ever likely to need more than £4000 cover!?!?!?

what happens to the excess once your cat turns 10 years old with each policy? as i recall petplan will make you liable for 20% of the cost of any treatments plus your usual excess amount (currently £110 for an old cat). axa just keep it at a flat excess amount (currently either £50 or £75).

you may or may not need £4000 - you will not know until it happens. depends on what level of security you want. last year i claimed £800, this year i have claimed around £2600 (with still 10 months to run on the policy!), another year I claimed close to the £7000 limit and another year around £5000... for many years i claimed absolutely nothing.

shell820810

Is Halifax still a "for life" policy.

I am getting quotes for a 7 month Yorkie.

Halifax - £11p/m (the better policy)
AXA = £17p/m
Petplan = £24p/m (mid range policy).

NFU wont quote for NI, and when I rang the local branch there is only the option of adding pet cover to home insurance.

Is Halifax ok? Any other suggestions?

kawoh

i genuinely think, yes some will have opinions, but we should just call this thread, don't ask us for options - the best policy out there is the AXA one, there is no point trying to say is m&s better, is halifax better, etc. At the end of the day ANY of them could change underwriters and then things could change for the worse. Best is to stick with a big provider like AXA who have a for life policy, with a limit per year rather than per condition. This is big... why take risks with halifax and all the others?! Just to save a few small bucks... if ur pet gets a condition once under that policy even if u claim or not, this is now a precondition, decide to move to a bigger provider like axa, and then that will be excluded mostly... why take the risk on such an inferior policy.... and we've seen evidence here how good axa are at paying and honouring claims. Someone should just put a clear sticky at the front ;-)

hethmar

Yes Halifax is still life time cover (though it appears to be a total of £7k a year rather than per condition per year, which I guess is probably likely to cover most eventualities)

"Halifax Dog Insurance provides continual cover* for vets fees with no maximum age limit (minimum age 8 weeks), so you get real peace of mind.
While some dog insurance cover policies can stop paying out after the first 12 months of treatment or only pay up to a maximum benefit per condition, Halifax Pet Insurance offers continuous cover that is invaluable if your dog develops a long-term condition such as arthritis or eczema.
Vets' fees are covered for every year of the policy and third party liability is also included. "



but again, as said above, insurers can change underwriters or terms whenever they want, mores the pity.

flyaway

Just wanted to let you know that I changed my cat's insurance last year in order to look for a more competitive one. I looked through the money supermarket site and found E&L which seemed to be very value for money compared to the one I had which had increased it's premiums even though I had NOT made a claim.

Unfortunately, my cat was not eating this week and so I took him to the vet to find out what was wrong. After the vet gave him a through examination and took blood, gave him antibiotics and asked me to bring him back the next day, I found out at the reception desk that they did not handle my insurance company and I would have to pay and claim back the money from the company. I was horrified as it was over £200 with the possiblity of more to come. They said it was because they have had a lot of bad experiences with the company not paying up and giving all kinds of excuses. My vet practice is a very big one - over 70 branches - and they said this was coming from their head office. I rang their head office and they confirmed this was the case and it was the only insurance they did not handle because of the problems. I suggested that they put a notice up to inform clients. I certainly would not have gone with that insurance company had I known. I have been with the vet practice for 5 years now and they are very good and have looked after my cat. But I'm now worried that I won't have the money to pay up front for treatment and the possibility of not getting it back from the insurance company.

lowis

this is a stark warning that the cheapest is not the best - you get what you pay for. i am sorry that you have had to suffer this experience.

always google any company that you are thinking of enetering into a contract with. E&L have bad feedback all over the internet. and have been slated here almost on a weekly basis.

i would also suggest people ask their vets which insurance companies they are happy to deal directly with.

i hope your cat is ok and you don;t have to make any horribly expensive claims x

hethmar

E and L have about the worse reputation of any insurers.

flyaway

lowis wrote: »

this is a stark warning that the cheapest is not the best - you get what you pay for. i am sorry that you have had to suffer this experience.

always google any company that you are thinking of enetering into a contract with. E&L have bad feedback all over the internet. and have been slated here almost on a weekly basis.

i would also suggest people ask their vets which insurance companies they are happy to deal directly with.

i hope your cat is ok and you don;t have to make any horribly expensive claims x

Thanks for your advice. I will from now on google all companies before I do business with them. Unfortunately, I thought moneysupermarket were ok with their recommendations but obviously not.
My cat is now recovering thank you. But I had to pay over £200 up front to the vet. They did send off the claim forms for me. But who knows when I'll be refunded, if at all!
Insurance up for renewal in January. The vet recommends Petplan but not only are they expensive, if your cat is older they charge you a percentage instead of excess. So I'm thinking maybe AXA who a few people on this site have said they had good experiences with. And I want a cover for life policy.

page3

Hi all,

Read about 75 pages of this thread so head in a bit of a spin!

I'm looking to insure (for the first time) my two cats, who are around 9 years old.

AXA seems like the best option due to the 10 year premium hike on other policies.

However, can anyone clarify the following (I will call them, but help first would be appreciated):

1. No 'discount' for two cats on the same policy?

2. Any past treatment (however trivial) means no cover in the future? Now for a 9 years old cat that would rule out an awful lot? Both cats have had fights in the past that have resulted in infection and therefore anti-biotics required. Will that rule out all future problems due to being attacked, as this is hardly a reoccurring illness? If so, I'm going to need to get a full list of all past vet visits!!

Advice appreciated.