Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Bromley86

Wow! The world of pet insurance has moved on from the days (2-3 years ago) when you could insure a Lab for £150/yr with Halifax. Still, I see the MSE article still needs updating, so at least something hasn't changed . Oh and NFU still insist on wasting 25 minutes of everyone's time by being phone-quote only.

PetPlan want £420, AXA/Halifax/NFU want £270, M&S £240 and HSBC £220.

Have there been any reports on HSBC? I'll do a search, but I might miss it. I remember back when I followed pet insurance that they seemed to be a decent outfit with a decent product. £7.5k, proper lifetime, Aviva (Norwich Union) underwriters. Plus they seem to be proud that they pay for the cremation .

Bromley86

nesims wrote: »

has anyone dealt with either of these
i with m&s moment thinking of going with above or sainsbury

Be aware that you're not switching like for like there. M&S is a proper lifetime policy (although there are strict limits on the Standard one), whereas RSPCA & Sainsburys aren't.

IIRC, AFI got much more desirable (if that's the right word) when they ditched E&L as their underwriters. I've no idea if the new guys (Red Sands) are any better, but I'd be amazed if they were any worse.

The key thing with AFI is to note that their excess becomes pretty strict after 10 years. Still, running a test quote (and without looking too hard at the details), they're coming in at £177 for Prime Plus in my case, which isn't bad for £4k proper lifetime.

So another request for any current opinions on AFI.

pmh666

I WOULDNT TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGE POLE.
We have 2 dogs who were both insured with Marks and Spencer’s, unfortunately one of them had to have surgery.
When Marks and Spencer’s change underwriters from Axa to Royal sun alliance they conveniently forgot to transfer the dog who we claimed on leaving our pet uninsured., unfortunately we did not realize this for some time and they took over a month to sort out their error and we had to chase majority of that time with very few returned phone calls. They are now refusing to continue the same cover even though it was there fault in the first place, but will start a new policy not covering the original reason for surgery.
I WOULDNT TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGE POLE.

Bromley86

On HSBC, the only potential problem that I can see is that they only cover dental arising from injury. Then again, having reread the Halifax one, there is a clause in theirs that would enbable them to wriggle out of most non-injury dental work.

I think I'll still go with HSBC as I don't perceive non-injury dental work as important. Any opinions as to whether it is or not?

Fire_Fox

Kayl06 wrote: »

I'm surprised you wern't given more steroids though, mine is currently on his 3rd lot of tablets and has also been given 3 injections, mine is so much calmer when he's on them. He was off all meds for 6 weeks so he could have a blood test and it was hell! His skin got so bad.
Have you been offered blood tests? I wouldn't bother going through all the stages of changing the diet, it just takes too long and it might not even work especially if its an environmental allergy. I assume you would be able to claim the cost from insurance, otherwise its going to cost you over £300!

Steroids are pretty hardcore drugs, they have some nasty immediate side effects and very nasty long term effects too. I am qualified in both pharmacy and (human) nutrition, and have contact dermatitits myself so I do have an idea of what I am talking about, but obviously check the following with your veterinary nutritionist.

I disagree that it isn't worth changing the diet even in the case of an environmental allergy. The immune system and inflammatory response can be calmed significantly by a balanced diet in humans, and the same is true for our pets. Essential fatty acids are clinically proven to be effective, tho of course the precise balance is not the same for us as them.

It might be a lot of hassle changing the diet, but the benefits are enormous: research has proven with many medical conditions that food can be used as a powerful drug without any risk of side effects! I would not go the route of prescription diets, I'd source some novel proteins and go for a basic raw mix. The reason I suggest raw is proteins change by being heated, so a pet that is sensitive to meat cooked at a very high temperature (most pet foods) will not necessarily be the same protein source raw.

billbris

We've had our Cavalier for 6 years now. For the first 2 years she was covered by PetPlan which we thought pretty expensive at the time, so we opted for M&S who were a bit cheaper, but still offered "life cover" for ongoing illnesses on their Premier cover.
In January 2006 the monthly premium was £8.24, in 2007 it was £9.06 and in 2008 it was £11.99. In April that year she was diagnosed with diabetes and has required medication and various tests since then. The cost of this was reimbursed by M&S (minus their £70 excess). The renewal for 2009 jumped to £23.99, a 100% increase. I phoned their customer services to enquire if the increase was due to my having made a claim, which to my mind defeated the purpose of having their so-called "life" cover. I was assured that this wasn't the case, and the increase reflected a broad review they had carried out of their services. Reluctantly I had to accept this at face value, since she now had a pre-existing condition which wouldn't be covered any where else.
I have just received my renewal notice for 2010 with a monthly premium of £37.99 (a 361% increase in 4 years). Bearing in mind I was told my having made a claim had no bearing on the previous years rise, I went onto their website to apply as a new customer. I applied in my daughters' name, using a similar postcode and the same breed and age of dog. The premium quoted for the same policy was £16.67!!
What is the point of going for "life cover" if they treat you like this when they think they have you over a barrel? The annual premium of £455.88 plus the £70 excess is much more than it costs to treat the illness. A case of “heads they win, tails you lose”.
M&S should be ashamed of themselves.

catlou

I really feel for you billbris, and don't really know what to say about that................

Other than it is disgusting and they should not be able to get away with it bloody rip off merchants :mad: :mad:

cyberbob

billbris wrote: »

[/B]What is the point of going for "life cover" if they treat you like this when they think they have you over a barrel? The annual premium of £455.88 plus the £70 excess is much more than it costs to treat the illness.

All Life cover means is that they promise to insure your pet for life (some companies wont) not that they will keep your premiums down so little confused why your complaining they are still covering you. No matter what they will take into account previous claims which is why a new quote is cheaper

If your not happy with the costs instead of renewing you could shop around or just save the money in a high interest account.

lowis

that is terrible Billbris...M&S used to be very good, but they seem to have really deteriorated lately in terms fo their pet insurance policies. perhaps you could write to the insurance onbudsman and raise your issue with them? this seems like a really unfair and extortionate increase. have M&S chanedg their underwriters again?

petplan and axa (i have a cat with each) have never increased their premiums by more than 2 or 3 quid a year - despite having claimed on the policies, in one cat's case i claimed £7000 in a year and the premiums only jumped from £15 to £17.

try and stick to insurance companies that are dedicated insurance companies, and not 3rd party resellers such as supermarket brands etc.

prudryden

Well - here we go again!!! Just received my renewal quote from AXA. The letter started off "We have recently carried out a detailed review of our pet insurance policies ...........". As soon as I saw that, I thought to myself UhOh!
Sure enough, it went on to say several paragraphs later. "The new renewal premium of £446.51 inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax, and is now calculated on a number of factors including your postcode, type, age, breed and gendere of your pet." So, are they saying that those factors were never taken into consideration before? This seems to be the same wording used by every pet insurer that I have used every year. The worst was Sainsbury's who almost doubled their premiums the third year I was with them. Again, no claims. Last years's AXA'S premium was £350.60 inclusive of tax AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 28% this year. There were no claims. The only thing that has changed was my cocker's age - now 5 yrs and 4 months.