Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

lowis

CatCat27 wrote: »

Thanks! Will have a look at AXA tomorrow. The PetlPlan excess is £65... Over £20 a month just seems too much as she's still fairly young and healthy! It didn't even occur to me that my post code would make a difference:rolleyes: I live in a fairly nice suburb of London (forced to move back in with the parents to save some money (!)), I guess that might affect it?

Thanks again for the replies

i live in central london, in the most expensive postcode i believe, and i pay £22 a month with Petplan for one cat who is almost 14 years old - he has been insured since he was a kitten, i believe his first premium was around £7). my other cat is 15 and his monthly premium is £33 with AXA - i only adopted him 16 months ago and i believe his premium might have been slightly loaded as he had no medical history and is clearly an old boy.

although AXA are more expensive in my case i believe that AXA would probably provide the cheaper quote if you were insuring a younger cat from scratch. Petplan wouldn't even insure the cat i adopted 16 months ago. AXA also don't make you liable for 20% of claims - they just have a flat excess of £50 or £75 (you can choose which, it affects your premium though).

i would always have pet insurance - i don't have immediate access to large sums of money and the peace of mind the insurance provides is priceless. i have also had claims totalling around £22k in the past 15 years of pet ownership so insurance for me was definitely worth it! (£12k was for one cat who had cancer, so this does skew the figure somewhat).

CatCat27

Ok, I have shopped around and think I'm going to go with AXA (thanks to everyone who recommended them), they are offering pretty much the same as PetPlan but at £12 per month! Thanks lowis for the postcode info! Really have no idea why PetPlan are so expensive for me then...

Limone

Hi all,

Im finding pet insurance a bit of a mine field and was wondering if anyone could offer advice.

I have 2 kittens a burmese and a persian. The burmese is 100% healthy but the persian has had flu and we have had to pay out at the vets.

Im thinking that I should get life cover for the persian and yearly cover for the burmese as I think the persian is going to be a problem cat for life.

What companies would you recommend and are there any that give discounts for 2 cats? They are both house cats aswell if that makes a difference!

Thanks in advance

Limone, Bouche and Missy!

dacouch

carole44 wrote: »

Please don't use M&S as we were taken in by their for life policy, which turns out to be their license to print money. As a result we were stuck with premiums that double and treble and as our dog got older we could not really change because of her pre existing conditions. She got very ill in September and by that time they had raised our excess to £70 plus we had to contribute 35% of any claim. The worst is that we did not realise that they had changed the policy (our fault for not reading it properly) so that if your pet dies in the first month of the policy you will then owe them 11 months premiums even when your pet has died. We dont know what sort of company can think this is acceptable but when we complained they where quite ruthless regarding the new clause. As a result they deducted 7 months premium from the final settlement even though the agreement was monthly direct debit. I complained to BBC Watchdog but they did not reply.

The reason Pet Insurance Premiums increase so dramatically is inflation in vet bills is astronomical which has a major bearing in the premiums you pay. The other factor with pet insurance is new treatments are continually brought out. They constinantly feed through from treatments / equipment invented for humans. A good example is a cat or mri scan. These are available through vets and as they are new technology are very expensive.

There are medical conditions for pets that even 1 or 2 years ago would not be available.

With regard to having to pay the rest of the years premiums if your pet dies, this is common in all insurance policies whatever you are covering. It is no different to a car insurance policy if your car is written off. It comes down to contract law eg they have fulfilled their side of the contract by paying out for the written off car. The same principle applies if you have an insurance policy for virtually anything and make a small claim. The rest of the premiums for the insurance year are still payable whether you continue with the insurance or cancel

flyaway

I have received my renewal from E&L (I know, they are ****) and I have no intention of renewing with them. I rang them immediately and told them I would not be renewing and they have written and confirmed it.

But thought you may like to know that it has increased to £119.70 from £77. This is for a 8 yr old male cat. I've put in a claim for him in October which still has not been settled despite my vet writing to them again in December explaining the diagnosis which they said was not a condition.

I have taken the advice from other posters on this thread and insured with AXA which quoted £129. It is more than E&L but I'd rather not have the hassle when you have to make a claim.

Also, I spoke to AXA and they said they settle claims usually within 5 days but at the most 14 days.
I will now email and hassle E&L to find out when/if they will settle.

cathodetube

Flyaway, what questions did AXA ask you when you switched? Was it all done all over the phone? I want to change insurers soon.

mrsw1983

Hi Everyone, just after a bit of advice really. I have a 5 month old male kitten, he's getting neutered and chipped this week. Should I take out a 'life cover' policy, or just a yearly policy? He's had no issues so far (fingers crossed).
Thanks in advance x

flyaway

cathodetube wrote: »

Flyaway, what questions did AXA ask you when you switched? Was it all done all over the phone? I want to change insurers soon.

They didn't ask me anything, you have to get a quote online but they are very helpful if you have any questions when you phone them. I asked them how quickly they settle claims.

You get a quote online and keep it for 30 days which is what I did until I was ready to take policy out. They give you reference number.

In my case, I told them it was due to run out on the 24/1/10 and they said it was best to take policy out 14 days before it is due to run out as you cannot claim for the first 14 days of a new policy. So I've taken out the AXA one today and hope I don't have to make a claim with E&L during that time.

lowis

flyaway - you are aware that anything you have claimed for previously, or seen a vet about (not necessarily claimed for) will be excluded from cover with AXA?

limone / mrsw83 - i always recommend 'for life' policies - try axa, petplan and NFU.

flyaway

lowis wrote: »

flyaway - you are aware that anything you have claimed for previously, or seen a vet about (not necessarily claimed for) will be excluded from cover with AXA?

limone / mrsw83 - i always recommend 'for life' policies - try axa, petplan and NFU.

Thanks for reminding me. I've told my cat that he's not to break any teeth or get into any fights (abscess caused). All previously claimed for on Saga policy and paid promptly. Did not renew because they hiked premium.

Go to vets for boosters and worming.

Claim in with E&L at moment but don't know if they are going to pay up.