Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Bagpuss741

I'm with M&S and paid £143 for the year ( I chose to have £0 excess)

nelly05

Recently the premiums seem to have jumped by quite an amount, has anyone got any codes for a discount please.

TIA

humfer

You could also try going through a cashback site such as rpoints or quidco to get a bit more of a saving

Wizwoo

Ask your vet if they can suggest a couple (and who they like to deal with) and go from there. We are with Direct Line for one of our cats - they might be worth checking out.

Ww

pboae

I am really annoyed with M&S at the moment, because they have massively hiked my premiums, but even taking that into account, in terms of cover and service I still think they are the best around at the moment, closely followed by Pet Plan.

When you are looking for quotes the important thing to watch for is 'lifetime cover'. Lots of policies have a maximum per illness, whereas Petplan and M&S (and some others) have either no maximum or a maximum per year, which renews if you continue the insurance. A lifetime limit of £10,000 or whatever it is, will soon disappear if your dog develops a long term illness (like arthritis). This is especially important for Giant Breeds as many medicines are done by weight. I have a St. Bernard and a short course of anti-biotics is £125 for him. When he had a skin infection that spread over his belly the tube of Fuciderm which would last most dogs forever, lasted just a few days.

Oh, and when your puppy is full grown, ask your vet to prescribe horse wormer powder (dosed by kg) rather than dog tablets. Your vet will be able to recommend one with the same ingredients and it is a fraction of the cost for Giant Breeds. You can also use horse joint supplements too. But again, not until he is fully mature.

sackcloth

I too have had my premium with M&S hiked up from £14 to £20 for my first dog who I insured with them last year so this has negated the discount I got from them for taking out a second policy for our new dog in June. My second policy is for £14 - which does seem to suggest it's an introductory offer for the first year and then they go for the increase.

However, according to Customer Services they under-estimated the cost of vets bills and have had to increase the amounts to cover their bad planning. Because I live in the South East I obviously have higher vets costs. (Why does everyone think we're ALL well off down here???

Anyway, I know the policy is very good but I'm still a bit disappointed by the increase especially as I took out a second policy and was thinking of taking out one for my cat as well (who's 12 and currently with PetPlan at £16 pm having been with them for almost 10 years).

Finally, wondered if anyone else had had their nil excess increased? My renewal documents included a paragraph advising that my nil excess was being increased to £50. I haven't claimed on the policy at all so have challenged this and been told that I can keep the nil excess if I renew but I'm still shopping around.

I went through the link to Moneysupermarket.com which has come up with some cheaper policies but all from companies that I don't recognise or know much about. Does anyone have any recommendations about E&L or Animal Friends? Even their gold packages are cheaper and as I have 2 dogs and a cat, it's something I want to look at before I commit to another year with M&S.

Thanks,
sackcloth

Jay-Jay_4

sackcloth wrote:

Does anyone have any recommendations about E&L or Animal Friends? Even their gold packages are cheaper and as I have 2 dogs and a cat, it's something I want to look at before I commit to another year with M&S.

Thanks,
sackcloth

I know that in the horsey world E&L are avoided like the plague. They have low premiums but expect the owner to pay for vets fees then (attempt to) claim them back. They are notoriously bad for paying out.

I've got my horse insured with Petplan as they are one of the best for horses but I recently insured my cat with M&S for around £6 per month.

denize_2

REALLY REALLY HELPFUL, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT A PUP BEFORE SO AM A LITTLE BLINDED BY ALL OF THE INFO... BUT YOU ARE RIGHT, SHE IS GROWING SO FAST BUT IS SO MUCH FUN!!!

Boxer_Lover wrote:

I use M&S Insurance because after trawling though all the info last year they seemed the best and cheapest plus they insure your pet for its lifetime not just year on year which alot of high street insurance places do.

I have two boxers (hence username - sad I know but I love them:cool: ) and when I first insured them it cost something like £10 a month with M&S and I chose no excess which added just a few pence on to the policy price. I have just renewed with them (dogs only 15 months old) and yes it has shot up a bit to approx £17 a dog but I have no real reason to grumble as I have claimed quite a bit over the last year due to one thing and another with them both so even when I've been and its cost me £20 I've claimed it back. I know others with M&S policies and they have all gone up regardless of if you've claimed or not. I have never had any problems with claiming they have always paid quickly and been very helpful whenever I've called.

When I was doing my investigations last year (used this site loads for info on insurance companies - it was brill), I compared all the major ones and really I only ended up with two choices for cover M&S and Petplan but with Petplan I would have gone for the unlimited choice but that would have proved a bit too costly for me at that time so M&S it was, they give you a pot of money for the year, £7,000 and if used it gets topped up the next year, if you stay with them of course, I chose this over the likes of the Kennel Club because they only insure your for (I think) £6,000 per condition meaning that if its needed once that is used you get no more assistance, so with having boxers and knowing some of the defects that can become apparent I chose a company that refilled the pot each year and hopefully they'll never need over £7,000 in one particular year.

So my advice is to research the possible problems that are likely in the Great Dane breed as this will help decide if a per condition policy or a new pot each year policy is more beneficial .... the major thing is to check that the policy will run for the lifetime of the pet.

Good luck in your analysis and in the mean time have lots of fun with your pup and if they are anything like boxers they grow up all to quickly so take lots of pics - and don't you just love that puppy smell:D

denize_2

REALLY, REALLY, HELPFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I DIDN'T REALISE BUYING A PUP WOULD BE SO STRESSFUL! SHE IS SO ADORABLE BUT WE ARE ALL SO WORRIED THAT SHE IS EATING ENOUGH ETC, ETC THAT I THINK SHE IS FED UP WITH US NOW!!!

pboae wrote:

I am really annoyed with M&S at the moment, because they have massively hiked my premiums, but even taking that into account, in terms of cover and service I still think they are the best around at the moment, closely followed by Pet Plan.

When you are looking for quotes the important thing to watch for is 'lifetime cover'. Lots of policies have a maximum per illness, whereas Petplan and M&S (and some others) have either no maximum or a maximum per year, which renews if you continue the insurance. A lifetime limit of £10,000 or whatever it is, will soon disappear if your dog develops a long term illness (like arthritis). This is especially important for Giant Breeds as many medicines are done by weight. I have a St. Bernard and a short course of anti-biotics is £125 for him. When he had a skin infection that spread over his belly the tube of Fuciderm which would last most dogs forever, lasted just a few days.

Oh, and when your puppy is full grown, ask your vet to prescribe horse wormer powder (dosed by kg) rather than dog tablets. Your vet will be able to recommend one with the same ingredients and it is a fraction of the cost for Giant Breeds. You can also use horse joint supplements too. But again, not until he is fully mature.

denize_2

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I WAS INTRIGUED THAT E & L WERE CONSIDERABLY CHEAPER BUT THAT IS EXPLAINED IF THERE A BAD AT PAYING OUT! WILL KEEP ON SEARCHING.. THANKS

=Jay-Jay]I know that in the horsey world E&L are avoided like the plague. They have low premiums but expect the owner to pay for vets fees then (attempt to) claim them back. They are notoriously bad for paying out.

I've got my horse insured with Petplan as they are one of the best for horses but I recently insured my cat with M&S for around £6 per month.[/QUOTE]