Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Itsarichmansworld_2

Sorry, meant to say new insurance would NOT cover pre-existing conditions!!

shammond

I've just had a claim turned down by Tescos.

I'd insured my tabby with them for the past 13 years and in 2008 made a small claim for something the vet described as a problem with his white blood cell count - may be hepatitis? My cat died - pretty suddenly from my point of view - from hepatitis last month. I was only given a definite diagnosis 12 hours beforehand.

But I could only claim up to £2,000 worth of treatment per disease over 12 months from his insurance. There had been no claims at all between these two dates. So I'm completely out of time, had been paying more than £35 a month over the last two years and still have to meet the vet's bills.

I understand I've probably got to put up with all this. But isn't there some way to embarass these companies? They must be making quite a profit and from careful people who are only trying to manage their finances properly.

lowis

shammond wrote: »

I've just had a claim turned down by Tescos.

I'd insured my tabby with them for the past 13 years and in 2008 made a small claim for something the vet described as a problem with his white blood cell count - may be hepatitis? My cat died - pretty suddenly from my point of view - from hepatitis last month. I was only given a definite diagnosis 12 hours beforehand.

But I could only claim up to £2,000 worth of treatment per disease over 12 months from his insurance. There had been no claims at all between these two dates. So I'm completely out of time, had been paying more than £35 a month over the last two years and still have to meet the vet's bills.

I understand I've probably got to put up with all this. But isn't there some way to embarass these companies? They must be making quite a profit and from careful people who are only trying to manage their finances properly.

i'm sorry you are in this situation, pet insurance is a minefield. as my vet told me - stay away from supermarket branded policies - supermarkets are good at selling food - not financial products.

petplan, axa and NFU seem to be the leading three insurers which offer good policies when it comes to pet insurance.

lowis

Itsarichmansworld wrote: »

I have just received the renewal notice for my now 5 year old Bernese from M&S and they have doubled the insurance to £62 per month. I called them and they say this is due to rising vet costs, frustrating as my vet has not increased his costs. I chose M&S as it has lifetime cover but not sure I can afford to continue with them.

Having said that, the risks of a big vet bill with a Bernese over the next few years are high so I want to continue with some insurance. Our dog needed orthopedic treatment on a hind leg three years ago for which we made a claim of over £5K. My concern is that of course any treatment on this leg would not be covered if we switched insurers and also if a similar problem arose on the other so far healthy hind leg that might be excluded too.

I have obtained a quote from pet-insurance.co.uk for lifetime cover of claims up to £4K per year of £16.05 - clearly a significant saving on M&S although it would cover the pre-existing conditions (dog has also had minor ear treatment too). Does anyone have experience of this insurer??

pet-insurance.co.uk

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY - this is quite possibly the worst pet insurance company in Britain - it is E&L in disguise - hence why they are cheap. they takes months to pay - if at all. they are so bad vets won't deal directly with them. AVOID.

hethmar

Im trying to see - does AXA bung up the premium and excess when the animal gets older?

cathodetube

shammond wrote: »

I've just had a claim turned down by Tescos.

I'd insured my tabby with them for the past 13 years and in 2008 made a small claim for something the vet described as a problem with his white blood cell count - may be hepatitis? My cat died - pretty suddenly from my point of view - from hepatitis last month. I was only given a definite diagnosis 12 hours beforehand.

But I could only claim up to £2,000 worth of treatment per disease over 12 months from his insurance. There had been no claims at all between these two dates. So I'm completely out of time, had been paying more than £35 a month over the last two years and still have to meet the vet's bills.

I understand I've probably got to put up with all this. But isn't there some way to embarass these companies? They must be making quite a profit and from careful people who are only trying to manage their finances properly.

Sorry to hear about this. I don't think I understand properly though. If it is 2k worth of treatment per disease per 12 months then now that it is 2010 they should cover it. Or is it 2k per disease then finished and no more claims for that illness?

saverwhizz

Hi,
I'm looking to get pet insurance for my cat, who's 11 months old. As far as I know she's never had any conditions to date. I'm very confused about which insurer to go for. Although AXA seems recommended, a couple of pages back in this thread, someone said that the excess rose to 50% which seems huge. Does that not make AXA risky?
Has anyone got any thoughts about Direct Line and Virgin as someone else mentioned?
Thanks.

cathodetube

Saverwhizz, Will stick my neck out again and say if I got another cat I wouldn't get insurance. Much better to put money away. I never had a cat with any expensive conditions which would have made it worth having insurance. My last cat was the one I insured with M&S and it was pointless especially when the premium went up to almost £50 a month. Had two claims with them and they were both for cuts but their excess went up to £75. You have to weigh up whether it is important to keep an animal alive at all costs, say with cancer or in a car accident. Fortunately that has never happened to me. Cats that go out a lot especially at night are much more likely to get injured. Don't know anything about Virgin and did insure my cat previously with More Than. Started when he was about 6-7 years old and premium was about £8-£10 a month. Rose to over £20 a month when he was 12 despite no claims. Changed to M&S and then cancelled last year.

saverwhizz

Hi, thank you Cathodetube. I'll consider that option, as well as the possibility of pet insurance.

Any other opinions on whether to get pet insurance or not and if so which? Is More Than any good?

cathodetube

Saverwhizz, I have just edited my last post. It was More Than that I insured my cat with first not Direct Line. So yes I did have experience with them. It was such a long time ago (about 2000) that I had forgotten! The only reason I insured my cat with them at all was because I kept seeing adverts for pet insurance - in newspapers - and thought somehow I was being remiss in not doing so. It was also affordable at the time. Had no claims at all, even though my cat did go out. Really pet insurance has only become prevalent in the last ten years. The power of advertising!