Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

BargainJunky

We had a mongrel dog for 13 years and unfortunately had to have her put to sleep 12 months ago. We were unsure about insurance and decided against it. In her lifetime she had a lump removed at 6 months old, a leg injury from chasing next doors cat (same as Paul Gascoine but we couldnt sell her story), two eye ops for ulcers plus treatment before the ops, a lump in her paw and finally congestive heart failure. Apart from these she was relatively healthy!

We will have another dog when my little boy is older and I think I will insure it - hadnt considered a savings account but perhaps that might be worth considering too. If we had saved £10.00 per month each year we would have had nearly £1500 and this would have well covered all her vet visits.

chloejane_2

Hi ive got 2 dogs neither of them has had pet insurance, but one of them needed a bigish operation which cost £400 all in, i know that sounds a lot but its the only thing either of them have ever had done and so it still works out cheeper than paying for insurance in the long run! but thats my opinion others will probably disagree lol.

blackfritz

I have two dogs, both of whom are insured. the idea of building up a savings fund is great in theory, but what happens if something nasty happens when the pet is still only say 9 months old and theres only a little money in the kitty?? The £25 a month seems very steep to me, have a look around - seem to remember M & S were quoted as being quite good.
You don't say what type of dog you have - premiums are higher for larger dogs it seems - I pay about £15 a month for my Chocolate Lab (18 months old), and £13 a month for the Westie (7 months old). premiums are also likely to increase as the dog gets older.
At the end of the day its up to you - those that Insured and never claimed will wish they had saved the money, and those that had expensive vets bills and no insurance will always wish they had Insurance!

MortgageMamma

I have two miniature schnauzers that I insure via marks and spencers annual policy for £21 a month (they are puppies) - I shopped around and compared a lot of policies and that was the best I could find, and it has some generous allowances in comparison to other companies. (might be different now this was 5 months ago!)

I think a good way to see if you want insurance vs a savings account is, ring M & S and get a quote (or do it online) then print out the policy key facts (this tells you what is and what is not covered) and read through it - as you go through each bit think to yourself how you would cope in that situation if it happened to your pet and how much it would cost you.

The third party liability issue is also important if your dog attacks someone/something or causes an accident of some sort - we live in a compensation culture these days so in my opinion I think you should get insured!

turbulence_2

There are a large number of plans available today. Just make sur eyou call and speak with the company and have them answer yoru questions.

mHm_4

Martin's article on pet insurance seems to be the only reliable and neutral information source on pet insurance. However, the recommended comparison website moneysupermarket.com is a bit disappointing.

To be quite frank, I find it rather limiting if if there is only ONE insurance on their list. ONE ist slightly less than their claim of comparing over 400 policies, isn't it?

They only have Animal Friends, E&L and PawsPlus. I still count only ONE, because the underwriters of Animal Friends are E&L Insurance (who in this discussion get plenty of criticism). And PawsPlus from said list seems not to exist anymore, despite the mentioning on a number of animal websites, who in turn seem not to have realised this fact yet.

So we got to do the walking ourselves. Fair enough, but Martin should not call moneysupermarket.com a good starting point for the research on pet insurance.

mildew

I used moneysupermarket to find pet insurance and chose animal friends underwritten by E&L. my dog has recently torn the ligaments in his leg and needs surgery, the practice that will perform the surgery have made it their policy not to deal direct with E&L as they are slow to pay up and query all items on the bill. with the surgery going to cost over £1000 and E&L not accepting liability until the claim form is received the dog may have to wait for the operation as i cannot afford to pay for a bill of this amount up front. the whole point of insurance is to cover the dog, relieve the finacial and emotional stress caused at these times. BUYER BEWARE Maybe check with your vets if they will deal direct with E&L in the event of a claim.

salthepal

I have just received renewal notice for M&S insurance and they are now introducing a £50 excess charge.
Are there any other insurances which don't have an excess charge please?
Thanks.

pboae

salthepal wrote:

I have just received renewal notice for M&S insurance and they are now introducing a £50 excess charge.
Are there any other insurances which don't have an excess charge please?
Thanks.

They haven't stopped the 0 excess, they've just changed their letters which are now very confusing and look like they've stopped the 0 excess. They have had a lot of complaints about it

If you check the letter it should say on it somewhere, possibly in the small print, "excess = nil", or give M&S a ring and check what they have recorded for your policy.

marzi_uk

I am thinking also thinking about M&S insurance but reading the policey details it seems unclear about the excess on the policy. See below:

"What You must pay for in respect of each accident or illness
If Your Pet is under 9 years of age at the time of Treatment, You must pay the first £50 of
the Treatment costs per Condition per Period of Insurance.
If Your Pet is aged 9 years or over at the time of Treatment, You must pay the first £50
or 15% of the Treatment costs, whichever is the greater, per Condition per Period of
Insurance.
The Excess does not apply to the pet cremation benefit."

I am going to call them Monday to clear up whether paying the extra for no "voluntary" excess actualy means no excess. Or if there is still a compulsary excess.

Will post back and let you all know what I find out.

Marzi