Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

meerkat2007

Speaking as one who received an renewal increase of 89% and subsequently cancelled the polcy, it seems to me that it's almost like AXA are trying to price themselves out of the pet insurance market ...

TomsMom

tjbizzle wrote: »

:mad: so received a our pet insurance renewal which is underwritten by AXA premium for our dogs has gone up from £181.64 each to £462.12 and the excess has gone up from £50 to £75 plus 25% of the vet bill where as last year we just had to pay the £50 the excess is one thing but how on earth do they justify the leap of over double in the premium:mad:

Is this with Axa themselves or with another company and the policy underwritten by Axa. If so which is the company?

Are they older dogs?

How many claims did you make last year?

I'm new to pet insurance and this is quite worrying, just trying to get a picture of what it may be like in the future and maybe I should be considering starting a regular savings account!

meerkat2007

If I was starting out now with a young healthy dog, and I could afford it, I'd probably start out insuring (assuming the premium was reasonable for the cover), and at the same time, start saving regularly.

TomsMom

meerkat2007 wrote: »

If I was starting out now with a young healthy dog, and I could afford it, I'd probably start out insuring (assuming the premium was reasonable for the cover), and at the same time, start saving regularly.

Hi Meerkat, I have actually recently insured our new puppy with Axa, that's why I was wondering if TJBizzle's policy was direct with Axa or just underwritten by them with another company.

We looked long and hard before deciding on Axa, premium for this first year is reasonable after comparing what was available for true life cover.

I'm thinking it might be sensible to find a regular saver and see how much we can afford to put away each month, which is getting more difficult now we only have our pensions.

cathodetube

I don't think AXA charge a percentage of the claim do they? Or if they do, that is a new condition.

TomsMom

cathodetube wrote: »

I don't think AXA charge a percentage of the claim do they? Or if they do, that is a new condition.

My brand new policy, first timer with a puppy, doesn't charge a percentage. I'm hoping tjbizzle will come back and tell us if this is Axa or another company underwritten by them as if it is Axa themselves then obviously things can change further down the line.

poe.tuesday

I just got my renewal from Tesco pet insurance for my dog and it has gone from £30 to £40 - I just called them up to ask why and that I was not happy with it, the tesco man told me that I was on the highest level of insurance and that I could lower the insurance - so instead of my dog being insured for £4000 worth of vet fees she is insured for £2500 and I have got rid of all the other insurances such as holiday cancellation, theft or death of the animal etc, I kept on the third party insurance and my monthly fees are now £23 instead of £40 - far more of a manageable amount I thinks

EmptyPockets

We've just taken out a policy with Petplan for our two rescue dogs. They had an initial first month free insurance with Petplan: Bruce's free month cover was arranged by our vet when he was castrated, Bonnie's free month was arranged by the rescue centre we had her from.

After that initial free month, we spoke to Petplan over the phone and were given ANOTHER free month for each dog, meaning we don't start paying until the end of October: then it will be £56 per month for the two, and that is Covered for Life policy, £6000 per year vet fees.

Flippin' expensive, but, worth it we think for the peace of mind and the cover provided...

Sooz00

I've always found PetPlan good and as long as my pets have a yearly dental check up, dental work is covered too. Our agility club leader also has a chinese crested (breed renowned for dental problems apparently) and PetPlan paid out for her too without any fuss.

For my cats, the premium goes up by about a £1 a year whether I claim or not. The cats are 10/11 now and so far no huge increases. I've had my monies worth as have had bills of at least £8k for one cat who has had two vaccine associated sarcomas needing extensive specialist treatment (over a number of years). I also now have one cat hopefully going to the AHT for radioactive iodine treatment in a couple of weeks for hypothyroidism so that will be another £2k or so.

I've certainly never had the problems I'm experiencing with my dog's M&S policy - they told me one thing was covered when I took the policy out and then when I wanted to claim 2 years later, told me it wasn't because THEY define the treatment incorrectly. Ongoing nightmare!

AlfieBlue

Oh I'm such a dumb thing sometimes. Posted this in insurance then saw this 'Pets & Pet Care' - so am posting again in the hope someone can help

I'm after a decent pet insurance for my dog. He's in fine fettle but kennel club (who we have been with since he was a pup) are so expensive and getting more so. I love my dog to bits. I hate to have no insurance (just in case), and would never be without, but am hoping someone can point me in the right direction of a decent insurance company who don't charge the earth and are still reliable if needs must. There are so many to choose from - but im hoping some kind peep will be able to point me in the right direction (thru your own experiences). My doglet is 4 years old, no health problems. Any help out there would be gratefully received. xx

The reason for asking is my OH has sadly recently been medically retired - serious heath probs. He's not old and we are thinking positive all the way. However we are just trying to find the best route forward now. xx