Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Ziggy_Stardust

cathodetube wrote: »

Don't know if upfront comes into it. Insurers are always changing their terms and conditions from year to year unfortunately. M&S terms and conditions changed numerous times when I was with them. I am very cynical about pet insurance. No one is going to care about your pet and your bank balance as much as you do.

My thinking about some of these providers like M&S, John Lewis and others is that they change their underwriters which is where the T&Cs change, I might be wrong though.

cathodetube

Yes, that is true, however AXA is their own underwriter as is L&V.

ernie-money

Ziggy_Stardust wrote: »

My thinking about some of these providers like M&S, John Lewis and others is that they change their underwriters which is where the T&Cs change, I might be wrong though.

Not sure if it's linked to underwriters, but I know that Axa have changed their claim handlers during this year, so maybe that's why?

It's really annoying that they can just change underwriters, because you do your research and think you've found a good company, but they are only as good as their underwriters, and when they change, so does the treatment you receive...

And how do you know if the premium you are quoted is going to go up after the first year? I thought Axa was a "good" company with decent cover, and that the premiums would stay reasonably stable, but I can't beleive that my renewal premium is now £330.34, and the quote I got for a new policy was £244.82 - that's just shocking!

Our last dog was insured with Pinnacle, and I don't remember having increases like that every year, makes me wonder if we should have stuck with them instead...?

vodkachick68

Hi

Sorry if this has been asked before. I have 2 kittens who are now 8 weeks old. I need to get decent pet insurance but i am at a loss with who to go with. Can anyone recommend a good insurer who is reasonably priced?

Thanks

EmptyPockets

You'd be as well to have a read through the 'sticky' thread up top, regarding insurance. There are so many providers, different types of cover, etc etc... you might make a bit more sense of it all if you have a read of that thread. It will also give you an idea of the ones to avoid.

Personally, we're with PetPlan - whilst they do offer very good cover, they are not the cheapest by a longshot :eek:

It depends on your budget and what cover you require...

chris_n_tj

I am with Empty on this. We use Pet Plan, yeap its not the cheapest, but I cant fault it all.

They insure for life, and the "pot" renews every year unlike some that is a fixed pot and once its gone its gone.

Chris n TJ

Rachaelw8

I got my cat insured with sainsburys.
They were cheaper than pet plan, and covered more. Go for the more expensive option though as it will cover them for each seperate condition, and foir life (not 12 months like cheaper ones do)

He had only been insured for 3 months when my cat unfortunately died after been hit by a car. when I called sainsburys to cancel & claim on the insurance they were very helpful and told me exactly what they needed.
I got this sorted and i had the money within 2 weeks of posting it.
I also got refunded for some of the insurance i had paid too.

I'd definatly recommend them!

gettingready

Just got a letter from M&S about reneval of my policy with them for Zara.

Used to pay £30.00 (permium cover, up to 7000 per year in vet fees), they want £48.00 now.. yeah rite... for the same cover.

Earlier this week when I called them about insuring my 2 kitties, they quoted £22 per cat, called PetPlan and got 2 kitties insured for £32 with a higher cover for vet fees. At the same time asked for a quote for Zara, up to £12000 per year PetPlan quoted me £51.99.

At the time I though my M&S was sufficient at 7000 per year and for £30.00 but since they want nearly the same as Pet Plan quoted me for a better cover - moving Zara to Pet Plan too.

She had no ilnesses while under M&S, the only claim we have made was for an op on her leg which was nothing major, just some growth on her elbow that neede to be cut out and was benign (spelling) so that should not have put the price up from £30.99 to £48.99... surely..

Zara is a 4.5 year old German Shepherd and we live in London - the insurance is soooooooooooooooooo expensive but soooooooooooooooo needed....

Hmmmm, will have to cut down somewhere else now...

devildog

The older they get the more expensive the premiums become, regardless if you have claimed or not(insurance companies blame the fact on the vets and their price hikes) Had the same issue with my GSD and 2 years ago stopped insurance altogether(now into old age and never claimed) and was reasonably confident that would cope with any vet's bills. Of course then things start going wrong but at the moment I am still ahead with what I have spent and what I would have paid out on insurance premiums(might be different in another years time!)

chez22

I am with AXA, it is around £5 per month per cat and is very similar to Petplan.