Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

ernie-money

sleepystar1975 wrote: »

What kind of things do you look for in pet insurance?

(I've been told that neutered/spayed dogs cost less to insure)

Don't think this is true - we have had our bulldog neutered during the last year, so when I got the renewal notice, I rang them & told them, but it made absolutely no difference to the premium...

Ziggy_Stardust

ernie-money wrote: »

Just a note about the excess - it's £75 per condition per year isn't it, so if she did get earmites again in the same insurance year they wouldn't start from scratch with the excess again would they - at least that's how I've read my policy?

Good point, never thought of that. The mites aren't too bad they are only in one ear and she's not in any pain with them, it was just the smell that gave it away. I'm using olive oil at the moment and it does seem to be helping but obviously if they do get worse I will have her straight to the vet, plus she is due her annual jabs at the end of the month so I'll get them to check her then.

ernie-money

Ziggy_Stardust wrote: »

Good point, never thought of that. The mites aren't too bad they are only in one ear and she's not in any pain with them, it was just the smell that gave it away. I'm using olive oil at the moment and it does seem to be helping but obviously if they do get worse I will have her straight to the vet, plus she is due her annual jabs at the end of the month so I'll get them to check her then.

I'm only thinking of our old dog, initially I took out a useless E&L policy, but then after a year saw the error of my ways & changed to Pinnacle (who I never had any problems with), but as he had then had slight ear & eye infections during that year, his ears and eyes were excluded from cover on the new policy.
I never thought that it was per condition per year, so never bothered claiming unless one visit to the vets was over the excess, but think I would have lost out on quite a lot by not putting the second claim in the year for the same condition down as continuation claim instead of just a new claim!

haraslou

I dont want to but I may have to cancel my insurance due to not being able to afford it. But thought Id search first to see if I could find anything cheaper. I have read the minefield of information above, as I did last yr! and know everyones circumstances are different. However as this little lot took me 4 hours to get!!!, I thought Id post my numerous quotes in order to help others.

I have 2 cocker spaniels aged 2 and 4 with no pre-existing conditions, they are both chipped and not spayed. My current insurer is More Than costing £16.99 per month for each dog (This is for £7000 vet fees, although not sure if thats per condition or per yr).

The following prices are for my 4 year old dog, per month (with limits for vet fees). I have only searched for Lifetime policies, although its worth noting that all of the policies benefits differ greatly, so must be checked carefully. I was surprised that many of the insurers dont offer discounts for extra animals! Hence my reason for giving quotes for 1 dog.

Pet Plan: £28.07, Budget Lifetime Plan (£4000 per yr). £39.15, Supreme Lifetime Plan (£12000 per yr).
Direct Line: £15.04, Advanced (£6000 - think this is per condition though and not for life - check).
M&S: £12.84, Standard (£4000 per yr -although only £1000 per condition in a yr). £20.60, Premier (£7000 per yr)
Animal Friends: £15.50, Superior policy (£2000 per yr, £20000 per lifetime)-although with 2 dogs you get a discount so its £13.13 for each dog. £17.98, Superior Plus (£4000 per yr, £30000 per lifetime). £25.10, Prestige policy (£6000 per yr, £40000 per lifetime).

Quotes Below are through Go Compare - Its Good as it tells you whether the policy is Accident Only, 12 month, Max Benefit (eg max amount per condition) or Lifetime.
Halifax: £13.31, Lifetime (£1000 per yr). £29.20, (£6000 per yr)
The Green Insurance Company: £15.68 (£2000 per yr, although states also max £20000 per yr)
Argos £15.80 (£7000 per yr)

Please Note: Animal Friends have 7 policies, 3 of which are Lifetime ones. However it doesn't show you the summaries of each until you go through the quote, and then it gives quotes for all policies with the benefits to compare.

After trawling through, if I decide to continue with pet insurance I will probably go with Animal Friends, saving me £7.72 per month. Thank you to MSE "realshannon" for the recommendation. If anyone knows of any companies with good discounts for 2 pets it would be much appreciated. Im going to decide what to do in a few weeks.

Sorry for the long post, but hope it helps.

vodkachick68

HI

I am still at a loss as to where to go to insure my 2 9 week old kittens. I have tried to get a quote online with Axa but once i have put all the details in it tells my they are unable to give me a quote. Petplan were very expensive. I have had a very competitive quote from Argos platinum cover. Has anyone else had got their pet insured with them?

Thanks

ernie-money

vodkachick68 wrote: »

HI

I am still at a loss as to where to go to insure my 2 9 week old kittens. I have tried to get a quote online with Axa but once i have put all the details in it tells my they are unable to give me a quote. Petplan were very expensive. I have had a very competitive quote from Argos platinum cover. Has anyone else had got their pet insured with them?

Thanks

I don't know anything about Argos insurance, but it may well be worth speaking to the person who deals with insurance claims at your vets. The lady who sends off claims at our vet surgery is very helpful & gave us an idea of whether companies regularly pay out, or hide behind small prints etc. If you are looking for Life cover - have you tried Pinnacle? I just had a look & it seems they've changed their name to helpucover - not sure if that means they've changed underwriters as well, but that's who we used to be with (before I regrettably changed to Axa) and we never had any problems with them, perhaps worth getting a quote?

Mephista

Is everyone having problems with AXA? As you know I'm with Greenbee (who are now callled John Lewis Ltd) who are underwritten by AXA (what a mouthful - these things are never straightforwrd). Anyway I went with them because of the lifetime cover, the slightly cheaper price and a few recommendations. Now that I'm hearing some bad views on AXA, I hope I haven't made a mistake ...:o

dollywops

vodkachick68 wrote: »

HI

I am still at a loss as to where to go to insure my 2 9 week old kittens. I have tried to get a quote online with Axa but once i have put all the details in it tells my they are unable to give me a quote. Petplan were very expensive. I have had a very competitive quote from Argos platinum cover. Has anyone else had got their pet insured with them?

Thanks

Our previous cat, Clio, had Tesco Pet Insurance. We only took this out after she had done herself some serious damage. We were only paying about £6 per month. Unfortunately, when she was 2 and a half, she got run over. We were persuaded to get a replacement and we got Benjy. I got a quote for him when he was only 7 or 8 weeks old and it was a ridiculous figure. As he was not going to be going out until he was at least 6 months, after he had his operation, I decided to wait. I then insured him with Tesco and am paying about £6 per month for him.

BTW, if you decide to go with Tesco, please let me know.

headpin

Well I have had a look for our two 14 week old British Shorthair kittens (M + F).

At the moment Liverpool Victoria looks the best option at £16.50 per month to cover both kittnes on their Premier Policy.

This looks at least half the cost of equivalent policies with other insurers. Has anyone any experience of LV and their claims handling etc? I have a couple of weeks to sort out still as they came with 4 weeks free PetPlan from the breeder.

Looked at PetPlan and they are quoting £31.08 and £44.82 per month for their Budget and Supercat cover respectively. And Axa are quoting £35.40 per month.

Or any other advice gratefully received if I've missed the point somewhere! Thanks

cathodetube

How about not getting insurance at all. That is what I would do if I ever get another cat. I cancelled my cat insurance last year.