Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

cathodetube

Someone else posted on here about having a Bernese Mountain Dog and said they were finding it hard to insure. They are huge, and quite rare. Lots of (large) dogs are known for having certain health problems and that will be factored into quotes now. The pet insurance business has been around about 15 years now and it appears they are honing their techniques!

mrsg26

Does anyone have any advice on LV insurance? Was all set to buy and then in the small print it said that the excess was a % of each claim but didnt state what. can anyone look over these details and advise if good or bad?

Premier Policy limits Vet's Fees £5,000*
(12 months of cover from onset of condition) £5,000**
(per condition) Death from Illness ‡ Purchase price up to a maximum of £750 Purchase price up to a maximum of £750 Death from Accident Purchase price up to a maximum of £750 Purchase price up to a maximum of £750 Advertising & Reward Up to £750 Up to £750 Theft or Straying Purchase price up to a maximum of £750 Purchase price up to a maximum of £750 Boarding Fees if you have to go into hospital Up to £750 Up to £750 Holiday Cancellation or curtailment Up to £1,000 Up to £1,000 3rd Party Liability (Dogs Only)^ Up to £2 million Up to £2 million Accidental Damage^ Up to £750 Up to £750 Bereavement Counselling Pet Legal Pet Minders Vet Search Pay Vet Direct Overseas Travel †
Quarantine costs
Loss of PETS Certificate
Repeat tick/worming treatment
Emergency expenses abroad Up to 12 months
Up to £1,500
Up to £250
Up to £1,000
Up to £750 Up to 12 months
Up to £1,500
Up to £250
Up to £1,000
Up to £750

¹ 0% APR on monthly premiums
² Excess is payable on a per condition basis
* £5,000 per incident for 12 months from onset of condition, subject to premiums being paid and up-to-date and the policy renewed. Pre existing conditions are excluded.
** As long as payments are made in full, on time and the policy’s renewed at the end of the term. Pre existing conditions are excluded.
‡ Death by illness does not apply to dogs that are over 9 years old or cats that are over 11 years old.
^ £250 excess applies to all property damage claims
† Subject to full compliance with the PETS travel scheme
Your policy is underwritten by Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited.

Ziggy_Stardust

mrsg26 LV doesn't look like its a 'for life' policy, so if your dog should develop something like arthritis you are only covered for 12 months of treatment.

AlexHello

mrsg26 wrote: »

i dont know if this is the right place to ask or not. We have a 12 wk old Dogue De Bordeaux who we need to have insured. The breeder at the time told us we would be looking at max £20 per month insurance however our vet said we need a lifelong policy as they are prone to growth problems as they are such a large breed. The quotes i have been getting seem to range from £50-80!!! Is this right? I just didnt want to pay up to £1000 per yr for insurance!

That seems rather expensive even for a lifelong policy. Who have you had quotes from?

As your vet said, lifetime policies do provide maximum cover if you expect recurring problems.

It might be interesting to see if a quote for a per condition policy with a time limit will be proportionally lower. You could then establish if it's your dog breed or the type of policy.

Alex

AlexHello

bouncyd!!! wrote: »

Over the past 4 weeks one of my 7 month old cats has had an abcess - £107 to sort out. Last night the mum came in appearing to have scratched her front. Took her to the vet this a.m. - apparently she had got caught on jumping over a wall or similar and had a large wound (possibly caused by glass) in her chest, through the muscle. £200 for today as needed anaesthetic, antibiotics and stitches.

I wish I hadn't dithered about the insurance and was thinking of going with AXA. Do petplan give a discount for 4 cats? Happy to take £100 xs.

I don't believe they offer a multi-pet discount. At least, if they do, they don't promote it externally. Some that do are Argos/Homebase, Aviva and Helpucover. There are obviously more - those are just the ones I know.

Alex

hethmar

LV is limited to 12 months by the looks of it:(

Just got our new premium in for Ralph from M and S. I was dreading it as so many have had premiums virtually double in the last year. Fortumately its gone up by about 25% only from £15 a month to £20. Considering he has a lifetime chronic condition now at £41 a month, well we are still quids in. Fingers crossed next year doesnt double.

wonderpupp

I haven't got my dogs (rescued dogs) insured on the basis they are mongrel doggies, neutered, vaccinated (lovely dogs) and I save £30 a month into a savings account in case of emergencies / vet bills.

I can't warrant paying out £20 a month to insure them. It's just gambling. The excess on most insurance policies exceeds what I have ever had to pay out for treatment (broken claw or sick dog)

If they get hurt badly and I can't afford to get them fixed, I consider I have given them a good life and will get the dog put to sleep. Not to say I wont be upset, but I am a farmer's girl, and that's how we feel about animals. Even the useful ones.

hmc

since previous post saying axa had upped mine by £5 a mth ive looked around and would appreciate any feed back. as billy will be 8 next yr i need to stick to one soon. i want a life cover.
animal friends , superior. £20,000 lifetime condition limit, 2,000 annual condition limit(there are other increases on this) £99 excess. £12.69mth
the green insurance company, annual lifetime extra, 2,000 per condition, lifetime condition limit-unlimited. £14.16
any one used either of these please

kimoffife

Another danger for the minefield (sorry if already posted)..
just had my renewal through from Axa...went to them 3 years ago and had no claims but the renewal is DOUBLE (not a major age either)....phoned to check and they said it was due to new admin and the way they assess dogs...no interest in helping at all.

I have to say , now doing a few quotes, the market seems to be getting silly , with prices so high even for very basic policies.

What's to do? ...like the above poster I had hoped to go for a decent brand to stick with "for life", but they all seem to be hiking the premiums up and lowering the benefits.

blenheim

kimoffife wrote: »

Another danger for the minefield (sorry if already posted)..
just had my renewal through from Axa...went to them 3 years ago and had no claims but the renewal is DOUBLE (not a major age either)....phoned to check and they said it was due to new admin and the way they assess dogs...no interest in helping at all.

I have to say , now doing a few quotes, the market seems to be getting silly , with prices so high even for very basic policies.

What's to do? ...like the above poster I had hoped to go for a decent brand to stick with "for life", but they all seem to be hiking the premiums up and lowering the benefits.

I have also just received my renewal from AXA direct. I was pleasantly surprised that the renewal is only £162. Last year's premium was £147.

I was expecting a huge hike after reading that some policies have almost doubled. I also had to make a large claim earlier this year.