Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Sugarloaf

Hello. I have a little Yorkie called Molly and she was born in May 2010 and been wondering about insurance for her. Vet fees can cost a fortune. Can anyone recommend the best insurance for her as I know the treatment is ongoing as my last yorkie lived until he was 16 and he had retained baby teeth which went mouldy and had to be removed and other ongoing dental problems. I can see that she already has 2 teeth in her eye teeth sockets and has 4 retained baby teeth which will need to come out. They are not wobbly at all. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Jmbs

Tomo2578 wrote: »

I had my GSD dog covered by Marks ans Spencer and changed to Animal Friends. What a mistake, it saved me £10 per month but sadly they have been shocking. My dog recently feel over whilst jumping and damaged his leg. Vet carried out the operation having spoke with the insurance comapany to make sure they would cover the costs. I was given the OK and had a £3000 operation. When the claim was posted to AFI they asked for my dogs medical history. I posted all the details. 2 weeks later they refused to pay stating that i had taken my dog to the vets 4 years ago with a bad leg which i had not told them about. I explained that this was an unrelated problem which was dealt with 4 years earlier. Be very carful when buying insurance for pets and stick with the big firms, Petplan & Marks and spencer. They will try anything to avoid paying. Use google and see how other people review the firms.

I have just had the same problem. Full declaration for all my pets, and now they're claiming I did not declare and have come up with all sorts of totally unrelated issues. My vets are stunned, they acknowledge insurance companies are not renowned for paying up, but this crowd take the biscuit. Avoid at all costs. You waste the premium, because you won't get any help, that's for certain. They talk the talk when you phone, but that's it: talk. I went with them as at the time there was no great Internet chat about their appalling service, and they say they donate to animal charities... a costly mistake. I am now moving all my insurances and will attempt to take this to the Ombudsman.

RobertinHerts

Jmbs wrote: »

I have just had the same problem. Full declaration for all my pets, and now they're claiming I did not declare and have come up with all sorts of totally unrelated issues. will attempt to take this to the Ombudsman.

Check that the 'Ombudsman' is the most appropriate route before approaching.

Jmbs

RobertinHerts wrote: »

Check that the 'Ombudsman' is the most appropriate route before approaching.

Why do you say that? If you have exhausted all appeals at the insurance company, where else do you go?

RobertinHerts

Jmbs wrote: »

Why do you say that? If you have exhausted all appeals at the insurance company, where else do you go?

Well, there is the Small claims court system. Do you have legal (advice) insurance, for example with home insurance? You could enquire what your options are. The Ombudsman may well be your best route, but it's worth being aware of any alternatives.

Jmbs

RobertinHerts wrote: »

Well, there is the Small claims court system. Do you have legal (advice) insurance, for example with home insurance? You could enquire what your options are. The Ombudsman may well be your best route, but it's worth being aware of any alternatives.

I don't have legal insurance, and I was told that, IF the Ombudsman will take it on, I can still use the courts if I don't agree with them, but I can't go to the Ombudsman if I use the courts first. Having said that, if the Ombudsman finds for the insurers, there's not much hope in a court. It would be great if the insurers would honour the claim, but I'm not holding my breath on that score.

fleetingmind

Beginning of December we bought a Rottweiler/Mastiff cross called Luka. We have been on a free insurance policy with Pet Plan via our local vet. This expires tomorrow and I need to get my !!!! in gear and get a new policy.

What a minefield!! So many stories of insurance companies not paying out and being a pain in the !!!!, sharp rises in yearly premiums and then there is yearly or lifetime plans and companies selling life polices which aren’t - my head is about to explode with what to get.

My local vet recommends a lifetime policy and recommends Pet Plan (They must get a kickback from them for new policies).

I assume a life policy is good because it covers the dog for life (Obviously) where most companies won’t insure a dog beyond a certain age and if the dog gets an ongoing illness he is covered which he wouldn’t be on a yearly plan unless I stuck with the same company even then the premiums would go up)

Apparently Rottweiler’s often suffer with hip dysplasia which can cost my mother in law £4,500 per leg (Is that right?) for her old English Mastiffs. Times by 4 that is allot. Of course it probably would not happen in the same year.

With a life policy if they quote £25 a month (As Pet Plan has done for a max of £4k a year) is that the monthly figure I would always pay?

Any advice or recommendations would be great?

cathodetube

There is no guarantee that a quote of £25 a month would stay at that amount. Quotes/prices also depend on the area of the country you live in as they are related to vet fees.

Veryskint

Has anyone used Greenbee for a few years? I can see several people have taken policies out lately but wondered if anyone can advise whether Greenbee/John Lewis are prone to the substantial annual increases that other insurers seem to be doing lately?
Thanks

RobertinHerts

Sainsbury's have admitted that unless all the information is documented they reject a claim. This includes information which they never requested in the first place, i.e. not mentioned on the claim form. An reconsideration then takes up to a further four weeks from when it's made.

They say that if the information the claimant provides is not true they may not pay. However it seems it's perfectly OK for them to write letters which are not true.