Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

andyo

Sugarloaf wrote: »

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

Sugarloaf, I have just insured my two Yorkies through Admiral and it worked out about £15 per month for each of them with the top level of cover, which is a true lifetime policy. I don't think many insurers will cover dental treatment unless it is as a result of an accident/injury. Hope this helps.

RobertinHerts

andyo wrote: »

I don't think many insurers will cover dental treatment unless it is as a result of an accident/injury. Hope this helps.

Despite my arguments with Sainsburys they've not argued that they're not paying because the dental problems are caused by illness.

G_LEE_2

My poor cat had a really bad accident on Tuesday night and we had to take him to an emergency services at the middle of the night and result in a few over night stay operations. We didn't have any insurance. I would like to found out if I apply for insurance now will he still be accepted? What information I have to provide as I been on various websites but they don't ask anything about previous accidents?

Thank you

kris_cs1

Has anyone had any experience with vetsmedicover?
They offer one price for the life of your pet that never goes up (as far as I can tell) and includes dental treatment. This way there is no shock of premiums going up to £40pm - however it starts off higher and has an excess of £80.
I think I may go with them when I get my cat but can't seem to find any reviews..

RobertinHerts

kris_cs1 wrote: »

Has anyone had any experience with vetsmedicover?
They offer one price for the life of your pet that never goes up (as far as I can tell)

Clearly impossible that it won't increase at all. If inflation rate is high then they'd go bust on that basis!

twinklie

G LEE you will be able to get insurance but anything your cat has been treated for will be excluded from any insurance you get. Hope that helps.

Joyful

I am with Petplan which has gone well till now. They paid out £2000 in 2008 for a cruciate ligament op. Now my Dog has turned 10 they have not only upped the premium to £28 pm but if I claim then have to pay £115 plus 20% of the claim. Yikes:eek: This used to be a straight £150 per claim.

A I was advised my Dog will probably need the same op in the future on the other side of her body it looks like I am stuck unless anyone has any suggestions. My current cover is for life up to £4000 per year.

kris_cs1

RobertinHerts wrote: »

Clearly impossible that it won't increase at all. If inflation rate is high then they'd go bust on that basis!

Well doesn't go up above inflation then. Can't really complain about that.
Just wondering if it sounds a good deal to people and if anyone knows if it's a reputable company.

cathodetube

Joyful wrote: »

I am with Petplan which has gone well till now. They paid out £2000 in 2008 for a cruciate ligament op. Now my Dog has turned 10 they have not only upped the premium to £28 pm but if I claim then have to pay £115 plus 20% of the claim. Yikes:eek: This used to be a straight £150 per claim.

A I was advised my Dog will probably need the same op in the future on the other side of her body it looks like I am stuck unless anyone has any suggestions. My current cover is for life up to £4000 per year.

£28 per month doesn't seem unreasonable but I don't understand what you mean by £115 versus £150 per claim. Are you saying the excess used to be £150. The 20% I understand.

There aren't any 'rules' it seems regarding pet insurance. I would doubt that you can change to anyone else who would cover another cruciate ligament operation as it is now classified as existing.

Mephista

Veryskint wrote: »

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

I myself have only taken out Greenbee this year and so I have yet to have my annual renewal neither have I had to make a claim since starting with them so on that score I'm afraid I can't be much help. However, I have found them to be very helpful when answering any questions I may have and very good at keeping up with communications in the interim. I took on the lifetime policy because I feel my dog is at that age where I will not be able to swop around for much longer and based on all the previous insurances I used, I felt that Greenbee definitely offered the best value for my pound over a longterm scenario.

However I do expect there to be annual increases - particularly in our current climate - as they all increase their policies every year same way as our car insurers do. I suppose you have to take into account what age your dog is - if you (like me) have a dog who is of middling age or older I think you will probably have to weigh up the pros and cons of your top 3/4 and then go with the one you feel best about in terms of the lifetime policy on offer because you are going to have to stick with it really. However, if your dog is quite young - don't worry about any price hike. My advice - and perhaps there are those who don't agree with this - is to go with the cheapest offering exactly what you want and then re-look at the whole thing again next year.

Truly, that is what I did until last year when I felt that I really wouldn't be able to get away with that for much longer.

Don't know if this helps but I Hope it at least puts some perspective on things for you.