Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

ACID

PetPlan have just upped their cost

to top it off my dog is now only 6 but they said its risen as she already had a hip operation a few years ago...what at the age of 3 /?? i think a vet has messed up somewhere but its ok

however they have upped it regardless of previous, and impose limits on what we can and cannot claim for

realisticaly I want my alsation covered for everything

If you can help recommend a good policy provider, I will be willing to join

what nearly is the final straw is our excess has gone up from £75 to £100!!

Minxqc

Pet insurance policy renewal from Sainsburys

Hi pet owners
I just received my annual pet insurance renewal from Sainsburys for 2 cats (1 year old (pedigree) 3 years old (non pedigree). I have not claimed on the policy yet Sainsburys are wanting to increase the premium by 50%.
A quick check revealed that Tescos are offering a 25% discount on pet insurance for those with Tesco Clubcards (20% if you don't have a clubcard). I completed an online quote request including my clubcard number & checked my email inbox for the quote. When I checked the quote through it said that my quote included a 20% discount for applying online. Odd, thought, I should be getting a 25% discount as advertised for quoting my clubcard number. The email from Tesco did not permit me to reply by email so I had to telephone them.
I was told that Tesco could do nothing about the email but be assured a 25% discount had been applied. So why didn't the email say that then, instead of saying 20% I asked. Nothing they can do about the email they said. I asked why the email did not include a proper breakdown e.g. your policy would cost £100 but because you have applied online using your clubcard we have applied a 25% discount making the cost £75. Could I not have a proper email (as I have received when applying for home insurance that has also been discounted)
The Tesco woman went off to check with someone else & came back claiming they could not send out emails. When I asked why she claimed that there was no way of ensuring that the data they hold about me would be secure. I asked what data they were referring to as the email quote that I had received did not contain my name, address or any other personal info. Oh she said, your clubcard number would be included which we cannot do on an email for data protection reasons. But, I said, my club card number had not been quoted on the email that I had so why would they need to quote it on an email providing the correct price breakdown ? She could not answer that and asked if I would hold for a supervisor. Given the time that I had already spent on the call I asked that she take my number and email address and have someone email me with the proper quote. I later received a voicemail from someone saying they are a supervisor could I call them back on the 0845 number. The number dialed by Tesco however was not an 0845 number & when I tried to redial the missed call number (to avoid having to queue again in an 0845 number) the number was not available. How odd. I left a second message on the 0845 number for this supervisor. The same thing happened again - she left a voicemail & said she would call back later. That call has yet to come.

It does make you wonder how good Tesco pet insurance will be if they

[a] can't provide a correct quote showing 25% discount
do not allow customers to communicate via email
[c] claim they cannot email customers (I find that unbelievable)
[d] fail to actually telephone a customer properly, instead have some device set up so that you receive a voicemail only to call them back

I will say that Sainsburys pet insurance has been very good from a customer care perspective. My vet said that the gold policy (for cats) was very robust and that my cats would want for nothing in the event of something terrible happening to them. It was the price & the fact that we have moved meaning that we can no longer shop at Sainsburys to cash in on the double nectar points that we were getting because of the cat insurance.

I have a few weeks so will see what Tescos next come up with up whilst shopping for an alternative.

phebe3

Oh my goodness...or words to that effect...just been skimming through all the posts on pet insurance...it seems to be a minfield! We have never insured any of our cats and , touch wood, have not had much in the way of vets bills for them. however, we now have aquired a dog, a 4 1/2 year old lab greyhound cross. Thought I ought to insure it as he's a dog (neutered) and therefore more expensive but cannot belive the price of some of the insurance quotes pple have been putting up and am worried about going cheap in case not v good insurance. He seems to b e pretty healthy, and has a cast iron digestin (famous last words!) but ofcourse you never know what's round the corner! should I insure or just save? how much are vets bills? Our local practise charges £25 for a consultation, £12 for a follow up and £35 for booster..presume all around the same and they've been fine with our cat.

ACID

Petplan offer lifetime insurance, do any others?

Mephista

I believe that Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Greenbee (John Lewis Pet Insurance I think it is now called) all do.

phebe3

Have to say, am tempted to put money in pot for vet bills....but worries me if have to have big op perhaps!

Runningbackwards_2

ACID wrote: »

Petplan offer lifetime insurance, do any others?

Having just done the rounds looking for quotes I would advise looking at AXA - £7,000 lifetime cover per year (so pot refills each year on renewal), £75 excess is what I managed to get for a very reasonable amount :j compared to many other quotes - amazing the difference there can be, and for very different levels of cover.

NFU do lifetime cover also - £4,000 per year per condition (so you can claim on several conditions in a year up to £4,000 each) - looks like they have been increasing premiums based on my personal experience, but they are a very good company to deal with, pay out promptly etc. so I would recommend them if money is not a major issue.

Runningbackwards_2

phebe3 wrote: »

Have to say, am tempted to put money in pot for vet bills....but worries me if have to have big op perhaps!

I had considered that in the past - however out of 3 dogs we have one who has had major health problems, and thank heavens we had insurance as last year we would have had to find over £8,000 :eek: and no way would we have had this much set aside. Now has ongoing medication - the cost of which the insurance covers, so we actually are saving a huge amount each month. Would of course much rather poor little dog was well and we didn't have to claim

Luckily the other two (fingers crossed and touching wood ) never really go near the vet apart from for their boosters, so yes we do pay out more than we have ever claimed for them, and hope it stays that way- we insure in the end for the peace of mind - the incase scenarios - and I know personally that veterinary care can cost a lot, but they are worth it

cathodetube

Runningbackwards wrote: »

Having just done the rounds looking for quotes I would advise looking at AXA - £7,000 lifetime cover per year (so pot refills each year on renewal), £75 excess is what I managed to get for a very reasonable amount :j compared to many other quotes - amazing the difference there can be, and for very different levels of cover.

NFU do lifetime cover also - £4,000 per year per condition (so you can claim on several conditions in a year up to £4,000 each) - looks like they have been increasing premiums based on my personal experience, but they are a very good company to deal with, pay out promptly etc. so I would recommend them if money is not a major issue.

AXA also seems to have a history of bumping up their premiums after the first year. You can see this by looking back on this thread.

phebe3

Runningbackwards wrote: »

I had considered that in the past - however out of 3 dogs we have one who has had major health problems, and thank heavens we had insurance as last year we would have had to find over £8,000 :eek: and no way would we have had this much set aside. Now has ongoing medication - the cost of which the insurance covers, so we actually are saving a huge amount each month. Would of course much rather poor little dog was well and we didn't have to claim


which insurance company is this if you don't mind me asking...many pet owners I have spoken to have maoned about the fact that their insurance won't pay oout on on going conditions occurring after they took out insurance (my sister's cat, age 14 now has arthritus and has to have medication but despite the fact they have paid out since he was a kitten teh insurance company won't cover teh cost of the medication)