Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

PhiltheBear

TomsMom wrote: »

I have no personal dealings with E & L so cannot speak from personal experience, but I belong to a pet forum and have seen comments on their about E & L along the lines of "I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole" and a veterinary hospital who "will not deal with E & L".

I googled "E & L insurance complaints", I haven't read any of the links but if I was considering using them I would check them out before deciding.

Unfortunately, once again MSE has overlooked the important things about pet insurance in favour of cost cutting. (Not to mention collecting fees for directing people to certain comparison sites :mad:)

There's absolutely no point in saving money on premiums if the company you are dealing with won't pay out. (E&L are notorious for this).

Other scams include charging you a full year's premium if your pet dies part way through the year - step up The Kennel Club (they even got their own mention on Watchdog).

You also need to be wary about excesses. They tend to change when an animal gets to be around 8 years old when the fixed excess often becomes a fixed excess plus a percentage of the bill.

There is a comparison website - http://www.petinsurancecompare.co.uk - which only features insurers who have good reputations. As it's almost impossible to change insurer because a new insurer won't cover ANY pre-existing conditions, whether or not you claimed for them, it's essential to get the right insurer first time.

You might also note that the info given about the different types of insurance - annual, per condition and lifetime - given on the MSE site is wrong:

• Annual covers the cost of a condition (illness or injury) for up to one year only.
• Per condition covers the condition for as long as that condition exists up to the maximum claimable under the policy. It doesn't renew once they've paid out to the limit but it does run on each year until the monetary limit is reached.
• Lifetime covers any condition for life and pays out each year up to the maximum claimable each year under the policy. It renews the amount every year - as long as you pay the premiums.

PhiltheBear

Jasper21 wrote: »

Can anyone here answer a few questions?

I you decide not to put in a claim (and pay yourself) for treatment

1. will it still be regarded as a pre-existing condition? YES
2. would you have to declare the condition or treatment when renewing the policy? YES
3. even if you don't claim, will it still cause the premium to go up when you renew? NO - because the insurance company won't know

Is there such a thing as a no-claims discount for pets insurance? NO

That covers it

melbury

Please does anyone know exactly what is happening with Petguard?

I have been with them for three years and never had any problems, but for the past few months their website just has a screen saying "under construction" and I have read on another site that their underwriters have pulled out and so they are no longer insuring dogs with existing conditions.

My dog unfortunatley does have an ongoing condition and our policy runs out next month when, according to others, I will receive a letter saying they are not willing to insure my dog anymore, despite the fact that I do have a policy that covers conditions for life.

It is very worrying as of course no other company will offer cover for an existing condition.

Would be grateful for any further information if anyone knows anything about this.

Thanks.

Zingy

Are Marks and Spencer a good company to go with? Just had a quote for just over £80 which sounds pretty good to me as all the others I have looked at have been £150+ for the year.

mr_taylor_2

I recently took out a policy for our Bengal cat with Argos pet insurance online. On the email confirmation I was onformed that Louella our cat was covered from the 11th March however when she died unexpectedly on the 17th March the insurance refused to pay up quoting the small print which says they will not pay up in the first 10 days. This was not quoted on the email confirmation and effectively left me uninsured during that period. Please advise if I have a case to pursue them for the treatment (approx £300) and value of the cat (£450) as I feel that I have been totally misled.

Bromley86

>even if you don't claim, will it still cause the premium to go up when you renew? NO - because the insurance company won't know

Just to elaborate on Phil's reply, the premium will not increase because of this particular treatment (although of course it will probably go up every year whether your dog has claims or not). However they will not have to pay out when you do make a claim for a related issue, as they'll ask for your vet records. Technically it's possible that it may invalidate your insurance even on unrelated matters - I wouldn't know, but I can see an argument that you've deliberately hidden your risk profile from them.

Missconduct

mr_taylor wrote: »

I recently took out a policy for our Bengal cat with Argos pet insurance online. On the email confirmation I was onformed that Louella our cat was covered from the 11th March however when she died unexpectedly on the 17th March the insurance refused to pay up quoting the small print which says they will not pay up in the first 10 days. This was not quoted on the email confirmation and effectively left me uninsured during that period. Please advise if I have a case to pursue them for the treatment (approx £300) and value of the cat (£450) as I feel that I have been totally misled.

When you took the policy out, was there a policy document online for you to read? If so, did you have to tick a box to say you'd read and agreed to it? An insurer cannot impose terms after the contract is formed and you could argue that such an onerous term should have been brought to your attention at inception.

TomsMom

mr_taylor wrote: »

I recently took out a policy for our Bengal cat with Argos pet insurance online. On the email confirmation I was onformed that Louella our cat was covered from the 11th March however when she died unexpectedly on the 17th March the insurance refused to pay up quoting the small print which says they will not pay up in the first 10 days. This was not quoted on the email confirmation and effectively left me uninsured during that period. Please advise if I have a case to pursue them for the treatment (approx £300) and value of the cat (£450) as I feel that I have been totally misled.

On their website they have a summary of their policy.

As far as vets' fees are concerned it says

6.1 Veterinary Fees
What is covered
• All reasonable cost for treatment of your pet by a vet due to accident, illness or disease. Cover is provided for up to 12
months from the date of occurrence up to £2,500 (Silver), £4,000 (Gold) and £7,000 per year under Platinum.
What is not covered
• The excess as specified on your Policy Certificate
• Any treatment exceeding 12 months after the incident under Silver and Gold
• Any treatment exceeding £7,000 per year under Platinum
• Any treatment costs incurred after the expiry date of your policy
• Any medical condition which occurred or existed in any form prior to the start of the policy
• The cost of dental treatment except as a result of an accident
• Illness or condition occurring within the first 10 days of the start of the cover for your pet
• Preventative, non-essential or routine treatment, tests or any treatment that as a pet owner you would expect to incur
• Any claim as a result of a ‘notifiable’ disease e.g. Rabies.

So you can see that you would not be covered for vets' fees for any accident or illness within the first 10 days of the start date.

Regarding death from illness or accident it says

7.1 & 7.2 Death from illness and accident
What is covered
• The purchase price of your pet up to a maximum of £250 (Silver), £750 (Gold) or £1,500 (Platinum) if it dies or in
the event of humane destruction by a vet to alleviate incurable and inhumane suffering following an illness, disease
or accident.
What is not covered
• Any medical condition which occurred or existed in any form prior to inception of the insurance policy
• Death from illness in the case of dogs of 9 years of age or more and cats of 11 years of age or more.

It doesn't mention a time limit for that.

Was she an older cat who came under the 11 years of age ruling?

I suppose it depends which section Argos are referring to in their refusal to pay out. I take it you are claiming for vets' fees for the illness in which case the 10 day rule would apply, plus the death benefit? Apologies if I've assumed wrongly.

My dog insurance with Axa excluded anything at all for the first 14 days from start date and I think most policies have an exclusion similar to that.

Missconduct

It's a fair point that TomsMom is making and is no doubt the argument advanced by Argos, but if you didn't have to tick to say that you'd read those terms, you could try arguing that it should have been drawn to your attention before the contracted was formed - the obligation isn't on you to go searching around the website (I haven't looked at it, by the way). There is a line of case law including Thornton v Shoe Lane which requires an onerous term in a contract to be clearly drawn to the attention of a party before a contract is formed.

It's also true (from my experience of many pet insurance policies) that most have such an exclusion but that is completely irrelevant, the only thing that matters is the contract between you and Argos.

loates123

are esure any good as seems to be a good price for my dog age 2