Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

hethmar

alien4398 wrote: »

hi i have 2 cocker spaniels jake is 8 and ellie 4. i recieved ellies renewal at £21 and jakes £40 !! per month. i have had them insured since being puppies and claimed around £200 when ellie caught herself on barbed wire and around £300 for a benign growth in Jakes mouth.I decided to try find a better deal this year and have just had a quote for lifetimecover up to £4000 per year for less than £10 each part of e & l insurance and is called pet-insurance. Its less than the cover offered by more than (my current provider is £7000 but its per condition in total) but substantially less per month especially for Jake my 8 yr old. Has anyone used them ? What are they like with paying out etc ? Is it too good to be true !?

Avoid them and any other insurance underwritten by them like the plague! Google their name and reviews and even on here there are several long threads over problems with them. Also ask your own vet:eek:

hethmar

loates123 wrote: »

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

Dont know anyone who has used them but their website is somewhat misleading. Neither of their policies are full for life policies were the amount that can be claimed is topped up every year.

The blurb on their table on the site is misleading in that it says "no time limit" for claiming on a condition. In the notes it will tell you no time limit but only up to the amount shown

Once you use up the £3500 or £7000 thats your lot, you are on your own for the condition you have been claiming for. This may be fine for you but if your dog should need very expensive or long term ongoing treatment then you may well be in the poo.

I notice they are underwritten by AXA, so you may as well go to AXA direct and get a proper for life policy for your dog. Get quotes from several insurers and then compare.

twinklie

I just got my renewal notice through for my rather difficult to insure large breed dog (14 months old). I was ready for a shock...and got one. Not the one I expected though...it's not gone up even a penny, despite me claiming £300 on it this year. :eek: I was well chuffed.

helpucover.co.uk all the way. When I did have to claim, I literally filled in the form and sent it off. Within about 10 days the money was in my account. No questions. Much better than all the horror stories I've heard about people and insurance issues. Phew.

linni

My pet insurance is due for renewal with HSBC (now Agria Pet) which has gone up from £150 to £180 this year and she's only 3 years old. I've just found out that she is covered for 3rd party liability on my home insurance (Tesco) so, is it possible to get pet insurance without public liability?

She also has ear problems which flare up every few months (small ear canals and very hairy ears despite plucking the hair out out regularly). The vets bills have all been under the £75 that I have to pay (except once when she was a puppy) so the insurers haven't paid out anything. Would this count as an 'existing condition' if I changed insurers?

Jon_S_4

Can anyone advise me please!?

Im getting a bit overwhelmed by all the different policies.

Ive got a boston terrier 10 weeks old and im looking for lifetime cover with a high amount per condition per year.

whats an average cost of one condition per year ?

looking at my 'gocompare' quote, i like the look of a John Lewis policy.

it comes with different per conditon per year limits of £2000 , £3500 , £7000 and £10000 all with unlimited £ per policy per year.

policy costs £187.78 (£2000 per condition per year)
£202.58 (£3500 per condition per year)
£210.11 (£7000 per condition per year)
£220.63 (£10000 per condition per year)

Can anyone tell me if this is a good policy and any sugestions would be apreciated.

Want to make sure my dog is covered with a lifetime policy with unlimited amount per policy per year and a reasonable amount of cover per condition per year.

thanks

Missconduct

It is all a bit mind-boggling. Make sure you read the full policy document as they all cover different things. For instance, a lot of them want you to pay something like 20% of any veterinary claim when your animal reaches a certain age, a lot of them exclude dental work even if it's caused by illness so that if they get a gum disease, your insurer won't pay out! A lot of them exclude prescription diets, so that if your animal develops (for example) renal disease (very common in cats when they get older) and needs a renal food diet (which is expensive), they won't cover it.... All things I've learned from experience after 11 years of holding different pet insurance policies....

Jon_S_4

Missconduct wrote: »

It is all a bit mind-boggling. Make sure you read the full policy document as they all cover different things. For instance, a lot of them want you to pay something like 20% of any veterinary claim when your animal reaches a certain age, a lot of them exclude dental work even if it's caused by illness so that if they get a gum disease, your insurer won't pay out! A lot of them exclude prescription diets, so that if your animal develops (for example) renal disease (very common in cats when they get older) and needs a renal food diet (which is expensive), they won't cover it.... All things I've learned from experience after 11 years of holding different pet insurance policies....

Do you think a lifetime policy with unlimited amount per policy per year with a £7000 per condition per year policy at £210 is going overboard for a puppy ?

Missconduct

Jon_S wrote: »

Do you think a lifetime policy with unlimited amount per policy per year with a £7000 per condition per year policy at £210 is going overboard for a puppy ?

Hi Jon,

Not at all, that sounds like a very good deal. I have no idea whether John Lewis policy premiums tend to escalate at renewal - is there any feedback on them in this thread, do you know? Personally, I've never used them, I have used Halifax, M&S and More Than most recently....

If you can afford the premium and it's competitive and the policy coverage is good i.e. it doesn't exclude lots of things, I don't think there's any such thing as going overboard and I would probably take it out. It has been a godsend for us over the years and overall we've more than got out monies-worth (but then we tend to have sickly animals as most of them have been rescues).

I have no idea whether that premium is good as our dogs are all large breeds but it doesn't sound bad to me....

blue_monkey_2

Just wanted to give a word of warning to ensure you check exclusions. Some policies exclude Pyrometra and our puppy is just back from the vets having had an emergency Spay. Because spaying is a preventative measure of this condition, some policies - especially the cheaper ones - will not give cover it so beware. Our vet bill was almost £800. So for the sake of saving a few ££, make sure everything is covered that you need it to be. We pay £46 a month for an elderly cat, a staff x and a blue staffy. We have had vets bills of over £1400 in the last 3 months for one dogs ongoing condition (always results in an op) and anothers emergency op. I know some people think pet insurance is a waste of money but it is nice to be able to go to the vets without worrying about what it is going to cost.

Missconduct

Agree with Blue Monkey, we've had to cancel some of ours because it just got ridiculously expensive - we were paying about £140 per month in the end for our 11-year old Newfoundland and still had to pay 20% of any bill but, over the years (when it was much cheaper) we've had two operations of about £3k each and so many niggly ailments that have been ongoing, it used to be more than worthwhile.