Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

simonadams_2

Its been mentioned somewhat, but beware of age related conditions. Some insurers won't insure any pet over a certain age. Some will continue insuring the pet as long as it was insured with them when it went over the age 'limit'.

saintscouple

Hi all,

Just seen Direct line are offering a £20 vaccination voucher with pet insurance taken out before 13th April -

"We’ll be giving all customers that insure their pets with us before 13 April £20 towards the cost of vaccinations. If the price is less we cover the actual cost. The offer is redeemable within the first 3 months of taking out cover."

You also get 12 Month's free membership of The Missing Pets Bureau.

Plus you can get £30 cash back through quidco.

My quote for our cat came in at £7.61 per month = £91.32 a year
Minus £20 voucher, Minus £30 cashback = £41.32 a year

Of course, the above should only be considered secondry to the benefits of the policy.

easilyamused

Had a renewal notice through from M&S recently for my 5 year old crossbreed. Have never claimed and my premium had shot up. They were going to charge me £149.45 payable monthly at £12.45. Out of interest I went to their website and got another quote - exact same dog, exact same policy. They quoted me £114.45 payable monthly at £9.53. I rang M&S and asked them why the huge price difference and they couldn't tell me so I said 'I'd be better off cancelling this policy and taking out a new one wouldn't I?' to which the woman agreed. They couldn't match their own price, so I have!

I'd suggest anyone else having a renewal through from them to try similar (so long as you've not claimed that year, that is!)

Facilitator

I have insured with http://www.animalfriends.org.uk/ for a cat and a dog because after lengthy searching some years ago, they seemed to offer true lifetime cover and seemed ethical.(Ongoing diseases no limit) I see all the M&S chat and wonder if I should swap or stay put.

Has anyone had any negative experiences from Animal Friends Insurance company? I did find when the cat became 8 years of age (or so we guess, she was a stray) the cost and degree of cover offered changed, which did not please me. I have had a claim on the cat, (just after she turned 8, typically!) and it was paid, less the new but swingeing Excess that had been imposed. That was the first claim she had. The dog had one when young, also paid without quibble after his (lesser) £49 XS

pboae

Animal Friends are underwritten by E & L. E & L are famous for wriggling out of paying out large claims. Personally, I wouldn't touch them.

beccabooboo

Hi Guys,

I have been reading with interest this thread. All I can say is THANK GOD FOR PET INSURANCE!!!!! i have my Chinese Shar Pei insured with Pet Plan and it's a good job too! Although the excess is £80, she is insured for life. She has a skin condition which will be ongonig throughout her life (she is only 2 1/2 yrs old at the mo - bless!) but since September last year we have ad over £1500 treatment. The vet has been FANTASTIC and pet plan pay them direct, we have never had a problem at all.

My dog is now healthy and happy thanks to our great vet and pet plan for paying out!!

Also highly recommend our vet if you are in the Nottinghamshire area, they are very sympathetic and extremley knowledgeable. We recently lost our older dog and they even sent us a sympathy card and a packet of forget me not seeds!!! (which will be planted under his willow tree!!) If you want to know who the vet is then you can send me a message!!

Thanks
Becky!!;)

EmmaH_2

Hi all,

I have 3 Burmese cats. I initially insured them with Direct Line, who wrote to me a year later when my policy was up for renewal and told me they were increasing the premiums by 30%. I shopped around, found Marks and Spencers and signed up with them, only to find a year later that they will be increasing my premium by over 60% (From £18.76 to £30.95).

I'm convinced these companies lure you in with a cheap premium then increase the premium a year later, hoping that most people are too lazy to shop around. Has anyone else had this experience?

My cats are only 4 years old, in perfect health and I've never made any claims. I will phone Marks and Spencers to ask them to justify a 60% increase in the hope they will reduce it to keep me as a customer but am not holding out much hope...

Emma.

pboae

M&S had all their policies over hauled last year, I think they changed underwriters, but I am not 100% sure. A lot of policies went up (mine doubled) but some people did actually get decreases. I am hoping the hike was a one-off, but we'll see. At the moment, even with a 100% increase my premium is still half what a new customer with my details would get, so I am guessing my premiums will keep rising till they reach that level, but that even M&S thought I would baulk at a 300% increase in one go.

Have you tried getting a new quote (vary your details slightly) to see what you would get as a new customer? If it is cheaper then you can cancel your current policy and get a new one with them, as long as you have never made a claim.

the_greed

We have a labrador who is 6 years old and have cover through PDSA as my husband is on benefits. We have been given the chance of a crossbred springer spaniel labrador puppy for free and we are seriously thinking of a companion for my lab. If we decide to go ahead we will be looking into insuring it. We do not know much about pet insurance and were wondering if anyone can advise. I have looked at moneysupermarket.com and do not know what to do. I have been reading into it and presume that life cover is the best idea, can anyone tell me what exactly life cover means. We do not want to go ahead in case it is expensive, but we love dogs, we do not drink or smoke so another dog will not break the bank, but I would like to know about the best way to insure it before we go ahead.

pboae

Martin has written an article on it here and there is a long thread discussing it here.