Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

reheat

We insure our goldie with the Kennel club as it seemed the best compromise of benefits Vs cost. As stated elsewhere in this thread, some companies will only insure a condition for a year, others life long, the latter obviously more expensive. Our KC policy is a mix of the two and ~ when we took the policy out at least ~ priced mid-range. Basically they cover any condition up to a maximum total sum (about £5K I think) but it there's no time limit. Whether it's still such good value these days I'm not sure, but there is an element of lock-in to it ... changing company breaks any pre-existing condition cover.

collecting.dust

Just wondered if any of you had tried Healthy Pets insurance as looking at the quote for our new puppy it is very very competitive and includes cover for ongoing conditions (ie the policy doesn't exclude any condition you claim for on renewal).

Here are my findings this morning

Healthy Pets £116.67 £5000 Vet Fees £50 excess

M&S £222.10 £7000 Vet Fees £50 excess or zero excess for extra £10

Petplan £240.00 £4000.00 Vet Fees £80 excess

pboae

The £5,000 vets fee limit for Healthy Pets is a lifetime limit per illness/incident. So if your dog develops a life long illness (like heart problems or arthritis) you will only be able to claim £5,000 over your dog's whole life. So if the daily medications costs add up to nearly £1,000 a year (as they do for my dog) then after 5 years you will have run out of insurance and will have to pay yourself.

With M&S and Petplan the limit is per year. So if you claim £1,000 towards an illness this year, the limit resets at renewal and you can claim up to £7,000 / £4,000 again the following year.

collecting.dust

Hi there

Thank you so much for clarifying this. Looking at the quotes I just could not understand why Healthy pets was so much cheaper - now I understand and realise its not the policy for us.

LOL - If its cheap there is usually a reason !!!

Think we will be opting for the zero excess M&S one now

I wonder if they can change the policy conditions regarding excess if they feel like you make to many claims ??

pboae

They haven't changed the excess on mine, but they did put the premiums right up last year (not just for me, they did it to nearly everyone). My premiums nearly doubled, but it still works out as good value considering how much we claim from them.

collecting.dust

Great - good to know

Thanks for all your help

nuttywoman

I got a new renewel from M&S today but am going to shop around.Its gone up from £110 a year to £299 a year, which i think is way too much.For the year i`ve only claimed £65 !
I`ve been looking at Argos pet insurance, has anyone got that?
val

pboae

You must have just missed the price hikes when they put them up last August.

I don't know what Argos are like at paying out, but their gold and silver cover will only cover an illness for 1 year, after that it is excluded from future claims. The platinum cover is for life, but only £6,000 for the whole lifetime per illness.

Also, bear in mind that every insurer will exclude anything you have claimed for previously. Some are harsher than others, so if you had your dog treated for a cut leg, some insurers will only exclude furture incidents relating to that cut. Others will exclude any future cuts to that leg, and some will exclude anything at all to do with legs, even if it is completely unrelated. Always check with an insurer exactly what they will be excluding and get it in writing.

Liza_2

I have just taken out Sainsburysbank Pet insurance for my 4 year old dog, and then I re-read the policy document and it wasn't clear whether it is a 'for life' policy or not (my vet advised me to go with a 'for life' policy. So I phoned Sainsburys who clarified it is a 'for life' policy up to £6,500. So, once the £6,500 runs out you can not claim anymore.

THe quote was very competitive at £16 per month - where as M&S came out at £21 per month - so now I am not sure what to do. By the was Sainsburysbank Pet insurance is also underwritten by AXA i think - same as M&S - is that right?

tigs78

Liza wrote: »

I have just taken out Sainsburysbank Pet insurance for my 4 year old dog, and then I re-read the policy document and it wasn't clear whether it is a 'for life' policy or not (my vet advised me to go with a 'for life' policy. So I phoned Sainsburys who clarified it is a 'for life' policy up to £6,500. So, once the £6,500 runs out you can not claim anymore.

THe quote was very competitive at £16 per month - where as M&S came out at £21 per month - so now I am not sure what to do. By the was Sainsburysbank Pet insurance is also underwritten by AXA i think - same as M&S - is that right?

I think you may be getting mixed up with what 'for life' means... A for life policy means that you can claim up to £6500, per year ie each and every year for the life of the policy. So you could reach the maximum claim in year one and as long as you renew you then have another £6500 the following year. It's when a policy is per condition that you run into problems, per condition means that once you've used up the £6500 you then can't claim any more ever.

If I were you I'd give Sainsburys another ring to confirm / clarify this for you.