Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

heavenly_2

My renewal has just come through from Argos.

I am currently paying £19.19 per month and it has now gone up to £57.94 per month.
I have called and they say this is due to the age and breed (7 year old Shar Pei).

I am hoping to change providers to something cheaper, but my dog's eye sight has been getting worse and he had eye drops in October and we had to wait to see if they helped. It seems now that he is completely blind and we are waiting for an appointment at the eye specialist.

Is there a provider that will cover for current conditions, or will I have to stick with Argos.

I was slightly hasty and rung them today to cancel my policy at the end of the month, so the clock is ticking!!

I need cover incase there is something the vet can do to help his eye sight.

Thanks in advance

I have rung Argos and said that I changed my mind and wished to stay with them.

I have also got an appointment at the eye clinic the week after next. As I am still in this years insurance up until the end of the month I am hoping to find out if my dog is completely blind, if he needs any treatment and a rough cost. Depending on these factors I will then decide on staying with my insurance or do a doggy bank and cancel my renewel
If my dog does need an operation than I am sure it will be thousands.
When we first got him we had to pay out nearly £2000 as he had nearly eye problems straight away and we couldnt get the insurance to pay. He had a complete face lift!

As are most things in life it is very frustrating that every month for the last 7 years you pay your money and there is never any need to claim on the insurance. The moment your need to, its renewel time and they have put the cost up to nearly three times as much. :mad:

It seems mad that they expect me to pay more money on pet cover than I do on my own life cover! But if he needs the operation then he needs it.

snowman2_2

A lot of insurance companies add a percentage onto the excess with older dogs whether you have made claims or not. Some companies add a percentage to any age of pet. If you change companies, they will put an exclusion on anything that you have previously claimed for so unfortunately you are probably stuck.

Nomad25

Have been trawling again and have found this company https://www.healthy-pets.co.uk which offers 3 levels of cover, with max excess of £50.00 on any level and compares very favourably. I would really like to stick 2 fingers up @ M & S now and move - but don't want to be too hasty has anyone any experience of healthy-pets insurance policies??

pboae

Healthy Pets have a per condition maximum claim (1,000 3,000 5,000 at the different levels). For most conditions even £1,000 would be sufficient. But if your dog develops a life-long illness (such as arthritis or diabetes) then that amount has to last it's whole life.

So if they need arthritis meds that cost £30 a month (and my dogs arthritis meds are a lot more than that). That's £360 a year, and the £1,000 will run out in less than 3 years, after that you'll have to foot the bill yourself, and that is only including the cost of the regular medication, not the consultation fees, etc. If you need an xray as well for diagnosis, that will eat up a big chunk of the money in one go. If the dog ended up needing an operation (like a hip replacement) you'd be looking at £4,000 just for the op, before you got into the costs of aftercare.

On the other hand, if your dog never suffers from more than the occasional tummy upset, or occasional cuts and bruises, the cover will me more than adequate.

So really you have to decide whether you want cover for what is very likely to happen (i.e. occasional minor vet costs) or what might happen (an operation after a traffic accident or maybe long term illness). Per condition limits are fine for the former, but not so good for the latter.

EDIT: have you tried ringing AXA direcdt by the way? Their quotes are very variable, but some people have had good deals off them. They used to underwrite M&S and still do underwrite Healthy Pets.

elsien

elsien wrote: »

I've just had this years renewal certificate, and it seems that the excess has changed from the fixed amount (£105 per condition on last years) to a percentage - the new certificate says 20%.

Is this usual for older dogs who've had lots of claims, as it's not something I've come across before. It seems like it could work out more expensive for me, but the dog is now probably 8 or 9, with some ongoing permanent conditions, so looking elsewhere isn't really an option.

Just curious as to whether this is a general change, or specific to petplan?

Just read my new information properly, and the 20% is on the surplus over and above the £105 excess, and they've increased the monthly premium to £30. Now I really am not a happy bunny - I know they've got me over a barrel, but at this rate it's not going to be worth having the insurance at all.

ednotdave

I've just insured our new pup with Halifax. I wanted continuous cover and got several quotes of £200-£300 :eek: Halifax quoted £96-odd for their "extra" cover and the only slight draw-back, as far as I can see, is that the £50 excess is payable each year the condition is claimed for. That said, it seems much better value than most - please let me know what you think:

Benefit table

Cover: Halifax Pet Insurance eXtra

Vets Fees: £6,000 per year

Excess: £50 per condition per year

Alternative/Complementary treatment:

Behavioural Problems: £200

Cremation/burial costs: £100

Third Party Liability (dogs only): £1m

Death of your Pet: £1,000

Advertising and Reward: £1,000

Theft and/or Straying: £1,000

Accidental Damage: £500

Kennel/Cattery Fees: £1,000

Holiday Cancellation: £2,000

Pay Vet Direct:

Cover Abroad*: 12 Months

Helplines:

Find-a-Vet:

Bereavement Counselling:

Pet Legal:

Pet Minders:

* Subject to full compliance with the PETS Travel Scheme.

Parks

i have spent the last hour reading the pet insurance article and then this thread and am now totally baffled as to what to do. we are picking up our new puppy next week and obviously need to get pet insurance but really not sure where to go now. finding the best house/car insurance isn't this difficult!!!!

Fleago

We've recently taken the decision to go down the route that Kimberley suggests above. After years of being with Petplan, with only one claim in all that time, the age of our senior dog meant we were facing a big hike in premiums and a rise in the excess. After discussion with our Vet, who agrees with our decision, we're now saving the equivalent of the last premium we were paying into my ISA each month to cover unforseen vet fees.

It was a big decision and caused much worry and "what iffing", but we're happy with our decision now. That being said, before we took it, we made sure that we could pay if something big comes up before the pot in the ISA is big enough to cover it. Also, we have a very good relationship of long standing with our vet practice, so we know they would try to be helpful.

It wouldn't suit everyone, but if you have contingencies that mean you could pay anyway if worst came to worst, it is something worth considering.

Fleago

In_Search_Of_Me

For those who dint have insurance be 100% sure you can afford a bill of thousands if your pet gets really ill. I had petplan, then M&S then cancelled. The one of my cats got ill and turned out it was her liver packing up. I paid as much as I could afford (£600) before having to make the, mainly financial, decision to have her put down as she wasnt getting better quikly enough. She was a lovely cat and really didnt deserve that so PLEASE think long & hard before deciding not to have insurance. The guilt I feel is immense and I would hate for someone to go through the same as I have for the sake of a few quid...pet plan seem to be the best cover but their cust services is appalling!

Joannef_2

I'm looking for cat insurance today. This is the first time I've got a kitten insured but after £1,200.00 of vets bills last year on my previous cat I've decided to get insurance.

The best quote I've obtained so far is from Healthy Pets which I think is underwritten by AXA. Just wondered if anyone has any good or bad experiences with this insurer. I'm looking at either the silver or gold policy.

I know a lot of people recommend Pet Plan. I previously used Pet Plan when I had horses but I found that I could normally obtain a competitive policy elsewhere which is my reason for asking on here. I used to use NFU and found them really good at paying out quickly but I can't get an online quote for cat insurance from them.

Thanks