Pet Insurance Help needed

salsa-sam

Hi,

This is the first time I have posted here but i desparatly need some help.

I have insured my dog since we got him at 8wks old with M&S pet insurance. It started off good, only £10 a month and no excess and treatment up to £7000.

Unfortunatly my dog gets bad skin allergy reactions and he needs regular medication (steroids and anti-b's). I have ended up claiming between £200 and £700 a year.

M&S have now changed thier policy and there is now an excess £70 a year till he is 9 then £70 +20% of the treatment.

Also they keep putting the price up, it went up to £23.99 last year, higher but still justifiable for us, but now they have put it up again to £32.99 thats £10 a month increase!!!!! hes only 4 years old.

The problem i am having is i think we are stuck, because every other pet insurance companies will not cover pre existing conditions, so his skin allergy would not be covered so we would endup paying for this.

Im reluctant to stay with them because of the huge hike in price, but dont know what to do... plleeeaasseee help me....

thank you

sam,xxxx

dacouch

I think M&S just changed the Insurer who underwrites the scheme hence the increase in premiums.

There are a lot of threads on this subject, do a search you should find some information

lowis

they did indeed change their underwriter.
if you change insurer now you won't be covered for the skin allergy. i guess the anticipated annual spend for the condition doesn't make it worth changing to a cheaper provider and excluding this condition?

to make you feel better, the 20% excess once an animal is over 8 or 9 years old is fairly standard with most pet insurance providers i think, AXA are one of the few that do not add a percentage on top of the initial excess amount.

have you tried calling them and complaining at the increase in premiums? seems like a ridiculous annual hike to me.

dacouch

If any one wants advice on the best policy to take for the cat or dog it is without doubt the Pet Plan policy. It is not the cheapest by a long way but is the best.

Their policy will continue covering your pet until it dies providing you keep renewing (Although their premiums will increase and so will the excess). Most of the cheaper companies will stop insuring your pet at 8 or 9 years and its after these that you normally start getting the big vet bills.

They do not exclude a condition once they have paid out on it, the cheaper policies will exclude cover for say cancer the renewal immediately after you claim. If your pet gets a condition that needs treatment for ever it will save you a fortune.

You normally pay the excess once a year for each condition not each time you go to the vet.

Their policy offers very wide cover

They do not exclude congenital conditions eg german shepherds with their hip problems (Some companies exclude these)

The vast majority of Vets recommend the Pet Plan policy....in addition if your a pet plan policy holder they will often wait for payment from Pet Plan rather than demand it there and then.

THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY COMPANY THAT OFFER THESE (I DO NOT WORK FOR PET PLAN)

Like I said pet plan are not the cheapest but if you need to claim for your pet on a regular basis they could actually save your thousands.

When buying pet insurance take the above into account, it could be that a cheaper policy suits your circumstance better but bear the above in mind. Also remeber that if you change Pet Insurer the new company will exclude claims for existing conditions.

Like I said I do not have any connection with Pet Plan but in my opinion their policy is by far and away the best if you can afford their premiums as they are expensive.

lowis

Petplan are indeed fabulous...

I claimed about £4000 over the lifetime of my rabbit - no quibbles at all
I claimed about £15,000 over the lifetime of my cat - no quibbles at all
I have claimed around £2000 for one other cat (still alive) - no quibbles too.

I have also just had a really good claim experience with AXA, hassle-free, for a 14 year old adopted cat with no medical history - unfortunately their excess is per condition.

Wutang_2

Petplan should be the only insurer any one with a pet should consider....M&S??

lowis

if PetPlan didn't discriminate against older pets then all of pets would be with them, unfortunately the only policy they would offer me for my adopted 14 year old siamese cat was the Value policy, which, to be frank, is crap.

thesim

lowis wrote: »

if PetPlan didn't discriminate against older pets then all of pets would be with them, unfortunately the only policy they would offer me for my adopted 14 year old siamese cat was the Value policy, which, to be frank, is crap.

But they do still offer to cover your pet. Many insurance companies wont cover over the ages 8-10yrs.