Sainsburys or AXA direct?

smcshane

Hi all,

Just a general question about the above. Anyone got any experince with these two.

Sainsbury are underwritten by AXA so policy details and price seem very similar. The only advantage I can see at the moment is that I can get £40 back from quidco if I go with Sainsburys and the downside, sainsbury may change underwriters in the future which I have read can cause problems.

Also, do the policies cover dental, I couldnt seem to find this and having had an older cat who virtualy had all his teeth out I know the potential costs.

Thoughs appreciated.

Cheers

Sx

spookylukey

The last time I looked Sainsbury's was 'per condition' rather than 'per year' which Axa is. 'Per year' is a much better policy than 'per condition' as when you have used up the set amount per condition you're on your own - per year means that they reset the pot at 7k each and every year.

lowis

definitely axa! it is a true for life policy. the £40 you gain in the short-term through quidco could be the worst saving you ever make if you go with the sainsbury's policy. my vet also once told me to stay away from supermarket pet insurance policies.

as for the dental question...it depends on the condition. four weeks after i adopted my 14yo siamese cat, i took him for a check-up and my vet noticed that one of his teeth needed to be extracted because he had some erosion and it was causing him discomfort. my vet called this erosion a 'dental lesion' on the claim form, and axa paid for the extraction. the only part of the claim they did not pay for was scale and polish...but my vet stated on the form that out of the £400 for the claim, the scale and polish only cost £25...i think vets know how to word dental problems so they get paid

dacouch

Its a shame Axa have such a poor reputation for customer service

spookylukey

I don't think they have a bad reputation in the pet insurance world, I know quite a few people that are with Axa and have been very happy with the claims handing and service in general. I've never had to claim from them but they were very helpful when I was changing over to them from the dreaded M&S and had a few queries/issues.

lowis

so far AXA have been great in my experience (I do know one person here had trouble with them though); before i took out a policy with them for a 14yo cat that i was about to adopt, i called them for advice and asked if they would insure such an old cat, with no medical history - they said all they needed was a letter from the Rescue centre and their vet saying the cat was in good health, which the Rescue centre supplied.

on the occasions when i have had to call they answered the phones within a few rings, the person at the other end was in Britain and was friendly and helpful. they have also answered written correspondence efficiently and quickly and they also paid my vet promptly when he did a direct claim with them.

also, just about 4-6 weeks after taking out the policy it was discovered my cat had a dental lesion AND a heart murmur. despite being such a short amount of time into the policy AXA stiil paid out for the extraction and the heart scans/tests (£800 in total). no idea what will happen to my premiums in September though...that will be the litmus test!

spookylukey

My premiums went DOWN by a few pennies at renewal, was well chuffed with that.

lowis

spookylukey wrote: »

My premiums went DOWN by a few pennies at renewal, was well chuffed with that.

i have never heard of this before! wow!