M&S Pet insurance doubled for renewal !! Please help

Angiepange

Gettingready Sorry to hear about your cats illness and its good your vet accepts payment straight from M&S too.

As for our insurance with M&S, although I was dismayed to find they have nearly doubled the premium for renewal they do pay out quickly when we have claimed.

HOWEVER after reading thru the new policy booklet they now have a clause regarding 'Annual contract'. Basically now if we pay for our annual contract by monthly instalment (which we do) if we make a claim they have the right to deduct outstanding instalments from any claim payment !!!!

Well we took our dog to the vets the other day to discuss his hip dysplasia and they now think he may have arthritis in both front legs so need him in for x rays (£130ish approx) and to make matters worse he is in the vets today for blood tests and treatment for suspected gastro enteritis which will involve paying out £200 approx for all that.

So im guessing when I put claims in for that little lot M&S will probably hold onto that money towards payment of our annual contract. You just can't win.

Kimberley

Yikes, you and your dog are going through it :eek: It doesn't seem fair. We had 2 pet dogs when we were kids (A GSD and a Collie) and they both lived to old age without ever needing a Vet visit except for when the GSD needed to be PTS and even now my mum has a 5 year old JRT and a Cat and they also have not had one Vet visit. I guess she is just lucky. So far fingers crossed none of my pets have had to either.

gettingready

I am still waiting for the new policy - got the old one still....

Angiepangie, that is worrying......

hethmar

Angie, Ive a feeling that clause relates to death of the animal? So if your pet dies and you have outstanding payments they deduct them? Just ring and check for your own peace of mind.

Angiepange

Thanks Hethmar you are right, I did ring them to double check as it is confusing the way they have worded it.

Basically they have the right to collect any o/s premiums from any claim if you are behind with payment or if your pet dies say 2 months into the policy they would collect the o/s 10 months from any claim.

As long as you are continuing to pay your monthly instalment and you make a claim you will receive payment (less any excess) as usual.

Thanks again

oldie21

our dog, a pedigree labrador, has been insured since birth with the kennelclub's insurance - she is now 7 and has on-going treatment (steroids) for atopic skin condition
today I was horrified to see the insurance will increase from £44 a month to £62, a 41% increase - I have phoned & queried it & the lady on the phone thought it seemed excessive - she assured me that past claims made no difference to the price, not like car insurance. She said she would make enquiries and get back to us.:(

klassykitty

If you havent made a claim cancel the policy and take out a new policy online, you usually get 15% or something similar off.. I just did this with my 3 dogs and they are £25 a month for the 3 of them, my renewal price was in the region of £40 .. I will be doing the same next year if i havent made a claim, 2 are 3yrs old and the other 1yr old

crackerberry

klassykitty wrote: »

If you havent made a claim cancel the policy and take out a new policy online, you usually get 15% or something similar off.. I just did this with my 3 dogs and they are £25 a month for the 3 of them, my renewal price was in the region of £40 .. I will be doing the same next year if i havent made a claim, 2 are 3yrs old and the other 1yr old

Who do you insure with klassykitty? I usually do this with my home and car insurance but with my cat insurance its a little tricker because the pet insurers usually have an exclusion period ie if the pet needs treatment in the first xx months of taking out the policy you can't claim.

I've just had my renewal notice from Directline and, as usual, they've increased the premium and doubled the excess. As a new customer the cost is 30 per cent less and the excess still half the cost. It so annoys me. I know when I ring them I'll get a reduction off the renewal but its never as good a reduction as that offered for new customers and, as I mentioned, they do hold pet owners to ransom somewhat because of that clause about excluding treatment in the early days of the policy.

Angiepange

Angiepange wrote: »

Hi

We have been with M&S pet insurance for 3 years now and have just received our renewal. I was completely shocked to see they have almost doubled the monthly premium from £21.99 (originally it started at £15.99) to £39.68 per month :eek:. Our dog has hip dysplasia and we have had to claim for metacam over the last 2 years to help treat it.

What I was wondering is are there any insurers out there who insure dogs with a pre-existing condition and pay out for it?? I really want to change insurers but think im probably stuck where I am. I have asked them for a qoute to downgrade from their premier cover to their standard cover but am waiting to hear back. The difference is their standard cover pays out £1000 per condition per year whereas their premier pays out £7000. Im worried that in the future our dog may need more expensive treatment for Hip Dysplasia (poss even a hip replacement) and then we wouldnt be covered fully.

I am really shocked that they have jumped the premium up so much but I feel i have got no alternative than to try and pay it ?? If anyone has any advice I would be extremely grateful, thank you.

Angie x

Its that time of year. Just received a renewal quote from M & S......£62.99:eek:

Unfortunately can't afford to renew. But I have looked into buying Metacam online. Our dog has this everyday for arthritis and hip dysplasia. The vet is currently charging us £60 a bottle for 180ml but seems you can get a 100ml bottle online for around £15 with a presciption (£6-£8).

At the moment pet insurance pays that, but we have been paying £40pm plus a yearly excess of £70 for our pet insurance and its a struggle.

Thinking the best thing to do will be to cancel the pet insurance, buy the metacam online and maybe look to take a new policy out to cover for anything else that may happen to our dog.

Any advice or opinions appreciated, thanks

Beckyy

I would really, really, try not to cancel pet insurance when you have an pre-existing medical condition. Even a lower type of cover that would be better than none.

The other option would be to phone them and barter with them a little. I don't know how easy it will be with a pre-existing problem, but I've heard of people getting a hell of a lot taken off their cover just because they've been extremely consistent with bugging the company for it. The rule is, never be rude and never raise your voice to them on the phone - they cannot hang up on you when you're being polite. Ask to speak to the manager, and politely but firmly ask for a discount, say that you're a loyal customer and the raise in price is extortionate etc. etc. and do not put the phone down until you get an offer of a better deal - even if it's the lower type of cover.

Also check with your vet how much they're currently charging for a prescription, just to make sure you don't get stung being charged for the prescription if you're going to buy meds online.