Pet Insurance RANT

downhillfast

Have you ever had that feeling that you've been painted into a corner???

I've had my dog insured since I got him when he was 6 months old... he's a boxer and on average for the first 5 years his cover cost about £20 per month which was fine. For those 5 years I made precisely NO claims!

About 18 months ago he developed a corneal ulcer and as a result had an operation to replace his cornea (approx £2000) plus a number of specialist appointments and medication within that policy year (approx £1500???).

Obviously I was expecting his premium to increase because of the significant claim... and it did... it went up to £31 per month.

Over this last year he has had 2 further appointments with the specialist and a little more medication (approx £600)

... well last week his policy renewal dropped onto the doormat... it's going up to £43 per month and our cover has now changed so we will be liable for not only the £70 excess per condition per year... but also 10% of the veterinary costs!!!

I'm now completely trapped by More Than as no other insurer will cover for his pre-existing condition... and I'd hate to think that he would have to lose his eye if it ever happened again - there is no reason that it would happen again but it would be S*d's Law!

So as it stands in my world, More Than now has a license to print money as they know I cannot move to another insurer... is my premium really going to keep on going up by 50% per year regardless of how little I have claimed since the illness struck or will it level back down when he no longer has to have 6 monthly appointments with the specialist - last appointment should be next week!

At this rate (providing he never has a big claim again and lives to roughly 14 years of age) I will have actually paid more in premiums than I have ever claimed.... I thought the idea of insurance was just that.. your INSURE yourself against unforseen expense and if you don't need to claim then you have effectively paid for peace of mind! I could understand the premiums continuing to recoup the claims if his condition was ongoing but it isn't it was an unfortunate one-off.

This experience has left me thinking that if I ever had another dog I would seriously consider not bothering with insurance and just paying into a separate account and getting a loan to cover any unforseen large expense if it should arise as insurance is really not peace of mind for me now... it's more like a headache!

Have anyone else's premiums increased at the same rate as mine after a claim???

woody01

What do you expect?
They keep shelling out money and you still pay the same?

If you don't like it, cancel the policy and pay out of your own pocket.

Becles

I've never had pet insurance or other insurances. I've got a sum of money in a savings account which could be used for vet bills, appliance breakdown, or any other emergencies.

Over the life of two collies, Sam had a op after he developed a harmless cyst between his toes and it was causing discomfort so it had to come off. Suzy had a minor op to get stitched up after another dog attacked her, and had eye problems just before she died. The costs of those treatments were much less than what I would have paid in premiums over their lives.

Currently got collies - Bob (5 years old) and Jack (8 months) and neither has needed any vet treatment apart from the routine stuff which isn't covered anyway.

teasleym

I think all pet insurance has gone up this year anyway. Our cat is 6 years old and been insured all that time and we have never claimed, yet her insurance went up 25% when we got the renewal last month. We were with Pinnacle. Fortunately as we have never claimed and had no pre-existing conditions, as they wouldn't/couldn't reduce it we could switch it to Sainsburys instead.

cybergibbons

The saving argument only works if you are in the situation to do that though, and I often think it is a false economy with pet insurance. Especially for cats - in the first year the premium will be about £100/annum rising to probably £400/annum at 15 years.

So call that £250 on average - £3750 over the life of the animal. It sounds a lot, but an intestinal blockage can run to £1200 with operation, hospitalisation and aftercare. A road accident could result in bills of £2500 with ongoing costs.

dacouch

Pet Insurance is likely to always have well above inflation price increases even without claims. The main reason for this is that inflation in vet costs is normally in double figures.

Advances in pet science are linked to human medical science in that whenever they develop a new treatment or piece of equipment for humans it is soon adapted for pets.

Who would have thought ten years ago that your cat could go in for a cat scan or even an MRI scan, these new treatments are initially very expensive and medical problems are treated now days that would not have been treated years ago.

As with humans, pets life expectancy has gone up and with the longer lives come more health problems in the late years

Deep_In_Debt

More Than gave me the worst quotes on pet, house and car insurance.

I have 2 rescue cats, both are 8 years old and I've had them for 7 years. Never had to use the insurance that I took out with Tesco so cancelled it a couple of years ago - £12pm for both cats. I had insurance on my previous cats and it wasn't worth the paper it was written on... I now save the £12pm or more to cover their vet treatment should they need it.

cybergibbons

My main reasoning for going with pet insurance is having been put in the horrible position of being given the option of paying for very expensive surgery or putting an animal down. We could afford it, just, but it put us in a bad financial way. I'd rather just be able to say yes straight away.