Sainsburys Pet Insurance! AVOID!

Sunnylooloo

Hi all and apologies for the long ramble…… but I am so irritated! :mad::mad::mad:

I have had my pets insured via Sainsburys for a number of years after them giving me a very competitive quote (I was with PetPlan before).

I have never had a problem with them and they settled the claims with a relatively small amount of fuss.

Over the years I have noticed a steady incline in the amount of premium (o and the excess has gone up over the years from £50 - £75) I pay, which I could understand for some years as I did make a couple of claims. However over the past, I would say 3 years I have not had any claims for my cats (I have 3 cats and 1 dog insured with them – the dog was treated for an ongoing condition so it is very unlikely that I will be able to change her insurance provided as this condition is quite a serious one and I need to make sure she is covered).

Last year I was quite shocked about how much the premiums has increased especially due to the no claims for the cats, and I was told as the underwriters are AXA it is what they decide and there was not much they could do, however they would get someone to call me back to discuss my case. I was called I think within the same day or next day by someone from customer services who totally sympathised with my case and said although there was nothing they could do for the actual premium they were willing to give me Sainsburys Shopping vouchers as an incentive to stay (as at this time – and it is the same for this year they are offering new customers 12 months for the price of 9 months). I ended up getting just under £100 worth of vouchers once I had renewed (I got them two months after the policies had been renewed) so I was completely satisfied with this outcome.

This year once again all the policies had gone up. I called the renewal line and asked why, seeing as none of the animals had had a claim over the past year. I was told well that is what AXA had deemed my premiums to be and that was that. So I said well last year you seemed to want to keep my business and offered me some vouchers to stay, I was told that that was no longer their policy. I said but you are offering new customers get 12 months for the price of 9 and increased nectar points on shopping for two years but there is no such incentive for existing customers. I asked to speak to a manager or supervisor and was told I couldn’t – but someone would call me back in 12-36 hours – which by the end of the call had changed to 72 hours! I said this was completely unacceptable and said I would be happy to hold while they got someone to speak to me about my case. He said fine but you will be on hold for ages and then the call will drop out!!!!!!!!! Outrageous! He then told me the only way I could get the deals would be if I cancelled the policies and took out new policies for all the pets via the website (and of course the dog’s pre-existing condition would not be covered! Useless!)

I wrote to their customer services (the email address goes to jltgroup.com) and received a letter back basically saying “tough!”. It stated that yes double points for 2 years was available for new customers but not for existing customers – so it is accept the premiums or go elsewhere.

Well I did what any normal person would do – shop around and got all 3 cats insured for £15 a month cheaper with another provider. The dog has to stay put with Sainsburys.

So if you are insured with Sainsburys or are thinking about taking out a new policy with them for your pet, please be aware that in years to come they are not so friendly to pre-existing customers!

O and apparently they tell me in the renewal letter that “Your Money” awarded them the Best on Line Pet Insurance Provider 2008 – obviously not so for 2009 and 2010!


LL

curly04

as you know I work in insurance but not pet insurance and it is hard time for insurers at the moment but even our company gives better customer service than this!

Sunnylooloo

Thanks hun - I was even thinking of maybe putting the premiums aside and binning the insurance full stop... not sure if anyone has done this (My mum or sister would keep it safe for me) I just worry if they are not insured though.....

Curls they guy I spoke to was just awful! Last year they were so good and now they obv just don't care. I just worry for new people getting sucked in by their deals!

Angiepange

Loo they just have you 'over a barrel' with insurance don't they!!!!!

I had similar problems with my M & S pet insurance, they doubled the premiums last year and couldnt give me a decent explanation why!! But as my dog has arthritis and hip dysplasia Im stuck there. I too thought about putting the money to one side as I think we made a loss last year as to what we paid in premiums and what we claimed. But as you say, its the worry of something very expensive hapening that you just couldnt meet the costs of otherwise. Rock and Hard place comes to mind.

I had a rant about it in the pets & pet care forum and got quite alot of replies back, wondering if it might be worth posting there too??

confused76

i can totally understand your frustrations! i don't know much about insurance or the way they calculate their premiums, but there is no need for useless customer service! x

Sunnylooloo

Thanks lovlies.

Ok Angie I will post it over there too!! I am so annoyed I told Sainsburys I would be warning as many people as I can about them - will also use my blog!!

Yep my dog had cancer so I can't move her, but the mogs are all fitish (she says quickly touching wood!) but one of the cats is nearly 12............ so basically they don't cover him for much!

Falze

Buy Insurance from an Insurer and buy groceries from a supermarket.

Thats my advises loo.

Falze

curly04 wrote: »

as you know I work in insurance but not pet insurance and it is hard time for insurers at the moment but even our company gives better customer service than this!

Thats a brave statement Curly !!!! :rotfl:

Sunnylooloo

Falze wrote: »

Buy Insurance from an Insurer and buy groceries from a supermarket.

Thats my advises loo.

Cheers Falze :j