Pet Insurance guide discussion area

Rev

Bloody annoyed at More Than right now! So just need a bit of a rant.

I have two dogs, when I took the policy out I was assured it was a life time policy and their top policy, giving 8k coverage per year.

The dogs are both 6 now, I've never claimed a penny, So I've given More Than around 5k, they even changed the policy once the dogs hit 6 so now I have to pay excess plus 10%.

Called yesterday as the vet recommended a behaviorist for my dogs nervousness issues, behaviorist quoted £480 which I think is an absolute bloody cheek and a good £200 more than every other behaviorist I've looked at but that's irrelevant.

The nice chat at more than told me my policy doesn't cover it (not the issue, my fault for not checking when I took the policy), he also informed me their top policy does cover it (you mean the top policy I was told I was getting when I signed up) and the policy I was told is a lifetime policy is actually 8k per condition(not per year!).

So when I took this policy More Than lied to me twice!! And there's not a single thing I can do about it as I don't have any proof, they don't keep phone calls this long so can't check the call.

I'm bloody annoyed at myself too, I was pondering self insuring but all the sites and the vet said no you must insure, so I did, have wasted thousands, I'd have plenty to cover the behaviorist and a massive chunk left over if I'd have ignored the 'experts'.

I know insurance works very well for some and I am just having a bit of a rant, not saying I think nobody should get insurance, but it certainly hasn't worked out for me!

krlyr

Rev wrote: »

and the policy I was told is a lifetime policy is actually 8k per condition(not per year!).

It's not a lie - you have a lifetime policy, you just have a cap on how much you can claim per condition during that lifetime.

Most lifetime policies have either a 'per condition' or a 'per policy year' limit (some a combination of both)

There are pros and cons to either side - the benefit of 'per condition' is if your dog needs a lot of treatment for one condition in a close period of time, as least you still have plenty in the 'pot' for other illnesses or injuries that might crop up within that policy year.

Rev

krlyr wrote: »

It's not a lie - you have a lifetime policy, you just have a cap on how much you can claim per condition during that lifetime.

Most lifetime policies have either a 'per condition' or a 'per policy year' limit (some a combination of both)

There are pros and cons to either side - the benefit of 'per condition' is if your dog needs a lot of treatment for one condition in a close period of time, as least you still have plenty in the 'pot' for other illnesses or injuries that might crop up within that policy year.

Sorry I should have been more clear.


My assumption is a life time policy the amount renews every year. My policy doesn't. So I can claim 8k and that's it. If the dogs needs ongoing treatment for the same illness once I hit 8k that's it. No more pay outs.


I specifically asked for the lifetime which renews each year IE it covered the lifetime of the illness. Not had a set amount per illness. As in my eyes that's not a life time policy as it doesn't cover the life time of the illness. Just covers that illness up to 8k.


As I said though, was just a bit of a rant. I am annoyed at being mislead. But pointless getting too annoyed as there's nothing I can do now.

PhiltheBear

krlyr wrote: »

It's not a lie - you have a lifetime policy, you just have a cap on how much you can claim per condition during that lifetime.

You are being disingenuous The accepted definitions of Pet Insurance are:
1) Annual - in which your policy restarts every year and anything from previous years is excluded.
2) Per Condition - where there is a limit on any condition, which once reached stops for that condition and is, therefore, not available for the lifetime of the policy.
3) Lifetime - where all and any condition is covered for the lifetime of the pet, subject to a limit that can be claimed overall per year.

The OP is right - More Than (and others) deliberately mislead customers when they call their policies 'lifetime' when they are, in reality 'per condition'. Sainsburys used to do the same thing (although they may have changed). Per Condition policies are NOT Lifetime policies.

Rev

Not too sure what to do now.

Had a quick look at compare sites last night and all the quotes were more than double what I'm paying more than.

But I'm loathed to stay with them now!

Neither of the dogs have any pre existing conditions etc. So nothing to worry about there.

But they are 6 so I suppose if I started to self insure now I'd worry because they're older.

sheramber

Rev wrote: »

Not too sure what to do now.

Had a quick look at compare sites last night and all the quotes were more than double what I'm paying more than.

But I'm loathed to stay with them now!

Neither of the dogs have any pre existing conditions etc. So nothing to worry about there.

But they are 6 so I suppose if I started to self insure now I'd worry because they're older.

You may find that when you took out your insurance the top policy of £12000 vet fees cover was not available at that time.

As you have found Lifetime cover with reinstatement of vet fees each policy year is more expensive than cover per condition for life until a maximum sum has been claimed.

If you had had lifetime cover with vet fees reinstatement it would have cost you more than the £5k you have paid to Morethan so you would have been even more out of pocket so far, as you have not claimed anything.

At the end of the day insurance companies are a business , out to make a profit for their shareholders, not an NHS for pets.

Those who don't claim more than they pay in subsidise those who claim more. Where else would the money come from?

I am glad when I don't have to claim on my car insurance or my house insurance rather than fret that I have paid a lot of money and got nothing back.

If you can have access to a large sum of money if needed then you may consider insurance un necessary.

If however, you would be faced with being unable to find the money to pay a large vet bill then y insurance might give you mind.

Each person must decide for themselves what makes them comfortable.

Rev

sheramber wrote: »

You may find that when you took out your insurance the top policy of £12000 vet fees cover was not available at that time.

As you have found Lifetime cover with reinstatement of vet fees each policy year is more expensive than cover per condition for life until a maximum sum has been claimed.

If you had had lifetime cover with vet fees reinstatement it would have cost you more than the £5k you have paid to Morethan so you would have been even more out of pocket so far, as you have not claimed anything.

At the end of the day insurance companies are a business , out to make a profit for their shareholders, not an NHS for pets.

Those who don't claim more than they pay in subsidise those who claim more. Where else would the money come from?

I am glad when I don't have to claim on my car insurance or my house insurance rather than fret that I have paid a lot of money and got nothing back.

If you can have access to a large sum of money if needed then you may consider insurance un necessary.

If however, you would be faced with being unable to find the money to pay a large vet bill then y insurance might give you mind.

Each person must decide for themselves what makes them comfortable.

As I said. I'm not bothered that I've paid out and got nothing back. Besides a fleeting moment of annoyance.

I also understand how insurance works.

My issue is being mislead by More Than.

PhiltheBear

If you go to https://www.petinsurancecompare.co.uk you can find a guide to buying pet insurance. The site also features companies that are 'ethical' i.e. they've been tried and tested for paying out.

Fridge03

Hi everyone,

We are looking at the possibility of adopting a rescue dog so just starting to look around at insurance.

Is Pet Plan generally considered to be one of the better insurers?
We will be getting the top policy (lifetime) with whoever we go with as have heard too many horror stories about people being left with £000s bills.

Any other recommended policies?

sheramber

Fridge03 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We are looking at the possibility of adopting a rescue dog so just starting to look around at insurance.

Is Pet Plan generally considered to be one of the better insurers?
We will be getting the top policy (lifetime) with whoever we go with as have heard too many horror stories about people being left with £000s bills.

Any other recommended policies?

Petplan is the Rolls Royce of pet insurance companies- expensive but good.

I would always recommend them if you can afford it.

Make sure you get any insurance immediately as there is normally an exclusion period at the beginning to prevent people taking out cover after they discover something wrong with their pet. if something arises during this period it , and anything related to it, will be excluded from any cover in the future.

If he is coming from a rescue society you may get free cover for the first few weeks . if you intend to continue that cover that is okay, but if you decide to go elsewhere do so immediately, don't wait until the free cover ends, as again any condition arising, or anything related to it, during this time would be excluded from any cover in the future with the new company.

Well done for rescuing a dog.