Pet Insurance guide discussion area

sooty&sweep

Hi

I'm trying to sort out Pet Insurance for my three cats. We were with Halifax (now BDML) but the premium has gone up to just over £10 each so I'm planning to shift insurance companies. It is proving to be challenging in terms of finding a decent policy at a reasonable price.
I totally accept that you get what you pay for so I'm not looking for the cheapest I can find but my three cats are 4 year old moggies with no history of illness so I don't want to pay a fortune either.
The price comparison sites are useful in terms of comparing prices but no reference to other issues such as quality of cover, direct payment to the vet for expensive procedures, using sneaky tricks to avoid paying out and speed of paying out.
I've been having a look at this website www.bestpetinsurancereview.co.uk Does anyone have any experience of this website ? Is it any good ?
I'd been intending to take out insurance with Aviva but based on the reviews here I'm having second thoughts !!
If anyone can recommend a decent policy for three cats then all advice appreciated.

Jen

UKTigerlily

spaceboy wrote: »

How likely is a £2k vet bill?

Who knows, my Cousins cat got run over & needed plastic surgery/skin grafts. Two Aunts have both had more than that & someone on here I believe had about £12k in 18 months. It's not unusual, as to whether it will happen nobody knows

vetontheweb

MSE_Dan wrote: »

To see it, go here



If you have any suggestions for improvements, extra insurers or comparisons we should consider, or experiences that you think would help make the guide better, we would love to hear them - just reply in this thread.

Dan

As a vet, probably the biggest problem we see with pet insurance is the unreasonably long time taken by some insurers to settle claims, and increasingly the unreasonable level of quibbling over claims. It is the issue of prolonged claim time which prevents many vets ( including ourselves) from accepting direct claims.
It may be useful for MSE to set up a spreadsheet questionaire on Pet insurance claim settlements. The results gleaned would give useful further information on which insurers to avoid - and may well improve the behaviour of some!

vetontheweb

sooty&sweep wrote: »

Hi

The price comparison sites are useful in terms of comparing prices but no reference to other issues such as quality of cover, direct payment to the vet for expensive procedures, using sneaky tricks to avoid paying out and speed of paying out.

Jen

Absolutely spot on! Most insurers offer direct claims and some use it to promote themselves. However it's not for them to decide! They cannot impose direct claims on any veterinary practice. And their claims behaviour can mitigate against it. Indeed one company has made it clear that direct claims will go to the bottom of the pile and that claims to members of the public are prioritised. This encourages us(vets) to get the public to sort their own claims with their chosen companies, knowing that the matter will be settled as fast as possible by that route - though that doesn't mean it will be fast! If vets accept direct claims en masse, it leads to a lot of outstanding debt, which forces up fees for all clients - whether insured or not. And in turn, that will force up insurance costs. The message is for the insurance companies to improve their claims turnaround across the board - and some are.

diceydeb

Both my sister and I had our dogs insured with Direct Line. Mine needed an op to correct entropian eye lids ( @1000 ) he was 12 months old and also had to have cryptoid castration because his testicles were stuck up in his abdomen . Direct line would not pay because my dog had been seen for a weepy eye at his first vet check at 12 weeks old ! And my sister who had been paying premiums for 6 yrs with no claims had pd out cash for several treatments for ear wax trouble on her alsation to find 2 yrs later it needed an op to remove a haematoma (4000 ) having been told it would be covered , finds after the op they will not pay out ! WHY! cos they say she should have claimed 3 yrs ago because thats when the ear problems started! We are both livid with direct line and have cancelled our policies.

Pepper-VN

BeckiW wrote: »

The premiums go up and up every year regardless of how old your pet is when you join. ....

Please please take my advice, put a tenner a month into a savings account instead. If you need it you've got it, if you don't then you can treat yourself and your furry friend!

Unfortunally this is called inflation and happens with anything- yes some companys do go up more than others but prices of most things go up each year.

So what happens if your putting £10 asside a month and a year down the line your pet gets serious vomiting and needs to be put on a drip, medications and needs to be observed for 3-4 days? You have £120 to pay a possible £500 - £1000 bill depending on the size of the pet.

I would never advise this to anyone unless you had a large lump sum to start the savings account and even then you risk not having the money to treat your beloved pet

Pepper-VN

Diceydeb- Please look into Pet plan, they will often look into insuring against pre-existing conditions if they have been symptom free for a certian amount of time... this is not ideal for some ongoing conditions, but for stuff they have had in the past its quite good to know they may cover them again- god forbid they get it again.

scrabblers

Hi
I'm looking for new insurance for my cats after the Halifax debacle. One of the 'small print' things for which I wanted to watch out was the requirement to pay a contribution of vets' fees once they are a certain age ... I've not been able to find ANY insurer who doesn't now require this.
Any ideas much appreciated?
Thanks

mdcoach

Following receipt of my annual renewal notice (Tesco), discussion with my daughter and a fairly extensive review of what is available, I am about to switch cover for my dog.


My daughter, who is a vet, recommended John Lewis – she had looked at their cover after hearing that they recently brought their insurance inhouse to make it more customer friendly/improve quality to bring it more in line with the John Lewis ethos/image (trusted).


I have received a very good quotation for £7,000 for vet fees per year, for life (not per condition).


My daughter feels that £7,000 per condition is likely to be adequate to cover almost all conditions, bearing in mind the age of the dog when it might develop the type of condition, and/or your willingness to put your dog through a second (or more) type of treatment, of the kind that would run up extensive vet fees. Tesco were competitive for this level of cover but MoreThan beat them. However, I do wish to have lifetime cover.


My wife works for an animal sanctuary and their vets (Vets4Pets) recommended Cover4Pets. Their quotation was slightly more expensive for £4,000 per year cover for life.


There are other companies who offer lifetime cover but John Lewis was the most competitive I could find for this level of cover. Also John Lewis offer lifetime cover of £10,000 per year for life, but this is almost certainly too much cover.


With all of the above I think that the John Lewis life cover of £7000 per year is right for me and is probably the best buy at this time. I hope this is useful to others and to the four legged members of their family.

scrabblers

Hi
I'm looking for new insurance for my cats after the Halifax debacle. One of the 'small print' things for which I wanted to watch out was the requirement to pay a contribution of vets' fees once they are a certain age ... I've not been able to find ANY insurer who doesn't now require this.
Any ideas much appreciated?
Thanks