Halifax pet insurance ending

melbury

My dog is also very nervous and has to have GA every time his nail problem (SLO) flares up - think he had four in one year, which in itself is worrying, apart from the cost.

I have gone over to More-Than with the £7,000 cover as the premium was quite reasonable, even if I do have to pay 10% of any costs. I though if the worst happened and he needed £7,000 worth of treatment, having to pay £700 would be quite reasonable.

zebidee1

More Than isn't a full lifetime policy though, it only covers up to £7000 per condition so if we had to claim for something ongoing we'd only be able to claim until the £7000 ran out? Is that right?

MORE TH>N Pet Insurance covers up to £7,000 of vet fees for each new illness or injury for the entire length of treatment, up to the maximum policy benefit while you remain insured with us.

firesidemaid

just found this thread and am horrified that Halifax or any other insurance provider can do this?!

surely, they have to ensure you are left in the same position - every customer with a pet with a pre-existing condition is going to be out of pocket, no question, as no alternative insuer will now cover it.

i hope the ombudsman does something about this. my insurer pays out at least £150 a month for one of my dogs.

on the other side, i do wonder sometimes how they make money, as ours has being paying out this amount per month minimum for 2 years and has hardly put the premiums up (we pay only £18/month still) - how does that make sound economic sense?

KxMx

HSBC withdrew their pet insurance a year or two ago, luckily I hadn't needed to claim so went over to Axa with no problems.

Would never get insurance now with a company whose main function wasn't insurance!

melbury

zebidee1 wrote: »

More Than isn't a full lifetime policy though, it only covers up to £7000 per condition so if we had to claim for something ongoing we'd only be able to claim until the £7000 ran out? Is that right?

MORE TH>N Pet Insurance covers up to £7,000 of vet fees for each new illness or injury for the entire length of treatment, up to the maximum policy benefit while you remain insured with us.

Not sure exactly what you mean by full lifetime policy???

Says this on their website:

Up to £7,000 vets fees cover for each and every new accident and illness. What’s more, your pet is covered for as long as they need the treatment, as long as they remain insured with MORE TH>N – many policies limit cover to just the first 12 months of treatment.

When I was going through the complaints procedure with my previous insurer, the final letter I received from the underwriters stated that basically there is no such thing as lifetime cover.

People need to be very careful in reading the small print in the terms and conditions.

zebidee1

melbury wrote: »

Not sure exactly what you mean by full lifetime policy???

Says this on their website:

Up to £7,000 vets fees cover for each and every new accident and illness. What’s more, your pet is covered for as long as they need the treatment, as long as they remain insured with MORE TH>N – many policies limit cover to just the first 12 months of treatment.

Lifetime policies are the ones that offer £xxx per year for each condition.

I think the More Than one is just up to £7000. So if you use that up in 6 months or 2 years it doesn't matter, but once the £7000 is reached, that's it, no more for that condition.

I'm on the phone to them just now to find out exactly. Or rather I'm holding and have been for 8 minutes!

melbury

zebidee1 wrote: »

Lifetime policies are the ones that offer £xxx per year for each condition.

I think the More Than one is just up to £7000. So if you use that up in 6 months or 2 years it doesn't matter, but once the £7000 is reached, that's it, no more for that condition.

I'm on the phone to them just now to find out exactly. Or rather I'm holding and have been for 8 minutes!

Thanks zebidee1, will be very interested to know what you find out.
This pet insurance is an absolute minefield isn't it.

zebidee1

Ok I was right, the £7000 does not renew every year so if you have an ongoing condition, it's only covered untill the £7000 runs out. So yes, if you have claimed for say £3000 in year 1 and then renew with them, you will have £4000 left that you can still claim on.

It doesn't matter how long it takes to use it up, but once it's gone then that's it.

Edit: Have to say that I think More Than were one of the least clear in their online pages with regards to this. Other insurers make it clearer whether the benefit amount renews each year or not.

melbury

zebidee1 wrote: »

Ok I was right, the £7000 does not renew every year so if you have an ongoing condition, it's only covered untill the £7000 runs out. So yes, if you have claimed for say £3000 in year 1 and then renew with them, you will have £4000 left that you can still claim on.

It doesn't matter how long it takes to use it up, but once it's gone then that's it.

Edit: Have to say that I think More Than were one of the least clear in their online pages with regards to this. Other insurers make it clearer whether the benefit amount renews each year or not.

Thanks for that, undoubtedly many of the other insurers will be tightening up now and the cost of getting good cover will be prohibitive.

Have to say that I am quite happy with the £7,000 though.

melbury

Surely if you were with a company that offered full lifetime cover, they could easily get rid of you by making the premium ridiculously high so it just wouldn't be viable to stay with them.