Pet Insurance with M&S

JennaHenFen

I am posting this in frustration really and wondering if anyone else has a problem in this area.

I have an 8 year old dog and 3 years ago I started paying for M&S Lifelong pet insurance as I had read reports that if my pet was to get a life long illness the yearly pet insurance I was paying for previously would only cover him for a year then would not pay out any further, and to then get him insured with a new company knowing he has a lifelong condition would be very hard and expensive.

Since the 3 years I've been with M&S I have not claimed once. My monthly direct debit started out at roughly £12 per month, the second year it went up to £18 per month and now in the third year I am paying out £23 per month. He is only just 8 and could continue to live until about 15 years old so if it carries on going up like this each year i am really going to struggle to afford it. I have not claimed with them and am unsure how they can put it up so much. He currently is going through treatment for arthiritis which i am scared to claim for as I can't afford for the monthly direct debit to go up too much more again next year. By the time my dog actually passes away i am forseeing paying out £50 or £60 per month which is ridiculous.

I can't change my pet insurance company now as he is older and a lot of insurance companies won't take him on, so I am stuck with M&S but I am dreading it every year when they put my premium up. Is there anything I can do about this? Will complaining to my insurance company make any difference? I really do feel like these pet insurance companies have us over a barrell and it's really unfair. I don't get paid a lot of money, i am on my own, and I love my dog but with such expensive vet and insurance bills I am finding it harder and harder to be able to afford to keep him.

Any advice or experience in this matter would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Jenna

rs65

Why do you pay for insurance but not claim on it?

*Scarlett

rs65 wrote: »

Why do you pay for insurance but not claim on it?

Well if the dog has been healthy there is nothing to claim for!

What you need to think about is how much you could afford to pay in vet's fees if the dog were to develope a serious condition. Would you be better setting aside an amount each month to cover future issues? But bear in mind vets bills can run into £1000s.

As you know the older the dog, the more likely they are to get ill so premiums tend to increase especially if the dog is over 7 years old.

If the dog has no pre existing conditions you should be able to shop around but you will possibly be limited due to the age of the dog.

I hope you get something sorted - We all just want to do the best things for our beloved pets.

rs65

Read the first post. It is getting treatment for arthritis which is not being claimed for.

It therefore has an existing condition.

*Scarlett

Sorry - missed that. Apologies rs65 must have been doing a bit of speed reading.

And I do agree that if you are paying for insurance you should claim if you need to.

How much is the arthritis treatment costing you? How much is the excess?

If it's an ongoing thing you should have only 1 xs to pay If it's a financial burden I would claim - after all it's what you have paid your insurance for.

Contrary to my previous post (not having read your 1st one properly - sorry) you will probably have to stick with your current provider to have cover for thsi condition.