AXA pulling out of pet insurance

Merry_Wanderer

A question - I pay Axa £23 a month for 7 year old greyhound with no condition and no claims. Reguardless of how much it raises to, am I better off moving while she has no exisiting condition ?

Due for renewal in March this year.

jessmist

Merry_Wanderer wrote: »

A question - I pay Axa £23 a month for 7 year old greyhound with no condition and no claims. Reguardless of how much it raises to, am I better off moving while she has no exisiting condition ?

Due for renewal in March this year.

If you haven't made any claims and you can find the same level of cover else where cheaper I would consider moving.
As it will only become harder getting cover as your dog gets older.

krlyr

It's a difficult one. It may be wise to change now to prevent being forced to stay with AXA despite possible future increases.

However, it isn't just claims that future insurers may take in mind when setting exclusions for pre-existing conditions - they may request a full vet history and exclude conditions they feel are related to any treatment she's had regardless of whether you claimed.

It could be, for example, that she went to the vet with a limp when she was 2 which was chalked up as a minor sprain - yet insurers may look at it and refuse to pay out a claim for arthritis in that leg, if they think it could relate to an old injury.

Of course, they may not, but it's a gamble you may take if you switch, so bear that in mind if he's any vet treatment in the past.

Another consideration is her age, at 7 she will be considered a senior. You'll likely find most insurers will want a higher excess and possibly a percentage of claims in addition. Also Petplan are unlikely to offer lifetime cover - they wouldn't cover my GSD once he was over 5 and I think 7 may be the limit for most breeds

ladymarmalade222

Merry_Wanderer wrote: »

A question - I pay Axa £23 a month for 7 year old greyhound with no condition and no claims. Reguardless of how much it raises to, am I better off moving while she has no exisiting condition ?

Due for renewal in March this year.

I am in a similar situation to yourself. My girl is 7 (8 next month) and is a small crossbreed. Axa put up my insurance from £12pm to £18pm. No claims, no pre-existing, she is hopefully a healthy little thing but is my baby and I would do anything for her. I expected a rise in premium due to age but I am getting worried about when Axa transfer their Pet Insurance to another insurer.

I have heard age 8 is the magic number where insurers are funny about insuring after, especially lifetime policies and increase their premiums.

I have done some quotes online and some companies are quoting £80pm:eek:

The quote I have had from Petplan is a reasonable £20pm (for £4000 cover) and £22pm (for £7000 cover). Excess is £90 and it is a lifetime policy.

I don't know whether to chance staying with Axa or switch to Petplan. We would always find the money to pay for anything she needed medical wise but knowing my luck if I cancelled the pet insurance all together I would have a £6000 vet bill next week when I had paid all the premiums for nearly 8 years:o

Any thoughts or opinions would be great.

Many Thanks

xxx

rising_from_the_ashes

ladymarmalade222 wrote: »

I am getting worried about when Axa transfer their Pet Insurance to another insurer.

Sorry I don't understand this bit:o

Axa will continue existing po,icies until you cancel it / don't renew it

You will need to check if you can still move her to pet plan (there is an age limit) and what % of total costs they would take as well

ladymarmalade222

Hi Rising from the Ashes

Thanks for replying, I was under the impression that Axa were looking at selling their pet insurance book of customers to another insurer as they have pulled out of the pet insurance market and we would be all transferred over. I was concerned when this happened the terms would not be as favourable or the new company would put up premiums a great deal.

I cannot remember where I read the above and could be wrong.

Petplan have quoted me knowing my dogs age and I noticed the excess is £90, do they also ask you to pay a proportion of the costs when they reach a certain age? I only have experience of Axa as we have insured with them for years due to the lifetime policies.

Dilemmas, Dilemmas, my girl is 8 next month so I need to decide what to do for the best.

Thanks once again

xxx

Merry_Wanderer

Thanks for the replies, I think I will shop around a bit. She is a rescue with no medical records past the year we have had her (for which there is nothing). I would rather small premium, with larger excess, as I would stick money by for small things, and the insurance is really just incase anything massively unaffordable comes along.

ladymarmalade222

Looks like we are both in the same boat Merry Wanderer!

Good luck and hope your dog stays well.

xxx

elsien

ladymarmalade222 wrote: »

Petplan have quoted me knowing my dogs age and I noticed the excess is £90, do they also ask you to pay a proportion of the costs when they reach a certain age?

xxx

Yes they do - as far as I remember once mutt got to 10 it was the excess plus 15/20% of the bill on top. However they've changed the policies since I took mutt's out donkeys years ago so you do need to check.
I'm in a bit of a dilemma as I used petplan for years with mutt - she had lots of ongoing conditions, they were very good at paying up, and most years I probably got more out than I put it.
However the premiums for gitdog (a healthy 3 year old) are a bit silly money and I'm torn between paying for good cover and not needing it, or going for cheaper as he's likely to stay healthy for the foreseeable. The old insurance dilemma - it's only worth it if you actually need it.
I'm surprised at the previous poster saying petplan don't insure for older dogs - mutt was with them till she died at 14. Maybe it's just that they won't take on older dogs to start wit

rising_from_the_ashes

ladymarmalade222 wrote: »

I was under the impression that Axa were looking at selling their pet insurance book of customers to another insurer as they have pulled out of the pet insurance market and we would be all transferred over. I was concerned when this happened the terms would not be as favourable or the new company would put up premiums a great deal.

I cannot remember where I read the above and could be wrong.

I queried it with Axa and was told that my policies would remain as long as I renewed them? Will have to do some more digging

If that's correct it's going to leave many people with huge problems (same as the Halifax fiasco)

Many companies now won't take on Archie (he's 9) and those that do would want % of total claim as well as excess so not good

elsien wrote: »

I'm surprised at the previous poster saying petplan don't insure for older dogs - mutt was with them till she died at 14. Maybe it's just that they won't take on older dogs to start wit

Yup - they won't start cover for animals over a certain age (I think 5 for select dog breeds and 7 or 8 for others)