Hells bells - 50% increase on M and S insurance

hethmar

Last year the premium increased hugely to £500 for Ralph. Just received a letter from M and S with new premium - £760!!!

I cant believe it. In 8 years its gone up 700%. Admittedly he has a chronic dry eye which we claim about £250 a year on for his meds and he is now 8 but that is a lot, isnt it.

Not sure what to do now. I dont know whether to see if I can get another insurer to cover any serious conditions he may get in the future (I know they wont cover his eye gels). Or whether to just pack in insurance altogether for both dogs and put money aside.

But then when you read of £7k ops and stuff ...........................

gettingready

Feel for you.

Zara was with M&S at some point and after one year her premium jumped 100%. I cancelled (she had nothing wrong with her then, no claims whatsoever) and started a new cover with Argos.

Fast forward few years, I am now paying 129 per month for Zara alone (Argos Platinum) BUT she had 2 total hip replacement operations so....

You talk about % of the increase but not about how much monthly do you actually pay/will pay now?

See other quotes and it is it worth geting a chaper quote that will not cover the eyes BUT will cover everything else and the difference in price will pay for the eye gel?

krlyr

Most insurers will cover any other condition, providing there's no history to suggest it could be pre-existing (so if he's been to the vet for a mystery limp in the last 8 years, consider carefully if that could be deemed a sign of something he may develop in the future). I imagine they'll exclude several eye conditions, not just the dry eye, because they may well argue that it's linked.

Will he need further treatment for the dry eye? An operation (not sure if that's what you mean by the £7k op or if that was just a general cost for any big operation), further examination, x-rays, MRI, etc. or other specialist treatment. If not, I'd cost up the cheapest way to get his treatment (so this may be getting your own prescription from the vet and ordering online) and see if any new policies offer a better deal, even if you cover the dry eye treatment yourself.

It's an issue I'm bound to face next year - AXA want to leave the pet insurance market so they're likely to increase my premiums, which will probably result in me covering the cost of Kiki's thyroid medication and blood tests and getting a new policy elsewhere. I can source her medication pretty cheaply online, my vet will issue as long a prescription as they're able to, and then it'll just be the repeat blood tests (hopefully only needed once a year, maybe twice) to fork out for.

One thing I am noticing though, which you'll likely see given that your dog is at least 8, is the excesses for senior dogs. I keep finding policies that look reasonable, only to read the fine print and see they have large excess percentages for senior dogs (so dogs over 6, 7, 8-ish depending on the policy). Fine with small claims, but if for example they need that £7k operation, a 20% excess on top of a standard excess of £75 (because lots of these places do the percentage as an extra on the standard excess!) means you're paying out about £1500 of that claim from your own pocket..and that kind of defeats the point of insurance in the first place!

teddysmum

You could get the dry eye meds much cheaper online than from your vet, though you would need a prescription. I use Animed Direct who are one of the cheapest and offer good service.

hethmar

Thanks everyone. Im leaning towards just cancelling considering, as you point out, the excess plus the percentage......... And the other boy is with AXA so it sounds like I shall be looking elsewhere for him too, though he has no chronic conditions.

Its a tough one, but if I say Ralph, please god, lives another 6 years - the cost of the premiums will surely total in the area of £10k by the time 6 years pass. May be better to save the premium money in premium bonds and hopefully get a win .

We have been using lumecare which we buy on line aswell as optimmune which we get from the vet. TBH, the lumecare seems to be just as beneficial as the optimmune. We know Ralphs eyesight will deteriorate but we want to make his eyes comfortable for him - he also has saliva problems - not enough of same/part of the same thing as his dry eye. But he has a good and happy life.

Ive now looked at quotes on compare.com and I can get say an accident policy for £100 a year for up to £2k less the excess and percentage:( And it seems to me that the comprehensive life time policies like I currently have with M and S are the price of the M and S one less the cost of the meds we currently claim for every year! So really, they work at the same.

zaksmum

M&S are really prone to massively hiking premiums.

My dog Lucy is nearly 11 with no pre existing conditions but I'll struggle to get her insured elsewhere now at her age.

And Jack is 5, again no claims, but his premiums were much more expensive at the last renewal.

They have us held to ransom really.

rising_from_the_ashes

Maisie's has just gone up 45% (Axa) but it's affordable and can't quibble - may change her over (existing conditions are already excluded anyway) but struggling to match the price with the level of cover

TBH there would come a price where I couldn't afford to continue the premiums - and I think may insurers are trying to price people out the market

Also, there is a limit to what I personally would put any of my pets through so I'd be happier with a basic policy in some respects (and there are far too many things on that I'll never use but are automatically included:()

Also, I think it depends if you can stick the money away and reasonably cover any treatment needed in the short term (it's OK if something happens in a couple of years time when you've got money put aside - but what happens if it's next month type of thing)

There's also the option of accident / injury only policies if you want basic cover in case they hurt themselves / are hurt in some way - but obviously this doesn't cover illnesses etc

Merry_Wanderer

I am with AXA and in Feb it will no doubt go up again even though no claims.

I already save a small amount in a dedicated bank account to make sure I could cover any small amounts/excess etc. I am more and more just thinking of taking 3rd party insurance and keep saving a higher amount each month. We really want to take in another rescue dog, and can easily feed another and pay for treatments, but not insurance as well, and I feel sad that this is what stops us giving another dog or 2 a home.

I am undecided. It is a risk, but then one I am leaning toward.

krlyr

I'm considering it too..but with the size and breed of my dogs, I could easily be looking at a few thousand pounds for a hip replacement or a cruciate repair.

If you do go down that route, by joining Dogs Trust (think it's about £20-25 a year) you get third party cover on all dogs in your household.

Merry_Wanderer

Yes, we had and have the Dogs Trust 3rd party.

We have a plan with the vets for flea/worm/jabs, and this includes 2 'free' check-ups a year too. Our Greyhound has already had out half her teeth, and getting teeth out isn't even covered by insurance anyway.

rising_from_the_ashes

hethmar wrote: »

I can get say an accident policy for £100 a year for up to £2k less the excess and percentage:( And it seems to me that the comprehensive life time policies like I currently have with M and S are the price of the M and S one less the cost of the meds we currently claim for every year! So really, they work at the same.

If you're looking for just a basic Accident & Injury one, then Tes&co do one http://www.tescobank.com/insurance/petins/accident-and-injury.html

£3,000 per accident or injury
£60 excess
£6.25 for dogs

Not bad IMHO (haven't done in depth research so don't know what else is out there)