John Lewis Pet Insurance

samuela66

I had my cat and dog insured with John Lewis, when the renewal come through it had gone up by 50%, I had made no claims, so wrote and asked them to cancel it, also cancelled my direct debit in May after the final months payment went out.
Last week I received a letter from them asking for £32.99, I did not understand why and called CS, so the lady went through everything and said she did not know why I had been charged that, so I asked for a letter as proof saying that I did not owe them this money, a week later I receive an email off the lady I spoke to saying they do not have a copy of the letter I sent cancelling and they would waiver the £32.99 if I send a copy of proof of my new pet insurance policy from the day I cancelled.
Seriously it is none of their business who I am with, I followed the correct procedure to cancel.....end of.
So I call again, and apparently she is emailing Birmingham who receive the mail and asking them to scan a copy of the letter to her if they have it...... so now I have to wait again to hear back from them..... disgraceful CS I think

sam

sallyj17

What a nerve! As you say it is absolutely none of there business who you choose to insure with .. or even whether you choose to have pet insurance at all.


That is a huge increase though... but unfortunately I have been receiving a lot of info through my facebook page (Pet Insurance Surveys UK) and website which suggests that policies underwritten by Royal Sun Alliance seem to be subject to substantial premium increases on renewal.


Of course the problem for many people is that if they have pre-existing conditions it is not as easy as just cancelling one policy (not that you have found this particularly easy of course).. and taking out a new one .. because the new one will exclude cover for pre-existing conditions.

deanos

last year £75 with more than, renewal £130 canceled and took a new policy £80 and £30 cashback, had no claims in the past so happy to do this every year

sallyj17

More Than of course is another policy underwritten by RSA... another huge hike!


It is important though to be aware that anything that has been written on your pet's vet record could be used as evidence of a pre-existing condition even if you haven't claimed! This includes any observations that were made during routine visits for health checks or vaccinations.

deanos

luckily all is well with our cat no problems , but if anything happens or is noted we will have to stay on renewal, they were going to match when i cancelled so that's an option , but still £30 better of starting a new policy online with them, i prefer to stay with more than as have made claims with our old cat and they were very good at paying out

wootters_2

Hi,

my daughter has (had!) insurance for her Labrador and they have just pulled the plug - they have paid out for a year for a skin allergy and the renewal is now due - they won't cover her now for the "pre-existing condition", even though it was a 'lifetime policy'. The bills are £500 every 3 months and they just cannot afford it. Does anyone know of any company that will cover pre-existing conditions please?

sallyj17 wrote: »

What a nerve! As you say it is absolutely none of there business who you choose to insure with .. or even whether you choose to have pet insurance at all.


That is a huge increase though... but unfortunately I have been receiving a lot of info through my facebook page (Pet Insurance Surveys UK) and website which suggests that policies underwritten by Royal Sun Alliance seem to be subject to substantial premium increases on renewal.


Of course the problem for many people is that if they have pre-existing conditions it is not as easy as just cancelling one policy (not that you have found this particularly easy of course).. and taking out a new one .. because the new one will exclude cover for pre-existing conditions.

SnowTiger

wootters wrote: »

Hi,

my daughter has (had!) insurance for her Labrador and they have just pulled the plug - they have paid out for a year for a skin allergy and the renewal is now due - they won't cover her now for the "pre-existing condition", even though it was a 'lifetime policy'. The bills are £500 every 3 months and they just cannot afford it. Does anyone know of any company that will cover pre-existing conditions please?

You'd (probably) be better off posting to the Insurance & Life Assurance board.

marliepanda

Its unlikely a company is going to sign up for £2000 a year payouts...

You need to look at the original policy. Why are they now refusing to pay out? A genuine 'lifetime' policy should cover the illness, its only 'year by year' policies that can opt out after a year.

wootters_2

Thanks for your helpful replies. The cover was lifetime, but in the smallest of small print it says that each condition will only be paid for one year maximum - and then it becomes a "pre-existing" condition and they won't cover it. They will renew the policy but exclude this skin allergy. Have rung 19 other insurance companies (so far), none of them will insure a "pre-existing" condition.

Hoof_Hearted

I don't think this is surprising. Have you tried the opinion of a different vet? £2000 a year seems an awful lot for a skin condition. Alternatively, do some research on the medication and see if it can be sourced more cheaply.