Pet insurance question

kathbarker

Hi

Quick update from John Lewis, their rating factors are:
vets fees averaged out by postcode
breed, age and gender, claims they have received (not industry wide)

Vets fees are apparently unregulated, perhaps this is something as pet owners we could influence?

Does anyone know what the Veterinary Associations view on this issue is?

krlyr

kathbarker wrote: »

Hi, thanks for suggestion.

I do understand the principles you mention, however, as an industry, unlike banking there is no protection for users, ie, do we know how they calculate their risk and how do we know that the insurers are not just making massive profits?

Its seems that every year I can drive round in a car with a value in the thousands, expose it to more occasions for accident and could live in a particular area which could weight premiums and year on year premiums remain at a reasonable level or receive discounts for no claims? The risks do not go away as the car depreciates, ie 3rd party, injury claims etc.

How can an individual be confident that what is being quoted is equitable?

Does anyone understand the principle differences or are in the industry that could explain how risk is calculated.

Incidentally, I do pay more for a dog with a condition, the premium went up 36% for claims of £150 in total, so I do accept that I will have to pay more because the risk has increased and given that this increase equates to £150, effectively covering the cost of my own potential claims, I'm struggling to see how the premiums of other insurees are spreading my liability?

Can't explain it in as much detail as you'd like - someone with some knowledge of the industry may be able to help with that. But ultimately, the point of a profitable company is to make a healthy profit. Pets are a luxury, not a necessity (guide/service/working dogs excluded, to a degree) and therefore the services insurers provide is optional. They're not the NHS for dogs, paid for out of our taxes, they run by offering a service and we can choose to take them up on it or not. If we don't, then it's our responsibility to cover our pet's vet fees.

In your case, your premium increase may match up with your claims. In others, it won't - I claimed about £1200 last year for one of my dogs, and her policy increased by about £14 a month, so no way near what they paid out. My claims will have been supplemented by those who paid out a full year of premiums without claiming anything, and by keeping my premiums from rocketing, they encourage me to stay with them, continuing to pay out premiums when I may not necessarily claim so much this year, as well as encouraging me to use them for my other dog (who's had no claims) or to recommend them to others.
Where would the incentive be to bother with pet insurance if we knew they would just up the price by the amount we claimed, it'd be a payment plan system rather than insurance if that were the case.

sheramber

kathbarker wrote: »

Hi

Quick update from John Lewis, their rating factors are:
vets fees averaged out by postcode
breed, age and gender, claims they have received (not industry wide)

Vets fees are apparently unregulated, perhaps this is something as pet owners we could influence?

Does anyone know what the Veterinary Associations view on this issue is?

http://www.rcvs.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-nurses/supporting-guidance/practice-information-and-fees/

9.4 The RCVS has no specific jurisdiction under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 over the level of fees charged by veterinary practices, unless they are so extreme as to constitute disgraceful conduct in a professional respect. There are no statutory charges and fees are essentially a matter for negotiation between veterinary surgeon and client.

9.5 Fees may vary between practices and may be a factor in choosing a practice, as well as the practice's facilities and services, for example, what sort of arrangements are in place for 'out-of-hours' emergency calls (eg are emergency consultations at the practice premises, or by another practice at another location).

multiplepethousehold

I have experience of quite a few different pet insurers. I haven't yet had my claim paid by Petplan as only just been sent in. I've used Tesco & still use Sainsburys (pre-existing conditions so cannot change), Animal Friends and Petplan.
My claim experiences with Tesco were ok never had a problem with them paying out, the premiums did get rather expensive £80 a month, but I had huge claims with them £4k +, so probably justified.
Sainsburys claims were more of a problem because of the way the specialist worded the form, eventually paid out after I complained, and absolutely huge premiums, now £193 a month for a 12yr old greyhound. Which initially were not justified, but since I've had huge claim £7.5k 4 yrs ago its been more like a payment plan - we may be about even.
Animal Friends paid out no problem, don't know what my renewal premium will be like till July next yr.
I just wish I had insured everything with Petplan when I first insured my pets. It seems to be the supermarket/shop insurerers where the premiums rocket (after a claim) in my experience. Their premiums have always increased year after year even when I have never made a claim (I still have 4 pets with them) Petplan premium didn't increase this year for 3 cats with no claim made, I will wait and see what happens with the policy I did claim on when that is due for renewal. I wont swop it tho.
I think all insurerers should make it clearer for people the difference between 12month policies - only payout for a condition for 12 months (not worth the paper they're written on) and lifetime policies where they will cover longterm conditions year after year, and also policies that cover a condition up to a certain amount and once that amount is reached no more cover for it. I learned the hard way a few years ago.
In todays market it doesn't take long for bills to reach £1,000's especially when specialists are involved. I now never insure for less than £7k.