Luxating patella and lifetime insurance

RainbowLaura

Hi everyone,

Currently I have More Than platinum (lifetime) pet insurance for my two 5-year-old cats. When I took out the policy last year it cost £150 for the year, for both cats, with a 10% discount.

A few months ago, when taken to the vets for something else, one of the cats was found to have luxating patella. The vet said he may need a knee operation in a few years, but then again he might not. Annoyingly, although the issue at the time was something different, "luxating patella" is what was stated on the paperwork when the (£400ish) claim went through.

The insurance is up for renewal soon and, I know it's a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string kind of question, but what should I be expecting in terms of renewal quote? I'm dreading it because they know we might make a very large claim at some point, but haven't had to yet... so they could easily make it unaffordable to "get rid" of us now

krlyr

It is very 'how long is a piece of string' - especially as insurance companies all have their own ways of calculating their premiums.

The mention of a potential claim may not even affect your quote at all - some just increase to cover costs of claims by all their customers, so you may get an increase even if your dog hasn't been to the vet at all, or a claim very low compared to what you've claimed. I claimed about £3500-4000 the other year for my girl, cruciate surgery (which is often followed by the other one requiring treatment) plus her on-going thyroid condition (she'll have this for life), and her policy only increased £7 a month on the next renewal.

They cannot, however, just raise your price steeply to get rid of you (nor, to be honest, would a decent company - they'd get a bad reputation for it, for a start, and it defeats the point of insurance - some customers cost them money, some customers make them money). If your renewal comes through and you feel that is the case, I would ask them for justification of the rise and perhaps consider taking it to the insurance ombudsman.

RainbowLaura

Thanks krlyr, that is reassuring I will keep my fingers crossed.