Animal Friends Pet Insurance -ethical??

JanHutch

Rang Animal Friends today as I wasn't sure what their 'Senior Pets policy' was as it wasn't listed. It turns out that, because our dog has aged we now have an increased excess of 20% of the vets bill in addition to the first £99 as set out in the original policy.
We also found out, having finally tracked down the info from the database linked to his chip, that he was about a year older than we thought when we rehomed him. I knew this would increase the premiums we pay in the future ... never dreamt it would have to be back-dated to the renewal in December, especially as we didn't make a claim in that period! Time to try to find another insurance company I think!

Quentin

You seem to be posting this as a warning about your insurer.

In fact you should be warning us not to guess when completing applications to insurers!

sheramber

Your premium os calculated on an annual basis, paid on a monthly basis.

So the increase on premium applies to the annual premium due at renewal. Why would it not apply from the renewal in December?

You will find many policies charge a percentage copay in addition to the fixed excess when your dog reaches a certain age. That age varies form one company to the next,

This information is usually in the policy document- not the policy summary- which you read carefully to ensure you know what you are buying.

MrsPepperpot12

******WARNING *******
check your renewal premium. Animal Friends wanted to charge me £16 per month for my dog's renewal premium. When I ran through a new quote (same level of cover) the premium would be £9.15. When I called to discuss why my premium is being loaded as a loyal customer all I got was excuse after excuse and told I could cancel my policy and take up a new one.... yeah right! I'd rather pay MORE to another company than have any more to do with Animal Friends

I'm so disgusted by the way the phone call as handled - after she realised pretending she didn't understand what I was talking about was wearing thin she changed tack to a 'so what' kind of response!! I was probably overcharged last year too.

FutureGirl

MrsPepperpot12 wrote: »

******WARNING *******
check your renewal premium. Animal Friends wanted to charge me £16 per month for my dog's renewal premium. When I ran through a new quote (same level of cover) the premium would be £9.15. When I called to discuss why my premium is being loaded as a loyal customer all I got was excuse after excuse and told I could cancel my policy and take up a new one.... yeah right! I'd rather pay MORE to another company than have any more to do with Animal Friends

I'm so disgusted by the way the phone call as handled - after she realised pretending she didn't understand what I was talking about was wearing thin she changed tack to a 'so what' kind of response!! I was probably overcharged last year too.

Shopping around at renewal and not just auto-renewing is one of Martin Lewis' top tips...

When you get a new policy you get a new customer discount... when you renew you're then no longer a new customer so you don't get that discount.

Be careful when changing insurers with pet insurance - any pre-existing from one policy to the next isn't usually covered.

sheramber

Happens with all companies. I have no previous conditions but my dog's online quote was several pounds cheaper than the renewal premium.

A friend queried Petplan about it and was told that the call centre/online get a sales target to meet and can reduce premiums to reach that target. New customers also get a discount which does not apply after the first year.

Those dealing with existing customers do not have that option available to them.