Changing pet insurance after a claim

Metermaid

My pet insurance total for my two dogs went up from £34 pm to £51 after a claim for cruciate ligament surgery for one of the dogs (Direct Line), not unexpected.

However 12 months later and the renewal has just arrived for £81...which is another huge hike I didn't expect! The dogs are 7 years old.

How will I stand if I try and move to another insurer or should I try and bargain with Direct Line?

Opinions and experiences would be very welcome please.

McKneff

No reson why you cant shop around, no different to car/home insurance.
As long as you declare all previos claims.

elsien

You can shop around but will find any existing conditions will be excluded. So not just the cruciate but any conditions that could potentially arise from it. My last had mild hip dysplasia so was insured with arthritis of the hips also excluded although she hadn't developed arthritis at that stage. Plus they may exclude other things that your dogs have had treatment for over the years, depending on how long ago and how likely it is to recur.

Your dogs are also reaching the age when insurance starts to go up. Some insurers won't take on dogs over 7 or 8 and if they do you pay a higher excess/percentage of the bill. That would be worth checking out before moving elsewhere.
One other possibility is to look at third party insurance for if they escape and cause an accident and self insure by putting the money aside for medical treatment. Which does depend on if you can afford it for bigger bills such as another cruciate ligament going.

Metermaid

Thanks both, with the pre-existing conditions bit, does that mean he wouldn't be covered if his other ligament ruptures even though it's a different leg, if that makes sense?

Money_maker

I don't think he would be covered. Perhaps keep him with the existing but get quotes for your other dog?

Metermaid

That's a good thought MM...thanks

GwylimT

McKneff wrote: »

No reson why you cant shop around, no different to car/home insurance.
As long as you declare all previos claims.

Unlike car/home insurance it isn't about claims, it is about any previous symptom, which is why the vet will send the animals records with a claim, or sign to guarantee the condition/symptom is not pre-existing, claiming is irrelevent.

GwylimT

Metermaid wrote: »

That's a good thought MM...thanks

Some companies no longer consider a symptom as pre-existing if the symptoms stop for so long (3ish years), so it is worth ringing around.

sheramber

Where a condition affects one part of a body when there are two-e.g ears, eyes, legs- that condition is considered as applying to both parts. So if the other cruciate ligament needs treatment it would be considered a pre existing condition. I was told by my vet that there is a 60% chance of the second one going.

Anything that could be related to the cruciate damage is also excluded such as arthritis in later years.

Petplan do consider not excluding some conditions if there are no symptoms or treatment needed for two years but I don't know whether that would apply to a cruciate repair.

You need to speak to the underwriter and get it in writing.

Other companies may do this also.

Metermaid

So my existing insurer would treat the other leg, but a new insurer would not?

sheramber

Yes, your current company would cover it as long as you were within any cover limit.

If you have cover per condition then the amount of the claim would be added to the previous claim.

If you have cover reinstated each year then as long as you didn't go over the limit it would be covered.

You should compare what the possible cost of any operation would be with any increase in premium you would pay. It may be an option to pout the extra way in a separate bank account to use for an operation if it arises and switch to cheaper cover without cover for the operation.

I did this when my dog reached old age as I knew I would not put him through any extensive treatment so felt I could cover any treatment that way rather than pay the high premium.

But having cover will give you peace of mind.

Remember any exclusion will cover anything in the future that could be related to the original condition. So things such as arthritis in the leg in later life would not be covered.