Pet insurance

STKIH01

I am really getting fed up when dealing with insurance companies. Home and Contents for the property our son lives in, up by 48%. On top of which they are no longer offering a discount. I was already getting offered the cheapest price of the day.That was this month and next month is the turn of our pet labrador. I know his is 9 years old and I am aware of all that goes with it when a dog gets older but a rise from £690 to over £1000, really!!  Is shopping around really the only answer ?? Has anyone found a way to get reasonbable pet insurance year in year out? I wait with baited breath for my renewals on my car insurance.

Penguin_

Shop around, current insurers wanted over £900 for the dogs policy renewal....half hours work online got that down to £400 on a like for like basis with another insurer. 

JadedAngel88

I have a 10 year old cat that I was looking at getting insurance for. I got it through asda, 13.34 a month. It's quite decent for the coverage, so I was very happy.

Side note, I always shop around for everything. My contents renewal quote was for £120, on comparison sites it was in the £200 area. I don't really have anything expensive in my house and I have 20+ years of no claims. Yet still silly money. I found insurance with Tesco at £61.00.

There are cheaper prices out there just takes a bit of looking for.

sheramber

Remebr if you have consulted your vet about anything, whether or not you claimed on the insurance or  there was treatment given , this will now be a pre exisitng condition and excluded by a new company.

When one of mine got to 10 years I reduced the amount of cover  and put some money away away each month to cover anything over that amount.  

Bit it depends on what your dog's health has been/is like. He  has not had anything other than minor things that were below the excess anyway.

Danien

Also remember that when pets get older the excess on the insurance can change for some firms - either the excess as an example being £200 plus 33% of total cost of the treatment. Definitely worth looking carefully at the terms and conditions when your pet is younger, as they usually have a cut off point when your pet is considered an 'older pet'. Lifetime insurance is also something to consider - if the insurance isn't Lifetime insurance then when you go to renew any new conditions in the preceding year may be considered preexisting conditions. With Lifetime insurance any new conditions developed during the time insured will be covered while you are insured with that insurance.

elsien

Penguin_ said:

Shop around, current insurers wanted over £900 for the dogs policy renewal....half hours work online got that down to £400 on a like for like basis with another insurer. 

Doesn’t work like that if your pet has pre-existing conditions. They will be excluded moving forward if you change insurer.

sheramber

Also check out reviews for paying out. One particulrly cheaper insuranec have the reputation of finding reasons for not paying out.

cannugec5

I have just received the renewal quote for our 4year old Border Collie. (Tesco Pet Insurance). 

It has almost doubled from £227 to £451 a year. 

That is a lifetime policy though, so good level of cover. 

We’ve never made a claim and she is fit and healthy. 

I’m loathe to reduce the cover as I’ve looked at the cost of a single X-ray, MRI or treatment for ingesting a foreign body. 

I just got a quote from PetPlan for similar cover - it was over £600. I think I will just leave it as it is. I’d be heartbroken if I were unable to afford a necessary treatment . 

Briarcal

The insurance for our 10 year old dog has gone from £26 per month to £42. He has arthritis, and the best quote I can get from another company is £85! Even then, they say they will not cover him for the medication he has to take now, only new meds if he gets worse. It's not as bad as some people are having to pay so I should be grateful I suppose. I can't do without the insurance because despite his arthritis he's completely daft and likely to break a leg as soon as I cancel..

toffee57

My dog is 10 years old with a heart murmur, my current monthly direct debit was £27.00, we have made a few claims amounting to under a £1000, they have now put my monthly premium up to £64 a month a staggering £445 more a year. I can't move insurers as he as a pre existing condition, are they allowed to raise the cost so much?

elsien

Yes. It reflects your dogs age, the increasing cost of vets treatment and with some insurers taking previous claims and health into account. Not much different to car insurance if you get points or have an accident and your premiums increase, And they are allowed to do that as well. 

My 13 year old dog  costs £1400 a year plus is £120 excess per condition +20% of the final bill - I wouldn’t have carried on the cover because I’m not going put him through anything big but I overlooked the renewal date. 

As it happens, he’s now on monthly injections that cost 90 quid a time so I’ll get a large part of that back anyway.
There will always be a cost/benefit exercise as they get older and eight or 10 is when the cover starts shooting up.