Purely Pets - Alarming email pre-warning of increased renewal

thriftytracey

"We are truly grateful that you have chosen Purely Pets to insure your beloved pet, you are a hugely important part of our pet community. You are receiving this email as it contains important information about your upcoming renewal.

In these challenging times we want to be transparent with you. Over the past year we have witnessed an increase in vet fees and an unpredictable economic landscape. This will mean you could see a significant increase to the price of your renewal.

If the cost is too high, you do have options which we are happy to discuss with you  "

Sounds like it will be unaffordable!  

Savvy_Sue

I don't know when your renewal is, but before you decide whether it's unaffordable or not, it could be worth finding out what you'd pay elsewhere for the same (or better) level of cover. There's usually an initial period which isn't covered, so you'd need an overlap. You'd also need to investigate whether any pre-existing problems would be covered, or not. 

sheramber

thriftytracey said:

"We are truly grateful that you have chosen Purely Pets to insure your beloved pet, you are a hugely important part of our pet community. You are receiving this email as it contains important information about your upcoming renewal.

In these challenging times we want to be transparent with you. Over the past year we have witnessed an increase in vet fees and an unpredictable economic landscape. This will mean you could see a significant increase to the price of your renewal.

If the cost is too high, you do have options which we are happy to discuss with you  "

Sounds like it will be unaffordable!  

Will future vet bills be affordable?

thriftytracey

I have now had my renewal (Purely Pets:  Lifetime cover)

Renewal:  Monthly: £34.99 Annual: £419.88 so an increase of £113

Currently £25.53 Annual £306.36

The dog is 8 years old this month.

I will of course do some comparisons.  I am fortunate that I have never claimed, other than for an operation to remove a grass seed, although I think that comes under accident rather than illness.

SensibleSarah

I have two of my young cats with Purely Pets. Their premiums doubled this year (although I did claim on both in the last 12 months). I did comparisons and tbh they were still pretty much the cheapest for like-for-like cover. 

I would say though that their claims process is very long and I had to constantly chase by phone to get them to pay out with both of my claims. 
For one of them, they said that the delay was that they didnt have a full vet history of the cat - only from 6 months onwards. Despite me telling them (right on the claim form) that he was a rescue and I adopted him at 6 months so there wasn't a vet history from birth - it still took two calls to get them to process it. 
The other claim, they didn't have a reason for the delay, so it took 2 calls and an email to get them to push that through (all of this was after the 6 weeks each time I gave them to get their act together). 

thriftytracey

Yes, sensiblesarah It is very important to read Trust Pilot reviews before purchasing.  I was going to go with the Co-op but they have negative reviews on their claims process e.g. takes months, claimant has to pay vet in advance.  

I have chosen Animal Friends it is the same premium as I was previously paying Purely Pets, same cover, lifetime, slightly higher excess and £5,000 annual limit rather than Purely Pets £6,000.  However, they do have positive reviews on Trust Pilot on their claims process, efficient processing of claims and it looks like you don't have to pay the vet up front. 

The only issue is I have to ensure my dog doesn't get ill for two weeks after cover starts, so in hindsight I should have started looking earlier and started cover earlier.  I have started it 48 hours earlier than the Purely Pets renewal date so he will be covered in case of an accident.  Something to be aware of when changing pet insurance.

thriftytracey

Glad I cancelled.  Spent 10 minutes talking to AI just trying to verify my identity and then it didn't work.  I'd hate to have had a claim.

glasgowchick

Please do not use this company, check out the google reviews.  They are absolutely horrid to deal with in any way. 

swingaloo

thriftytracey said:

Yes, sensiblesarah It is very important to read Trust Pilot reviews before purchasing.  I was going to go with the Co-op but they have negative reviews on their claims process e.g. takes months, claimant has to pay vet in advance.  

I have chosen Animal Friends it is the same premium as I was previously paying Purely Pets, same cover, lifetime, slightly higher excess and £5,000 annual limit rather than Purely Pets £6,000.  However, they do have positive reviews on Trust Pilot on their claims process, efficient processing of claims and it looks like you don't have to pay the vet up front. 

The only issue is I have to ensure my dog doesn't get ill for two weeks after cover starts, so in hindsight I should have started looking earlier and started cover earlier.  I have started it 48 hours earlier than the Purely Pets renewal date so he will be covered in case of an accident.  Something to be aware of when changing pet insurance.

We have Animal Friends for our dog. They are very fast with dealing with claims and seem consistent with premiums against other firms. 

It has got a lot more expensive now our dog is 10 years old and we have to pay 20% of any claim ourselves but I think that's the same across the board.

 I'm not sure about not having to pay the vet upfront though. That depends on the vet you use. We have to pay upfront. Our vet puts the claim through for us but he wont wait for the claim to be paid out for his money.