M&S Pet Insurance - has yours renewed recently?

zzzLazyDaisy

Are there any M&S pet insurance policy holders out there who have had a renewal recently? I am concerned by the changes to their T&C's and wonder if they are going to apply to existing policy holders on renewal?

I have a cat insurance with M&S, lifetime cover, £7k vets fees per year, no excess. I pay monthly and the current year end in May 2008.

I have been looking for cover for a friend's cat and looked at M&S first, as I have been very satisfied so far.

I was horrified to see that the cover for a more expensive policy was much less, including a limit on the cover for each condition and £50 + % of fees excess.

My question is..... will M&S revise my cat's cover in May (if so it will be nothing like the supposedly 'lifetime cover' I signed up for) or do these drastic changes apply to new customers only?

As it happens I have made no claims and the cat has no pre-existing conditions so I could go to a different provider, but what if the cat had developed some illness in the meantime, can the insurer move the goal posts in this way on each renewal date?

If the policy cover is going to change so drastically, I will have to start looking around, pronto

Thanks

lthoel2

I had both my dogs insured with M+S and they were very good. However as you have said it has all changed . I had one renewal due last month and the premium had gone up by £100 and the excess had gone from none to £70 plus a % when they get to a certain age. There was also quite anumber of other changes that I wasn't happy with either. Luckily I hadn't ever claimed so it was easy for me to change. I am now with Halifax which is basically the same as M+S before they changed. My other dogs insurance is due in May and I have claimed so it looks as though I may be stuck with them.Not happy as to how they can change a policy so much:mad:

minimike2

I have both my dogs with M&S and have both just gone onto the new policy.

I know there has been a lot of uproar, but I dont have a problem with the new policy. Mine only increased by £6 a year and £36 a year (the larger for my Border Collie, who are becoming more epxensive to insure across the market).

I still cant find any other insurers that are cheaper for the same levels of cover. A large factor however might be down to my postcode, which is very insurance friendly.

They simply couldnt continue on with the product they launched with - it was designed to hook people in as a new to market product and changes were inevitable.

The only thing on the new policy I did find concerning was the need to call for permission to take your pet to any out of hours vets - not really something you want to do if your pet has a serious injury that needs urgent attention. I was advised that claims WOULD still be paid if the vets confirm that urgent care was necessary for the comfort of the pet (even if you hadnt called M&S first), but if its something that could wait until normal vet opening times then the claims wouldnt be honoured and the advice is to call first to find out if the treatment would be elidgeable for a claim.

Thargoid

can the insurer move the goal posts in this way on each renewal date?

I would like an answer to this too, how can it be legal for them to change the parameters once you have agreed to a policy?

My dog has had several serious interventions and will require lifelong treatment. It was precisely for this eventuality that I took "no excess" M&S insurance 2 years back when my dog was still a pup. I do not have the luxury of changing insurer as his present conditions will surely not be covered by the new insurer. Maybe I am the fool, but I never thought they could change a written agreement and do what they like with the policy conditions as they have.

I feel I have been cheated as I will now have to pay several hundred pounds a year in excess fees for something which I had payed to be covered against. I am surprised that MoneySavingExpert still recomends M&S Pet insurance in their main article.

FlameCloud

Once you have agreed to something it will last for a set period of time (typically one year). After the year is up, either party can leave the contract, amend it with the permission of the other or decline to offer cover.

So yes, basically they can, as the written agreement only lasts as long as you have both agreed to it.