Pet insurance recommendations

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Gillian Mostyn — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 19:45:52 GMT

[quote user="David Mills"]They have the misfortune of living near Rochdale, for their sins. Almost in Yorkshire, actually, which is a case of the worst of both worlds.[/quote]

It could always be worse though. They could live near London!

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Beats — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 19:16:33 GMT

I'm definitely not an insurance-type personally, but this is best consumer review site of pet insurance I know.

http://www.pet-insurance-guide.co.uk/

Interested to hear of any other review sites or sources of information for interested pet-owners enquiring on best policy etc.

I find it's a bit of a minefield now to offer any practical advice myself with some putting up fees if make a claim, most having cheap first 2-3 year rates then rack it up once sucked in and harder to switch without risking exclusions not paying out, what is actually covered etc. etc.

My mum has the dog's trust membership that gives 3rd party cover and that suits her.

On a practical note, seeing what policies (if any) her local clinic will claim direct on makes a pretty big difference - clinic policies have varied widely in my experience (and what they say isn't always what they do either to make matters harder...).

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

David Mills — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 17:42:50 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]You'll win in the long term.[/quote]

7yo Choc Lab is the other dog - current bill non-insured (and with colleague discount) about £8k and counting. So not always.

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]Would being a parvo survivor affect the cover? Would any GI illness be considered pre-existing and therefore not covered?[/quote]

Yep it's something that needs checking.

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]p.s. Where abouts in the Frozen North? Not particularly frozen today, just quite soggy. [/quote]

They have the misfortune of living near Rochdale, for their sins. Almost in Yorkshire, actually, which is a case of the worst of both worlds.

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Bob Russell — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 17:33:23 GMT

None of ours are dodgy and I suspect the same can be said about most other practices.

A very significant issue is the difference in expectation between client and the small print they have not checked.

The only company that has rejected claims on very dodgy grounds has been AF's. Occasionally others have needed a nudge in the right direction.

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Hannah Wynne Richards — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 17:15:49 GMT

I do a lot of direct claims with a lot of companies. I very rarely find a claim rejected...............maybe that's because I don't submit dodgy claims in the 1st place.

Wynne

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 15:40:37 GMT

The problem is they all blow hot and cold. Even Pet Plan went through a bad patch a while ago. I've made two direct claims recently with Tesco for the same pet but different conditions. First one took 10 weeks and I threatened the client that I might not make another direct claim for her. The second took 2 weeks. Direct Line have been consistently slow, others which are owned by the same underwriter vary considerably: More Than seem to be better than other RSA companies. I think that the underwriting/processing teams change and that reflects the incredible fluctuations. Its basically pot luck.

So I would still stick my money on Pet Plan or just do what I advise a lot of clients: put the same amount you'd pay into a doggy bank account and save it for the rainy day. You'll win in the long term.

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Liz w — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 14:14:26 GMT

I agree wrt Tescos - £10 a month cheaper for me to insure with pet plan than tescos ( with vet discount) .

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Bob Russell — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 12:52:01 GMT

AF's are not better than they were! They did get better around the "Watchdog" report time but we had a an acute pancreatitis claim rejected because it vomited food 3 years earlier. This was because the cat was a 'pig' and ate too much, too fast.

had a few other dodgy ones with them. Not really changed their spots as far as I can see.

Mine moved to John Lewis (RSA) and Agria for older one. Tesco premiums went up unacceptably!

RE: Pet insurance recommendations

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 12:02:43 GMT

Pet Plan still do a vet discount. One of the more expensive ones but you get what you pay for, cover is good and they don't quibble too often. If they do a polite, strongly worded letter usually gets them to change their mind.

Only thing with Pet Plan is once they're too old to be insured with someone else they do hike their premiums up and percentages have to be paid, usually earlier on than other companies.

Tesco, Direct Line tend to be ok. Animal Friends are better than they used to be, but still not great.

Would being a parvo survivor affect the cover? Would any GI illness be considered pre-existing and therefore not covered?

p.s. Where abouts in the Frozen North? Not particularly frozen today, just quite soggy.