Topic: insurance..........totally confused! (Read 5875 times)

Dawn F · « **Reply #31 on:** July 26, 2013, 10:27:53 AM »

at the end of the day they are in it to make money

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #30 on:** July 26, 2013, 10:25:11 AM »

I think the situation with Axa just goes to show that pet insurance is not proving profitable for many companies so they are getting out of the market. This leaves us all in a difficult position because we don't want to pay the high premiums and excesses of petplan but maybe the only way companies can remain profitable is to charge those. If companies don't remain profitable they will get out and leave us all in the lurch

So those seemingly attractive premiums may come with a sting in the tail.

Bee · « **Reply #29 on:** July 25, 2013, 20:57:00 PM »

Sorry Gill, just saw you needed address too,will send! My petplan excess is £85...

LadyMcTavish · « **Reply #28 on:** July 25, 2013, 18:55:16 PM »

When I took out Tippys insurance he said the price won't increase too much yearly, just in accordance with inflation. If I Find out they are lying and it increases drastically they'll be up the creek!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #27 on:** July 25, 2013, 18:49:56 PM »

What is PP? Petplan?

I have never heard of any cover staying the same price for life.

I know that Petplans excess is high and that you pay an increasing amount of the bill as they get older, cos its a % plus excess.

LadyMcTavish · « **Reply #26 on:** July 25, 2013, 18:38:27 PM »

Tippy my girl is 13 weeks old and insured in PP. it's £10.72 a month for life with up to £7000 claims a year. Excess is £65 and she's covered for everything including dentals. She's covered for emergency boarding upto £1000 and also postering an advertisement should she ever go missing. I also believe you get what you pay for. Tippy had conjunctivitis at 10weeks old so PP were the only ones who'd honour further treatment of that illness should she get it again. Def shop round and go for lifetime cover not yearly as the yearly premiums tend to go up more, whereas life ones only go up with inflation

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #25 on:** July 24, 2013, 16:20:49 PM »

OK pm me your addy and postal code and will do tomorrow after the football tonight!

Bee · « **Reply #24 on:** July 24, 2013, 15:33:51 PM »

Thanks so much guys.. I didn't mean to hijack this thread, sorry OP! Hope this is maybe helping you too!
Gill - I will if that is ok? But please don't go to massive trouble for me! Just FYI - AXA couldn't even find our address! I had to ring them! I just would be keen to know if I am missing an obvious alternative option before my 14 days is over. Especially as they have now put a no pay clause on us (I obviously would try to worm out of giving that info if I change)
I don't want to go with just anyone, only one that at least one other person has recommended. We also tried Argos but on full cover that was still £24 and when it's the difference between that and £23 for Petplan I'm minded to just stay with PP as I know they cover dental and are fast payers as we claimed from them for Bass' heart scan.

It's exhausting! I didn't have this much trouble with house insurance!!

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #23 on:** July 24, 2013, 08:23:52 AM »

£38? That's crazy. I only pay about £20 for Jaffa and he's 16.

Sue P (Paddysmum) · « **Reply #22 on:** July 24, 2013, 07:25:28 AM »

Bee, check out Healthy Pets and see what they come up with. They've been consistently good for me over the years and never any bother with them paying out. As Gill says, it's a good idea to put a fictitious moggy in for a number of quotes and see what comes back. Pet insurance is big business these days and it's like everything else with insurance - it's confusing, you have to read the small print, and if they can't give you an explanation for something, make a note of it, ask for the name of anyone yuo speak to, and submit details to the financial ombudsman. Whilst it wont get you a reduced insurance deal, it will help force the Ombudsman's hand into investigating some of the insurance providers practises.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2013, 22:52:18 PM »

OMG that is terrible.

I think London vets are cheaper than here in Wales!

I have chucked them all now sadly but got loads of quotes for Pav and her young boy and they came up very expensive but sure not that much and she is in London.

Would you like to pm me your postcode and I will try a search?

Bee · « **Reply #20 on:** July 23, 2013, 22:42:31 PM »

Only goes down to £30.74. You'd think we lived in Mayfair not Zone 3!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #19 on:** July 23, 2013, 22:30:09 PM »

Try getting another axa quote online for a Felix aged one year old, using your postcode and see what the quote comes out as, I know that Lupins was significantly different and then if thats the case do what you have suggested.

You just need to bear in mind any significant illness will then be excluded but tbh a young cat should be healthy.

Bee · « **Reply #18 on:** July 23, 2013, 22:05:51 PM »

He's a baby, only 4 months... They didn't say it was that reason though, pp said it was London vets, AXA said they didn't know but it might be because male cats are more high risk?!

Tempted to cancel, start a fund for a year and try again with AXA when he's 1...

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #17 on:** July 23, 2013, 19:38:57 PM »

How old is your cat Bee? That AXA quote sounds just ridiculasly high.....well all do tbh.

If under one year old all quotes are very high and if you do a quote for 1 years old they drop dramatically, but its a risk.

Lupin was 10 months when I got him and a pedigree and waiting until he was 1yr and his quote was about £10.50ish. massive difference.

Bee · « **Reply #16 on:** July 23, 2013, 19:35:15 PM »

Hmmm... I got quotes from Petplan and AXA and Petplan wanted £28 whilst AXA wanted £38!!!! Neither could tell me why it is now so expensive. I pay £15 for Drum with Petplan.

I've gone with PP but have 14 days to cancel so might check Argos....

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #15 on:** July 23, 2013, 01:58:27 AM »

Stop Rosella..............I have Lupins new quote in the porch unopened and it starts on 1 Aug I think......scared to open it!

Rosella moggy · « **Reply #14 on:** July 22, 2013, 06:55:27 AM »

TBH the Argos policy seems not bad at all except the lack of dental cover for illness. As they are underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance, I had a quick look at the current M&S cover as they are also underwritten by RSA. The difference between the two is really quite marked. M&S premium quote for Billy came out much less with M&S BUT ...........

They insist you ring their vet nurses if it's out of hours

AND the excess is £50 + 20% of treatment costs. They do cover dental treatment for illness but there's a nasty little "subject to health check in previous 12 months" clause and I have a tendency to leave mine a while longer than 12 months.

Will someone please stop me spending my time comparing quotes ............ it's not as if we have insurance cover any more

It's an OCD thing

beowulf · « **Reply #13 on:** July 21, 2013, 23:57:16 PM »

in the end we went with Argos...........nearly half the price but twice the value of cover of petplan..............and cos we did it thro a certain online company theres a meerkat on the way

still had petplan phoning up wanting us to renew

pixiekitties · « **Reply #12 on:** July 14, 2013, 16:19:54 PM »

Quote from: Gill (sneakiefeline) on July 13, 2013, 00:24:32 AM

Is that £7000 a year or for life of the cat or per illness kitty.

AXA is £7000 every year for the life of the cat and only excess to pay.

7,000 a year

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #11 on:** July 14, 2013, 11:50:04 AM »

Quote from: Gill (sneakiefeline) on July 14, 2013, 00:15:58 AM

Axa also pay the vet direct and have sadly made many claims from them.

Another bonus is that they underwrite their own insurance so unless they go completely bust they will be in the market long term.

Most will pay the vet direct but its up to the vet whether they will accept being paid like that. My vets don't so it doesn't matter that Axa will pay direct - I would still have to pay up front and then claim back.

beowulf · « **Reply #10 on:** July 14, 2013, 09:58:49 AM »

many thanks for all that info

going to do some more looking before i decide the one to take out but Axa looks pretty good

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #9 on:** July 14, 2013, 00:15:58 AM »

Axa also pay the vet direct and have sadly made many claims from them.

Another bonus is that they underwrite their own insurance so unless they go completely bust they will be in the market long term.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2013, 12:02:18 PM »

A lot of companies lure you in with competitive sounding premiums and then when it comes to renewal time they go up and you can't always change insurers unless you have no pre-existing conditions at all (and bear in mind a pre-existing condition can include all sorts - not just serious things or something you've made a claim for). So whilst I do recommend looking around, and you dont' have to stick with the same one forever, it is worth looking beyond the initial premium to exactly what you get and the long term standing of the insurer (pet insurance is a booming market but I'm sure there are some who will not be in the market in 10 years time and I'm not sure where that leaves those who have taken out insurance with them).

Look for lifetime cover, the excess, how much they will pay out and whether that is per condition or per year (per year means the pot is renewed each year whereas per condition means once they've paid out the max for a particular condition they will pay no more - can be a problem with long term chronic conditions that may need treatment over many years).

I am with Axa but I've never made a claim so can't say how good they are really. I used to be with petplan and was very happy with their service (I made 2 claims and both were paid out quickly and with no fuss). I only changed because financial circumstances forced me to end the petplan policies so I ended up without any insurance and eventually back to square 1 with looking around. Petplan aren't the cheapest and I did notice that the excess for my older cat increased before I left them to a fixed figure plus a percentage, which could have worked out expensive) but they have been in the market a long time and have a fairly good reputation. Axa have a pretty good reputation also.

Rosella moggy · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2013, 09:42:21 AM »

With insurance, like pretty well everything else, you generally get what you pay for

There are different ways insurance policies provide cover and you have to take a view as to how fully you want to be covered and of course what you can afford.

When considering what you can afford in premiums you also need to consider whether you can afford to run the risk of cover having been exhausted so that you would have to fork out yourself. It's a bit of a minefield tbh.

Chronic conditions like kidney disease, thyroid, diabetes etc are not uncommon and are pretty expensive due to the amount of ongoing blood tests needed to monitor the conditions and a cat can manage for quite a number of years quite happily with treatment.

Lifetime cover is not that common. Petplan and Axa provide very good cover and, so far, Axa do not I think impose a % related excess and are significantly cheaper than Petplan.

I have just googled using GoCompare for our 9 year old Billy Whiz for lifetime cover and have to say Axa compares well at £23.65.

I was initially interested in Argos as they were coming up with a monthly quote of £20.43 with lifetime cover of £7,000 pa but, on looking at policy summary, they basically don't cover dental to the same extent as Axa and I think most of us know dentals through illness are anything but uncommon!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2013, 00:24:32 AM »

Is that £7000 a year or for life of the cat or per illness kitty.

AXA is £7000 every year for the life of the cat and only excess to pay.

lau200 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 12, 2013, 21:42:48 PM »

With penny, she was insured with argos. For under £6 a month, i had to pay just £60 excess and her week in hospital before passing cost the insurer over £2000 but they didnt complain or cause hassle. If you tell them the cost you paid to buy/adopt your cat, should it pass away, they send you that money too. I also got a discount for insuring other pets with them. I totally recommend them!

pixiekitties · « **Reply #4 on:** July 12, 2013, 20:45:33 PM »

Quote from: Gill (sneakiefeline) on July 12, 2013, 20:10:19 PM

Purrrrrsonally I dont like insurances where you pay a percentage cos that can be very expensive,,,,,,,,2% of 3000 is 600 I think plus the excess is loads, I also have a feeling that More Than cover is not that high......maybe wrong. That was going to be the cost of an MRI for Napoleon but he was too ill to travel. Two years later his vet bill was that much.

All insurances cover for illness!

Cant remember the age of your cat but if over one years I would look at axa. Kitten insurance is quite expensive everywhere.

The excess is the £50 you pay before your insurance then covers the bill. Then you have up to £7000 depending on the cover you decide to take. As I said with mine I just paid just over 300 might not even have been that I think it was below that for a bill that would have cost me well over 1200

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2013, 20:10:19 PM »

Purrrrrsonally I dont like insurances where you pay a percentage cos that can be very expensive,,,,,,,,2% of 3000 is 600 I think plus the excess is loads, I also have a feeling that More Than cover is not that high......maybe wrong. That was going to be the cost of an MRI for Napoleon but he was too ill to travel. Two years later his vet bill was that much.

All insurances cover for illness!

Cant remember the age of your cat but if over one years I would look at axa. Kitten insurance is quite expensive everywhere.

pixiekitties · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2013, 19:08:11 PM »

I highly recommend More Than pet insurance

With them you choose which package you want, starts from as little as £4.04 a month (mine for my last cat was £6.72 a month and she was a maine coon cross)
You pay £50 upfront of any vet fees and then 10% of the rest of the bill up until they are 10years old. When they reach 10years old you pay £50 upfront (if I remember correctly, may have been £100 upfront) then 20% of the rest of the bill.
You get access to 24 hour vet helpline where you can call for advice and help. You are even able to phone on behalf of friends if they have concerns for their pets, they don't have to be insured with more than. If you sign up online you get a discount and you get further discount if you insure all your pets with them. On my insurance policy I had all of that and other benefits including £600 if your cat dies from illness and £7000 for vet bills covered.

They were really good and the staff were brilliant. I am not easy to please but they really did give me the best so I highly recommend them

EDIT: just want to add that all my cats are house cats also

and I recently had to pay just over £300 for a bill that would have cost me over £1200 without the insurance.

link if you would like to take a look: http://www.morethan.com/pages/products/pet/pethomepage.aspx

beowulf · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2013, 16:04:07 PM »

at a bit of a dilemma

we got Willow nearly a month ago and she came with a free months insurance via pet plan

they have now started phoning with 'offers' if we take out insurance with them

but i always like to do a bit of shopping around.......it seems that for what they offer is quite expensive compared to other places for what appears to be the same cover..........however im starting to get bamboozled looking at different companies

so does anyone have any recommendations?

my main interest is cover for illness, as Willow is a house kitty. our last kitty, Tiff, was poorly towards the end and cost us an arm and a leg (but was worth every single penny!) and with Willow we want to get cover at as soon as poss but like everyone else dont like the thought of paying twice as much when i can get the same thing elsewhere.......but dont want to get stuck with a dodgy/awkward insurer or a policy that dosnt cover what we want

many thanks in advance

Author Topic: insurance..........totally confused! (Read 5875 times)