Topic: what cat insurers (Read 8029 times)

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #31 on:** January 06, 2008, 00:54:46 AM »

I am sure there are profits cos many owners can have a cat all its life and they may never have the need to make a claim.

Same with all types of insurance.

I used to think with Kocka I was an insurance companies nightmare come true, cos it seemed to be just claim after claim after claim!

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #30 on:** January 05, 2008, 22:11:01 PM »

I have to say I am dubious about a company that gives profits to charity - I know what I have paid Sainsbury's and what they have paid me, and I know there is no profit there - and even though I never claimed for Ginger, his premiums and Pebbles's together were still nowhere near what they paid out, so where does the profit come from, unless the 'rumours' of E & L are true, and they dont pay.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #29 on:** January 05, 2008, 19:18:38 PM »

I have to say I looked at the cover they gave and did not consider it was good enough for my cats, also had read about E & L, sorry.

claws n purrs · « **Reply #28 on:** January 05, 2008, 18:54:41 PM »

Good point Gill!

Still, given that all insurance companies are the same (money grabbing!), an insurance company that's going to donate its profits to animal charities is worth considering?

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #27 on:** January 05, 2008, 17:48:07 PM »

Sorry I dont think ethical and insurance companys should ever appear in the same verse

They want our money pure and simple and when they make what seems like a good offer, just wait for the kick in the head................read M&S for example !

claws n purrs · « **Reply #26 on:** January 05, 2008, 16:53:48 PM »

I'm disappointed to hear about negative experiences with E&L as they are the underwriters for my pet insurance and I have a claim going through at the moment

I chose Animal Friends pet insurance as their profits go to help animal charities which i think is worth supporting. Are there any other ethical insurance companies to consider?

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #25 on:** January 05, 2008, 12:46:04 PM »

I have had my first real issue with Sainsbury's today, but their customer services was good - despite paying for tigers last claim including euthanasia, they forgot to cancel teh policy and sent me renewal forms today!! Think she said they are going to refund the premium I must have paid last month (should check bank statements better!!). But, the bonus is that even though they paid out hundreds of pounds, it was still less than £14 a month.
US - every insurance company will pay for the treatment upfront, however, it is up to the vet whether they will accept it, so you need to ask them rather than being in a position where you might struggle. From the posts on here, it seems like very few vets do accept it (although the specialist we went to did), and I Can't blame them - Pebble's first claim took 6 weeks to come through.

unseeliechylde · « **Reply #24 on:** January 04, 2008, 22:52:56 PM »

I'm with "more than", largely because they pay out for chronic conditions for however long you need them to. Not that I expect either of my two to have anything like this, but you can never be too careful. It's about £7 a month per cat, and they pay for the treatment upfront, rather than reinbursing you, which is also good. I'll have to look into the details about older cats, but I think, given the "chronic condition" cover, that it is quite good.

berties mum · « **Reply #23 on:** January 04, 2008, 22:19:16 PM »

Yep, and I know other people here have had really good experiences with Sainsbury's, but we had a total nightmare - they decided to pay me in two hits because I'd submitted two invoices (one from emergency vet and one from our normal vet), and they took about 3-4 weeks to pay the first lot and 4 months to pay the second. They kept telling me that ka "nurse" was "examining" my claim because it seemed to be dubious, and that they were talking to my vet for more information, yet my vet never heard from them once. In the end I wrote a letter of complaint and received a full apology saying they had never thought anything was dodgy about my claim and that the information on my file about the nurse, which their staff kept quoting to me whenever I called, had got there by accident. I wouldn't go with them again!

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #22 on:** January 04, 2008, 19:27:06 PM »

If you change, you might not be covered for the things you have claimed for in the past - you were with Sainsbury's before, werent' you?

berties mum · « **Reply #21 on:** January 04, 2008, 19:25:34 PM »

His old cover was a 12-month policy and I decided not to continue with it, because when I claimed for his treatment, they promised payment within 5 days and it took four months

My neighbour has a horse and said she had only ever heard good things about E&L - it just goes to show how word of mouth can be a funny thing! His E&L policy ends Feb 14 so I'm going to have a look round for new cover soon ... Bella is with Axa and they've been very good so I'll probably start there.

Millys Mum · « **Reply #20 on:** January 04, 2008, 16:34:27 PM »

Quote from: berties mum on January 03, 2008, 19:06:40 PM

Quote from: Millys Mum on January 03, 2008, 17:12:33 PM
I would also say never take a policy that is connected to E&L in anyway.

Why not, Milly's Mum? Bertie is with E&L - they were one of very few insurance companies who would insure him when his existing cover expired last Feb because he'd had a lot of expensive treatment in December and January - but the policy expires on Feb 14 so I can always bin them ....

They just have a terrible reputation, maybe more so among horse owners than cat.

Did they agree to cover his pre existing problems?

Was his old cover a 12month policy or you could have continued that?

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #19 on:** January 03, 2008, 20:55:39 PM »

I also wouldn't touch E & L, I have heard a lot of negative things about them, and I know we have one member on here who uses them and always struggles to get money out of them. I personally wouldnt ask the vets, most have training through PetPlan, so recommend them, but I know the rescues vet have had patients who have had issues iwht them, and did bring it up with the rep.

fluffybunny · « **Reply #18 on:** January 03, 2008, 20:04:30 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on January 03, 2008, 17:12:33 PM

A, is the Tesco policy only for 12months cover? I havent looked at theirs...

Yes it is - I think the £6k cover isn't limited to 12 months though.

berties mum · « **Reply #17 on:** January 03, 2008, 19:06:40 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on January 03, 2008, 17:12:33 PM

I would also say never take a policy that is connected to E&L in anyway.

Why not, Milly's Mum? Bertie is with E&L - they were one of very few insurance companies who would insure him when his existing cover expired last Feb because he'd had a lot of expensive treatment in December and January - but the policy expires on Feb 14 so I can always bin them ....

swampmaxmum · « **Reply #16 on:** January 03, 2008, 18:15:21 PM »

Yes I've heard of E&L problems, although thankfully they've been ok so far. I couldn't get cheaper than them when I came back here and because Swampy'd had an op in France, the others wanted to exclude pretty much anything. I was waffling on though, the point I wanted to make is watch out for that '1 year after first treating illness' expiry clause in the contract, which is v common according to my vet. Plus it's easy to sign with one company, then cat gets ill, then you find out that the insurers are tricky and can't move cos of the pre-existing thing. Personally if I had young, healthy cats I'd ask the vets who they recommend as they must know (?).

Millys Mum · « **Reply #15 on:** January 03, 2008, 17:12:33 PM »

Karen, id swap sooner rather than later just incase you need to claim and then cant leave them.

I would also say never take a policy that is connected to E&L in anyway.

A, is the Tesco policy only for 12months cover? I havent looked at theirs...

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #14 on:** January 03, 2008, 14:27:30 PM »

Swamp - that isn't a lot per condition, I personally wouldn't recommend that amount - Sainsburys excess is less than Animal Friends, less per month and also a better amoutn per condition.

swampmaxmum · « **Reply #13 on:** January 03, 2008, 11:15:24 AM »

one thing I'm very glad about was that I took out fully comprehensive cover which covers up to £5000 per condition and doesn't run out 1 year after the condition was first diagnosed. Apparently the 1 yr thing is well hidden in many so-called comprehensive policies. If you cat's young, I would also ask what happens when they reach 8 (or whatever the co deems 'old') as then it can be a right pain to have to switch.
has anyone found the pet insurance comparison sites useful? As on the www.moneysavingexpert.com site? Of course they go just on price, not customer service. My insurers have been much maligned, but were very pleasant to deal with when I needed them for Swampy (E & L thru Animal Friends: huge excess but he's a senior citizen and I gather that is normal). The pre-existing condition thing can also be very widely and differently applied so watch out for that as it can make it hard to switch.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #12 on:** January 03, 2008, 11:03:20 AM »

Quote from: Tiggy's Mum - Helen on January 02, 2008, 21:09:43 PM

I'll be switching to Axa when mine are due for renewal but don't see the benefit in switching early as I still have the 'good' M&S policy.

Provided they don't develop any condition between now and renewal date! Which would leave you stuck with M&S due to pre-existing condition.

karenjet · « **Reply #11 on:** January 03, 2008, 10:20:21 AM »

Thanks, Helen and Gill.
I took it out the day the kittens turned 8 weeks, and they're 9 months old today, so I'll stick with M&S until they're a year, I think. But then again, God forbid I need to make a claim in that time it'll muck it up for changing

I'm off to England in a couple of hours so I'll look into it more when I get back.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #10 on:** January 03, 2008, 01:35:18 AM »

If you are paying monthly karen you can cancel at any time.

I have cancelled becaused it was only abouy=t the quarter of the cost with AXA and of cousre if you needed any treatment then you may gewt caught.

Have to say I have my first claim in with AXA and am waiting to see when I get the money. It was Sasa, had to be .........sigh.

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #9 on:** January 02, 2008, 21:09:43 PM »

Axa have a flat excess (think it's £50) no matter the age of the animal so a good bet for older animals too.

Quote from: karenjet on January 02, 2008, 20:52:58 PM

My 4 are with M&S too. Can I change to another insurer at any time, or do I need to wait the year? I've never made a claim.

I think yours were insured at roughly the same time as mine - if that's the case then you still have NIL excess but only for the rest of the policy term so when it comes up for renewal the nil excess wil be removed. Your policy is still underwritten by axa so no nasty clause about ringing the helpline before going to an emergency vet, again, if you renew at the end of the 12 months that's when that would start.

I'll be switching to Axa when mine are due for renewal but don't see the benefit in switching early as I still have the 'good' M&S policy.

karenjet · « **Reply #8 on:** January 02, 2008, 20:52:58 PM »

My 4 are with M&S too. Can I change to another insurer at any time, or do I need to wait the year? I've never made a claim.

fluffybunny · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2008, 18:19:50 PM »

I've recently done my two with Tesco - ok it's the basic cover with a £100 excess but for £10.65 a month for the pair of them - less than half of what everyone else was quoting me! I know there is a generous online discount at the moment which I won't get next year but even so..

Millys Mum · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2008, 17:40:57 PM »

www.axa.co.uk

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2008, 17:05:31 PM »

They stopped the nil excess a while back and I'm not aware of any others that offer it. It's not sustainable and any that offer that quickly realise that they get claims for all sorts of things and just can't afford to offer it. M&S have recently introdued a clause that says you have to ring their helpline for advice before taking your pet to an emergency vet

which has caused a lot of people to desert them. Axa seem to be the best around at the moment. I'm with petplan but they have high excess for older cats.

tan160581 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 02, 2008, 16:53:08 PM »

Hi
what is the website for axa
also do any insurers offer a non excess as that is what i had for my cats and even my oldest of 16 years old, but now they have stoped that as well

lisa77 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 02, 2008, 15:08:32 PM »

I went with Axa & then realised the other day I didnt send the Direct Debit form back.. so it hasnt started

My own fault ! But I looked into it & they are good.

Millys Mum · « **Reply #2 on:** January 02, 2008, 14:56:56 PM »

This has happened to everyone

have you read all the changes in the new policy?

If you havent claimed for any of your cats i would move them before you have to.
Pet Plan and AXA offer the most similar cover.

tan160581 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 02, 2008, 13:10:54 PM »

Hi
I have 6 cats and have always been with m and s insurers but today i got a letter and the prices per cat has gone up by £4 each and they have now stopped doing there £non excess which was a godsend to me as most of mt cats are elderly and now they are saying i have to pay the first £0 plus 20% - is this what most insurers do and m and s was just a exceptionally good one to be with
Who would you rec or would you stay with m and s x

Author Topic: what cat insurers (Read 8029 times)