AXA Insurance...........VERY IMPORTANT

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Thanks Frances I will look at them 

I wondered that too Desley cos had forgotten that I had heard that there was a different excess rate only remembered after I had put the phone down and thought it strange that option wasnt offered when I said I wasa likely to cancel all policies.

Trigger thinks they dont want to insure the birmans anymore and I feel they dont want to insure cats over 9 so are trying to push us out..............so few cats around here so woulde have thought it a good postcode.

I am putting it all on hold till next week but must sort stuff out then and the info on this thread is great thanks all 

There is a link to the new form put on here by Helen a few posts away.

[Frances]

Am I right in thinking that you can't get quotes online and it's phone only?

I've only ever dealt with them over the phone - they have a Scottish call centre who are on the ball and very helpful.   Looking at their website they don't have online quotes but they do have an "email us" link.

I was with Marks & Spencer originally but they kept upping their prices; NFU's premium has been pretty consistent in the six years I've been with them.

[Fire Fox]

Wow Gill that is a huge hike. 

I also renewed yesterday (!) with AXA and the premium went up from £7.50-ish to £8.25-ish a month so around 10%. I don't think AXA have Noah's correct age as my vet verbally estimated higher than the CP vet. My postcode could throw up some anomalies for insurance claims too: I live in a city centre with few pets, few cars and few burglaries. If premiums go crazy in a few years time, I could end up using - and donating to - the PDSA as I am on a low enough income to be entitled to about 50p a week council tax benefit (I don't actually claim). However that would only ever be a last resort.

[Tiggy's Mum]

I had my Woody insured with NFU Mutual.  I’ve just put in my first (and for him only) claim which I'm dealing with myself but they will pay vets direct for ongoing claims.  I’ve only dealt with NFU over the phone and have always found them really helpful – they changed their policy details last year which confused me no end but they managed to sort me out.

Woody was a 12yo moggy and his premium last year was just under £100 for £4,000 continuous health cover.  His excess increased from £50 to £100 when he hit ten. 

If you want to check out their policy details it’s under Policy Wording/Home Insurance on their website (just scroll down past the home/contents/caravans/boats!).

I think NFU have a good reputation in the insurance world, sounds quite attractive in that it's life cover and no % of the excess for older pets. Am I right in thinking that you can't get quotes online and it's phone only?

[Desley (booktigger)]

I haven't seen AXA's new form yet, but will be doing soon when Buster's claim went in - his initial and Zi's renewal were both done after the move and are both high (Zi is now £22.20 a month, but as they have paid a few hundred for her this year I am not willing to cancel). Sainsbury's is per condition, which I used to be fine with for oldies, but I  changed when they hiked up their excess - £125, and then 15% once it hits a certain amount. At least AXA is a straight £50/75 regardless of age. Gill, wonder what would happen if you asked for your excess to be increased, how much that would bring down your monthly payments?

[Frances]

I had my Woody insured with NFU Mutual.  I’ve just put in my first (and for him only) claim which I'm dealing with myself but they will pay vets direct for ongoing claims.  I’ve only dealt with NFU over the phone and have always found them really helpful – they changed their policy details last year which confused me no end but they managed to sort me out.

Woody was a 12yo moggy and his premium last year was just under £100 for £4,000 continuous health cover.  His excess increased from £50 to £100 when he hit ten. 

If you want to check out their policy details it’s under Policy Wording/Home Insurance on their website (just scroll down past the home/contents/caravans/boats!).

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

That form is quiet horrific I think and its looking for ways out of paying.........i am seriously going off AXA.

[Tiggy's Mum]

That form is quite different from the last one Helen.  I was told by Axa it was OK to use old claim form for Fred.  Hope that's right.

Yep, much more indepth isn't it. When I put Riley's claim in they said it was fine to use the old form and I just changed the address on the top before I gave it to the vets but when I did the dummy quote I saw the new form and must admit I'm half expecting them to send the old one back 

[Rosella moggy]

That form is quite different from the last one Helen.  I was told by Axa it was OK to use old claim form for Fred.  Hope that's right.

My quote was done a few days ago so part of the new regime (just looked and it was £6.67) ....

I've been told by 2 different Axa people that new online quotes will always be less that renewals as statistically there are less claims in 1st twelve months and new policies only cover 50 weeks as 1st 14 days not fully covered.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

No printer I am afraid........was thinking of getting one for Christams but not sure I will have any money then by way things are going!

[Tiggy's Mum]

Usually I get so much paper from AXA and today only two envelopes rather than 4, no claim forms which is a real pain so costs are being cut but will take another chunk of my time to get claim forms if I keep any cats with AXA cos useless having to ring up for a form after the event when I need to hand it in when I am at vets.

If you have a printer you can print off the new claims forms....

http://www.axa.co.uk/assets/documents/axa.co.uk/personal/insurance/pet/pet-claims-form.pdf

My quote was done a few days ago so part of the new regime (just looked and it was £6.67) so perhaps they're trying to 'cherry pick' customers that are less likely to claim ie younger cats are less likely to have medical issues?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

No I hadnt seen that Rosella and think that could be part of it and AXA have also used the change of handling company to bring in the price rises.

Usually I get so much paper from AXA and today only two envelopes rather than 4, no claim forms which is a real pain so costs are being cut but will take another chunk of my time to get claim forms if I keep any cats with AXA cos useless having to ring up for a form after the event when I need to hand it in when I am at vets.

I have hidden the AXA envelopes cant see them, dont want to see them BUT must not lose them or forget about them cos must sort out. just dont want to make any hasty decisions that I may regret.

[Rosella moggy]

........right now I am not cool at all grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssss meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww  >:

That was me a month ago Gill   

Did you see edit on my previous post?  I think that has something to do with real reason for large hike in premium

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

So two different peeps telling different stories grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I dont think there probably a birman within miles of here and there have been no claims on Franta for many months and Ducha has just had metacam which is quite cheap.

No claims at all for Sasa and one off colour one for Misa earlier in year, so I dont think AXA has any excuse for putting up the premiums so much, except to stay close to the opposition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The birmans have gone up nearly 50% and that makes the cchange on the others look small but they are not small when considering the original cost.........right now I am not cool at all grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssss meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww  >:

[Rosella moggy]

Will come back with a more detailed response Gill but Fred went from £8 odd to £11 odd; a rise of 34%.  Having said that, the last person I spoke to at Axa said that when looking at renewal they look at claims made in 30 days prior to renewal for your particular breed and age of cat and take into account claims in your post code area. 

I think it won't be more than another month before I get next renewal in and, as I pay monthly, I will wait and see.  I can't cancel Fred's as he has just been diagnosed with kidney probs and borderline hyperT.

I would say that my initial response was to get upset.  I have now decided to be as cold as ice on this subject.   

ETA  OH reckons (and I think he may be right) that reason for large increase in premiums will have something to do with people cancelling their pet insurance policies to save money in current financial climate.  That means spreading risk amongst less people for insurance company.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I only have two oldies..the birmans and both have issues but the forms are not asking about them and its not affecting the price. I only tried M&S for Ducha in a vain hope I could get a decent price and it was worse than AXA by miles.

I didnt try any of the others for him but just out of curiosity will try more than cos didnt see anything about age restrictions.

I am pretty certain I will not be reinsuring thge birmans cos Frantas isues are known about and would not be covered. Duchas issues are not quite the same but think its not likely that apart from his metacam there is much else that could be done for him and we are not looking at something massive for either cos MRI scan is not an optipon for Franta but speaking quietly here, he is doing very well at present.

I feel for both I will just be feeding loads of dosh into a black hole and its better in a slush fund with me.

I will have to think about Ducha again and know that Sainsburys take on older cats but its that he is a pedigree that is bumping up the price, not his age, cos have always had to pay over £10 more for each birman.

Helen you were before the change of regime at AXA, so its next year you will be hit but moggies wont go up so much........I need to ask Rosella how much Freddie went up cos he is same age as Misa.

Misa and Sasa I do not considerf to be old and both should have another 10 years or so and therefore need  good insurance. Because Sasa has been found to have some issues 2 weeks ago and any treatyment wil not be for at least 2 months, she is going to have to stay with AXA.

Misa is the youngest at about 9 and have to decide what to do about him, I want him insured well and dont like M&S phone line bit and the excess is too high, he has a staright £50 at AXA so no extra 20%s.

Such a hard thing to decide and I am not getting any younger either and dont need the worry or the hassle that this is giving.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Gill, in your situation (ie oldies) then I would consider the per condition insurance policies which are often cheaper than the per year ones. If you have to spend more than £7000 on one condition then I think you'd be looking at quality of life issues anyway  For a youngster then I would never suggest per condition policies as that £7000 may need to last 15 years or more but older pets whose life is naturally limited then £7000 or whatever the amount is per condition is much more feasible.

Incidentally for youngsters the price rises don't seem to have hit home, my axa renewals stayed the same this year (although it was back in April) and I did a test quote for a 3 year old moggy using my details ie correct postcode etc and it came up at the same (actually was a little less I think!) as I am paying now which is around £7 a month each.

I noticed with more than that they only cover cats that are no older than 10 years old when I looked at them.

A very valid point Ellen, I think a lot of insurance polices won't take on new customers that are over a certain age although they will of course cover up to any age if you have existing cover.

[Ellen2010]

I noticed with more than that they only cover cats that are no older than 10 years old when I looked at them.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Oh yes trigger byou are right I think but its not your own claims its everyone elses, so just cos you dont claim,,,,,,,,,,,,,,has no effect!
 
I just spent ages looking at insurance and filling in forms and right now axa are still looking the cheapest!

The one quote I had that beats axa but only for Misa is M& S but must check the figures. However it still includes the clause that finished them for many of us plus the huge hike in price.............for emergency out of hours treatment must ring them first! Only manned by a vet nurse so not properly qualified to make decisons in my opinion!

Misas quotes from Direct Line, More than, Pet Plan. M&S are:

Direct Line 13.42pm £6000 cover per condition and excess £70
More than  !7.99pm £7000 cover per condition excess £50 plus 20% or rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Pet Plan     19.11pm £12000 cover true life cover excess £85
M&S           9.51pm  £7000 cover, think life , excess £50 plus 20%

Just out of curiosity did a quote for Ducha birman from M&S and they wanted over over £50 pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So it looks like I stand no chance of reinsuring the birmans cos cant afford it. Will just have to try and have a slush fund for them, although they are a real worry.

Sasa I will leave with AXA and Misa I may move to M&S althoiugh dont like abour ringing them before out of hours claim.

Need to check M&S terms and conditions properly but like Angie says we are being priced out of the market and its completely ridiculas. I am sure that Pet plan give great service and there is a £4000 level but sure there was a catch.....will have to check again.

M&S are now underwritten by Royal and Sun Alliance but cant find anything about them doing cat insurance direct. Sam if you are reading queen of the searches, can you find anything?

I think I have covered all the top insurances and didnt bother with Tesco , Halifax, Churchill etc etc cos I dont think the cover is good enough.

[Angiew]

Another nail in the coffin for pet owners.
Insurance companies have driven up vet costs to the point they can't afford it themselves 

[Kay and Penny]

I suspect the biggest single factor by far with AXA is the claim history

my three Axa policies increased in total by 10% this year, but to date I have not claimed for any of them

[BazandGem]

I had a similar thing with my car insurance a few years ago - went up massively because of claims other people with the same type of car had across the country!! Needless to say I left them.

Confused.com and moneysupermarket.com both do comparison searches on pet insurance, so it may save you some time to do searches that way rather than via each insurer. I actually found moneysupermarket got a better price on house insurance for us, but suppose it varies.

I also have a feeling Sainsbury's had some sort of offer on recently, not sure of the particulars though.

[clarenmax]

Crikey Gill, that's one heck of an increase, how the heck does that work!!!!

Very lame explanations as well from AXA as to why they've increased so much.  Not good 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I know Rosella gave us a warning about the increase in AXA insurance and my 4 renewals have come through this morning.

The increases are ridiculas and horrendous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am now being asked to pay out nearly £70 a month just for the birmans!

The toatal bill for the 4 cats has gone from approx £55 pm to approx £100.

I have spoken to AXA a few minutes ago and the dear girl said that they were just carrying out the underwriters AXA, instructions and had no control over the prices.

She then went on to explain how the costs were arrived at by AXA.................wait for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Based on age, breed or not, number of claims and postcode the price would be done. So discussed Franta because of claims that were in the previous years insurance with no real increase in premium. I was then told oh no not individual cats but across the whole country!

I asked her why my cats were all showing up unneutered and unspayed and that must put the price up immensely..........here we go all rescues..........oh no neutering is not included as one of the criteria...................I expressed shock and horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So if you have a neutered well cared for moggie you are paying the price of all the claims on unneutered moggies.

I never thought I would ever say this but the cost of this insurance is too high for me at over £1000 a year and each birman is costing more to insure than my car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I now have a dilema cos 3 of my 4 now have pre-existing conditions and the newest one is Sasa. Although her premium has also gone up far too much, also Misa  but they are a fraction of the costs of the birmans.

I feel that I will have to cancel my insurance for the birmans and Misa, possibly leaving Sasa as the semi feral now with mouth issues only discovered in last 2 weeks. The aim would be to find Misa a new insurance again..............would be his 3rd change of company and have only had him 5yrs!

I still think insurance is necessary but AXA have priced most out of the market and I have told the dear girl that AXA are facing 1000s leaving cos of this craziness, she said she would pass that on.................hmmmmmmmmmmmm even if she does its not going to help my poor birmans.

So peeps what insurances are looking good with life cover?

I will be now doing a search of the market to see what options are open, including M&S who most of us left after they did similiar to AXA.