Pet Insurance

[gilliwigs]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

I've looked at the FAQ about insurance but can't find the answer I am looking for. Muffin is insured with M&S for around £10/11 a month and so I thought that I would insure Jonah with them as well. But the quote for him is about £22 a month which was a bit of a shock! (w00t) Has anyone else got 2 dogs insured with M&S? Is the premium higher because Jonah is only 4 months old? I know I can give them a ring but I thought I'd ask on here tonight for starters. Thanks. :thumbsup:

 

[~Helen~]

Sounds a lot. I've got 2 insured with M&S, one is £16 a month, the other £17 (I think you get a miniscule discount for the second dog). I'd ring them and have a chat. I know their premiums have gone up, but that sounds a bit excessive

edited to say, I've rung them several times now (and have to do it again tomorrow) and it can take a while to get through to a person, in my experience. Make sure you've got a cup of tea and a magazine to hand, to while away the waiting time... :- " :lol:

 

[mazza]

Don't know why it would be so expensive for your second pup :blink:

Puppies may be looked upon by insurance Co's as quite vulnerable to injury and sickness, so a slightly higher premium may be expected but that seems alot, infact it's more than double what you are paying for Muffin.

Both mine are insured with M & S. Alf jrt x is £8.35 and Annie is £10.65, that's £19.00 per month for the two.

Only got Alf insured for the first time this year and he is over 2 years old so I don't know if it would have been more had he been a pup on the first premium.

Put a small claim in for £35.00 earlier this year with Annie, so no doubt the premium for her will go up on renewal.

 

[jeanyg]

I insured 3 dogs just before the prices went up...dog number 4 cost twice as much.

Apparently pure breeds cost more as well now :- "

Also the area you live in can bump up the price :blink:

Insurance in my opinion is a necessary evil.....and I don't want to claim because it then means my muttleys are ill or in pain...I do think the prices are a bit steep!

 

[Evie]

I insured Willow about a month ago with M&S. As a crossbreed she is costing me under £10 with no excess. She was 7 mths old at the time.

£22 sounds excessive, I'd let them know that you are shopping around for all your dogs since Jonah's quote was so much...

 

[rustypolecat]

I've looked at the FAQ about insurance but can't find the answer I am looking for.  Muffin is insured with M&S for around £10/11 a month and so I thought that I would insure Jonah with them as well.  But the quote for him is about £22 a month which was a bit of a shock!  (w00t)   Has anyone else got 2 dogs insured with M&S?  Is the premium higher because Jonah is only 4 months old?  I know I can give them a ring but I thought I'd ask on here tonight for starters.  Thanks.  :thumbsup:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

I've just changed to direct line, they do a 10% discount for insuring more than one dog, and their policies are reasonably flexible, with good cover for loss/theft, vets bills and kenneling due to accident or illness, plus I found them quick to contact and very hrlpful

 

[jezza]

I think that M&S have had to put up their premiums a lot. They must have so many people on their old no excess policy that they've realised they're not making a big enough profit. I had a quote for Molly which was over £200 so I told them to stuff it basically :lol: I had been quoted about half that figure only a couple of weeks before the second quote but didn't take it up because on an ongoing claim with direct line (who I am insured with now - £250 for both dogs )

This subject has come up on another forum I'm on with people saying the same thing. The area where you live will affect the premium to some extent but not that much. I think they have probably just kept Muffin at the old policy rate as he was insured with them when the prices were cheaper!

Direct line seem to have been good with us. More Than are also pretty cheap for a similar policy. Only thing with direct line is at the moment they still have an upper age limit whereas M&S and More Than don't

 

[jezza]

Right, I've been doing a bit of detective work! This is what I've been quoted for Molly, 2years 4months, post code in low insurance band.

£0 xs £210.32

£50 xs £200.79

£75 xs £190.74

£100 xs £180.71

However, if Molly was a crossbreed the quote was (£50xs) £104.12 :blink: I know that crossbreeds tend to be healthier than pedigrees but such a large difference seems a bit ridiculous to me :wacko:

 

[doris]

I've just gone on line to get a quote for my 14 week old Monty - guess what I was quoted?

£38 PER MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

don't think I'll be going with them then! :angry:

 

[gilliwigs]

I've just gone on line to get a quote for my 14 week old Monty - guess what I was quoted?

£38 PER MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

don't think I'll be going with them then! :angry:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

​

That sounds way over the top!! (w00t) I decided to stick with M&S in the end and paid round about £230 for Jonah for the year. They were about the same as Pet Plan and I decided to stick with them simply because they would pay £6000 a year (I think without checking) per condition, whereas the cheaper policies tended to pay up to that amount per condition and then wouldn't pay any more out after that for the same condition.

 

[jeanyg]

Oh lord

Dreading next years re-newal for my four :sweating:

What else will I have to give for the sake of my mutts....rarely buy clothes, shoes as it is now...and can go to the pub with the girls and sit on two cokes all night :- "

Oh well we can't take our dosh with us....may as well spend it (w00t)

 

[zilloot]

I insured Lottie about two months ago with M&S and it was only around £11.

Is this increase a new thing - I've got 6 insured now with M&S and it will kill me if they double the premiums

 

[hellybobs]

I've got my 2 insure with direct line £19 a month.

The excess was £45 but they upped it to £65 last year.

I've never had any trouble getting through to them, they've payed up quite quickly when I've claimed (which is alot with Inca the accident proned madam) and so far I've been happy with them.

 

[chelle123]

according to M&S website and the renewal i got through for blue last month it only goes up for the second year mine went from £10 to £17 for blue healty 2.5 year old so run when the renewal comes through and have a back up ready.

 

[masta]

insurance is a business, insure 100 dogs and 70% claim then renewal and costs go up i had kass insured 8 months @ £10.00 amonth first claim £3000.00 m&s have too have a higher % not claiming than claiming too keep costs down and obviously they hav'nt

because they have lifetime cover once claimed you have to stick with them

 

[pollyanna]

Polly is insured with Direct Line and when I got the premium in last year, I rang them and told them the M & S was much cheaper.

They said I could remove overseas cover, advertising and reward if lost and cover for kennelling if I go into hospital and it got the silver premium (the one that covers a condition for life) to around £11 a month. It might be worth asking for any 'bits' of the policy you don't need to be removed and see if it gets the premium down. Good luck :thumbsup:

 

[FeeFee]

I reckon M&S got into the pet insurance market and started off cheap to build up the business and get a customer base, and are now bumping up the prices on the basis that people who's dogs have ongoing conditions are trapped with them as they won't get cover elsewhere - or maybe that's just me being cynical :- "

I'm afraid I've heard a lot of people complain about Direct Line, both that they are very slow to pay up and also that they tend to quibble and argue about every claim.

My lot are all insured with PetPlan, and I have to say I've never had any problems with them, I've put in some big claims over the years and they've always been really quick and helpful. :thumbsup:

 

[~Helen~]

I'm quite cross with my insurer now :angry:

I've always had a nil excess policy and never had a problem claiming with Josie. I took out Lola's policy on the same basis back in 2005, have never claimed. Put in a claim a few weeks ago which they turned down (it was £32) because it below the excess. Puzzled, I looked at my policy and found it's been put on a £70 excess :angry: They are looking into the matter and will get back to me :- "

BUT in the meantime I took a closer look at all the paperwork and saw that my renewal premium was £163.22 pa... and yet once I had renewed I've been charged £205.04 pa :rant:

However, I'm doing a comparison with Petplan and that's even MORE expensive! Insurance seems to be getting a bit crazy, but they've got us over a barrel because we can't really be without it.

edited to add - just got a quote from Direct Line, Advanced (the more expensive with better unlimited cover) and it's £23.27 per month for BOTH dogs (w00t) which is almost half what I'm paying at the moment, yet the policy details and cover looks almost identical (except no nil excess)... really tempted to jump ship when the policy next comes up for renewal!

 

[~elizabeth~]

I've looked at the FAQ about insurance but can't find the answer I am looking for.  Muffin is insured with M&S for around £10/11 a month and so I thought that I would insure Jonah with them as well.  But the quote for him is about £22 a month which was a bit of a shock!  (w00t)

That's exactly what I was quoted when I looked into insurance when we got the puppy. It was between £244 and £268 per annum each for mine, the difference was based on the amount of excess, and not age-related at all (which surprised me as I thought a 7 year old would be more expensive). It was rather less for crossbred dogs; however lurchers came out in exactly the same band as whippets, they are not classed as crossbreeds :- "

I reckon M&S got into the pet insurance market and started off cheap to build up the business and get a customer base, and are now bumping up the prices on the basis that people who's dogs have ongoing conditions are trapped with them as they won't get cover elsewhere - or maybe that's just me being cynical

I think you're right, I think there are 2 different sets of figures based on whether you are an existing customer or a new one.

I might look into Direct Line. I'm not a believer in insurance I have to say, but it is worrying hearing about what can go wrong. :sweating: That said, it's taken months to sort out our car claim after my accident, I was most unimpressed by their competence when you have to make a claim.

 

[~Helen~]

:wacko: right, this is now sorted out. The £205 was a mistake but they're refunding me. The Nil Excess is back on the policy :thumbsup:

Feeling happier.