Pet Insurance

[pamalkie]

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going to get a quote for my two at m&s as well. I'd been looking about but hadn't thought of them thanks :cheers:

 

[Joanna]

Well, my RSPCA policy went up quite a bit, so I have insured my two with M&S. £4 cheaper, no excess!

Thanks!

 

[zilloot]

3 of my 6 are with M&S now with the others to follow in the New Year.. much better deal than the combo of PetPlan, DBI and KC that we've tried...

 

[JAX]

[SIZE=21pt]WARNING !! DO NOT USE E & L !![/SIZE]

( D B I ) is who they trade under too

I put in a claim for Mollee , the amount was agreed and I returned the letter on Octber 2nd, After dozens of phone calls and promises that the cheque was going out in the next few days , I finally received my cheque on December 23rd (w00t) . Ive cancelled 2 of the 5 policies I have with them . the one s I am keeping are Mayzee who is now past the age that new insurance companies will take and now that Mollee`s cheque has come I will be cancelling hers too :- "

As regard not paying excess, I found that if you paid £70.00 excess , instead of paying £12.40 per month the amount went down to £8.40, As you dont ( hopefully ) want to have to make a claim . over just one year you would be saving £56.00 a year from your monthly payments o and you would need to be really unlucky if you had to make more than one claim a year wouldnt you :- " :luck: :luck:

 

[Joanna]

I was quoted £5 extra per year on each policy for no excess with M&S. It made pennies difference in the montly payment. We have claimed once with RSPCA when Archie tore his shoulder, they settled quickly, but the excess was about £40, total bill about £60. For small injuries and problems, I feel it is worth the extra dosh. The premium does not increase if you make a claim, only with age. It is also worth noting that subsequent animals get 10% discount, I insured Lizzie first as it was cheaper, and got the 10% off of Archie's insurance. I also checked about chronic problems, and it is £7000 per year cover which will continue on renewal for the following year.

Sorry you have had problems Jax.

 

[chelynnah]

As regard not paying excess,  I found that if you paid £70.00 excess , instead of paying £12.40 per month the amount went down to £8.40,  As you dont ( hopefully ) want to have to make a claim . over just one year you would be saving £56.00 a year from your monthly payments  o and you would need to be really unlucky if you had to make more than one claim a year wouldnt you  :- "  :luck:   :luck:

When I signed up with M&S I was going for the £50 excess, but as Joanna said it was a difference of about 25-30 pence a month to have no excess. Means I can claim back £45 for Savvy's back pain relief and chiropractor which I wouldn't have been able to do. If it had been a huge amount like with other companies then no way, but at pennies a month why not.

So far I'm impressed with them and their service.

Wendy

 

[*Lesley*]

[SIZE=21pt]WARNING  !! DO NOT USE E & L !![/SIZE]
( D B I ) is who they trade under too

I put in a claim for Mollee , the amount was agreed and I returned the letter on Octber 2nd,    After dozens of phone calls and promises that the cheque was going out in the next few days , I finally received my cheque on December 23rd  (w00t) . Ive cancelled 2 of the 5 policies I have with them .  the one s I am keeping are Mayzee who is now past the age that new insurance companies will take and now that Mollee`s cheque has come I will be cancelling hers too  :- " 

As regard not paying excess,  I found that if you paid £70.00 excess , instead of paying £12.40 per month the amount went down to £8.40,  As you dont ( hopefully ) want to have to make a claim . over just one year you would be saving £56.00 a year from your monthly payments  o and you would need to be really unlucky if you had to make more than one claim a year wouldnt you  :- "  :luck:   :luck:

I am with E&L (for now)when the bad publicity started for E&L on another thread Sienna was due her dewclaw op the next day so I had to ride it out, anyway at first they tried to claim that it came under nail clipping and was a pre existing condition so I told my vet and he said they were trying to get out of paying, so he wrote them a letter saying it was a necessary op for medical reasons, and they paid up but I am going to change asap.

 

[~Helen~]

Just bumping this up for Tina!

M&S ought to pay me a commission fee :b

 

[LasVegasNo1]

M&S ought to pay me a commission fee :b

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I agree, we've been with them coming up for two years now and have been recommending them to everyone :lol:

 

[»Tina«]

Thanks loads Helen :thumbsup: will go get a quote of M&S now!

 

[»Tina«]

just finished doing a quote with M&S and it works out dearer for me with them than with Tesco's (£6 per month dearer),

will do more research first though :thumbsup:

 

[~Helen~]

just finished doing a quote with M&S and it works out dearer for me with them than with Tesco's (£6 per month dearer),
will do more research first though  :thumbsup:

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I am surprised! Make sure you check all your entitlements with Tesco's though (and the excess) before you go for it :thumbsup: They might be cheaper because you're getting less cover.

 

[»Tina«]

Will do Helen thanks :thumbsup:

 

[chelynnah]

Yes Tesco's is cheaper, but unless they've changed things recently the maximum for any one condition is ONE year of payment or £2000 whichever comes first then they don't cover it any more.

M&S cover the condition for life with a max of £7000 total (not per condition) per year.

Definitely read the fine print before signing with anyone. A number of people I know have really lost out because their pet has had a chronic condition and they were with Tesco (or similar) and after the first year it's not covered - and they're stuck because if they change insurer it's still a preexisting condition so the new insurer won't cover it.

Wendy

 

[chelynnah]

M&S Update!

We've had it almost a year and I just got our renewal papers through. Our Premiums are IDENTICAL to last year! Chelsea turns 8 in November so I expected to not be able to use the 'no excess' and pay 15% for her treatments - but because her policy renewal is while she's still 7, we don't have to worry about that till next year!

So - I'm definitely pleased we made the switch.

Savannah has allergies which mainifested before we changed, so we get an antihistamine for her ever month that we have to pay for, but to be honest it's worth the savings of £27 a month (which is what we would have been paying extra with PetPlan) to pay £9 a month for anithistamines. We're still ahead of the game.

Wendy

 

[Whip]

I'm thinking about M&S after reading the above for my 3 will be 4 soon. How does it work after they are 8 years old do you have to pay the excess from then on as it seems expensive.

Until they are 8 though it seems a really good deal.

Simon

 

[chelynnah]

After they're 8 the premiums stay the same, but you can't choose the no excess option and you pay I think 15% of the total bill. But it stays at that for the rest of their lives. With ones like Petplan it the excess increases PLUS the % increases at which point it's not worth it. Part of the reason we switched was that the 'senior' plan was soo much better.

If you go to the M&S site you can download all the terms and conditions there.

Wendy

 

[clairej810]

I used Petplan for years and the premiums and excesses were breaking the bank! I changed to M&S and they are much cheaper and still do life cover, obviously they don't cover pre-existing conditions so I couldn't insure my diabetic cat with them but my other cat and 2 gh's are with M&S now.

With regard to the cost of drugs from the vet - has anyone tried Vet Medic, www.vet-medic.com , they are quite a lot cheaper and do prescription diets as well. They were recommended to me by Oscars pet food, all you have to do is ask for a prescription from your vet. Also vet's apparently can't charge for writing a prescription from the end of October (don't know how accurate that is though.)

 

[Jones]

We insured Teasel with M&S and waited for Leon and Picco's Direct Line insurance to run out and then tried to insure with M&S

First we tried the website, it all seemed to go through o.k :thumbsup: waited for the documents :unsure: and waited :b and waited :b

So after nearly a fortnight I rang them and was told that it hadn't gone through on the website as they'd been having problems with it :unsure:

But it was o.k they'd sort it out now over the phone :thumbsup: next day 4 sets of documents come through the letterbox :b

One set dated a fortnight before so obviously the internet ones and one set from the day before :b

This is the first annoying bit :angry: when I checked my bank account the next day they'd taken out payment for all four policies the day before even though I was assured over the phone they hadn't gone through :b which was a bit of a shock as its almost £500 (w00t)

Since then almost 2 months ago :angry: and after too many phone calls to count I'm still waiting for my refund on the two surplus policies and all I'm getting is apologies and empty promises from the call centre staff :b

To be honest if I thought I'd have any chance of getting all my money back from them I'd cancel Teasel, Leon and Picco's policies with them :unsure: reading feedback on here about them they seem very prompt paying out on claims they just don't seem so keen to refund their mistakes :angry:

Cheers

Steve

 

[whippetsrus]

I've read through various threads here about the pros and cons of pet insurance (rip-off, or vital factor of dog ownership) and thought I'd do what some K9ers have done and not have an official policy but squirrel away £20 a month in the building society, earning the interest for Josie and having a nice little nest egg to pay the vet should something terrible happen.
However, I've just had some literature through via the Kennel Club called Crufts Pet Healthcare which is a new plan for just £11.50 a month. This admittedly low and rather tempting sum covers veterinary fees up to £1500 for each and every illness or accident during the policy year, £1million third party, boarding kennel up to £500, holiday cancellation up to £1000, and a few free helplines.

What d'you all reckon - go for it or not? Seems v cheap as all the other quotes were £15-£20 per month. But there's bound to be a catch, isn't there. Does anyone know about this company, or already have this policy??

cheers,

Helen

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I'll give you a recent experience of mine and then let you draw your own conclusions.

Al recently went to the vets with a temperature of 104, lethargic, off his food. One of those situations were you know there is something wrong but no definate answers. Was prescribed antibiotics and given an injection to get is temperature down. He was on daily trips to the vets for three days with injections for his temperature. Eventually this came down and stayed down and he was left to finish his course of anitbiotics.

No improvement and I ended up taking him back. Temperature back up to 104. Blood tests taken and injection given to sort the temperature. Telephone call the next day and a trip to the vets to get stronger antibiotics and oral Metacam.

Friday evening emergency trip to the vets Albus had gone into shock. It turns out something had ruptured and looked to have filled his chest cavity with fluid. Albus was too sick to treat immediately. Treated for shock and was taken home. Trip to the vets the next day. X-rays showed fluid on his chest. An area was shaved to allow a needle to be inserted between two of his ribs to drain of the fluid. Another trip to the vets on Monday and another set of x-rays to make sure the problem had been sorted. The fluid was sent for analysis. Albus was then treated with several weeks of antibiotics to get rid of the infection.

To put this in perspective of cost:

Emergency vet call-out - £116

X-rays - £80 for 2 plates

Fluid analysis - £50

All I will say is that the final bill was nearly £600. Safe to say that I am insured and my excess was only £40. Our insurance covers up to £4000 per item per year.

Two years ago Beau picked up a virus which sent his heart beat awol. He ended up spending three days as a resident. Nothing serious but at the time looked that way that ran to £700.

Every time my insurance renewal comes through I think should I or shouldn't I but I know that whatever happens I am covered and it is worth it for the peace of mind it gives. I know I have a safety net when I walk through the vets door, I am not worry what every procedure costs before they do it. I should point out that despite my claims I have had no major increase in premiums nor any restrictions on my policy.

My insurance is with the NFU and is £14 something per dog. I have never had major problems getting my acocunt paid and they are happy to pay the vet directly, although the vets are not all keen on this. They are pleasant to deal with and always put your pet first.

I have dealt with a couple of insurance companies and not all are like this.

Hope this helps.