CockersOnline Forum

Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Insurance => Topic started by: QuaCKeReD on September 01, 2013, 09:45:47 PM

Title: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: QuaCKeReD on September 01, 2013, 09:45:47 PM
Ok, so may be a silly question, but what is the best insurance policy, for cover (cost aside)?

So far I see;
Axa - pricing people out of policies, moved to sun alliance underwriting
John Lewis - moved to sun alliance, renewals not bad.
M&S - ?
Argos - average price, cheap renewals (no southern comfort needed :-) )
Pet friends, etc - cheap, but comments to stay away (no backing though?)
Pet Plan - one of most expensive, but so far no complaints on cover or payout? And renewals not bad.

We are getting first puppy, from breeder, in 2 weeks.  Get the free 4 week cover with PP, but looking for best 'long term' policy to carry on afterwards???

Cheers for any advice
Mark
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: hilhames on September 01, 2013, 09:57:29 PM
I am wrestling with same problem I have a friend who uses RSA and this is her second year with a lab and it was £20 now £29 but she has had no claims yet.
Am thinking might bite bullet and go with Pet Plan.  Am checking with another couple of friends and am also posting on Moneysavingexpert where lots of people have dogs,, will post further whatever I find out.  Your post good as brings all the points together so made my MSE post easier...
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: JennyBee on September 01, 2013, 10:50:13 PM
AXA are a definite no-no: they are no longer taking on new customers. I am with PetPlan, and the way things are now I would personally only ever go with a company that is solely focused on the pet market. I think it is a very tricky decision to make these days, as you don't know if some point in the near future another company is going to decide pet insurance isn't profitable enough :-\.

PetPlan is expensive - and one thing to consider is that once  your dog reaches a certain age you have to pay a percentage of each claim - but I have to say they have been brilliant for me. I have claimed a LOT in the last year and a half over various conditions with Brodie and they haven't questioned a single thing. I am hoping with crossed fingers that when my renewal comes through (should be soon) that the rise isn't too high. I am also hoping that because they solely focus on pets they will remain stable financially - I would be stuffed if I had to find another insurer :P.

Just to give you an example of Petplan's prices (although a lot of factors influence things, of course). I paid about £23 a month when Brodie was a pup and now she is aged five I pay £40.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: SophieBlueRoanLover on September 01, 2013, 10:55:48 PM
Mark - whichever you go with, please bear in mind that you're not covered for anything that happens or is diagnosed during the first 14 days of cover (it's usually 14 days, but with some policies it is 30 days), so it might be worth taking a policy out before the other one expires.

Be very careful with who choose. I would probably advise PetPlan, in spite of them being the most expensive, as they are dedicated to pet insurance, and therefore less likely to screw you over, as Axa has done with me (you are lucky not to be able to go with Axa - they have ruined the last 4 days of my life with the worry about what to do with my dog's ongoing insurance!).
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: hilhames on September 01, 2013, 11:05:05 PM
JennyBee I have decided to go with PetPlan, they underwrite and are specialists and prices seem to be swings and roundabouts.
Can I be cheeky and ask which level of cover you have - there are so many possible extras my head is spinning.  I wish I had investigated this before having my pup as it would have been a less stressful time to make the decision.
Pet insurance seems so complex although I suppose its just that we are used to the ins and outs of car insurance, house insurance etc!
Thank you so much,you have been very helpful with several of my questions.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: JennyBee on September 01, 2013, 11:35:48 PM
Not cheeky at all - I have the Covered for Life Classic, I'm not sure I could afford their top policy, as much as I'd love to :P. Excess is £90 per condition. Like I said, they have paid out each and every time, which has taken a lot of stress out of things. My vet claims from them direct, but I know not all vets do that.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Panda on September 02, 2013, 06:10:11 AM
My vet told me he has never had a refusal to pay with Petplan and advised me to steer clear of 'supermarket policies' and Animal Friends - having said that I know people who have never had problems with either but I will stick with Petplan for piece of mind.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: butterflywings21 on September 02, 2013, 08:01:02 AM
We are with petplan, Tilly is nearly 7 months and and we have already claimed for her eye (1600  :o). Can't fault them (at the moment). We will stay with them when we need to renew.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: dipsydoodlenoodle on September 02, 2013, 12:19:21 PM
We are with John Lewis...for the benefits...life long cover of illnesses (but most do this)...but they cover medical costs to £10,000 a year, most do £7,000. There were other reasons I chose them but I can't remember.

My renewal had a wrong DOB for Charlie, I phoned them to change it...I got through quickly and the girl I spoke to was really polite :). That is my one dealing with them.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Jane57 on September 02, 2013, 01:13:21 PM
I have had good experience with John Lewis and stayed with them for the 2nd year.
They send out claims forms promptly and have had the cheque processed within a week.
I also have lifetime cover and up to £10k vets fees per year.

Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: BobnDot on September 02, 2013, 02:46:37 PM
Both Milly and Chaz are with Animal Friends. We had a £700+ claim for Milly in the first year which was paid in full within seven days and they spotted a mistake in our vet's bill which meant we'd under claimed by £22....They paid out on the corrected amount  :clapping:.

Milly's insurance started off three years ago at £140 per annum and her recent renewal was £190. Chaz's started off at £190 last October.
Both are for £7000 per condition, lifetime cover with a £90 excess.

Some people have reported problems with Animal Friends but I think that nearly every insurance company will have both good and bad reports. From our experience with them so far we'll be staying with Animal Friends.

Bob.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: abzy0309 on September 02, 2013, 03:11:44 PM
This is such a useful thread! I am having the same problem.... It's such a lot to take in.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: hilhames on September 02, 2013, 11:55:26 PM
JennyBee, can I just check - the PetPlan Classic for Life, you have it with £7000 cover per year?  The alternative is £4000 which is maybe not enough? Or is it?   Thanks
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: JennyBee on September 03, 2013, 12:40:51 AM
Yes I have the £7000 - £4000 seems far too low for me. After having a terrible time with Brodie's health last year I know all too well how things add up! Her three visits to the ear specialist alone were £1000. Goodness knows how much her many, many visits to our own vet have cost :P
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: QuaCKeReD on September 03, 2013, 07:07:14 AM
Isn't that £4000 per condition? As opposed to per year?

In which case I was thinking same; not enough...
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: JennyBee on September 03, 2013, 12:34:22 PM
I'm not sure, I tried to find out on their website but couldn't see clear answer to that... Will have to get her paperwork out. Either way, I still don't think £4000 is anywhere near enough.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: QuaCKeReD on September 03, 2013, 01:14:54 PM
Just called PP;

The vet bill amount is total amount claimable each year of cover
There is no limit, on the covered for life policies, per condition

Sounds good, and the lady I spoke to stated that PP will never up premiums based on previous claims (I asked) - only increase will be due to vet costs, etc.

At £28pm (quoted with the 10% discount) for the £7000 cover, it is a little high compared to some others, but the knowledge that we wont be hit by a high renewal if we ever needed to claim is swaying me!
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Patp on September 03, 2013, 05:05:33 PM
Great thread, but one thing I would be interested in knowing is when it comes to shopping around at renewal, do you have to declare every vet visit you have made even though not claimed?  For instance eye / ear infections?

I would hate to change insurers then want to make a claim but the vet say that I saw them 2 years ago with a similar problem (even though I never made a claim?)
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: JennyBee on September 03, 2013, 05:34:08 PM
Great thread, but one thing I would be interested in knowing is when it comes to shopping around at renewal, do you have to declare every vet visit you have made even though not claimed?  For instance eye / ear infections?

I would hate to change insurers then want to make a claim but the vet say that I saw them 2 years ago with a similar problem (even though I never made a claim?)

If I am remembering right I believe they go by your vet's records, so yes, I think you would have problems if you tried to claim at some point in the future :-\.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Patp on September 03, 2013, 05:37:56 PM
mmm thought so, stuck then really with who you are with!!!
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Nicola on September 03, 2013, 09:50:03 PM
Mine are with Healthy Pets, I've claimed a huge amount for Tilly over the years - around £10k - and never had a problem or a quibbled claim with them. The gold level cover is up to £7500 per condition per year - there's no limit on the number of conditions - it's lifetime cover and they cover alternative therapies etc. Tilly's had hydrotherapy on them. The premiums have gone up but they started off very low; I pay about £90/month for all 3 of them which is pretty good considering Ro and Tills have been insured with them for about 6 years now and I've claimed so much for Tills. I also have separate working insurance for Ro and Caoimhe as thir normal policies don't cover accidents on shoots/roughshooting etc.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Neon on September 03, 2013, 11:47:46 PM
I'm with John Lewis (renewal due 29 Sept) and they paid out very promptly for grass seed removal.  I'm currently waiting (with baited breath) after claiming for Toby's recent tummy problem, which was eventually diagnosed as gastro enteritis.  He had this condition before but I didn't claim (was with a different insurer then) so John Lewis could refuse to pay if they choose to class this as an ongoing condition, even though the vet has confirmed this recent episode is unrelated to the previous one.  Also expecting a big increase in premiums too.
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: QuaCKeReD on September 04, 2013, 07:51:17 AM
mmm thought so, stuck then really with who you are with!!!

This is my thinking - hence wanting to find 'best' one from start (best not necessarily cheapest!)
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: QuaCKeReD on September 04, 2013, 07:54:11 AM
I'm with John Lewis (renewal due 29 Sept) and they paid out very promptly for grass seed removal.  I'm currently waiting (with baited breath) after claiming for Toby's recent tummy problem, which was eventually diagnosed as gastro enteritis.  He had this condition before but I didn't claim (was with a different insurer then) so John Lewis could refuse to pay if they choose to class this as an ongoing condition, even though the vet has confirmed this recent episode is unrelated to the previous one.  Also expecting a big increase in premiums too.


Be interested to know if you have a big increase  :-\
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Neon on September 04, 2013, 11:40:22 AM
I'm with John Lewis (renewal due 29 Sept) and they paid out very promptly for grass seed removal.  I'm currently waiting (with baited breath) after claiming for Toby's recent tummy problem, which was eventually diagnosed as gastro enteritis.  He had this condition before but I didn't claim (was with a different insurer then) so John Lewis could refuse to pay if they choose to class this as an ongoing condition, even though the vet has confirmed this recent episode is unrelated to the previous one.  Also expecting a big increase in premiums too.


Be interested to know if you have a big increase  :-\

I'll let you know.  I was hoping for the renewal notice by now to give me time to find a different insurer if the increase is very high. 
Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: BobnDot on September 06, 2013, 08:14:02 PM
Just a wee update on my previous post...

We've just had Chaz's renewal in from Animal Friends.

The premium for the coming year is £207-84, an increase of £17-84 over the previous year's £190.

So, at £17-52 per month equivalent we'll be sticking with them  ;).

Bob.

Title: Re: Best insurance...if there is there such a thing?
Post by: Neon on September 09, 2013, 12:41:26 PM
I'm with John Lewis (renewal due 29 Sept) and they paid out very promptly for grass seed removal.  I'm currently waiting (with baited breath) after claiming for Toby's recent tummy problem, which was eventually diagnosed as gastro enteritis.  He had this condition before but I didn't claim (was with a different insurer then) so John Lewis could refuse to pay if they choose to class this as an ongoing condition, even though the vet has confirmed this recent episode is unrelated to the previous one.  Also expecting a big increase in premiums too.


Be interested to know if you have a big increase  :-\

I'll let you know.  I was hoping for the renewal notice by now to give me time to find a different insurer if the increase is very high. 

John Lewis premiums up from £12.97 to £18.10 a month so I suppose not too bad.  (Vet posted claim form for gastro enteritis two weeks ago and today JL have said they haven't received them so if they had that might have increased the premiums more).