Axa

[8 Hairy Feet]

After having a stupid hike in my
insurance premium for Ellie
(despite no claims) I decide to move to Axa.
I got an excellent quote online and although
I had difficulty retrieving it the following week
one of the staff has gone above and beyond to
help me and I would like to give them a big
thumbs up. (Thanks Reuben!)
So the insurance premium for this year is....
136 quid... not 497 as quoted by Argos
steffxxx

[piph]

Steff - do they cover the dog for life and do you have to pay anything towards each claim, apart from the yearly excess?

[Lovely]

I'm with AXA and am also happy with the cost in comparison with other insurers. I would say though that they are not hugely quick at paying out on a claim, and I have had both brilliant and awful help when contacting them. I will not name the very unhelpful person, but will mention a lady called Rosie who has been absolutely fantastic. Mine is lifetime cover I think max on each condition is £7000 and I pay £75 excess for each claim.

[ali2010]

We are with AXA , again up to £7000 per condition and we've had to make 4 claims within the last year and a half, they have paid up every time (so far so good)

[SophieBlueRoanLover]

I'm also with Axa, and have been pleased with the speed with which they paid out, but the process for claiming is a bit hit-and-miss - ie. you have to phone and leave a message and then wait for them to send you the claim forms - I never received mine, so ended up going through to the customer services, and they sent lots of forms!

I'd be interested to know whether people who've had to claim have had massive hikes in premiums. With Henry's recent diagnosis of a cataract I'm expecting a fair amount of costs this year, so don't want the premium to go through the roof...

[tonio]

Expect a major hike on renewal in my very recent experience.

[Maria]

Expect a major hike on renewal in my very recent experience.

And ours.....
and just read on FB that they are stopping pet insurance, but will arrange future cover for dogs with ongoing conditions!!!

[supergirl]

Expect a major hike on renewal in my very recent experience.

And ours.....
and just read on FB that they are stopping pet insurance, but will arrange future cover for dogs with ongoing conditions!!!

Are you sure? - I've just had a renewal for Ellie come through, and while she has no ongoing conditions I wouldn't have thought that they would want to renew her policy if they were no longer going to offer pet insurance.      Perhaps they're not going to underwrite some of the other pet insurers anymore.

[Holly Berry]

Expect a major hike on renewal in my very recent experience.

And ours.....
and just read on FB that they are stopping pet insurance, but will arrange future cover for dogs with ongoing conditions!!!

Are you sure? - I've just had a renewal for Ellie come through, and while she has no ongoing conditions I wouldn't have thought that they would want to renew her policy if they were no longer going to offer pet insurance.      Perhaps they're not going to underwrite some of the other pet insurers anymore.

It's true, just phoned them. Chap on the phone said he believes its because the claims are outstripping the premiums! I'm not suprised, as vets fees are so high and they seem to offer meds or procedures for everything these days 
Apparently just before the policy expires they will offer an alternative provider, probably underwritten by the same co as axa and will offer as near as possible to existing policy. Wait to see. Disappointed as have been really pleased with them, although only ever made one claim when Rosie broke her tooth.

[supergirl]

Seems strange, Ellie's insurance expires in two weeks and today I've received her renewal, no mention of an alternative.  If it is the case then it will affect a lot of pet insurance providers as AXA underwrite a lot of them.

ETA:
have just seen this on their website:

New business pet insurance is no longer available from AXA. Existing customers, you can still receive the support you need until your policy expires.

[Homebird]

It's obviously just happened because I was researching pet insurance yesterday and the site was still offering it - but not today.

Vet's fees have gone up tremendously - I wonder if it is because people have insurance and so they can charge more - years ago we were able to afford them and hardly anyone had insurance.  But perhaps the facilities are much better these days and obviously there are more expensive treatments.

If there is less insurance around or people can't afford premiums maybe consultation fees will go down! 

[ladylola]

This is what the Halifax and Lloyd's did.
Soon won't be able to get pet insurance at this rate. Or it will be extortionate premiums.

I really believe some vets are overcharging now people have pet insurance.

[supergirl]

I've just had a look at one comparison site and a lot of the insurers are asking for a percentage of the final bill along with the excess.  A few years ago with my first dog I had a similar policy and the vet bill was huge - that percentage soon adds up.  At the time it was 15% and on a £4500 bill thats £675.

I might try and see if they will renew Ellies policy as she has no pre-existing conditions.  Thankfully the other dogs policies (all with AXA) don't run out until Jan 2014

[jasper_boy]

I had Vixen's renewal through a couple of weeks ago, a 447% increase  went from £190 per year to over £1000 per year. She has a terminal illness that requires no ongoing treatment, so its not like there will be any huge claims before she dies.

I am seriously worried about this as I have all 4 of my dogs with Axa. I claimed the maximum amount 2 years running for Jacob's new hips and the MRI's on his spine. Its likely that there will more disc deterioration in the future and he will need treatment, so I am concerned as to how much his premium will increase each year.

[ali2010]

Seems strange, Ellie's insurance expires in two weeks and today I've received her renewal, no mention of an alternative.  If it is the case then it will affect a lot of pet insurance providers as AXA underwrite a lot of them.

ETA:
have just seen this on their website:

New business pet insurance is no longer available from AXA. Existing customers, you can still receive the support you need until your policy expires.

Oh no does this mean we won't be able to renew our policy? Think Alberts policy runs out in october and we are having ongoing tests on his for liver problems