M&S insurance - older dogs

[Mel]

I've just had a quote of £303 from M&S for my dog. He's 9. They also want an excess so I went with £80 to lower the premium. They ALSO want 15% of the cost of treatment.

What is that all about then?
Why isn't that covered in the premium?
I have to say seems a bit of a swizz to me.

Is this normal?

[PennyB]

Other insurers do this as well once a pet reaches a certain age

[suki1964]

There are very few insurers who will even insure a dog of that age, and most that do will only insure for treatment to a certain amount - not lifetime.

Have a look on moneysupermarket see whats available and compare prices and policies

[Mel]

Thank u both for your advice.

[*Jay*]

Try More Than. I insured my old boy with them when he was 10. The excess was about £75 but there was no % to pay towards the claim

[shonajoy]

I've just had a quote of £303 from M&S for my dog. He's 9. They also want an excess so I went with £80 to lower the premium. They ALSO want 15% of the cost of treatment.

What is that all about then?
Why isn't that covered in the premium?
I have to say seems a bit of a swizz to me.

Is this normal?

If you have had insuranc before, it is slightly less - if you haven't, and are insuring an older dog for the first time, I think they just throw everything they can at you to cover themselves. Like Gill said, try MoreThan - if you take out a policy online with them, rather than phoning, you also save an extra 10%.

[Mel]

Hi and thanks again for your thoughts.

I looked at more than and it's currently £100 more a year in premiums and £95 excess or 20% of the claim. Swings and round abouts really.

From More Than:

If your dog is less than 9 at the time of treatment, your excess will be £75.00 or 15% of the total amount claimed - whichever is more. If your dog is 9 or older at the time of treatment, your excess will be £95.00 or 20% of the total amount claimed - whichever is more.

M&S is £80 excess £100 less premiums a year and 15% of the remainder cost. So on a £1000 claim M&S is £150 plus £80 which is £230. My quote was £303 so 230 + 303 = £533. More Than is £200 plus 387.48 which is their quote that = £587.48 so in a very silly way M&S seems cheaper!

Either way its a bit of a rip off! What exactly am I paying a premium for?

[shonajoy]

Hve you had insurance before? It does seem expensive.

[Mel]

Not for sometime. I know it should be a priority but it ran out 3 years ago when mum had her 1st stroke & I gave up work to care for her.

[shonajoy]

If he's in good health I'd try and get hold of his records and fax them to insurance company. I think they do tend to give higher quotes with older dogs anyway, but more so if they have previously been uninsured as some owners may just insure the dog as they suspect a problem - it would be worth giving them a phone and explaining your situation. They may also just give high quots to discourage people using them, as they hav to pay out more for older dogs.

Also, it may work out better for you just putting the money into a bank account every month , and using that instead of paying for insurance, if that proves too costly. I know some people who feel this is a better idea than insurance.

[Mel]

That's a very good idea actually. Thanks I might try that!