Insurance - Yet Again

[Max X 2]

Max's insurance is due for renewal, M&S as most of us know have changed alot of T&C's as well as increasing premiums & excess.

More Th>n seem to offer a good policy from what I can see & Healthy Pets are approx the same price.
More Than offer £7,000 in Vet Fees & have an excess of £70
Healthy Pets is £5,000 & £50 excess

However, I cant see on the Healthy Pets website any other details - ie 3rd party liability, advertising & rewards etc that are all detailed on the More Than site (which incidentally like M&S is now underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance)

Can anybody advise or have any comments regarding either Company?


I also need to look at travel insurance - I bet it wont take me half as long as this 

[emilymae]

Have a look at Halifax, I've just insured Emily with them, and they seem quite comprehensive, and reasonably priced too. 

[Max X 2]

Have a look at Halifax, I've just insured Emily with them, and they seem quite comprehensive, and reasonably priced too. 

Thanks but they work out slightly dearer here & I think the vets fees of £6,000 were only covered for 12 months

[Karma]

We are with More Than, though have never had to claim.... they came very well recommended by a colleague of OH, who has claimed through them....

[michelle123]

We're with Healthy Pets.  I'll fish out my policy and have a look 

[Max X 2]

We're with Healthy Pets.  I'll fish out my policy and have a look 

Thanks Michelle but they've just emailed this to me - very promptly I have to say 

Thank you for your e-mail.
 
Please find below a list of benefits:
 
 
 
Bronze              Silver                Gold   
£1,000              £3,000              £5,000              Vet's Fees
£50                   £50                   £50                   Vet Fees Excess
Yes                  Yes                  Yes                  Cover for ongoing conditions** 
No                    No                    £500                 Accidental Damage
not covered       £250                 £750                 Death from Illness*
not covered       £250                 £750                 Death from Accident*
not covered       £250                 £750                 Advertising & Reward
not covered       £250                 £750                 Theft or Straying
£1,000,000        £1,000,000        £1,000,000        Third Party Liability & Legal Expenses Dogs Only
not covered       £250                 £1000               Boarding Kennel Fees
not covered       £250                 £2,000              Holiday Cancellation
Yes                  Yes                  Yes                  Veterinary Helpline
Yes                  Yes                  Yes                  Bereavement Counselling Helpline
Yes                  Yes                  Yes                  Pet Legal Helpline
Yes                  Yes                  Yes                  Pet Minders Helpline
Yes                  Yes                  Yes                  Pay Vet Direct
30 days            30 days            12 months         Overseas Travel

Notes
Third Party Liability Excess is £100. Accidental damage Excess is £100.
* This section does not apply in the case of Dogs that are 9 or more years old and cats that are 11 or more years old.
** Subject to cover remaining in force and the original policy limit.

[michelle123]

Have just found my policy   

Must admit that on the occasion that I have had to e mail them they have been extremely prompt with their response 

[SimonandMandy]

It is worth checking with your local vets - we have a specialist insurance advisor at ours being a larger clinic in the area and they produce quite a helpful sheet which was last updated in December 07. 

They recommend 'cover for life' policies and their current recommendations on this list are Petplan standard or supreme, Axa or Greenbee.  M&S was recently removed due to the deletion of some key benefits.

They do advise to be very careful about whether the fees claimable are renewed each year or only cover for 12 months as there is no long term cover and then if you try and change insurer it becomes a pre exisiting condition therefore excluded.  (recent policy types of this nature include Argoes Silver & Gold, Tesco Standard, E&L, Churchill, Asda, Direct Line Essential, Petplan Value)

Also be aware of maximum benefit policies which have a fixed maximum as this can reduce long term cover (e.g. sainsburys)

It is unfortunate that you have to be sure from the start of your insurer as unlike other insurances you can't make them compete as they catch you with making any previous treatments pre-existing conditions...

Hope this helps...

[Max X 2]

Thanks SimonandMandy 

I did look at our vets website & they mention Petplan

I think I'll go off & do an excel spreadsheet so I can clearly see the comparisons 

Greenbee (who I'd never heard off before) seem to have a very comprehensive policy IMO, they work out slightly more expensive, but nothing like as expensive as M&S & still £3/month cheaper than I paid last year.
One of the main things I was indeed looking at was that the plan covers for life & not just 12 months.

One thing I did notice that obviously they all ask if your pet has been examined/treated for any condition - although Healthy Pets only say in the last 12 months 

[wend]

We have just claimed for Summer on our 'More Than' Pet Insurance. Can't fault them, we recieved the check within a week. It costs us £11 per month.

[SimonandMandy]

It is well worth doing a spreadsheet - in process of doing the same (and trying to add our cat) and have found that there are big variations and weighing up whether saving on excesses outweighs higher monthly costs and overall benefits etc

I might be wrong but when I read wording of healthy pets it is one that is maximum benefit per condition and not cover for life with renewal full amount each year?   Below is the bit from their FAQ's... 

Am I covered for ongoing conditions?
YES - Healthy Pets will cover you for ongoing conditions up to the maximum benefit of your policy (£1000, £3000 or £5000) subject to you renewing your policy with us and premiums being paid up to date.

Having just seen wend's post the other thing you can also check with your vets is which ones they can claim direct from to save you having to pay the bill upfront and recover the monies - with some plans you only pay the excess and your vet clinic deals with the rest for you

Sorry if that adds more confusion

[Nicola]

I changed mine from M&S to Healthy Pets, I'm happy with them so far, they're dealing with the claim for Rodaidh's leg op really quickly and they've confirmed to me via e-mail that if his other knee were to go as well (god forbid) that would also be covered.

[tillyson]

Tilly's with petpals not had to claim though, we have got the lifelong cover and pay £17.19 a month
petpals is with domestic & general, same as my washing machine and that has always been ok when i've needed to make a claim 

[JenSam]

Sam is insured with More Than and we just had his renewal in the other day.  It only went up by approx 50p a month.  We've never claimed, so can't comment on their service.

[debbie321]

I always praise Healthy Pets in these topics and they haven't let me down yet    Ben isn't 3 yet but I've claimed more than I've paid!

The last claim was for the 'squits' ............... OK it sounds simple but he was really poorly and the vet bill reached over £100.  I put in the claim form expecting them to cough up the £52 after taking off the excess but received a cheque for the full amount   

I didn't query this (wonder why  ) but can only assume that as he had this problem when he was young they counted this as ongoing and I'd already been docked the £50 excess?

In short - they have great cover (I have the gold plan), it's really cheap compared to others, they are friendly and helpful on the phone, they pay up without query (within the month) ................... on my experience I'd recommend them