CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Insurance => Topic started by: michelle77 on June 08, 2007, 12:19:47 PM
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Hi Everyone, i have just had my renewal for my dog insurance from M&S, i was paying £14 it has gone up to £22 and i have not claimed on it.
is this what other people pay, would i be able to get it cheaper with the same level of cover?
thanks
michelle
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I'm with M&S too, I think my renewal is due in July or August, so it is interesting to see how yours has gone up.
We have no excess and at the moment pay £10 something for one Newf, £11 something for the other one and yet we pay £17 something for Tia, which I have never thought makes sense as there is supposed to be 10% off what we pay for her anyway!
I don't think we have made a claim for any of the dogs in the last year, so if they put the price up too much I won't bother paying it, I shall just put £50 into an account every month just in case someone gives me a big bill ph34r
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Hi Everyone, i have just had my renewal for my dog insurance from M&S, i was paying £14 it has gone up to £22 and i have not claimed on it.
is this what other people pay, would i be able to get it cheaper with the same level of cover?
thanks
michelle
I think you might have been quite lucky with your timing, Michelle - the underwriters for M & S changed the way they assessed risk last year (about August, I think) - and a lot of people experienced higher premiums as a result ;)
From what I remember, the underwriters consider young, un-neutered males higher risk as they are more likely to get into fights and be injured - but I don't think they have actually provided the research that proves this ::)
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From what I remember, the underwriters consider young, un-neutered males higher risk as they are more likely to get into fights and be injured
I am with Halifax who is underwritten by the same company and my neutered male is no cheaper than my entire one. ::) I was hoping for a discount. :005:
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In addition, I dont believe that they actually ask the question about whether the dog is neutered or not - therefore if they dont ask the question they cant assess the risk on that basis :-\
Me thinks that there is another issue with M&S and that is having the premiums too low, gaining loads of business which inevitably invites claims therefore a big loss ratio. Having worked in insurance all of my working life this is the more likely scenario. Especially given the fact that the underwriter is AXA and another company offering similar cover with AXA havent increased their premiums :o
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I'm with Healthy Pets - £33 for both girls!!
Great level of cover too! ;)
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;) I'm with M&S too.
Flo's increased from appr £11 to £13.23 from April 2nd (Flo is 4yrs)
I insured Harley for the first time 2 wks ago and it was £17.70 - they did not ask if he was neutered ! Harley is (3yrs)
Both policies have no excess. When I asked why the difference between Flo and Harley she said that all premiums had increased in June and that male dogs were more expensive !
I don't know why there are so many differences in what we all pay with M&s ? I wonder if other insurers have so many differing rates ??
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I'm with Healthy Pets too. Gold cover for Ben was £5.65 per month. I've just added the two cats and it's now £14.62.
They're underwritten by Axa I think and their cover seems pretty good. I've made a couple of claims with no fuss.
www.healthy-pets.co.uk
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Healthy Pets here too. I am paying £12.09 pcm for the gold option with a £50 excess. Fern is nearly 8.
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I would love the choice of different insurance companies, however, because we live in germany the only pet insurance company for us is PetPlan. We pay £16 a month with a £ 50 excess.
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Was with M&S for the first year (Alfie £10.50ish & Charlie £9.45ish got 5% discount for having both insured whan but the renewal came it's gone to (£16ish & £13ish) even though I've never claimed, so now I gone with Healthy Pets both are now insured with the gold option for £17.50 (for both of them), they still have a policy each.
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A question for people who have switched insurers: has anyone experienced any problems with exclusions on the new policy?
I understood that even if you haven't claimed on the original policy, then the new insurer can exclude conditions linked to any treatment that your dog has received? :huh:
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No Rachel. My policy is with Healthy Pets and there are no exclusions.
I hadnt made a claim on the M&S policy and hope never to make a claim on this policy either ;)
An Insurer would have to have a justified reason for making an exclusion on a policy, dont think they can impose terms willy nilly above their standard policy wording :-\
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I use the AA they find the best prices i pay £9.75 for Norris and £7.20 for my cat Tilly.
Thats gold cover and i thought that was reasonable.
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I hadnt made a claim on the M&S policy and hope never to make a claim on this policy either ;)
An Insurer would have to have a justified reason for making an exclusion on a policy, dont think they can impose terms willy nilly above their standard policy wording :-\
I was thinking of when a dog has received treatment that hadn't been claimed for; that has to be declared too, doesn't it?
I had assumed we were tied into M & S for life, even though we haven't claimed - Molo has been treated for minor infections, and I asked for his eyes to be checked last year cos they were looking cloudy - even if nothing was found, could a new insurer exclude any eye treatment, for instance?
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M&S excluded lip fold problems on Dallas' policy when I first took it out as I had bought Hibiscrub for routine cleaning ::) He hadn't even been seen by a vet for it. They took it off 2 years later - just in time for the op being done :005: I put in a claim fully expecting it to be refused but they paid up. I till can't make sense of it :lol:
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Re Healthy Pets: Ferns two grass seed removal (ears) ops last year meant that grass seed removal is excluded for the first year but I fully expect them to remove the restriction on renewal in September. They excluded 'any pre-existing condition for which treatment was recommended or received during the previous 12 months'
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Our dogs are with Direct Line & the total premium is £40.50 for the 2 of them which compared to some of the premiums quoted by the rest of you does seem to be quite high.
However on the single time I claimed they did pay up quickly direct to my vet with no problem.
There is an excess of £65 for each dog; however my vet is very good about just charging me for the drugs used; he very seldom charges me if I just have a consultation. ;)
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There is an excess of £65 for each dog; however my vet is very good about just charging me for the drugs used; he very seldom charges me if I just have a consultation. ;)
OMG :o We pay £26 + VAT just for crossing the threshold of the consulting room........ ph34r
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Our consultation fee is £14. £7 if is is just a check up after treatment.
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We get charged an examination fee of £19 for every visit so it only takes us 2 visits to rack up enough to claim. If its just a very quick re-examination and no follow up is required then they may not charge but depends who you get and what mood they are in :005: :005:
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There is an excess of £65 for each dog; however my vet is very good about just charging me for the drugs used; he very seldom charges me if I just have a consultation. ;)
OMG :o We pay £26 + VAT just for crossing the threshold of the consulting room........ ph34r
I pay about £26 for the first consultation, £23 for the second & then I think £19 for the third.
In comparision to what you'd pay to see a private consultant it's not that bad :D
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There is an excess of £65 for each dog; however my vet is very good about just charging me for the drugs used; he very seldom charges me if I just have a consultation. ;)
OMG :o We pay £26 + VAT just for crossing the threshold of the consulting room........ ph34r
I pay about £26 for the first consultation, £23 for the second & then I think £19 for the third.
In comparision to what you'd pay to see a private consultant it's not that bad :D
I'd expect to be in the consulting room for a damn sight longer if I saw a private consultant - in some cases, I have been in with the vet for less than 2 minutes (even the receptionists have commented on how quick we are) - but we still get charged the same price :-\
I know it is horses for courses, and I could change vets if I was prepared to compromise on some areas/levels of service - but when I read about people who can pop their dog in for a quick check over for no fee, I seems a little unjust :shades:
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I have been in with the vet for less than 2 minutes (even the receptionists have commented on how quick we are) - but we still get charged the same price :-\
I know what you mean about the time span, I've been there too sometimes and been in and out in a flash but still pay the set standard price >:(
The only reason I won't change vets is because they are around around the corner & open 24/7 & therefore very convenient.
I'd expect to be in the consulting room for a damn sight longer if I saw a private consultant -
When I worked at Pr*ory the consultants charged around £250 for an initial consultation which lasted anything from half an hour to an hour :o
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My vets charge £25 + vat for the first consultation, but if you have to go back, say in 7 days to check up, or if you still have the same problem, then they just charge you for the meds you need.
I was chuffed when I found out that you can add up all the costs for the same problem through the year.
Betty had about 4 or 5 ear infections last year, each one costing £50 or £60 each time (a couple of months apart), but with £65 excess I though I couldnt claim. It was receptionist who told me its classed as one problem, so I could put them all together and get my money back :D. No probs with More Than!
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We pay £13.55 with tesco, Thought that was expensive until recent events. Worth every penny now.
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Just had my renewal for my 2 thru and nearly had kittens (!!!). Its now £42 - was £35. When I tried to change last year to find a more competitive quote everyone I tried would not take my older dog on - he's 10 years old - so have had to stay with Direct Line and now feel like they've got me over a barrel. :huh: Dont know what to do about it - the insurance for the dogs costs more than my car insurance!!! S'pose I could get rid of the car and harness the dogs up to one of those husky sled things intead :005:
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When I tried to change last year to find a more competitive quote everyone I tried would not take my older dog on - he's 10 years old - so have had to stay with Direct Line and now feel like they've got me over a barrel. :huh:
HAve you tried More Than? They have no upper age limit for new policies
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Thanks Gill......will have a look at that one! :D
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I pay £10.40 pcm with More Than, but I have other policies with them so I get a reduction.
Used to pay £14.00 with E & L for my other dog, but when I had to claim it took almost 5 months for them to pay up.
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Saffi wasn't insured immediately we got her, we did it when she was around 18 months. In that time she had had 2 visits to the vet for a consultation. The first time was for sickness/dia-wotsit and the 2nd was due to excessive scratching.
Treatment and drugs were prescribed for the first issue and nothing was prescribed for the second. She was 'just another itchy westie'. :005:
So when we came to insure her as we came to our senses we chose M&S as Jessie and then Hodge was with them and they excluded all skin complaints - for life!
No mention of any exclusions for dicky tums tho ::)
So they check your vet history and regardless whether you receive treatment or not they will use this information to provide exclusions.
We are currently having to pay for Saffi's imunotherapy treatment (as symptoms are itchy skin) which is pretty expensive!
Jane