Discussion
I've been with Tesco for 8 years and never made a claim. Yesterday I took my dog to the vets as he'd been throwing up a few nights in a row and wasn't seeming his usually self. Touch wood he seems better now after an injection and the vets took some blood tests to check everything was ok. The bill was £297. Is it worth claiming on my pet insurance with a £120 excess meaning I'd get £177 back or just leave it as my premiums will go up next year?
Bit pointless having insurance if you're not going to use it.
Personally I just stick the premiums in a metaphorical pot and will swallow the once in 30 years big bill.
Mine is 7 this year and hasn't had anything I could claim for but equally I couldn't complain if he costs me 5k tomorrow.
My sister just cancelled hers as they doubled the premium, pushing £100pm for 2 dogs.
Personally I just stick the premiums in a metaphorical pot and will swallow the once in 30 years big bill.
Mine is 7 this year and hasn't had anything I could claim for but equally I couldn't complain if he costs me 5k tomorrow.
My sister just cancelled hers as they doubled the premium, pushing £100pm for 2 dogs.
bigtime said:
I've been with Tesco for 8 years and never made a claim. Yesterday I took my dog to the vets as he'd been throwing up a few nights in a row and wasn't seeming his usually self. Touch wood he seems better now after an injection and the vets took some blood tests to check everything was ok. The bill was £297. Is it worth claiming on my pet insurance with a £120 excess meaning I'd get £177 back or just leave it as my premiums will go up next year?
Yes, definitely claim. In my experience, pet insurance premiums don't tend to go up just because you've claimed; they tend to have set thresholds for increases, mainly based on age. Also, if (hopefully not) it turned out to be a long-term condition which requires ongoing treatment, you may as well start the process now.Hope your dog stays well.
bigtime said:
I wish I had just put the £300 per year in a pot as would have £2400 by now. Seems daft to stop paying now though with him getting older.
Would you still be saying that if you had to get emergency treatment tomorrow costing 7k? This happened to a friend of mine recently, no issues for years and then bang, emergency back operation which his 7k limit only just covered. I debated the whole pay insurance or keep a pot when we got our puppy last year but decided £300 per year or so was worth the peace of mind for what is a member of the family. I pay a lot more for my own private health cover. I may feel differently as she gets older and premiums increase/cover limit decreases and at that point will reassess.
In answer to your question, I suppose it depends on what a claim would do to your future premiums but I'm not sure how that works compared to, say, car insurance. I get the feeling it will be more a case of what might or might not be covered in the future rather than increasing the cost. Hopefully someone with experience will be able to answer that.
Pet insurance premiums are usually based on many factors ( obviously Vets costs ,but breed , age and even areas of UK etc ) but rarely does it seem that the actual loss experience of the individual pet is taken into account unless coincidental !
That said with each renewal it gets much more difficult to try and work out the cost v benefits especially with the way in which Excesses are applied.
We don't insure our Cats, and with Dogs we tend to buy the insurance until around 5 or so or when the premium just starts to feel silly.
Horses are a different issue but tend to also have an issue with all Insurers that when a certain ailment strikes which is paid out for that exclusion then applies for any " new " claims that share similar characteristics !
The other option as a few have said is simply never to buy Insurance and build up a pot - with Vets fees the way they have been going up over the last few years , its relatively easy to erode said pot very quickly unfortunately.
That said with each renewal it gets much more difficult to try and work out the cost v benefits especially with the way in which Excesses are applied.
We don't insure our Cats, and with Dogs we tend to buy the insurance until around 5 or so or when the premium just starts to feel silly.
Horses are a different issue but tend to also have an issue with all Insurers that when a certain ailment strikes which is paid out for that exclusion then applies for any " new " claims that share similar characteristics !
The other option as a few have said is simply never to buy Insurance and build up a pot - with Vets fees the way they have been going up over the last few years , its relatively easy to erode said pot very quickly unfortunately.
ChocolateFrog said:
Personally I just stick the premiums in a metaphorical pot and will swallow the once in 30 years big bill.
That's absolutely fine, providing you have the funds to cover that occasional very big bill on the day after you decide pet insurance isn't worth it. Once every 30 years might not be 30 years away, it could be 30 hours away. TwigtheWonderkid said:
That's absolutely fine, providing you have the funds to cover that occasional very big bill on the day after you decide pet insurance isn't worth it. Once every 30 years might not be 30 years away, it could be 30 hours away.
Or in the case of 2 of my wife's horses its been 2 weekends running where emergency vet needed to be called out - who knew that horse fly bites could get so bad so quickly !With subsequent drugs and return visits I guess that's another £1,500 or so with no Insurance applicable.
Obviously one isn't allowed to name and shame but I'd stay away from Many Problems as they just don't pay claims promptly. We've had two claims with them, the last one took 4 months for them to pay, after we chased and chased, two months for them to even start to contact the vets, during which tome we were threatened with legal action for payment.
Now we have another outstanding claim, which they haven't touched for two months and again the vets are chasing payment with us, Many Problems haven't even started processing, despite many emails and two phone calls with promises they will action.
We are going to be looking for another Insurance company, anyone got any suggestions. MP are around £41 a month, PetPlan are over £60
Now we have another outstanding claim, which they haven't touched for two months and again the vets are chasing payment with us, Many Problems haven't even started processing, despite many emails and two phone calls with promises they will action.
We are going to be looking for another Insurance company, anyone got any suggestions. MP are around £41 a month, PetPlan are over £60
I've always had insurance for my cats - and have had three large claims (and a couple of small ones).
First big one was £2,400 for the amputation of my cat's tail.
Second big one was £7,600 for the placement, and ultimate removal of a plate in my cat's palate.
Third big one was £6,500 for the repairs to my cat's femur after he broke it into 3 pieces (that was the same cat as the 2nd big claim - he's been through the wars!)
Even my first claim, which was £350, resulted in me being paid more than the premiums I'd done up to that point.
I'm pretty sure I've made a 'profit'.
First big one was £2,400 for the amputation of my cat's tail.
Second big one was £7,600 for the placement, and ultimate removal of a plate in my cat's palate.
Third big one was £6,500 for the repairs to my cat's femur after he broke it into 3 pieces (that was the same cat as the 2nd big claim - he's been through the wars!)
Even my first claim, which was £350, resulted in me being paid more than the premiums I'd done up to that point.
I'm pretty sure I've made a 'profit'.
Byker28i said:
Obviously one isn't allowed to name and shame but I'd stay away from Many Problems as they just don't pay claims promptly. We've had two claims with them, the last one took 4 months for them to pay, after we chased and chased, two months for them to even start to contact the vets, during which tome we were threatened with legal action for payment.
Now we have another outstanding claim, which they haven't touched for two months and again the vets are chasing payment with us, Many Problems haven't even started processing, despite many emails and two phone calls with promises they will action.
We are going to be looking for another Insurance company, anyone got any suggestions. MP are around £41 a month, PetPlan are over £60
We've been with PetPlan for a number of years (with our two whippets who both ended up with chronic conditions which were covered due to choosing 'Covered for Life' and with one of our current saluki crosses). No complaints about their service, can keep track of claims online and have had good customer service experience via email and phone. Knowing that you can speak to someone and get answers is important to me. Now we have another outstanding claim, which they haven't touched for two months and again the vets are chasing payment with us, Many Problems haven't even started processing, despite many emails and two phone calls with promises they will action.
We are going to be looking for another Insurance company, anyone got any suggestions. MP are around £41 a month, PetPlan are over £60
Be aware though - if you switch providers, they won't cover existing medical conditions. And some vets won't deal with certain insurance companies if they are claiming payment direct (rather than you paying upfront and claiming back yourself).
This time for our Lab we have gone with Direct Line but touch wood no claims to judge service.
As others have said though moving companies can be a bit tricky.
It seems to me that you either stay with the original provider until you decide it’s too expensive or simply build up that pot - that said any “ large “ claim can erode any pot very rapidly these days.
As others have said though moving companies can be a bit tricky.
It seems to me that you either stay with the original provider until you decide it’s too expensive or simply build up that pot - that said any “ large “ claim can erode any pot very rapidly these days.
We pay 28 quid for our two cats.
A now deceased cat rocked at £12k bill and one of our existimg, a £4k bill
Both covered.
We use Petplan, which is Allianz and they have been excellent.
The latter cat is a rescue with pre existing ear condition. Whilst not covered, they agreed to cover an MRI and some general stuff.
ChocolateFrog said:
Bit pointless having insurance if you're not going to use it.
Personally I just stick the premiums in a metaphorical pot and will swallow the once in 30 years big bill.
Mine is 7 this year and hasn't had anything I could claim for but equally I couldn't complain if he costs me 5k tomorrow.
My sister just cancelled hers as they doubled the premium, pushing £100pm for 2 dogs.
It’s a gamble!Personally I just stick the premiums in a metaphorical pot and will swallow the once in 30 years big bill.
Mine is 7 this year and hasn't had anything I could claim for but equally I couldn't complain if he costs me 5k tomorrow.
My sister just cancelled hers as they doubled the premium, pushing £100pm for 2 dogs.
Cat insurance on ‘new’ adopted cat £15 a month
Roll forward 6 months, run over
4k to fix, £2k limit. Unfortunately he didn’t recover & sadly put down (more humane than my mils demise)
So £90 ins + £200 excess, £2k paid out
Don't forget your premiums will go up after year 10 ish.
Couldn't insure my cat with the likes of Sainsbury's etc after 10 years.
tbh, when you're presented with a life or death event from the vet for your loved pet, insurance won't be the question. Likelihood of surviving the first night/days and quality of life post operation is what drove me.
As long as you have the ability to pay that is what matters. Emergency Credit Card? What would you do if there wasn't enough "cover" on the insurance?
Mine cat cost me £2k to get repaired the first time he got run over. Then he did it again 3 years later, wasn't lucky that time unfortunately. I'd have paid it out again "IF" I'd have had chance though.
Never had insurance.
Couldn't insure my cat with the likes of Sainsbury's etc after 10 years.
tbh, when you're presented with a life or death event from the vet for your loved pet, insurance won't be the question. Likelihood of surviving the first night/days and quality of life post operation is what drove me.
As long as you have the ability to pay that is what matters. Emergency Credit Card? What would you do if there wasn't enough "cover" on the insurance?
Mine cat cost me £2k to get repaired the first time he got run over. Then he did it again 3 years later, wasn't lucky that time unfortunately. I'd have paid it out again "IF" I'd have had chance though.
Never had insurance.
Byker28i said:
Obviously one isn't allowed to name and shame but I'd stay away from Many Problems as they just don't pay claims promptly. We've had two claims with them, the last one took 4 months for them to pay, after we chased and chased, two months for them to even start to contact the vets, during which tome we were threatened with legal action for payment.
Now we have another outstanding claim, which they haven't touched for two months and again the vets are chasing payment with us, Many Problems haven't even started processing, despite many emails and two phone calls with promises they will action.
We are going to be looking for another Insurance company, anyone got any suggestions. MP are around £41 a month, PetPlan are over £60
I've not had to make a claim yet, but I switched from Napo to Co-op pet insurance for my two. Now we have another outstanding claim, which they haven't touched for two months and again the vets are chasing payment with us, Many Problems haven't even started processing, despite many emails and two phone calls with promises they will action.
We are going to be looking for another Insurance company, anyone got any suggestions. MP are around £41 a month, PetPlan are over £60
I'd been with Napo for a couple of years, but when it came to dental work it wasn't covered. On top of that the premium increased by 50% once they hit 8 years old.
Co-op is very much cheaper, and includes dental but as I said - I've not tested them yet.
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