Pet insurance - huge increase

[Byker28i]

Asha has reached 4 now and we've had warning her pet insurance is due soon but will be doubled, from £345 to £760, from £28 to £63 a month

This is with Sainsbury's bank, who have been excellent and payed out quickly when we had a claim this year. We need to ring them up and see why, I wouldn't have thought a claim (approx £800) would result in such an increase?

Worth checking around for other prices. Who's everyone else with now?

[untakenname]

Probably due to making a claim in the past year.
The amount also can be breed dependant, French Bull dogs for instance cost a lot more to insure when they reach 5.

[Phil.]

Once you’ve made a claim no other insurer will cover you against that issue so if it’s likely to reoccur the they have you by the bks. And based on experience, it only gets worse and more costly as the pet ages.

If the issue is unlikely to reoccur then look around for alternatives quotes.

Pet insurance and escalating vets fees in the UK are a collaborative commercial scam. In Spain, for example, vets fees are a fraction of UK costs and very people take out insurance.

[tim0409]

We've had these increases a number of times; we had claimed on our first policy for issues that by their nature weren't going to reoccur and the renewal price was £100 a month(!). I went on a price comparison site and got the same cover for £34. Our vet is the Edinburgh University teaching hospital and whilst they are excellent they aren't any cheaper than a normal vet (they used to be).

[aterribleusername]

The veterinary sector is turning into one run by 3 major players rather than lots of independent vets and this had allowed them to push prices up dramatically. This cost is the passed on to the pet insurers whenever a claim is made and to compensate the premiums are rocketing. Make a claim, even a small one, on your pet insurance and they flag you up as a higher risk of claiming again so they essentially price you out by ramping up the premium.

This is only going to get worse according to a vet friend as the push for better profits is high.

[Byker28i]

That would explain it as we had a claim this year

[KobayashiMaru86]

I don't insure currently but often look to as friends of ours with a similar breed need to have double hip op and it's an £18k bill. They are insured but only up to £8k. I have savings just in case but the whole setup screams scam. I had a scan last year as a just in case for over £800 and there was no issue. But you pay it and they know you'll pay it for peace of mind. They play on doubt and fears all the time.

[jmsgld]

Insurance will increase annually as an older dog is more likely to require vet treatment. Most of the budget insurers put up the premium in response to previous claims, some don't.

If you are considering changing insurers then request a "history" from your vet, this is all the clinical notes. If you claim on insurance then your insurer will likely go through the history, and anything in the clinical notes from before the insurance policy was taken out will then be excluded. For example if you had ear treatment, then all skin / ear disease potentially related would be excluded...

It is best to choose a decent insurer from the get go, but just consider the above if you change.

[HTP99]

We are with Agria and have been for many years, we have always found their pricing reasonable, yes it has increased over the years but what hasn't, we have only claimed once for Barry, the premiums only increased inline with any normal annual increase (I checked) and renewals for existing customers are the same costings as for new customers.

Agria cover teeth too which many insurers don't this is what Barry's claim was for and Daphne will be following suit soon, teeth are bloody expensive!!

Edited by HTP99 on Thursday 18th December 17:18

[kevinon]

It seems the 'market' is working as intended.

Little / no competition among the cartel, and a network of related players who make money on the finance, and little customer power.

Private Equity - doing God's work !

[ChocolateFrog]

Haven't bothered with insurance.

I'd guess 10 years of premiums on a GSD would be atleast £5k considering it wasn't so bad 10 years ago but would possibly be over £1kpa now.

So I'm atleast £4500 up at the moment.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

We've got 5 weeks Agria insurance from the breeder but not sure what value cover to go for when I extend it - how many £000 a year do we really need? I know this is a risk appetitite issue but I just don'y have any idea!

[moorx]

There really isn't a 'right' answer - noone can predict what vet costs their pet might incur.

But as an example, we have the Pet Plan Covered for Life policy at the middle amount (you choose from £4k, £7k or £12k per year).

[TrevorHill]

I’m not bothered about extending the warranty on any of our cars, but I would not be without the best cover for our dogs. Ours has probably been used three times over the last twenty years or so but it’s more than paid for itself. Our first dog wasn’t insured and we learned the hard way.

[Phil.]

Around 10 years ago our young cat ended up with a spike through his eye. Literally walked through the cat flap with it in. We had a choice to remove the eye or spend £4k saving it. We had £3k insurance cover and paid the extra £1k. He enjoyed his eyesight for the rest of this life. After that we had £7k cover. I’d probably go for £10k cover nowadays.

[MonkeyBusiness]

10 year old Old English Sheepdog here and my premium has gone up 50% to over £120 a month,
To be expected especially as he is now becoming a bit 'creaky'.

Unfortunately I've cancelled and I'll take the hit if/when it happens
I also get his drigs online now. Far cheaper with a prescription from the vet.

[Simpo Two]

MonkeyBusiness said:

I also get his drigs online now. Far cheaper with a prescription from the vet.

Yep. I 'self insure' my cat, and after the first punch in the chops if the vet prescribes something - 'How much?!', if repeats are needed I pay them for the prescription and get it for half price online.