John Lewis dog insurance has just gone up to £121 a month!!!
Discussion
Blackpuddin said:
keirik said:
I gave up on pet insurance years ago and now put cash into a separate bank account in case I need it.
Yes I was on the point of doing that, and in isolation even £32 a month isn't cheap but compared to JL I was happy to take it for the peace of mind. Plus I'm rubbish at putting money aside 
Seriously, they are dogs, and if a vet said “she needs a £6000 operation” then I would sign on the dotted line and cremate the remains.
We had John Lewis insurance last year - can't remember what it was but it was reasonable, this year they wanted double. Called them and they said the initial discount had finished - I wasn't aware of any discount and they refused to reduce it so I took my business elsewhere. Now with Animal Friends at about the same price as JL was with the same cover.
Blackpuddin said:
chadders74 said:
8 year old dog, you've made previous claims - have you spoke about pre-existing conditions with your new insurer?
There were sections in the quote form for this and I answered them all honestly. Which is then why, despite the big increase, staying with the same provider means the pre-existing is covered as you've stayed with them. Not saying it's right, but what may happen. Then only if it's lifetime cover as well.
Also check age related limits on payouts, eg turn 10 years old and they only pay 1/3 of a claim maximum.
Blackpuddin said:
I feel that there is little point in insurance if all it is doing is covering the insurer's expenses. All the risk seems to be on my side.
How is all the risk on your side.You could pay £1400 premium and end up claiming the full £7000?They'll be another thread starting up soon, "my mutt insurance has gone up and I've never claimed. Why should I pay to subsidise folks who claim every year, they should hit those people harder".
My nearly 7 year old black Lab has over the last few months lost sensation in his left front leg which unfortunately looks to mean we’ll need to make the decision to put him to sleep later next week due to a serious nerve issue. We’ve been using petplan for years and it’s slowly crept up to around the £60 mark despite never claiming and we started to question why we didn’t just save money every month but we are glad we stuck with the pet insurance as he’s had 2 x X-rays at £600 each plus piles of medication and a CT scan yesterday which was in the thousands. There’s no way we’d have built up that big a fund for his treatment.
Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
A lot of insurance companies have had the government enforce an increase of some tax (I can't remember the name of the tax) so everyone's policy will increase to some degree.
I did actually cancel my cats insurance this year. They had always paid out so can't speak badly of them but I just couldn't afford the £16/mfh increase(so £50/mth) plus higher excess etc. No point me changing as would be way too many exclusions.
Exclusions are a big problem if swapping insurances, most will exclude for life a few will exclude for a year and then review.
£121/mth is high though.
Save the money instead? Open a separate bank account. Not as good but better than nothing. A bout of illness can eat into it quickly though so be cautious with this method.
I did actually cancel my cats insurance this year. They had always paid out so can't speak badly of them but I just couldn't afford the £16/mfh increase(so £50/mth) plus higher excess etc. No point me changing as would be way too many exclusions.
Exclusions are a big problem if swapping insurances, most will exclude for life a few will exclude for a year and then review.
£121/mth is high though.
Save the money instead? Open a separate bank account. Not as good but better than nothing. A bout of illness can eat into it quickly though so be cautious with this method.
Edited by bexVN on Saturday 13th January 17:27
As has been previously said, you will likely find that pre-existing conditions will not be covered - anything previously mentioned in the history. It's usually best to stick with the same insurer for life. That's probably the biggest reason that I use and recommend Petplan, the premiums are based purely on breed, weight, age and postcode, so you are not penalised for claiming.
BlueMeganeII said:
My nearly 7 year old black Lab has over the last few months lost sensation in his left front leg which unfortunately looks to mean we’ll need to make the decision to put him to sleep later next week due to a serious nerve issue. We’ve been using petplan for years and it’s slowly crept up to around the £60 mark despite never claiming and we started to question why we didn’t just save money every month but we are glad we stuck with the pet insurance as he’s had 2 x X-rays at £600 each plus piles of medication and a CT scan yesterday which was in the thousands. There’s no way we’d have built up that big a fund for his treatment.
Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
Makes me wonder what type of X-rays they use here in England. I have had personal x rays done in the Philippines and they cost ten quid each. Exactly HTF does one cost £600 here???Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
King Herald said:
BlueMeganeII said:
My nearly 7 year old black Lab has over the last few months lost sensation in his left front leg which unfortunately looks to mean we’ll need to make the decision to put him to sleep later next week due to a serious nerve issue. We’ve been using petplan for years and it’s slowly crept up to around the £60 mark despite never claiming and we started to question why we didn’t just save money every month but we are glad we stuck with the pet insurance as he’s had 2 x X-rays at £600 each plus piles of medication and a CT scan yesterday which was in the thousands. There’s no way we’d have built up that big a fund for his treatment.
Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
Makes me wonder what type of X-rays they use here in England. I have had personal x rays done in the Philippines and they cost ten quid each. Exactly HTF does one cost £600 here???Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
A sad case if it is degenerative nerve issues as that is what my whippet Jimmy was diagnosed with
King Herald said:
BlueMeganeII said:
My nearly 7 year old black Lab has over the last few months lost sensation in his left front leg which unfortunately looks to mean we’ll need to make the decision to put him to sleep later next week due to a serious nerve issue. We’ve been using petplan for years and it’s slowly crept up to around the £60 mark despite never claiming and we started to question why we didn’t just save money every month but we are glad we stuck with the pet insurance as he’s had 2 x X-rays at £600 each plus piles of medication and a CT scan yesterday which was in the thousands. There’s no way we’d have built up that big a fund for his treatment.
Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
Makes me wonder what type of X-rays they use here in England. I have had personal x rays done in the Philippines and they cost ten quid each. Exactly HTF does one cost £600 here???Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
I'm in Belgium so we don't have NHS - you have to pay and claim it back from your health insurance (unless you're unemployed in which case it is free).
The health insurance companies screw the hospitals down on the price they will pay for scans, plus the scanners are running pretty much constantly.
The vet's scanner probably is used a lot less, and I think there is the attitude of "the insurance pays anyway", so the price is a lot higher.
sunbeam alpine said:
King Herald said:
BlueMeganeII said:
My nearly 7 year old black Lab has over the last few months lost sensation in his left front leg which unfortunately looks to mean we’ll need to make the decision to put him to sleep later next week due to a serious nerve issue. We’ve been using petplan for years and it’s slowly crept up to around the £60 mark despite never claiming and we started to question why we didn’t just save money every month but we are glad we stuck with the pet insurance as he’s had 2 x X-rays at £600 each plus piles of medication and a CT scan yesterday which was in the thousands. There’s no way we’d have built up that big a fund for his treatment.
Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
Makes me wonder what type of X-rays they use here in England. I have had personal x rays done in the Philippines and they cost ten quid each. Exactly HTF does one cost £600 here???Yes defiantly shop around on renewal but your own saving fund could work out to be woefully inadequate.
I'm in Belgium so we don't have NHS - you have to pay and claim it back from your health insurance (unless you're unemployed in which case it is free).
The health insurance companies screw the hospitals down on the price they will pay for scans, plus the scanners are running pretty much constantly.
The vet's scanner probably is used a lot less, and I think there is the attitude of "the insurance pays anyway", so the price is a lot higher.
We have to have set prices whether a patient is insured or not, what does happen is vets end up reducing their charges sometimes for uninsured pets or quoting an all in price (so pricing up correctly then discounting when they go over that quote) to try and make sure the pet gets the right treatment. Insurance means corners don't need cutting.
John Lewis put our car insurance massively last year. When I asked why, the response was 'everyones car insurance has gone up' , so I went direct to their underwriters, which was Liverpool Victoria and got a cheaper price than the year previous, with the same policy and no need to prove no claims etc. So, price increases are not always the insurers , but the intermediates !
Back on pet topic, Rosie the borders insurance was creeping up with Petplan. She was 4 last year, so not an old dog. When we called about a multi pet policy with Henry the Patterdale pup, he was about the same price at £45 a month as well , so £90 a month for the pair. We thought Petplan were the best, but it was getting crazy . I didnt want to change , but having never made a claim, decided to move to Tesco pet and we have the same financial cover of £7k per claim max and we pay £35 for the pair of dogs.
Back on pet topic, Rosie the borders insurance was creeping up with Petplan. She was 4 last year, so not an old dog. When we called about a multi pet policy with Henry the Patterdale pup, he was about the same price at £45 a month as well , so £90 a month for the pair. We thought Petplan were the best, but it was getting crazy . I didnt want to change , but having never made a claim, decided to move to Tesco pet and we have the same financial cover of £7k per claim max and we pay £35 for the pair of dogs.
My approach to this is adopt, don't shop.
Feed your animals the best food money can buy, and after that it's fingers crossed. I'm staggered by the number of people who are quite happy to shell out huge sums a month in terms of 'insurance', then feed their pet the cheapest s
ttiest food.
Feed your animals the best food money can buy, and after that it's fingers crossed. I'm staggered by the number of people who are quite happy to shell out huge sums a month in terms of 'insurance', then feed their pet the cheapest s
ttiest food.Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff