merledogs Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Have just had my renewal through from M&S for Max and not only have they put the price up by 25%, but the 'no excess' bit has been removed as well. I rang them to check and the guy I spoke to said that they are doing away with it and any policies up for renewal will have the 'no excess' clause removed As this is the main reason I was with M&S, I am now intending to move all my animals away from them as their policies come up for renewal. So, does anyone have any recommendations? I have got a quote so far from Sainsbury's which seemed quite good, but am going to do some shopping round on prices and cover, but I would be interested in leaning of others' experiences with different companies in terms of how easy it is to claim, what the customer service, etc is like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracey.s Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 (edited) Ice was insured with direct line. I had the advanced policy. He had £2500 in vet bills in 6 months. The excess was £65 per condition but it was only ever paid once, no matter how long the claim went on for. They paid the vet direct and payments were always done withinin 2-3 weeks. They were always helpful if i ever rang with queries. I used to ring for a claim form and it was here with 2 days. He was covered for £6000 per condition. Only thing is they don't insure dogs over 8 so, i would presume cover would stop when the dogs reached 8. Max the oldie i had was insured with more than. The excess on that was i *think* 10 per cent of the claim. They were the only ones i could find that would insure a 9 year old dog. Edited July 25, 2007 by tracey.s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Have just had my renewal through from M&S for Max and not only have they put the price up by 25%, but the 'no excess' bit has been removed as well. I rang them to check and the guy I spoke to said that they are doing away with it and any policies up for renewal will have the 'no excess' clause removed I noticed this on my renewal for Sno too but when I phoned and queried it, they pointed out the no excess bit was still valid on his policy, just not for new policies. I'm confused Tracey, I don't think the fact a company won't take on a dog older than 8 means they will stop insuring existing dogs once they reach 9, although of course some might, so check individual companies. There are various companies that will insure a dog past 8 as long as it was registered with them before that age, but they do tend to charge a % of the bill when the dog gets older etc., along with the excess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Ange I have just rung back to double check and it has been confirmed - any policies (existing or new) which begin from August onwards (including renewals) will have the nil excess clause removed. This is apparently because Axa, who underwrite the policies, are having too many claims So far I am veering towards Sainsbury's, so if anybody has any experience with them, do please let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 You're right Alex - I've just phoned them to check too I'm so annoyed by it as that's the only reason I took out the policy and apparently they're not even planning to write to people about it so the first I would have known about it would be when my policy was up for renewal Both Ollie & Jess have pre-existing conditions now too so I can't even switch them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I got Spuds renewal from M&S and just about choked on my porridge, it had gone up from 9 pound to 19, because he is now five, i've never even claimed for him, so i am also looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 (edited) In terms of cover and price, Sainsbury's is the best I have found by far. Their cover is comparable (and better in some areas) to M&S and the price is a lot cheaper. You can also pay monthly, interest free I have checked Direct Line, Churchill, Tesco, More Than, Virgin and Argos so far Edited July 25, 2007 by madmerle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Have you tried Animal Friends Insurance, they have a £49 standard excess, although if your dog is over 8 years they ask you to phone and speak to their Senior Pet advisor and they give a percentage to Rescue Charity if you say who recommended you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 (edited) Animal Friends are underwritten by E&L Mindy, who I wouldn't touch with a bargepole tbh (they are notoriously difficult to get money out of) Edited July 25, 2007 by madmerle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Animal Friends are underwritten by E&L Mindy, who I wouldn't touch with a bargepole tbh (they are notoriously difficult to get money out of) That will be why they can afford to give away some money then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracey.s Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I noticed this on my renewal for Sno too but when I phoned and queried it, they pointed out the no excess bit was still valid on his policy, just not for new policies. I'm confused Tracey, I don't think the fact a company won't take on a dog older than 8 means they will stop insuring existing dogs once they reach 9, although of course some might, so check individual companies. There are various companies that will insure a dog past 8 as long as it was registered with them before that age, but they do tend to charge a % of the bill when the dog gets older etc., along with the excess. I checked for Ice when max was here. They said once he reached 9 they wouldn't insure him anymore. Enen though he was insured with them from 9 months of age. We would have been up the proverbial creek. His conditions would have been pre existing and we wouldn't have got insurance to cover what was actually wrong with him. I wasn't impressed with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigailj Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 (edited) Just left M&S today after receiving a renewal notice in the post this morning. Mona has made no claims on her policy whatsoever, yet they have doubled it from £10 a month to £21, and yes they have done away with the no excess. I've moved her back to Pet Plan because our other two are there and we can get multipet discount etc. Edited July 25, 2007 by Abigailj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 With tesco I was paying £32 for the 2 dogs with £60 excess. Ive just changed to halifax, which is £34 for the 3 dogs, Shadow is 9, and Lissie is blind, but a good price. That is £50 excess, and up to £1000 a year claim, which I hope is enough for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittycat Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I cancelled my policies with M&S ages ago and went back to PetPlan, nevr had any problems with them, the excess is high but I'd only ever claim if was over that much anyway. I've claimed back more than I've pain in to if that makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranirottie Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I don't think you can beat the NFU. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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