Insurers Sink Teeth Into Dog Owners

[Annie]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/jul/1...consumeraffairs

 

Petra Tripp and her greyhound, Perry, whose insurance costs have nearly doubled in a year. Pic: Martin Godwin

 

Do you own a loyal and courageous alsatian? A graceful greyhound? Or even a shaggy old English sheepdog? Then your pet insurance premiums are about to send you barking mad.

 

Dog owner Petra Tripp was stunned this week when she received the annual premium for her three-year-old greyhound, Perry. Last year her insurer, Sainsbury's Bank, charged her £220. This year it wants £511 - a rise of 132% - even though she has not made any claim.

 

Axa, the insurance company that provides the policy (and which underwrites well over half a million pet policies sold by a wide range of partners, including the RSPCA, the Post Office and John Lewis's Greenbee) has this month introduced a "selected breeds" category: they are bulldogs, estrela mountain dogs, German shepherds (alsatian), great danes, greyhounds, Irish wolfhounds, leonbergers, Newfoundlands, old English sheepdogs, rottweilers, Pyrenean mountain dogs and St Bernards.

 

Axa says these dogs are proving too expensive to insure at the old rates. The bills they run up at veterinary surgeries are higher than for other breeds and they make many more visits to the vet than other hounds.

 

An Axa spokesman says: "The pets included in the 'selected breeds' category are animals on which we have experienced a high average claims cost and a high claims frequency, which together produces a high loss ratio.

 

"For example, greyhounds average claims cost is 10% higher than the total Axa book of business, while frequency runs at 30% higher."

 

Curiously, Axa's claims experience doesn't seem to be replicated at other insurers. Petra Tripp, a broker herself, compared Sainsbury's premium with others in the market - and found one at less than half the price.

 

Guardian Money carried out its own price test for a three-year-old greyhound - and our snapshot survey confirms how the RSPCA and Sainsbury's are now virtually pricing themselves out of the market for certain breeds.

 

"I understand very well how insurance works," says Tripp, "and I would not be surprised if the Sainsbury's policy, ironically, is actually the worst in the country for the poor 'selected breeds'. They are among the biggest providers of pet insurance, and will be extracting a lot of extra money out of some policyholders. Yet there are alternatives for those who shop around, thus saving hundreds of pounds."

 

Tripp, from Ramsgate, Kent, has since chosen to insure her greyhound - which retired from a lacklustre racing career at the tender age of two - through Marks & Spencer at a cost of £249. She found policies at More Th>n were also good value, but chose M&S because of its range of cover. She disagrees that greyhounds have higher vet bills. "Retired greyhounds in general are neither more dangerous nor significantly more likely to suffer from illness than other breeds. Given they are most likely to be adopted former racers, the increase in premium by a major insurer might well lead to grey hounds being returned to the Retired Greyhound Trust. In addition, it could potentially put people off adopting retired racers in the first place."

 

A spokesman for the RSPCA says its insurance "is as much about helping all animals as it is about insuring specific pets. One of the RSPCA's main focuses is responsible pet ownership and pet insurance plays a key role in this. RSPCA pet insurance pays back 20% of the annual premium to the society and offers a good level of cover".

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I had to change from Sainsburys a couple of years ago when my greyhound's insurance went up by over 150% in one fell swoop when he reached 11 years. We had never claimed in 7 years. It used to be around the £12 mark, then jumped to £19.99 when he reached 10 and then they wanted £55 when he reached 11 years. I wrote all sorts of rude letters to them and ended up withdrawing all our savings from Sainsbury in disgust. It was very difficult to get a response from them; and when I eventually did all they said was the increase was a result of a new formula they were using, taking account of the dog's breed, age etc. Greyhounds and some other breeds are getting clobbered. I did write to both Sainsburys an Axa asking whether they had any idea of the impact such a move would have on rehoming certain breeds and older dogs in general. Needless to say they didn't give a toss. I felt particularly aggrieved because we had never claimed and he was fit as a fiddle with no underlying conditions.

 

We moved to Tesco and now that has gone up to £40+ a month for the greyhound (13 now), so I wonder if all the insurance companies are following suit.

 

Surely it will impact on adoption/abandonment etc. I think it is very worrying for certain breeds. I am also asking myself whether we can afford to keep multiple dogs.