dawnhughes Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have 3 dogs. A GSDx, a collie and a new addition lurcher I have the 2 girls insured with AXA at around £120 a year (I pay annually) They are aged 2 & 3 years. My collie renewal has just come through for £118 with a £50 excess. I have tried quotes everwhere for my lurcher who is only 4mths. The cheapest I can find is £159 with AXA or Marks and spencers. I really cant understand why he is coming out much more expensive?!! Is there a difference in price for males. Is it because he is a pup? How on earth do they come up with the quotes. Seems like they just make them up I like the piece of mind insurances offer but I am at the cross roads and with having 3 dogs now am wondering should I instead save money in a bank account paying in what I would be paying yearly (nearly £400 it seems ) I would do this. Its obviously a risk but it just feels like having never claimed for any dog (touch wood) I am throwing money away. Plus I still have to pay most vet bills as they are always under the excess. The money saved in the account would pay instead for this?! What do other people with multiple dogs do? Oh to have a crystal ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 It may be its because he is a lurcher and they are very accident prone !!! Still - all your quotes are cheaper than mine I pay £193 a year for my lurcher with PetPlan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 (edited) Why not just put him down as a crossbreed or is there a specific breed entry for lurcher? Also, I think the insurance is higher for males as they tend to get into more scraps, etc. I would always have insurance for my dogs rather than putting money away. What I pay in insurance wouldn't even begin to cover the bills I've had recently (about £3,500 for Max in the past six weeks alone) and even for something simple like a removal of a lump on his lip for Timmy cost about £400. I would never want to risk the chance that I couldn't afford to pay for the best treatment if something happened which landed me with a big vet bill. Edited January 7, 2009 by merledogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnhughes Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have been putting him as a cross-breed as he is more collie like than lurcher. I have managed to find a quote for £113 for him with marks and spencers STANDARD insurance.I am just trying to work out if that is worth it for the cover it offers or if indeed paying the extra £40 is better for the PRENIUM cover Or just pay the £160 for the AXA cover that my girls have.. Oh so confusing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy Bear Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I pay £140 a year for Mungo, crossbreed, with Axa (who incidentally are the underwriters for M&S but cheaper than M&S) I consider this very reasonable - probably 'cos insuring Newfies is an arm and a leg. Its worth paying for decent ongoing cover. Beware the low cost insurance that covers bugger all at a very low maximum claim and for a very short period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I pay £140 a year for Mungo, crossbreed, with Axa (who incidentally are the underwriters for M&S but cheaper than M&S) Axa haven't underwritten M&S for a while now, it's Royal & Sun Alliance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 having read some very poor reviews on M+S lately I would be a little wary of them. They seem very good in the cover and paying out part but have changed some of their policies and my vets were saying they are becoming difficult to deal with at times, over claims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have managed to find a quote for £113 for him with marks and spencers STANDARD insurance.I am just trying to work out if that is worth it for the cover it offers or if indeed paying the extra £40 is better for the PRENIUM cover Or just pay the £160 for the AXA cover that my girls have.. Oh so confusing!! A year or so ago a few folk on here ( me being one) left M&S because of some policy changes and a huge hike in their premiums, I still have one dog with them but only because she would be unlikely to get a more competative rate elsewhere because of claims made, they seem to make a big increase when your pet hits five, they did with Spud even though I'd never claimed for him. I seem to remember another complaint was that they expected you to phone one of their vet nurses before you went to a vet obviously in an emergancy this could cause delay in getting your dog proper attention, also when I made a claim from them they took about 3 months to cough up, I even had to get the vet to write to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddyboy Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I you know what sort of crosses there are in his genes try putting him as a ?? crossbreed. Quotes for Jed as a Boxer cross were dearer than for him as a Pointer cross - and as those are definitely his parents guess which one he is now classed as???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy Bear Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Axa haven't underwritten M&S for a while now, it's Royal & Sun Alliance You're quite right m'dear. I wish they'd make their bl***y mind up They switched back to Axa a couple of years ago when I was insuring M but have now gong back to RSA again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebob Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Can't suggest which one you should go with as all mine are with PetPlan but it might be worth asking them if they give discount for multiple dogs? (PetPlan do this) Normally if you're insuring 3 or more, you will get a discount. Worth a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have to say in M&S's defence, they have been brilliant in dealing with Max's claims recently and have paid up within a couple of weeks each time. All my others were switched to Axa ages ago because of M&S price hikes, but Max had pre-existing conditions so I didn't switch him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah_H Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Can't suggest which one you should go with as all mine are with PetPlan but it might be worth asking them if they give discount for multiple dogs? (PetPlan do this) Normally if you're insuring 3 or more, you will get a discount. Worth a try I insure mine through KBIS who do my horse insurance. They've always been great for the horse swhen I've claimed so have stuck with them. I get a discount for having so many pets as well, not just same species! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusewalker Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have 3 dogs. A GSDx, a collie and a new addition lurcher I have the 2 girls insured with AXA at around £120 a year (I pay annually) They are aged 2 & 3 years. My collie renewal has just come through for £118 with a £50 excess. I have tried quotes everwhere for my lurcher who is only 4mths. The cheapest I can find is £159 with AXA or Marks and spencers. I really cant understand why he is coming out much more expensive?!! Is there a difference in price for males. Is it because he is a pup? How on earth do they come up with the quotes. Seems like they just make them up You say your collie renewal has just come thur for £118. Does this mean it has gone up since last year? Did you claim against him last year? With petplan you dont have to renew each year. The reason some companies make you renew each year is so they can exclude the condition you claimed upon the year before. This would not happen with companies like petplan, as they dont make you renew your insurance each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantan Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I pay slightly less than £80 for Archie, a 5 year old crossbreed, with Axa. I left M&S last year as his premium almost doubled. Am hoping that there isn't a huge hike in price come this years renewal. I always thought that they worked out premiums according to the number of claims per breed but am not so sure now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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