Tempest Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Just had Ollie's insurance papers through from M&S and I'm a bit hacked off to say the least His policy renews in May and last year it went from being £14 a month with no excess and then jumped to being £29.99 a month with a £70 excess and they'd only pay 70% of his vet bills as he was over 9 and stopped paying for his hydro Just got the renewal through for this year and they want a whopping £49.99 a month :o So last April we were paying £14 a month and from this May it will be £49.99 - I just think it's beyond ridiculous tbh I just rang them and they won't budge at all on the policy price I'm seriously thinking of just completely cancelling the policy and putting 50 quid a month in a bank account for him. He's an elderly lad with arthritis and a neurological condition that he has steroids for so we can't insure him elsewhere realistically At his age I wouldn't want to be putting him through any extensive surgeries so I'm not sure we'd really be using the cover much for anything other than his steroids and glucosamine (which the insurance currently pays for) Just wanted people's opinions really I'm just so fuming with M&S that I really don't want to give them 50 quid a month at the moment really! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 I know how you feel, Lizzies renewal came through today and despite not claiming this year it's shot up. I'm seriously considering setting up a 'vet fund' and adding to it monthly instead too. I pay insurance for each of the three dogs monthly yet I haven't claimed for anything in about five years now My vet fund would be looking fantastic by now if I'd done it then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murtle Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 I've cancelled my cats insurance with M&S for the same reason. Butter dislocated his shoulder so no one else would take on that injury. I wasn't impressed about the hike in fees so we have gone the vet fund method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 I just did an online quote with Axa and the premium was £319 for the year - M&S want £599 :o How on earth do they get away with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophie Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 I don't have Sky insured. I put away £30 a week into an account for him. I did look into insuring him, but he was 11 when he came here, so lots of places wouldn't insure him. Those that would, like M&S, had a high excess + I would have to pay a % of the bill. He already had a heart murmur, which would have excluded any heart problems, and was showing signs of arthritis. And as you said with Ollie, I wouldn't put Sky through any major surgery at his age. So far it seems to be working out ok - the only thing he's been treated for are anal gland problems, and that cost us about £30 a week for 4 weeks straight. There is small pot of money that I expect we will eat in to soon, as his heart seems to be doing not quite so well, and I'm guessing he'll need to go onto meds for it sooner rather than later. I do have the advantage of having savings and credit cards that would mean that should something happen and I was faced with a large vet bill, I would be able to pay it - if I didn't have that to fall back on, I'm not sure what I would do, as I can't imagine what it must feel like to have to make a decision for your dog based on affordability, rather than what is best for the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving Spaniels Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 I think pet insurance is a really difficult decision - or it has been for me any way. My cocker and springer have been insured from pups however as i never submitted a claim for either of them i cancelled the insurance last year. The intention was to start a vet fund. Stupidly I failed as there was always some expense cropping up. I also have a springer - Meg - who is ex rescue and she came with a mammary tumour - hence insurance wouldnt cover her for that so vet fund would be started for her............. Since cancelling the insurance all bar one of the dogs has had veterinary treatment and thats when you realise itt aint cheap and whilst i will always pay for treatment etc i dread to think how much i have paid in the past year. My cocker is currently being investigated for auto immune disease.........the vets are really unsure what is wrong with her and originally thought she may have a fungal infection, nasal polyps / tumour. The initial xray alone cost £120 never mind the ongoing medication / treatment to try to keep her comfortable. In hindsight i wish i had kept the insurance going with peace of mind for me and my dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtychicken Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 We had a huge hike in Flora's M&S renewal this year and that was before the op, so I dread to think what it will go up to next year It's going to put me in a terrible position because there is no way that I can afford to pay 50 quid a month, no other company will cover her existing conditions and there's a strong likelihood that I will need to make further claims for the existing conditions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 £50 a month How on earth do they justify that? How old is he Jules? I'm amazed, when we lost Sweetie she would have been estimated at being about 13 (though I suspect she was actually older) and I was paying less than £20 a month for her M&S insurance as a crossbreed. I know that was three years ago but still a huge difference I wouldn't want to suggest what you did either way Jules, sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Mine with Lloyds TSB has gone up also this year, its on an automatic renewal on direct debit and untill I started looking at my bank statement I didn't realise it had gone up for Beenzie from 17.99 to 29.99 With Beenzie continuing condition with lumps and his back etc, I am choosing to continue with the increased premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 £50 a month How on earth do they justify that? How old is he Jules? They've got him down as 10 Ange (as his age is a complete estimate) so really they've not even got him down as being ridiculously old I did a fresh quote with Axa for a 10 year old crossbreed and that comes up at 23 quid a month so less than half of what M&S want - I honestly don't know how they justify it I think one option might be to take out the Axa policy but then he won't be covered for anal glands, neurological probs, or arthritis which are 3 quite big things really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Grose Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 I am so sorry that this has happened. I have Barty insured with PetPlan and it only costs £190 per year - he is down as a 6 year old crossbreed that was accepted on their rescue plan when he was a puppy and it does go up each year and I have to pay £80 excess per illness but it is vastly cheaper than M & S. I would seriously think twice about £50 a month (that is £600 a year - nearly 3 times what I pay for the boy) and certainly woudn't insure Chloe if it cost that much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Max is the only one of mine who is with M&S because of pre-existing medical conditions. It's currently £26.99 but I dread to think what it will be in August when it's due for renewal cos I've claimed the best part of £3k for him in recent months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Jvv Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I'm afraid everyone has suffered the same story with M&S. Each year my premiums get progressively higher. 20%, 40%, this year 65%!!! I had to make a decision to keep it or cancel. I cancelled the cats and the George as none had previous claims, however Charlie did so I had to choose between keeping him on M&S or nothing as we'd have exclusions elswhere, (granted only teeth and fatty lumps) but I suspect there will come a time when I cancel Charlies policy all together. Right now I dont feel I have another option. If you do cancel, I just would say have a back up plan because like others have said you'd hate to chose treatment based on affordability. If you do choose to leave there are plenty of places you can get glucosamine cheaply. Is it worth getting a quote for insurance elsewhere and having some exclusions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mole Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I've never insured my dogs (all crossbreeds or hardy working type terriers) until I got my latest 5 year old Staff from rspca who had a 6 weeks freebie with Petplan. Unfortunately he came with two badly infected ears, bad feet and urineary infection and I just had a feeling he was going to have problems. Petplan charged me £22 per month with urineary exclusion as he had this whilst he was in foster with me. I had a hell of job getting them to pay out on the ear infections (he had to be put under three times due to him not allowing vets to get into his ears) as he'd had some cleanaural proscribed whilst in foster and they only paid out after intensive pressure from my vet and info from rspca. It took them ages to pay even when they agreed to and my vet had to ring up and chase as well as me. Petplan are supposed to be a good company as well! I had £80 excess so I was still paying for minor stuff. If this is insurance then they can bog off! It will be the £30 a month thing for me next dog I get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mole Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 re glucosamine supps for arthritis...my vet recommended these ...Glycoflex http://tinyurl.com/Vet-uk Good ingredients and reasonable cost from VetUK. Am using them and dogs doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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