Insuring dog with Argos/homebase/m&s etc

Tiarella

Tiarella

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Still currently with petplan but just finding it so expensive. I did the compare the Market thing on dog insurances and these came up that were cheap (around £10pm) and had life time cover and other good much better things than my petplan cover. I've looked at reviews and they're all negative but they're also all negative for the 'good' insurance companies such as pet plan. I'm at a loss what to do! Is life time cover the best?

Thanks :)
 
I try not to lad bad reviews put me off.
People are more likely to write a review if they are complaining.

I can count on one hand the amount of times I've written a review to praise something. However I've lost count of the amount of times I've wrote to complain!
 
That's very true, but I just want to make sure they will actually pay out! I was looking at the homebase platinum cover which seemed really good but I didn't even know homebase did pet insurance...
 
I had my dog insured with M&S for over 5 years. The cover was good, and they always paid out without any questions or hassle.
 
I went with john lewis. maybe see who underwrites them? I felt that John Lewis would be ok and the cover is good, costs me £15 a month.
some people say the price goes up a lot after the 1st year and you are then stuck with them if you have had a claim, but mine hasn't yet.
I looked after a little dog for a friend when they were on holiday, he slipped a disc and was paralysed! I got hold of them and after an argument with Tesco insurance (mostly about the communication being with me not the owner and after the owners gave permission for them to speak to me) and I had to have the vet confirm it was an accident (as he was only insured for 2 weeks) then they paid out nearly £2k straight to leahurst for MRI and re-hab.
my lesson learnt was that if I look after a friends dog I want it confirmed I am allowed to communicate with the company whilst they are away!)
Tescos were good in the end despite the insurance being so new and the initial stress that this dog needed treatment and I was being held up in signing forms etc to allow it:(
 
I just changed from Petplan to Tesco as it was half the price and I really didn't think I needed the life cover to be honest.

I wanted the insurance to cover emergency veterinary fees so looked for who had a decent amount of vets fees cover. I also wanted to avoid the co-insurance (ie % to pay in event of a claim) as this can mean your excess is considerably more if you use the full vets fees allowance. Tesco had a flat excess rate of £60 which I considered acceptable.
I can't recall who underwrites the Tesco insurance but you will find a lot of them are the same insurer - the likes of RSA/Aviva etc. So big insurance companies. I think M&S used to be underwritten by AXA, not sure if that has changed now.
 
Thanks guys :) so is life time cover not necessary? It's all too confusing! My parents insured my dog before and always went through pet plan but now I'm 'older and more responsible' I have to do it myself and just don't understand the different types!
 
I had the lifetime cover and after a year I had a look at the policy and just asked myself what would I do if my dog was diagnosed with condition that would need treatment for the remainder of her life? I decided that she was actually low risk as she's a mongrel and I suppose I decided the chances of her having a breed-specific hereditary condition were slim, I would prefer to treat and pay for them should it happen and save the insurance premium. Also, I would have to consider SHOULD I treat, would it be fair on the dog (depending on what the condition was).
Also, I understand you have to pay quite a large excess each year upfront once your dog has been diagnosed with a long term veterinary problem so really it would cost a lot premium wise.
It's entirely your call and depends on your situation and maybe the breed of dog. My sister has stayed with Petplan as she feels her dog could be more prone to developing conditions due to his breed type.
 
Thanks for that explanation, very helpful :) he is a breed that can have lots of hereditary conditions but he seems fit and well at the moment. I just want the best for my dog (and my purse!)
 
I work at a vets and strongly recommend life cover. There are so many conditions which could need medication for the rest of the animals life many of which are v expensive and may need regular bloods/scans etc.

Had no experience of homebase but would avoid Argos. Have never had any probs with m&s always been easy to deal with.
 
Thankyou :) I seem to think Argos and homebase are connected some how so may avoid both but homebase platinum cover looks really good. Thanks annabel. If I choose life cover I am presuming that accidental cover etc is included too or just conditions that are a life time?
 
rachaelstar said:
Thankyou :) I seem to think Argos and homebase are connected some how so may avoid both but homebase platinum cover looks really good. Thanks annabel. If I choose life cover I am presuming that accidental cover etc is included too or just conditions that are a life time?
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Yeah, I was just going to mention that - Argos and Homebase are essentially the same company! They will be underwritten by the same insurer so you're not actually dealing with Argos/Homebase per se.

Life cover is normally an extra benefit and is why the premium with this cover is more as, rather than just paying out for 12mths of treatment following diagnosis which is the norm with pet/animal insurance, life cover means the insurance will continue paying medication for the life of the animal. Vets fees for accident/illness (ie a temporary illness) is usually standard but just read through the summary of cover for the companies as they do differ slightly so you want to ensure you choose what suits you and your dog best.
 
Lifetime IMO is a must. Unless u have a large pot of money if your dog gets a long term illness. Diabetes, cushings, arthritis, epilepsy, hypothyroidism etc etc. I would never recommend a yearly policy I think it's a waste of money. For example if u take your dog in and it has an ear infection ears will be excluded after a year. If your dog goes lame, they'll exclude that leg (maybe all of them!) after a year. I've been nursing 11 years and seen many people trumped on their yearly policy. Petplan maybe expensive but the best In my experience xxxxx
 
One of the things to watch out for on these 'name' type of policies is that they all can change their underwriters at any time. This happened with M&S a few years ago, they had a great policy with no excess and great prices which changed overnight to an excess plus large price rises as they were losing money and there was nothing that their policy holders could do about it except leave.The underwriters are the ones who set the T&Cs, excesses etc and you also depend on them for prompt payout and customer service. In effect they pay M&S, Argos and Homebase for the use of their name/brand - that isn't a problem with any other type of insurance as you just don't renew with them after a year if you find that the insurance or customer service isn't to your liking but with pet insurance you don't have that option if you have already claimed.

You are safer using a company that also underwrites their own policies - PetPlan of course, NFU (do they still do pet insurance, I know they used to?) and AXA who often come in at half the price of PP for very similar cover. I know a fair few people who have claimed with AXA and they have been happy with the service. FWIW, PP on the other hand seem expensive at the start but they do have a good reputation for not whacking the premium up as you claim or as the dog ages...

The cost difference between lifetime and yearly cover premiums IMHO are slight when you think that while yearly cover will pay out for the emergencies and diagnosis, most of us spend much more on 'ongoing' treatment for stuff like the illnesses that twiglet84 mentions during a pets lifetime. Maybe as horse owners we are slightly more accepting of yearly policies as we are used to them for our horses? But small animal vet fees have galloped past the cost of equine vets in recent years, it is truly scary how quickly a routine illness will rack up the bill IME.
 
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Wow, thankyou guys for all being so informative! I will have a look tomorrow at axa and see what they offer and other similar companies. Will def go with life time too. How would I possibly find out who underwrites homebase etc?
 
rachaelstar said:
Wow, thankyou guys for all being so informative! I will have a look tomorrow at axa and see what they offer and other similar companies. Will def go with life time too. How would I possibly find out who underwrites homebase etc?
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The underwriter is always stated somewhere on the website (a legal requirement, I think).

From the Homebase pet insurance site:

Homebase Limited is an appointed representative of Home Retail Group Insurance Services Ltd (HIS). For Pet Insurance, HIS acts as an introducer to Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc who arrange, administer and underwrite the policies. HIS and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). HIS may withdraw promotions and stated offers at any time.
 
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