Hi everybody!

I'm doing extensive research on the best policy insurance for our boy (although I can't think of anything better than never having to claim!!!). There seems to be wide agreement among posters that M&S provides the best cover at very reasonable premiums. However, I'm confused as to whether M&S is a "Lifetime Plan" or a "Maximum Benefit Plan". Some say it's a lifetime plan whilst others say it's max. benefit (see a recent post entitled Advice Wanted on Maximum Benefit Insurance". I've checked the policy and, not surprisingly, the terms and conditions are pretty unclear. So, can anybody help???

Thanks in advance

Alex

Have a word with Terri as I know that she uses M&S as she says that they are the best :d

I have to say my dogs aren't insured as I put money aside for any eventuality but that is just the way that I do things.

Not too sure what you mean by maximum benifit scheme.  M&S will insure a dog for a lifetime illness up to the maxium stated per year.  In the case of M&S I think it is £7,000.  In other words you can claim upto £7,000 in vets bills for the illness in one year, then another £7,000 for the same illness in the following year.  They do not stop paying for that illness after a year like some cheaper policies do.

We use M&S and I agree with Sandrah.

I'm with M%S too...as said £7000 per year renewable every year so the illness is covered for life
Archer

Oh thanks everybody!!! Then it's a "Lifetime Plan"! (as opposed to a Max. Benefit one, which means that there's a limit per condition for the whole of the dog's lifetime). Sandrah: if you wanna know the difference between both types of insurance log onto http://www.vip4u.co.uk/ (recommended by another poster). So I think that it's gonna be M&S in the end. Diane: Ill try to have a word with and/or e-mail Terri

Thanks again!

Alex

I posted the thread you referred to about insurance :)

I went through VIP in the end and am now with PetWise (I think its underwritten by BDML or something).  They are a Maximum Benefit insurer who use post codes for pricing premiums.  We're in a very good area for this so my monthly premium is just over £7 (or £93 per year) :D  It covers you for £5,000 for each illness/injury over the lifetime of it (i.e. if the limit is reached and the illness/injury is still ongoing cover ceases for that particular ailment).  There is a £50 excess but that is only payable in the first instance of the illness/injury occuring, and lets face it, if its going to be ongoing and cost several hundred/thousand pounds then its very little :)  It also offers £1,000,000 liability cover, 3rd party insurance, accidental damage cover, emergency boarding fees etc etc.  I'm hoping that I will never have to use it of course   It seems ideal for people 'on a budget' like me :D

I wrote this on another post fairly recently.

M & S Terms & Conditions state £7000.00 for vet's fees, per policy per period of insurance.  (Period of insurance is the time for which they provide cover as set out in the policy schedule and for which they have accepted the premium). BTW It doesn't say per year in the T & C.

The maximum benefit you can claim is £7000.00 for vet's fees which is the most they will pay out under this section of the policy.  It doesn't say anything about renewals when referring to the maximum benefit, nor does it say £7000.00 per condition. 

To me, this appears to say, you are covered up to £7000.00 per period of insurance and up to the maximum benefit of £7000.00. 

So in effect you are getting £7000.00 per year for vet's fees providing you don't claim.  If you do claim, then the maximum cover available is reduced.  Moreover, if the costs of vet bills exceed £7000.00 for ongoing treatment before the lifetime of the insured pet expires, then you will not be getting lifetime cover.  BTW, I work in insurance. ;-)

Thank you so much Spender. That's really useful stuff taking into account that you work in insurance (I used to be a solicitor ;) So, to summarise: M&S provides Maximum Benefit (as opposed to Lifetime) coverage. And then there's the obvious question: which insurance cmpany are yourself in? Is there an insurance company which would provide lifetime coverage? The vet recommended Pet Plan as (possibly) the only insurer to do so, but I read various posts saying that, in case of ongoing conditions, they just increase the premium to a ridiculous amount.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Alex

Hi Alex,

Nothing to do with pet insurance,  I assure you ;-) :-D but I do spend a lot of my time scrutinising T & C's.  I had a look at M & S Terms & Conditions in detail just in interest really as some appeared to be implying that vet fees for £7000 were renewable each year which was a considerable liability to the company involved, for the premiums quoted.  

M & S offer a maximum benefit policy which will give you lifetime cover in theory providing you don't claim for the full amount (i.e. £7000.00) in the lifetime of the insured pet.  But it doesn't appear to offer £7000.00 per condition which IMO would be better value to the consumer but I guess also higher premiums.

But it is a good policy and reasonably priced for the cover it provides although the underwriting can be a little confusing to the consumer.   It's unlikely that a pet would incur over £7000.00 vet fees during his/her lifetime but there are always exceptions to the rule.  It just depends on what you are looking for and what you are willing to pay in premiums.

Can't speak about Pet Plan as I've haven't looked at their terms of cover, it appears to be a popular one with my vet's clients too.  It's more than likely that most insurance companies will increase the premiums if the insured pet develops an ongoing condition and especially as they get older; it's higher risk.  BTW I don't know of any pet insurance policy that provides unlimited cover for vet fees and therefore lifetime cover regardless.   Hope this helps :-)

I think the M&S no excess policy is a really good deal, I will be changing one of mine and the cats over shortly.  Unfortunatley with Alfs bad leg he will have to stay with direct line who have just put their excess up by £25

My insurance is with sainsburys and theres is 6500 per condition and they will pay out into another year until that 6500 is exhausted then that will be it for that condition.

Thanks Spender. If you take a look at one of my posts above you'll see I've included the web site address of a firm of (independent?) brokers. They advertise both types of policies: lifetime and max. benefit. I'll request  from them a quote for a "lifetime cover" policy and see what happens, though I suspect that if there really is a company providing this sort of cover the premiums must be prohibitive . I'll keep you all posted.;)

Regards,

Alex

Spender

We have M&S pet insurance and what you say concerns me a bit.  If I understand what you're saying right, the £7K per condition, per year, will only continue to be available if we don't in fact ever claim for the full amount (£7k)?  Is that right?

Would you be kind enough to copy and paste the relevant bit of the T & Cs where you found this information?

The POlicy booklet says they will pay "All reasonable costs for Treatment of your Pet by a Vet or Complemenary Treatment carried out under their direction up to the Maximum benefit of £7000 per policy, per period of insurance".

It does not say that this cover is only available for as long as it is not claimed.  However, I don't work in insurance and I'm not used to reading the small print, so if you could clear this up for me that would be great - thanks.

>The POlicy booklet says they will pay "All reasonable costs for Treatment of your Pet by a Vet or Complemenary Treatment carried out under their direction up to the Maximum benefit of £7000 per policy, per period of insurance".

I read my policy booklet this morning too, I read it as it says, so long as you keep up your payments you are covered for the maximum per period of insurance ie. when you renew you are covered for a further £7,000 for the next period (12 months).

That's what I understood too, Sandrah - so I'd be interested to see if Spender can tell us something more which we're missing... 

This is my first post so be gentle. I am with M&S pet insurance and this thread had me worried so I rang M&S. They confirm that if you use your £7000 vets fees in one year  that £7000 is reinstated  when you renew your policy the following year, so it is a for life policy.

Thank you, I was going to give them a ring tonight to check it out.  It is as I thought, which makes it good value compared to others.

Don't worry, most of us don't bite on here, as in all walks of life the odd aggressive one turns up from time to time :)

Thanks for calling Mastiffv70 - that's what I thought, but it's good to hear confirmation from M&S, because this thread had me worried for a bit too!

Hi everyone!

It's certainly very kind of you Mastiffv 70 that you got confirmation from M&S that the 7K cap is reinstated every year for as long as you renew your policy. But, as a solicitor who used to be in practice for quite a while, I learnt to be really suspicious of commitments spelt out in words. In other words, it seems to me that in case of conflict between what the policy says and any piece of advice given over the telephone the former will prevail; and what really concerns me about M&S policy is their use of the expression "Maximum Benefit". Anyone who's followed this thread will know that there are two kinds of policies: Maximum Benefit and Lifetime. I asked for a Lifetime quotation this morning from a firm of insurance brokers posted sometime ago in this board (www.vip4you.co.uk). They rang me later recommending Petshield (18 quid a month if you happen to live in the SW). I haven't had the chance to review their T&Cs but hope to do so soon. In the meantime, let's wait for Spender's response to all this as he happens to be the insurance expert ;)

Best,

Alex

I would hope the people selling the policy would know what the insurance covers I know I asked this question before I took out the insurance two years ago.

Just because VIP have chosen to list their particular policies under the two headings and have given you the choice of either, it doesn't mean that other companies don't have different meanings for the term Maximum Benefit.  M&S obviously have and include lifetime cover within that.

Why don't you just ring the companies involved and ask the question, rather then wait for the response of someone who you do not know or of their qualifications to answer the question.  (No offence Spender)

Copied from the M&S website "Vet's bills covered up to £7000 a year, with treatment as long as it's needed provided you keep your policy renewed"  I think this is clear as to the question of lifetime cover.

Sandrah,

I'm not disputing what the policy says. However, clause 8 of the Policy Document (as downloaded from M&S' web site) states that "When we offer further periods of insurance we may change the premium and the policy terms and conditions". Now, I hope anyone will correct me if I'm wrong but, as I see it, this is a sort of "overriding clause" which gives M&S (i.e. Axa) a great deal of power. In other words, nothing will stop them from altering your policy from one year to the next if they think that's the appropriate thing to do. I can see your point in ringing them and ask but, as I said, I'd rather prefer a no-catches, plain-English policy wording than one thousand promises given over the phone.

Best,

Alex

Have you actually read the full policies of others.  I think you will find all insurance policies, pet or otherwise has that clause, or one with similar wording in them.  My car insurance certainly does and it is nothing to do with M&S.

Anyway you go with whoever you want to, I am quite happy with the policy and service I have had from M&S.

>"When we offer further periods of insurance we may change the premium and the policy terms and conditions".

All insurance policies can change their cover, premium amount and Terms and Conditions upon renewal, Alex.  Perfectly legit but they cannot amend it mid-term apart from cancel the policy if the policyholder does not adhere to the Terms and Conditions, i.e. failure to pay premium, fraudulent claim etc. :-)

>In other words, it seems to me that in case of conflict between what the policy says and any piece of advice given over the telephone the former will prevail; and what really concerns me about M&S policy is their use of the expression "Maximum Benefit".

Indeed, you are absolutely right, Alex.

Alex, I have spoken to Axa this morning and will send you a PM.  It will probably be later on today as I'm at work at the mo.

Thanks Spender.

Look forward to taking a look at it.

Best,

Alex