just got brie in and it double the price is on another post on this site,it gone up to £435.00 a year she 7 1/2 year old bitch fcr,

so i went in line and got a quote it turn out cheaper so i rang them back stating it was cheaper on line,chatted to a very nice helpful guy first he notice that brie didnt have discount as i have 5 with them,so he took the quote of line, which was £415 SO A BIG SAVING OF £20.

so it just show you they not got a cudel what they are doing with the prices,and they are saying different things why the poilcey have gone up too,

It's infuriating isn't it! I spoke to about 5 different people regarding Lottie's renewal and got 5 different answers each time. I agree they don't have a clue and when I was referred to AXA I had different responses there as well. I'm waiting for Hattie's renewal any time now, and expect that to have at least doubled. I will have to stick with M&S because I've made a number of claims, which is annoying, but with their nil excess policy I now claim for everything because just walking through the Vet's door for a consultation is nearly £30!

I was the lady that posted last week a 200% increase.  I rang to cancel yesterday and told them they were taking the mickey by increasing it by so much in one go.  I got all the usual speil about everyones going up and it was cheaper online because of a special offer currently available.  In the end I just got angry - and it takes a lot for me to do that, especially with someone who isn't responsible and I told the guy no way would I ever insure with them again.  At least I felt a bit better lol.  And by the way I have gone with Saga - if you are over 50 it might be worth checking it out.  Not overly cheap but reasonable and NOT underwritten by Axa.

It is annoying - at least you have the option to switch insurers.  I'm in a dilemma whether to switch Remy and Opi from M&S in a pre-emptive move - Opi's premium is quite low, her being a young crossbreed and all, but I have claimed for a bump on her wrist (no issue it seems but I don't know whether it'll turn into anything in the future).  Remy's premium doubled at the last renewal, that was just after they went breed-specific - and dobes of course have a few niggling potential health issues like many breeds.  He's sitll not too expensive but I've also claimed for him for an x-ray for the injury he did himself last year - and again, I don't know if anything will come of that in the future that might need claiming for.

The chances are if I switch, no new company will cover anything that might relate to these issues - that's the glitch with the whole insurance thing.  It's also why I'm now stuck with Soli with Petplan - at the mo she's £20 a month, but Helathy Pets is cheaper - but, I'm just about to claim for treatment for a sore hip which *might* be arthritis.  If I switch and it turns out it is, she wouldn't be covered.  So I'm really hoping Petplan don't do an M&S and start increasing renewals by stupid amounts.  Insurance is a flipping minefield for pets.. When I got quotes for her when she first came home, they were all higher because she'd had previous vet treatment - didn't matter what it is, even that it was for incontinence which I never claimed for and which *probably* wouldn't cause anything major elsewhere with her.  Sigh!

i know someone that ask me about M/S cover.at the time i said they were very good.she was petplan,she got quotes from M/S which was cheaper than petplan went back to pp stating that she may be withdrawing their dog from them, to go with M/S.
pp gave them discount to match M/S so they stayed with pp.

you can only ask

heathly pet is the underwriten bye AXA the same as M/S so will they do the same,
catch every one in when the price is low then bump it up high in a couple of years time like they have done with M/S.

gollie with pincals again no problem with them and they not but the price up high like M/S

another one i looked at was hailfax.

Im with healthy pets i have my german shepherd (aged 2) and a rotti cross (age 3) with them, my premium last year was £ 19.79 per month and this year its gone up to £ 22.02 per month i was expecting a higher rise considering that i made a claim during the year and to be fair i recieved the cheque about 1 week after posting the claim to them.

M&S don't have a problem with insuring GSDs so I assume Healthy Pets would be OK too (both being underwritten by AXA). In my previous posts about this very matter, insuring a GSD is half the cost of insuring a Dobe for example, now that breeds are included in the way they calculate their premiums.

Haven't had the renewal for the gold cover for our boy which was just over £112 last year, but from doing an on line quote it seems it shouldn't be much dearer this time, unless they charge more for renewals than for new policies, be interesting to see as the Insurance is due on 17th July.

got tangle price today from M/S GOT UP TO £21 a month if all my dogs double over this year i got to find £81 exter a month £1,704 a year

2 of my dogs policies are renewed within a month of each other. Last month my 2 year old yorkie's renewal came and it had only gone up by £1 a month. Considering I have claimed over £2000 I thought that was very good. This morning my cairn's renewal came and it has increased by 50% for exactly the same cover. I have never made a claim on his policy. The premiums have always been the same so I rang to query it. I was told that dogs cost more to insure than bitches as they are more active and have more accidents,also younger dogs have more accidents and that different breeds cost more because of health issues and that pure bred dogs cost more because they are more prone to illnesses. They also gave me some spiel about how AXA have looked at inflation and rising vet costs and this has all contributed to a rise in premiums. It is madness how it is worked out and could cost them a lot of custom.
jane

Well, just going by my two that's rediculous!  My boy is just about the most lazy dog you could meet; he plods on walks unless something furry runs directly in front of him.  Both my girls are energetic, Soli VERY! And Opi has sliced her feet on sharp things several times now, and been lame afew times too.  Remy's had the one accident I've claimed for.

And Soli, who is the oldest and a bitch, has just gotten over lameness and had the treatment for her hip issue.  By your ins company's logic, she should be the least likely to be claimed for - older female, yet she's had these issues, and has 4 lumps at the moment as well.  Crazy!

I do know some companies base their premiums on area, as different regions vary in price - having moved up to Lincs from Kent I can definitely say my vet down there was MUCH more expensive.  But to suggest that age and sex has a bearing on accident prone-ness is just daft!

Jane  I posted in the Thread " M & S Insurance  increased by 200%" to say that  when my renewal from M& S came in it had gone up  by 50%  for both my dogs (I had not made  a claim for either )I have  now gone to More than with similar cover at an awful lot less  only I have to pay £70 excess as agsinst no excess with M & S).  I enquired at M & S  as to why  there was such a big increase and was told this was  a decision by AXA and   had nothing to do with   whether you had made a clain or not. 
 
Someone on ther other thread said that   it was because dogs  cost  much more than bitches  so I then asked M& S for a quote for a "bitch  who does not really exist" giving all details  apart from the sex   the same as I had done for my  older  male i.e. aged 3 and a half . same post code  etc etc.   This came back as £19.45  for  a bitch as against £20.68 for my male   and although slighly dearer for the bitch  I really don't think  the difference in sex  warrants my 50% increase,.

I don't insure my dogs but have a feeling that M&S have sucked in a hell of a lot of new business with their exceptionally low premiums and then inflate them.  If you've made a claim in that time, then you are stuck with them really as any other insurer will not insure the condition(s) that you've claimed for.  That sounds like sharp practice to me! 
Is there an insurance ombudsman that you can talk to about all this?

This goes on all the time with car insurance tho' :) Renewals are never as keenly priced as new policies - that's why, with car insurance, it is always better to shop around every year. Pet insurance is a whole different thing because of the business of continuing cover for existing conditions :( That's why I've given up insuring my two :(

Daisy

Pet insurance is a whole different thing

Yep, that's exactly my point. :)

I still have not had a problem with m&s, its gone up slightly as you would expect with inflation and rise in vets fees etc.  but it certainly hasnt gone up by as much as everyone else is saying.

you dont live far from me.my post code is a gu. what yours.
and when is your renew due

im RG, Fagan's renewal date for his was a couple of months ago and it went up by £4 per month which I dont think is much considering vets fees, inflation etc.  The renewal date for Alfie and the cats is in a couple of months so it will be interesting to see what happens to theirs.

I'd say an increase of £4 a month which is £44 a year is quite an increase.  Isn't inflation aroudn 5%?

Its not much compared to everyone else's 100% - 200% increases, but  yes it is more than my annual payrise :rolleyes:  I am still much happier with this no excess policy than I Was when I was previously with direct line.  At least I know with this that no matter what happens they are all covered.

It would be unethical for any insurance company to do that deliberately, Val and not a practice I would honestly associate with M & S.   M & S is a decent company and I say that because I've had many dealings with them over the years in my line of work.

As far as the industry's concerned, it's up to each insurance company to charge what they like I'm afraid; if they price themselves out of the market, then that's their prerogative.   They can of course refuse to insure and they can cancel the policy mid-term providing they refund the premiums for that term. 

I don't actually think FOS can do a lot unfortunately; they don't have the power to make a company charge x amount in premiums.  Still, one could argue the point as to whether it is fair and reasonable to insure an animal for x period of time, and then sharply increase the premiums making the product unaffordable for some and ending one's cover for pre-existing conditions as the insured is forced to move elsewhere. 

I agree with what you say about M&S Spender.  I have trusted them with my money, not insurance. ;)  But to increase their client base enormously as they must have done and THEN increase premiums by as some say 200%, that doesn't seem fair and reasonable at all, and gives some people a dreadfiul decision to make.

I am wondering if they are putting up premiums for those living further up the country to put them more in line with the South.  When I took mine out it seemed the South was a lot more expensive then the North. I have had my renewal in and it has only gone up what I would expect with inflation. 

Although vet bills are more expensive down here, the premiums initially seemed very cheap for the Northern half of the country compared to the South.

Just a thought.

Apparently pet plan has gone up an awful lot too, and put the excess up to £90! Its ridiculous! At least with m and s you have a chance to claim some money back, with a £90 excess it would be rare to be able to claim!

Just had our renewal from M&S and ours has also increased 100% - am looking around for others now!

H Sandrah

After reading your post I  went  back  on to M & S  and got a quote for the same dog but  giving my friends post code  which is in Kent and it worked out at £301.44 per annum for this post code as against £248.13 per annum with my own Scottish   Post Code so it is not it is dearer the further north your post code is as you will see form   this quote

Hi Lovezois

That is a very small difference compared to what it was when M&S started their pet insurance. That equates to £4.41 a month difference, it was around £15 a month at the start.  So I think what I suggested is infact true.

I am actually paying £199 for a 4 year old and £264 for an 8 year old.

I would point out I didn't say it was dearer up North, just that the difference wasn't so great now.

Hi Sandrah

Yes but that was the difference between the   renewal prices  mine for the  previous year was £127,  this went up  by almost 50% to £248.13 for  my  older dog and   from £120.89 to to £229.53 . 56 again almost 50% increase and what I was saying was that when I used a Kent Post code the difference in the renewal for the older  dog went from £248.13  to £300 odds

That is almost 100% difference, not 50%.

The Kent postcode would have been different to yours last year.  So the renewal for a Kent dog looks like would be a lot less in percentage terms, like it has been for mine.

The renewal prices in the North seemed to have increased by around 100%.

So, I say again, the difference in premiums in the North v the South don't appear to be so large as they were when the M&S insurance first started.

Someone tell me they understand what I am saying

Hi  Sandrah

I do understand what you are saying , but I am on another forum and   on it there is  a Thread  where  we have all been asked to get  Insurance Quotes  from various Insurance Companies and  the quotes from M& S on there show that a lot of   Northern Post Code quotes have not all gone up  by as much as mine and some  have only increased by a few  pounds per month  whilst some   Southern  Post Codes  have increased by between 50 and  150% and again some by only a few pounds per month.  so  I just cannot see any rhyme nor reason  for the  increases and  I am sorry but I am not convined that it is the  Northern Post Code that has caused  mine to rise  so much.  We shall  just have to agree to disagree on this one.      

I'm with M&S and I've just got a quote on line which was cheaper than the renewal they have sent out, so phoned and complained about it, they said they did understand and lots of people were complaining and I could take the quote on line if I preferred!

After lots of quotes and looking at what each company cover offers,  I've chosen JS which is £5 per month less than M&S and seems to offer similar cover!

Had my renewals a couple of weeks ago and they have gone up literally by a couple of pounds nothing more.  I claimed last year for an injury to one of the dogs when he speared himself on a garden gate and they paid out really quickly - in fact I had to wait on my vet longer to fill the form in.  Personally I will be staying with M&S for the foreseeable future as I have done for the past 3 years or so.  Its not just cost that should be considered but also how easy is it to claim.  M&S couldnt have been better in that area.  Remember cheap doesnt necessarily mean quality.

I think you are right, cheap doesn't mean that you will get quality, but my golden is 14 months old, we have never made a claim and the premium increased by just over 100% I'm not sure how they can justify that increase.

M&S send out renewals automatically, they should make sure that the cost of renewal is as good a value as the one if the customer goes on-line - that is just my opinion.

We were with pet plan with our last dog who are slightly more expensive than M&S and we claimed every year, sometimes going over the insured amount, but Pet Plan were exceptionally quick to pay out - they never questioned the claims.

 

that what happen to me getting another quote though the post in a couple of days time

That is what I am wondering about, will the healthy pets remewal be different than applying for a new policy online.

The Gold Policy for us last year was £112.35.  The online quote today is £128.92, and renewal due in 2 weeks.

I too got my renewal from M&S and it had gone up around 60% from £11.13 & £10.09 to £20.02 for male & £17.83 for both my  GRs..

I was expecting this so looked at others  looked at More Than they too did a 15% dis on line but when I put the 15% onto their prices it worked out the same as M&S so I guess they are all doing it, also the nil excess has gone now, is £50 to pay...

Had a chat with vet,asked who she found the best to pay out, and she said straight away Pet Plan, now PP have gone up for my 2, it would be £30 each £60 per month!
I guess they all have got us by the short and curlies they know that in this day and age you need Pet ins...Well I know I do...:rolleyes:

>also the nil excess has gone now, is £50 to pay...

Double check the wording on your schedule.  I thought they had taken it away, but they told me if I had it before I will still have it.

At the very bottom of the schedule under Endorsements, last line reads.......The veterinary fees excess is reduced to NIl.

It is easy to miss.

Great yes it does I missed it too many thanks...that helps...

I simply think any more than £150 a year is a rip off, especially with the excess.

M&S have been absolutely wonderful over the last year for Izzy, last years premium was £122, at renewel on 10.06.07 it went up to £202, but I'm not complaining, we have had £4500 of treatment paid for by them, even down to the cost of fuel to go and see the Specialist - £95 for 660 miles travelling .................

Molly is with MoreThan and the increase has been on the same level with very little claimed back for treatment.

I think that if you have never put in a claim for treatment, then any rise in premiums would be found to be unacceptable by some people, but it appears that making a claim has had no bearing on the amount a premium rises each year (IMO) :)