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Are Many Pets going under?

88 replies

TalkingInTheKitchen · 23/11/2023 17:48

I've had pet insurance with Many Pets for the past 5 years and they've always been quick at handling claims. I put in a claim a month ago and its not even been looked at by their claims handling team. Emails are going unanswered and I've been promised over the phone multiple times that it'll be dealt with the same day yet nothing. I've looked at recent reviews and apparently they suffered a big financial loss and there are many people in a similar position to myself. I'm still paying my (not so small) direct debit and the vets fees, I can't afford both! It's infuriating especially when I need the money I'm owed to pay bills and I'm getting in debt as a result!

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cymraes12 · 17/02/2024 15:17

Minnie2401 · 17/02/2024 14:53

Thank you - it’s pretty much the same thing & how can anyone have history for a rescue pet?! Though they are saying to me the shelter in Spain must have done basic checks ….. always thought Many Pets were the go to for rescue pets but maybe that’s why they’ve made huge losses lately?! Trouble is it’s been thousands I had to spend & unless the rescue can prove they weren’t pre-existing ( which I think they probably can’t) I’m not sure how this will go. Nightmare, stressful & I am also having sleepless nights like another poster on this thread 😑

In our case, the rescue centre HAD done basic checks - in the sense that our cat had been seen by an RSPCA vet who stated there were no issues with his health in a written report which we could produce - but Many Pets insisted this wasn’t enough and they still needed two years of vet records from a previous owner who couldn’t tell us which vet they used, because they were dead. It was even more baffling given that we were claiming for a heart scan that didn’t find a problem - so what were they hoping to find in the vet records?! Our vet has been very understanding about the delay because they apparently have loads of clients in the same boat with Many Pets, but they’ve said they’d like us to change insurer as soon as we can or will require upfront payment in future. Really hope you get it sorted, it’s absolutely horrible to be losing sleep over money and absolutely not the point of having insurance in the first place.

blackcherryconserve · 17/02/2024 17:18

Has anyone got a pet insurer that they recommend?!!!

JobsLot · 17/02/2024 17:32

blackcherryconserve · 17/02/2024 17:18

Has anyone got a pet insurer that they recommend?!!!

I don't know, I'm with Many Pets as well, but I think I'll change too.

Interested in this thread?

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TheDowagerDoughnut · 17/02/2024 17:40

I know your worry. I had a claim exactly like that with them BUT it was a one off.

I waited about three months for them to pay it and then gave up and resubmitted it as a new claim... paid within 4 hours. I then sent them a message telling them to cancel the old one, which they did but without any comms back at all.

Since then I've made about four more claims and all have been paid within the four hours again.

icclemunchy · 17/02/2024 17:52

I'll be changing when renewal comes up as a quick look shows pretty much every insurer to be significantly cheaper than what I'm paying now. Sometimes with more cover!

I'll prob go with pet plan because I know their policies etc having worked for them in the past.

KnackeredBack · 17/02/2024 17:55

We had a 3/4 month wait (very recent; paid 3 weeks ago), but when they realised that they were that late, we then had a very swift resolution, profuse apology and an offer to put in a complaint on our behalf. They're really fast with the smaller claims but just slower with the big ones.

krystalweedon · 17/02/2024 18:04

Minnie2401 · 17/02/2024 14:53

Thank you - it’s pretty much the same thing & how can anyone have history for a rescue pet?! Though they are saying to me the shelter in Spain must have done basic checks ….. always thought Many Pets were the go to for rescue pets but maybe that’s why they’ve made huge losses lately?! Trouble is it’s been thousands I had to spend & unless the rescue can prove they weren’t pre-existing ( which I think they probably can’t) I’m not sure how this will go. Nightmare, stressful & I am also having sleepless nights like another poster on this thread 😑

I think they will have to pay unless it is stated very clearly and upfront in the main points of the policy that they won't pay out without 2 years of history.

If it is stated, but buried in the small print, same applies, they will have to pay up as this would be deemed unfair.. Dean Dunham, who does a consumer rights programme on LBC is always really clear on this (I listen to him when I am washing up and he has said this over and over. What an exciting life I lead!).

emmaempenadas · 17/02/2024 18:44

Pet plan are very good.

I avoid supermarket pet insurers after they changed underwriters and new ones wouldn't provide insurance and classed my dogs op that they paid for as a pre existing condition.

Animal friends is also one to avoid. Notorious for not paying out, have a negative fb group about them and appeared on watchdog so avoid them too.

Pet plan probably is your best option. It will be expensive though.

JobsLot · 17/02/2024 19:38

I've just signed up with Animal Friends for my three cats. £35 a month compared to £94 with Many Pets for virtually the same amount of cover.

JobsLot · 17/02/2024 19:55

emmaempenadas · 17/02/2024 18:44

Pet plan are very good.

I avoid supermarket pet insurers after they changed underwriters and new ones wouldn't provide insurance and classed my dogs op that they paid for as a pre existing condition.

Animal friends is also one to avoid. Notorious for not paying out, have a negative fb group about them and appeared on watchdog so avoid them too.

Pet plan probably is your best option. It will be expensive though.

Their Trust pilot reviews are okay.

JobsLot · 17/02/2024 20:10

The good Trust Pilot reviews must be fake 🤔 I'll have to cancel this on Monday.

Any other suggestions? They all seem to avoid paying out and make up reasons not to do so. I'm wondering if it's not just better to put money aside.

Riverlee · 17/02/2024 20:16

I put in three claims in early October on the same day. The third, and most serious was paid within twenty four hours. The other two, less serious, were paid after chasing in early December. Total was under five hundred pounds.

cymraes12 · 17/02/2024 20:27

KnackeredBack · 17/02/2024 17:55

We had a 3/4 month wait (very recent; paid 3 weeks ago), but when they realised that they were that late, we then had a very swift resolution, profuse apology and an offer to put in a complaint on our behalf. They're really fast with the smaller claims but just slower with the big ones.

Sadly not our experience - the claim we’ve been waiting for them to settle since July is for less than £300 by the time the excess is removed.

emmaempenadas · 18/02/2024 00:58

JobsLot · 17/02/2024 20:10

The good Trust Pilot reviews must be fake 🤔 I'll have to cancel this on Monday.

Any other suggestions? They all seem to avoid paying out and make up reasons not to do so. I'm wondering if it's not just better to put money aside.

Put the money away and cancel the policy with animal friends.

FiveShelties · 18/02/2024 01:12

Some years ago I cancelled my insurance as the premiums increased quite substantially and started to put the amount of the premium in Premium Bonds. Have not won the million yet, but I live in hope.

ScattyHattie · 18/02/2024 03:18

I know Many Pets had no treatment for 2yr clause with the pre-existing conditions policy, but seems ridiculous they think you can know prior vet history when the dog wasn't in your ownership when have no legal right to the info, potentially a dog could've gone through multiple owners/vets in that timeframe.

It seems to often happen that a new insurer seems great for first few years to build custom and then goes downhill, I wasn't sure if with Many Pets had a change of ownership with the rebranding as seems to have been problems since.

When changing insurers it's not only what you've claimed for but anything mentioned in the vet history/notes that underwriters look at on first claim when deciding if pre-existing and also tend to group so can end up more potential conditions uninsured. It's often still worth having some cover though.
It's a big gamble just saving to self fund as vet fees are so high now that you really need access to £7k+ but that can be wiped out and then potentially have something else crop up before had chance to replenish savings.

@JobsLot

Petplan have always paid my claims usually within week, some planned i went for pre-approval on quotes & probably had about £20k over 1 dogs lifetime. Vets & specialists were happy direct claim with PP so only ever had to pay excess upfront They also don't penalise individual for claims it's shared over group so could always put everything through without worrying it about it shooting up on renewal like had with previous insurer.

PP is more expensive but many other insurers try to offload higher risk i.e post big claims or older dogs by making premiums so high most cancel. People tend to think they'd not put an old dog through surgeries and forget just the maintenance for many common liveable conditions like arthritis, kidney, heart etc is expensive. My dogs medications alone cost more than the monthly premiums, i'd buy it online too as I'd pay 20% of the cost.

Riverlee · 18/02/2024 04:55

One of my friends has a lab that at the age of eight, needed over eight thousand pounds of treatment . Another friend has a cat that got attacked and has had four thousand pounds worth of ops, scans, X-rays etc. I spent nearly five hundred five hundred pounds at the vets in the first year with my vet.

Trouble is, you can never tell. I effectively got my first years premiums back. Can you afford a bill if it starts costing thousands?

JobsLot · 18/02/2024 13:42

I was with Petplan years ago, but they wriggled out of a payment on a small technicality so I lost faith in them. It seems this is how pet insurance operates. Can you imagine running up a £4k bill then the insurance refusing to pay by using some lame excuse?

HeadShoulderHipsandCalves · 18/02/2024 13:45

SplendidPendips · 23/11/2023 18:33

I'm shocked by how much they cost since my policy renewed. My dog is only 2. Thinking of ditching them, so to hear their customer service is rubbish pushes me even further in that direction.

How much are you being charged for your two year old?

HeadShoulderHipsandCalves · 18/02/2024 13:51

blackcherryconserve · 17/02/2024 17:18

Has anyone got a pet insurer that they recommend?!!!

Pet plan have always been good for us but we don't have rescue dogs.

SplendidPendips · 18/02/2024 13:51

£50 per month now (think it was about £35 when i signed up). Since I posted my dog has needed an operation and they have taken almost 2 months to pay out, although some of that was over Xmas. They've also paid less than the operation cost and I can't figure out why so need to look in to it (it's not the excess).

purplepandas · 18/02/2024 13:54

Petplan all the way here. We have rescue rabbits and have claimed thousands in some cases. When rabbits go wrong they di it quickly and usually on a bank holiday in my family. PP usually pay quickly to be honest. Not cheap but worth the peace of mind.

icclemunchy · 18/02/2024 17:58

JobsLot · 18/02/2024 13:42

I was with Petplan years ago, but they wriggled out of a payment on a small technicality so I lost faith in them. It seems this is how pet insurance operates. Can you imagine running up a £4k bill then the insurance refusing to pay by using some lame excuse?

Tbf if it wasn't covered because of something in the t&c then it's not a lame excuse

JobsLot · 18/02/2024 18:52

icclemunchy · 18/02/2024 17:58

Tbf if it wasn't covered because of something in the t&c then it's not a lame excuse

I took my young cat into the vets because she had cystitis. They treated it, but the problem returned. Because I was about two days outside of the 14 days allowed for it to be covered as the same illness, they wouldn't pay out. It was the same problem and they got off on a technicality of 48 hours. Nice. I suppose it's in the T&C's though, so it's all good 🙄

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