Petplan renewal...bloody hell!

[Sonolanona]

Just had my renewal come through for next year...
£620 last year... £780 this!!!! 5 yr old medium sized healthy spayed Eurasier girl..the only treatment she's had all year is one allergy injection!

Is it worth looking around? She does usually need a Cytopint injection in spring when the pollen hits but that's it.

Try animal friends. They were the cheaper option for us, they have paid out when we needed it, and not only that, but we have been able to get a free face time consultation with their vet for non urgent advice when I couldn't get an appointment with my own vet

The problem with looking around is that you would need to declare everything you have been to the vet for even if you didn't get a diagnosis or claim.

How much cover do you get for that? We pay £85 a month for only £4000 cover. But we still pay as we claim back almost that each year just in medication. And for this year we have already claimed another £1800 for two different conditions on top of that.

I switched to Tesco Bank pet insurance from PetPlan. Found it much cheaper.

Animal friends was much cheaper.

Two year old Labrador 's premium went from around £550 to £680 with ManyPets. Rang around a bit and now paying around £550 with M&S. We hadn't claimed a thing since we got him at eight weeks. MP said they had had a lot of cruciate ligament claims. I was disbelieving - in two year old dogs?

It doesn't matter where you switch to, after a year or so they raise it dramatically and as soon as your pet reaches 8 years it sky rockets as they are a 'senior dog'. I pay £176 a month for my dog, that is with having to pay 20% of any claim as he is a 'senior dog ' and £100 excess. On top of that add in the food, the inoculations and my £400 per month dog walking fees and it is like having a second mortgage! I love him dearly but I won't replace him when he is gone due to the cost.

I'm with Tesco and have been since my pup was born. They were providing Petplan cover for half the price when I moved over.

I'm paying a huge amount now (£240 a month!!) and can't shop around as I wouldnt get cover. My almost 10 yrs old dog has had cancer, spinal issues, monthly medication (£100) and I've just submitted another £2k claim this week for abdominal issues.

Tesco have never quibbled, the staff are really lovely and they are efficient and quick to pay out.

Vets costs have gone through the roof due to a handful of private equity firms controlling the market....there is a competition commission investigation at the moment. So it follows that insurance costs have massively increased too.

animal friends didnt go up too much when my dog was 10

"Vets costs have gone through the roof due to a handful of private equity firms controlling the market....there is a competition commission investigation at the moment. So it follows that insurance costs have massively increased too"

This.

Private equity firms shouldn't be allowed near medical institutions for either animals or humans. It's simply immoral to have a practice profiting out of illness and suffering of either - and crucially only allowing the rich to be able to afford their services.

I'm with Tesco. They upped my premium this year so I called them and we negotiated a better price.

My excess has gone up but I'm OK with that.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/5078773-cat-insurance

Cheap! Mines £2k!

The competition commission ( the for runner of the CMA) were the ones that said allowing only vets to own veterinary practices was an unfair monopoly.
The biggest reasons vets costs have risen is rising staff costs due to a huge shortage of staff primarily caused by staff leaving after Covid and Brexit and lots of qualified staff returning to Europe.

Ive switched from many pets to co-op. I was paying 45 a month and exactly the same cover is now 22 a month. My girl is almost 4 so
I'm sure it'll go up loads as she gets older

Try purely pets. Granted my dogs are small (shi tzu crosses) and I pay £12 for my 8yr old and £13 for my 12week old. That's with £6000 lifetime cover each.

Animal Friends are notorious for not paying out and many vets won't accept direct payment from them as a result.

We're with Tesco and have never had any issues.

Sainsburys here! Paid a claim in four days once - never had any issues.

Always worth asking your vets who they recommend. Lots of insurers have very bad reputations

For third party cover: Dog's Trust membership, £25/year
For everything else and ISA so much a month or other savings. Is what we do (older, rescue dog)

My vet told me to avoid animal friends as they are notorious for not paying out.
I had petplan for 13 years and in the end I was paying £80+ per month but they paid my dogs lifetime claim every month without fail (£200 ) I really wouldn't swap insurance as anything you've previously had like an allergy injection wouldn't be covered as considered as pre existing condition
Stick with pet plan as you're totally covered

Thank you for all the replies.. sobering prospects for when my girl gets older.
I do like that when I remember to claim for her jab, they pay promptly, I'm just a bit shocked at the increase!
I guess I'll stick with them for now, but maybe try and start building savings for when she's older and costs even more!

You may find that your home and contents insurance gives you third party for your dogs.

My renewal with petplan jumped from £580 to £780, despite never claiming, he's a 2 year old lab. I've switched to Agria. Same lifetime cover, higher coverage and half the premium.