I wrote something after my long dark absence! Please come and say hi to me again, I've missed you a...
I wrote something after my long dark absence! Please come and say hi to me again, I've missed you all xxxxxxxx Anyone on yahoo IM can find me as shaunandlisawales
Member since:08.10.2002
Reviews:48
Members who trust:18
About this time last year, I 'adopted' 2 rescue dogs called Nellie and Boswell.
They are old english mastiffs, so not only were they enormous, but this is one of the 'premium' breeds on most policies, hence not cheap to insure.
Obviously, when purchasing insurance, it is important to make sure that cover is not compromised by taking a cheaper option, for example, higher excess, lower amounts of cover and so on, therefore it is critical to read the small print carefully.
The two alternatives I was considering were Pet Plan (available from Pets at home etc.) and Petcare (offered by a local vet). Petcare's quote was around £25 per animal, per month. Pet Plan was around £12.00 per pet, per month.
Looking at the cover, the main difference was that Petcare covered the cost of annual vaccination boosters, whereas both Pet Plan and Tesco only covered 'reactive' care rather than preventative.
Petcare also allowed for 'prescription feed' whereas the Tesco policy would consider that food rather than treatment. The vet was quite pushy regarding the Petcare policy, however when you consider the premium is £50.00 per month, you have to balance the risk that you pet may at some point need prescriptive food and for how long against the extra monthly premiums, as well as the cost of annual boosters.
I considered these risks and felt that the extra premium was not worth it in our instance, although other people may consider it necessary. Cover between Tesco and Pet Plan was very comparable with no significant differences.
When I contacted Tesco, I was impressed with the way that they viewed us as a 'unit' rather than 2 separate pets. The usual rate would have been about £12 per dog (no extra rate for the fact they were Mastiffs), but as there were 2 dogs involved, they gave us a reduction and only charged us £17 for both dogs, which was excellent value.
The call centre was excellent, I felt I was speaking to a real person and not someone reading a script (my own favourite bugbear!) and was treated like an individual, and they were very quick in responding to our enquiry and in sending out the documentation.
I fortunately haven't had to use the policy over the course of the year, as both dogs were very healthy. However, I feel secure that if I do need to make a claim, it will be dealt with in a friendly, professional manner.
Sadly, we no longer have Boswell, he had to be re-housed because the dogs were not able to live together without constant fighting (a problem given the fact both dogs are about 18 stone and living in a relatively small house!)
However, we still have Nellie and it is reassuring to know that if she has a problem, help is only a phone call away and we wouldn't need to make difficult decisions if ever she became ill.
I haven't actually rated the online service because I havent used it, as I arranged it over the telephone, and I would happily recommend their Petcare policy both in terns of price and service to potential buyers.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Wasn't sure how to rate this - would normally have given it a VH, but really it is of little use in the motor insurance category!!!! Why not contact Ciao and see if they will move it? I have just purchased pet insurance for my pup at just over £10 per month, for us Direct Line was the cheapest, but having heard horror stories about claims for motor accidents, I decided to stick with Tesco who now have just about all my insurances - sadly, until you need them, you can never really tell how good an insurance company is.
Sue
LindaL 08.02.2003 00:21
Great review! I also found them best for my adopted ex-racing greyhound.
SueMagee 07.02.2003 14:05
I would like to have known more about the excesses, limits on treatment, both annually and over the lifetime of the dog and any other benefits included in the policy.
Advantages: 5% discount for online quotes, easy to apply, competitive premiums, helpful staff Disadvantages: need to get letter for NCD proof, (not available in R.O.I or Northern Ireland)
Connoisseur_Haggler 01.08.2001 (27.05.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of TescoInsurance
Feb 7th, 2003
very helpful by (56%):
helpful by (44%):
