Tesco Pet Insurance

This review is for Tesco Pet Insurance.

Setting up The Insurance

First off all you need to know what pet you’re going to be insuring. You might assume that just dogs and cats are available on this insurance and you would be right from my own experience I have only ever seen dogs and cats insurance available.

You begin by either going to their website and finding out how much it would cost or you can do it via the telephone but I have found it much easier to do via the internet in my own time.

You begin by filling out details about yourself which is obviously standard and you then fill out information about your pet as well. You need to be as honest as possible as sometimes one silly error can end up costing you more per month which is not what you want.

Once you have begun with the details and added everything they need you are quoted a price and this price might be done monthly or annually depends on how you wish to pay them. You see the price and you can change information as well which might increase the total cost each month or might reduce it.

You can increase your excess fee which is what you pay to the vet in order to get the insurance or you can increase the overall cover for your dog. Sometimes there is a small price increase and sometimes a large increase this all depends on the breed of animal you have got.

Sometimes if you have one or more pets petting them together on the same policy can actually decrease your value as well which is helpful for people like me with a few pets already.

Once the insurance has been sorted out and you’re happy with a price you then need to sort out when you want the cover to start and sort out how you will pay by direct debit, remember you get club card points as well each time you pay.
You then receive your letter through the post to tell you about the policy and your number and all the vital details.

My Experience

I have always had pets in my life and insurance has always played a key part and when I saw Tesco I wanted to try them out as they were the cheapest at the time. Around Christmas time I sadly lost my dog Lily through an illness and without insurance I would have been in serious debt to the vets due to the amount of work they had to perform.

I found the registration of my pets very easy and within 48 hours I had letter through the door telling me about the policy and how easy it was to claim. When my dog was ill the place she was at needed to know about the insurance she had and I told them it was Tesco and instantly they were happy as Tesco pay out quickly.

I rang up Tesco with my insurance policy and they told me how they would send out the forms directly to the vets themselves via a fax machine and then they can fill them in and send them back to them. This happened within 48 hours and Tesco were always in contact with me throughout via calls and emails as well.

Within 14 days they had told me the money was paid and the policy was closed and even had a member of staff on the phone that was very nice and sympathetic towards me and it was a nice change from rude people who just want your money.
My excess was £60 so I paid that amount to the vet whilst Tesco paid out £2,500 for the vet fees and I was left shocked by how quickly they paid the bill and without any hassle.

This is not my first occasion of using them either and I used them on a cat nearly 18 months ago who came back injured after their collar was lodged under the arm and it was basically inside the flesh and it was a nasty mess and he needed plenty of antibiotics and surgery to repair the damage and he was an aging cat around 13 and he needed some assistance to get through the problems.

Tesco at the time were only charging me £7 a month for him and I took him in to the vets within 2 weeks of taking the policy out and Tesco paid up and it was nearly a month until they did but they did pay up which showed me how good they were then but I never had a dog with them before and both occasions they were fantastic.

I think what helped me was how easy they were to speak to on the phone they never acted as if they did not care they wanted to help me and were constantly giving me advice and information to help myself further and that is a huge benefit and comfort to have.

What Don’t the Policies Cover?

The first thing they do not cover is an existing illness and this might be anything your pet has had treated before. If your pet was seeing a vet before the policy was taken out for a broken leg or problems with skin irritations and you needed surgery then Tesco will not pay out for you.

They are a company that will pay out for new treatments only and nothing old which could be unfair to most people but most policies and insurance groups have the same idea.

You cannot claim the value of your pet back if you had the pet put to sleep. If you had a pet which was quite poorly and needed to be put to sleep you cannot claim any money back at all. Usually insurers will pay back the value of the pet on death but because they did not die and you choose to put them to sleep they will not pay out.

I think the idea of not paying idea for a pet who needed to be to sleep is wrong especially if you keep it alive and in pain you’re in trouble for neglect so that is a sore point for some I imagine.

If you put down your pet as 8 months old and the pet is actually 7 months old you could be refused any assistance as you lied to the insurers. This is why it is vital you put down the correct details on birth or as near as possible because if the vet tells them a different piece of information to yourself they will not pay out.

If you have a pet who is sick and you cannot find a local vet due to your own being closed for any reason you need to take your pet to a vet they tell you to visit and if you fail to do that they will not pay out either and can end the policy.

Some of these terms you could argue about which is easy to do because a pets age is only what your told if your given the pet so if you are told the pet is older than they are then how can they not pay out for that? So there s a few issues here to remember.

What your Policy TELLS you to do

The policy actually tells you certain things you have to do and I am not sure if these do matter but they do and one of those is that your pet who is insured must have a collar and ID on them and tell them where to be returned to should they go missing.
You must contact Tesco before you pay or agree to pay for the treatment your pet has undergone just to make sure they can pay it off and your policy covers them. This is quite an easy one to remember and obviously something most people would do anyways.

If your own vet and the Tesco vet disagree over a treatment of your pet and independent vet will be brought in to diagnose a problem and whatever they say is final. This could be bad if you feel the Tesco vet wants to end the life of your animal to save themselves cash in the long run.

You are not allowed to take your pet away for three journeys which last 30 days in a policy period. I am not sure if this is a year or during the whole duration you have the policy. If you do this you need it in writing otherwise your insurance is void.
Other Info

I would point out to people that if you put two or more animals on a policy you can save over £10 a month and in a year it works out pretty good.
You also have the access a vet which is a 24 hour vetinary service and you are provided the number in the policy and this is for your own benefit incase your pet is sick and it can be helpful as I did ring the number once and was given great assistance.

You can actually pay for one of your months with your own Tesco club card vouchers. If you are short one month but have enough for the cost of insurance you can actually pay with your club card vouchers you accumulate.

If you recommend a friend to Tesco you can receive a £10 Tesco gift card or 1,000 club card points to use for other things and this can be very useful.
You can additional packages to your insurance and these might be situations such as, Hospitalisation of Owner, Theft or Straying and Accidental Death.

Good and Bad Points

I think the fact that they cover all breeds of dog and cat pretty good. You can actually find moggy cats written down as well which would be good for many people out there who do not own pedigree animals.

I like how quickly they pay out the money to vets and they do this so quickly and without any hassle at all. They are also very good in how they keep you informed throughout the process and tell you what happens next as well.

I like the fact they have an emergency vet on a telephone line should you feel the need to contact them and get any extra advice and this can be really useful if you are in a panic at any time.

I think the fact you can pay with your own Tesco Club Card points a great idea as well as this is something you might not expect to happen but you can and this is a good idea done by Tesco.

I do not like the fact that if your animal is put to sleep because they are seriously ill that Tesco will not pay out because the pet did not die naturally. I feel this is just a terrible excuse to not pay out and the money would have gone to a proper burial for my pet rather than me.

I feel that some of the policy outlines are rather silly and the age of the pet could be determined in many ways and seen in different ways by many people.

Summary

I would recommend Tesco to anyone who will listen partially because they gave me quick service and payment towards my pet.

I was paying just £7.41 a month for my Scottish Terrier who died and that was the cheapest I could find and they were very good at assisting me.
I admit there policy has some points I find hard to believe but I am sure other insurers might have similar if not identical policies as well.

I would point out club card points for each month you pay and any additional animals reduces the overall cost serious things to remember.