Fi FI Phone Fun!
Somehow, we managed to hold off allowing my eldest son, Elliott, to have a mobile phone until he turned 12. Consequently, there was no way we he was going to wait a day longer than this, so he was duly presented with a second hand, but remarkably scratch free, smart phone on his birthday. He took to it rather too well and it wasn’t long before he seemed to have the most active message feed in the household! Despite me fiddling with various parental controls, it always seemed to be pinging away in the background and causing distraction and annoyance.
I therefore had mixed feelings of disappointment and mild satisfaction when he confessed to having lost his phone 6 weeks into its newfound ownership on a school trip. No amount of “finding my phone” seemed to work with the result that Elliott’s emotions were far less complex – dismay probably summing things up nicely! However, dismay quickly turned to relief when we discovered that the school insurance policy was able to cover the cost of the phone and I am sorry to say that he is now back on comms…
Everyone has positive and negative stories with regards insurance claims, and this is certainly the case in the realm of pet insurance. One definite example of a negative is the scenario where an owner puts in a claim on their pet insurance and, when the policy comes up for renewal, the insurance provider increases the premium way above the previous year. This leaves a dilemma - pay the new, increased premium and maintain insurance for the condition for which they have previously claimed, or change to another provider with a cheaper premium. The issue with changing provider is that a new provider will NOT cover for a “pre-existing condition”, so the pet will no longer be covered for anything related to it. The latter is a common pitfall for pet owners, who often do not discover that their pet is not insured for a particular condition with a new provider until they put in a claim and it is rejected.
The whole process has always seemed unfair to me, and I can’t think of many other types of insurance where premiums can be put up and there is no alternative to maintain the same cover. So, I was excited when I learnt about Pet Proactive – an insurance company who are provide policies in a new way and I am pleased to say that Hawthorn Vets are one of the first practices to work with them. So, what do they do differently?
- Pet Proactive only work with independent vets and all their premiums are based on the fair pricing at Hawthorn Vets, not the national veterinary market. This means that most of our customers will get competitive premiums for an equivalent policy from another provider.
Although your pet’s premium will increase with age, Pet Proactive aim to keep their renewal premiums as low as possible so you can keep your pet insured for life.
Pet Proactive will never increase your premium just because you have made a claim.
Pet Proactive can access your pet’s medical history at Hawthorn Vets and can confirm any pre-existing conditions or exclusions at the start of the policy so you know exactly what is covered.
There is one single excess of £100 per year regardless of the number of claims made or the number of conditions. Cover ranges from £4,000 to £12,000 per year.
Overall, I feel this a very positive change in the field of pet insurance. More information is available on our website, but if you are interested in getting a quote for your pet, all you need to do is visit www.petproactive.pet and enter your mobile number to get instant quotes. Please note that your pet will need to be registered at Hawthorn Vets and be under 6 years of age to be eligible. If you aren’t registered, you can do so by contacting us.
Now time for me to find out if my car tyres are covered after driving into that pothole…..
