AXA Pet Insurance www.axa.co.uk

FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS I HAVE FOUND THEIR SERVICE SECOND TO NONE BUT TODAY HAD A 10 MINUTE WAIT ON TELEPHONE FOR A "human" TO ANSWER AND THEN OF NO HELP AT ALL. TWICE NOW I HAVE HAD TO PAY THE £100 EXCESS FOR THE SAME CLAIM. I AM NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL.

My cat who will be 11 in January cost me £150 to insure with AXA last year, so you can imagine my shock and horror at the renewal of £1068 a year!!! I have made a complaint to their complaints department and will obviously be sending a complaint to the ombudsman and the other governing bodies they state when you phone them up. I did obviously ask for justification as to why it had increased so much, only to be told that I had claimed nearly £5000 this year, is that not why we take out insurance - as they state they will cover for £7000 per year and then the pot goes back to £7000 when you renew.... I did point out that my £15,000 car is insured which cost be £260 a year and if it got written off and had to be replaced would my insurers then charge me £4000 on renewal to cover the cost... NO, thats why we take out insurance!!! If my house burned down and had to be rebuilt and all the contents replaced, would my home insurance then go up to £50,000 the next to cover some of their costs - NO, thats why we take out insurance!!!! Still waiting to hear back from AXA, I did ask if the underwriters had just returned from their Christmas do and put down the renewal figure as a joke... I did point out to them that surely if the condidtions which they have paid for this year were not real then I would have had to pay the vets bill myself, but they have paid for both conditions, not my cats fault she has a benign cyst in her chest cavity and had to have a CT scan and biopsies to get a proper diagnosis... So the moral of this story is just be warned on renewal if for any reason you have had to make a claim on your pet insurance with AXA because they think they can fleece you on renewal - I wont go down without a fight - as they so no publicity is good publicity and I intend to highlight the fact that they think that they can rip us off and we will just stay quiet and either pay up or go eslewhere, which is basically what they want people to do now they are no longer taking on any new business for pet insurance. Good job I dont insure my house or car with them!!!

Three weeks later, many phone calls & emails & still not received a correct claim form.

The have now emailed one after a disgruntled phone call this morning but have put wrong breed of dog.

Axa had been good but now I'm doubting their care.

I have a new pup & won't be insuring with Axa after this poor service.

Just got my renewal for Axa Pet Insurnace after year 1 - has gone up from £26 per month (I'm in London) to £190 per month (£2,283 for the year)! This year I've been paid out £850 for treatment for 3 separate problems (they paid out quickly once I'd managed to get hold of claim forms - you have to leave a message on an answerphone which they didn't pick up). The most recent claim was for the identification of a congenital cataract in my 1-year-old cocker spaniel. Obviously I'm not going to pay £190 per month, so will have to pay for any ongoing treatment for this, as I won't find a policy that will cover an underlying condition. I will be taking this up with ombudsman, Axa complaints dept, etc.. but would warn everyone to avoid this company in any dealings. Absolutely disgraceful. I've also heard rumours that they're coming out of the pet insurance market apart from renewing existing policies - perhaps the increase in premium is to encourage everyone to move on. Never been more disgusted with a financial institution in my life!!

Not good enough. I have 2 cats and one dog insured with Axa. The cats have been insured for 5 years. Made one claim a couple of years ago and after many calls and complaints I had to wait months for settlement of that claim. At the time I was told it was an oversight and given an apology. June 11 this year (2013) I made a further claim for one of my cats who had been attacked by something. We put the claim in as soon as possible and are still waiting for the settlement of the claim. Axa did not follow up information that they required although I had received notification from them stating that they had received everything they needed. I contacted relevant people and had the information sent to Axa immediately. I have had to make many and lengthy calls to their premium rate telephone line, been kept holding on and informed that the staff are not allowed to return calls. In fact two days ago a member of staff asked me to go over what we had discussed a few minutes beforehand to ensure I stayed on the line for a member of staff I had dealt with before to finish another call to speak to me. I was so incensed that I told him to get Jason to call me back when he had finished his call. Two days later I am still waiting. Will I continue to insure with Axa? NO. Will I recommend Axa? NEVER

After 2 weeks of intensive treatment we had to put our cat to sleep. We'd paid our vet for each treatment as we went along. After being with the insurers for 4 years we knew what we were covered for etc and expected a claim to be complete within a month. The claim was for around £500 a little of which we'd borrowed from friends. The only option I was given was to wait for a claim form that never arrived. Attempt 2 took 2 weeks. Why not have a form that can be downloaded? 6 more weeks later and I'm constantly having to contact them. I've paid out more on premiums over the years and have never claimed before. Next time I can guarantee I won't be using AXA.

My Insurance cost was £275 2011 to 2012

Then it went to £473 why? 2012 to 2013

Why well Flat Coated Retrievers cost money I was told. What???

I gave them the following teeth cleaned three times a week

Groomed every day

Ears cleaned every day

Check everywhere paws eyes you namer I looked

Yet no pet dog gets the same but AXA did not care a jot not one jot

Now they are closing their insurance section

I will close with AXA new name ROBBERS

I had to claim for my pugs injured eye after only being insured with AXA for 6 weeks, we had an emergency vets visit on Xmas Day and a follow up on Boxing day and when I called to find out how to claim the customer service department were extremely helpful and efficient. They e-mailed me a claim form instead of posting (to save me time waiting for it to arrive in the post Christmas mail) and even though they warned me it was a very busy time of the year for the claims team due to out of hours visits they processed my claim in 4 working days and sent a cheque for over £250 ASAP.

I have also just had to claim again as he had an infection in his stomach and this time they text me with updates and e-mailed me a copy of the letter stating the amount I will receive, less my excess, which was 4/5 days after my vet posted this claim for off.

I would definitely recommend AXA and even if they double my premium, currently just £15 per month, I will continue to renew with them due to the fast and efficient service i have received so far.

I have a six month old Great Dane, he had one eye op for e version of the cartilage of both eyes and then a couple of weeks later, another op for further eye probs. axa have paid both op cheques very speedily, one being just under £800 and the other £850

No quibble, no problems. I am a Vet nurse and know all too well the tales of insurance nightmares. I would only choose axa or pet plan and pp's quote was way over the axa one this time so that made my decision.

Very pleased so far. Lets hope I don't get a massive premium or excess hike at renewal in 6 months time!

I have been with Axa Pet Insurance since 2009 and during the last year I have made two claims for my 10 year old cat, each claim for over £1000. I received a cheque for the latest claim just one week after sending the claim form, although payment for the other claim took about 6 weeks. But,sadly,the cat was eventually put to sleep.

I have found the customer services staff very helpful and will be insuring my new moggie with Axa. The premiums and excesses compare very favourably with other insurers.