Ageas Pet Insurance Review

Your pet must be in good health, owned by you and be a minimum of 8 weeks old.

Your pet must live with you at a UK address and not have shown any aggressive tendencies.

Ageas Insurance offer the following policies, for both cats and dogs:

The Essentials policy covers vets fees up to a maximum of £1,500 time limited to a maximum of 12 months.

The Classic policy covers vets fees up to £2,000 (maximum of £1,000 per condition per year), which can be reinstated each year.

The Extra policy covers vets fees up to a maximum of £4,000 for all conditions combined, which can be reinstated each year.

The Ultra policy covers vets fees up to a maximum of £10,000 for all conditions combined, which can be reinstated each year.

Some issues over pet insurance happen because a claim is declined or the agreed settlement amount is less than the customer was expecting. One of the common reasons for this is due to a lack of understanding of the policy.

It is essential that you read your policy wording carefully and understand the terminology. We have produced a Comprehensive Pet Insurance Buyers guide to help explain the different types of cover. We have also listed below the important exclusions that we think you should know about.

The Ageas policy excludes any costs relating to :-

1. Routine examinations, preventative and elective treatments.
2. The treatment of fleas, worming, removal of dewclaws.
3. Routine Spaying or Castration.
4. The act of giving birth or whilst pregnant.
5. Routine or elective blood tests.
6. The costs of bathing, grooming or de-matting your pet.
7. Behavioral problems and training unless caused as a direct result of an insured incident.
8. Treatment connected to organ transplants and or the fitting of full or partial artificial limbs.
9. The cost of euthanasia as a result of a court order or the Contagious Diseases Act.
10. The cost of housing, or bedding.
11. Any medication or treatment not recommended by a vet.
12. Any dog that is an American Pit Bull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Braziliero, Japanese Tosa, Perro de Presa Canario, Pit Bull, Pit Bull Terrier, wolf or wolf hybrid, or a dog crossed with these, or any animal registered under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
13. Your pet being used for commercial breeding purposes, guarding, search and rescue, track racing, coursing or used in connection with any business, trade, profession or occupation. (commercial breeding counts as any pet that has had more than two litters in its lifetime).

You are expected to take your pet for annual check-ups and keep them vaccinated against;

Dogs - Distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus.

Cats - Feline infectious enteritis, feline influenza, feline herpes virus , feline calicivirus and feline leukaemia.

Ageas Pet Insurance covers complementary medicine The Ageas Pet up to £1,000 (except the essentials policy which only covers up to £500)

Treatments include Acupuncture, hydrotherapy, osteopathy, physiotherapy and chiropractic therapy recommended by your vet and carried out by a suitably qualified person.

Cover also includes up to 10 sessions (Ultra), or 5 sessions (Essentials, Classic and Extra) of hydrotherapy.

The policy does not cover fees for unapproved treatments including (but not limited to) pulsed magnetic field therapy, matrix energy field therapy, the Bowen technique, Reiki massage and faith healing.

All Ageas pet policies cover prescription food up to a maximum of £100.

However this is only to pay for food to prevent the formation of bladder stones and crystals in urine for a maximum duration of six months.

Dentistry is covered under the policy, but only where treatment is required as a result of an accident.

All Ageas policies cover CT/MRI scans and Cruciate Ligament problems. The amount covered depends on the policy.

Essentials and Classic policies CT/MRI Scans up to £1,000, Cruciate Ligament claims up to £1,000.

Extra Policy CT/MRI Scans up to £1,250, Cruciate Ligament claims up to £2,500

Ultra Policy CT/MRI Scans up to £1,500, Cruciate Ligament claims up to £4,000

(The industry average cover for MRI/CT scans is £2,000. The Ultra policy falls a bit short in this area and was one reason for the four star rating).

All policies cover the cost of putting your pet to sleep (up to £100).

However there are some conditions attached to this;

1. It must be recommended by your vet to prevent further suffering.
2. It must be as a result of an injury or illness where Ageas have paid a vets fees claim.

Note the policy does not assist with the cost of disposal/cremation of your pets body.

Ageas allow you to insure more than one pet, including a mixture of cats and dogs and the ability to choose different levels of cover for individual animals.

There is no discount available for insuring more than one pet.

None of the Ageas pet insurance policies will cover an illness or injury that has been identified or investigated by a vet or known to you which occurred prior to the start of the insurance.

All Ageas policies exclude any costs in connection with your pet's pregnancy either during or when they give birth. This includes false pregnancies.

Now that we have left the European Union the "PETS" scheme and pet passport are no longer valid. However you are still able to take your pet abroad, without the lengthy quarantine procedures, but the passport has been replaced with an animal health certificate.

The Essentials, Classic and Extra policies cover your pet for up to 30 days in any 12 month period.

The Ultra policy cover your pet for up to 90 days in any 12 month period.

Cover is as follows

Essentials - Holiday Cancellation £750, Emergency Repatriation £250, Quarantine Expenses £150, Emergency Vets Fees £1,500, Loss of Pet Passport £250.

Classic - Holiday Cancellation £1,000, Emergency Repatriation £500, Quarantine Expenses £150, Emergency Vets Fees £2,000, Loss of Pet Passport £250.

Extra - Holiday Cancellation £1,500, Emergency Repatriation £750, Quarantine Expenses £150, Emergency Vets Fees £4,000, Loss of Pet Passport £250.

Ultra - Holiday Cancellation £2,000, Emergency Repatriation £1,000, Quarantine Expenses £150, Emergency Vets Fees £10,000, Loss of Pet Passport £250.

The industry average cover for Quarantine Expenses is £650.

All Ageas Pet Insurance policies run for 12 months and are annually renewable (whether you pay by instalments or not).

There isn't much information available regarding the renewal process. The policy wording states that when Ageas offer further periods of insurance, they may change the premium and policy terms and conditions as your pet gets older. The terms of business states that if they are going to automatically renew the policy they will write to you before the renewal date, although they don't specify any timescales.

Upon purchase of pet insurance, you have 14 days from the inception date to cancel cover. As long as there have been no claims, you are entitled to a full refund of the premium you have paid.

If you wish to cancel after the 14 day period, (subject to no claims being made), the refund will be pro-rata, but also take into account any administration charge.

Not much information is provided regarding the claims process. The policy wording states you should check that your vet is willing to complete the claim form before your pet is treated and supply any medical history and supporting invoices.

All information must be provided within 60 days of treatment. Ageas can settle the claim direct with the vet if required.

The website provides a telephone number and the facility to download the claim form for completion and return. There is no indication of timescales in dealing with claims.

There is no cover under the policy for the first 48 hours in respect of accidents or injury and 14 days in respect of any illness.

All Ageas Pet Insurance policies include an excess (The first amount of any claim you must pay)

In respect of the Essentials, Classic and Extra policy this is £90.

In respect of the Ultra policy this is £80.

When your Dog turns six and your Cat turns eight, you will be required to pay a further 20% of any claim, in addition to the standard policy excess.

For example, if your ultra policy claim is for £1,250, you would have to pay £80 (excess) plus £234 (20% of the balance). A total cost of £314.

The Ageas website offers a number of different insurance products and finding the pet insurance section is a simple task.

The site is modern, well laid out and provides a clear explanation of the different types of cover and what Ageas policies have to offer, including access to the policy wording.

The website does not offer live chat or the facility to email if you have a question. The only option is to phone the call centre. After listening to the various choices, our call was answered after four minutes and our query answered satisfactorily.

The quotation system is easy to use and the information you provide is retained even if you have to exit the site and return at a later date.

Quotations are clearly presented and provide a side by side comparison of the cover and costs between the various policies you can choose from.

One small point to note. If you are insuring multiple pets, you need to choose cover for the first pet and then scroll to the bottom of the page and click next pet to choose cover for any subsequent pet.

Ageas policies are underwritten by Zenith and the 36 page document has been well written and laid out.

The policy includes a useful summary of cover, prominent contact details, telephone numbers and a comprehensive index, allowing you to find relevant sections with ease.

Even though there are a number of terms and conditions to go through, it is fairly straightforward to understand, what is and isn't covered.

The policy wording text had a reading score of 52.1 (out of 100), classed as fairly difficult to read.

The text had an average reading age of 17 - 18 years. This means that a person with a reading age of 17-18 years should be able to understand the policy.

Ageas is only listed on ComparetheMarket. The cover and premiums are the same on the comparison site as they are if you go direct to Ageas own website.

Not only do Ageas operate a 24/7 vet telephone helpline, they now offer a live chat facility through their website, allowing you to discuss any health concerns regarding your pets.

The service is provided by VetsDirect and all calls are handled by a network of RCVS registered veterinary nurses.

Ageas policyholders also have access to Bereavement Counselling and a legal helpline.

Ageas display the number of complaints on their website. Only a very small number of customers make a complaint. Between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2020, a complaint arose in only 0.07% of circa 5.1 million live policies. 40% of claims were closed within 3 days and 56% within the FCA accepted time frame of 8 weeks.

Generally customers are happy with the service they receive. Ageas has nearly 5500 reviews on trustpilot and have an excellent rating of 4.4 out of 5.

Ageas charge an administration fee of £10 for any amendments that need to be made to your policy. They will also charge an administration fee of £30 if you decide to cancel your insurance after the 14 day cooling off period.

There are currently no special discounts or promotions on Ageas pet Insurance.

A good selection of policies to suit the majority of customers.

Nicely laid out website with plenty of information provided prior to any quotation.

Easy to use quote system and well written policy wording.

The Ultra policy was awarded our 4 star rating.

How competitive is Ageas pet insurance?

According to our latest premium research Ageas Essential, Classic and Ultra policies were competitively priced for the levels of cover they offered.