Following the concerns from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) about comparison websites, the spotlight is well and truly focussed on how these sites operate.What is less well known is that there are some comparison sites that genuinely cover virtually the whole market for their product areas and where products are compared against a set of features and benefits and not price.

These sites are powered by Defaqto Compare which utilises a method of highlighting how different products compare using a simple, yet highly effective, traffic light system. As Defaqto is an independent financial company, users can be certain that the comparisons are impartial and the data is right up to date.

At present Defaqto Compare is held on three insurers’ websites:

• Cornhill Direct - Car, Building and Contents Home Insurance¹
• Hiscox - Buildings and Contents Home Insurance²
• Pet Protect - Cat and Dog Insurance³

Consumers visiting each site will be able to compare the level of cover offered by the host insurer’s product across a number of important product features with the cover levels offered by any other policy. Three coloured symbols and some explanatory text are all that is needed to make very meaningful comparisons for the features shown:

• a green roundel with a tick indicates that the policy meets or exceeds the level of cover provided by the insurer;
• an orange roundel containing an exclamation mark indicates that the level of cover selected can be offered as an optional extra;
• a red roundel with a horizontal while bar means that the policy does not meet the level of cover provided by the insurer.

Brian Brown, Head of Insight at Defaqto said: “We have always emphasised the need for consumers to check out the quality of insurance policies, rather than concentrating just on price. If a policy does not provide the appropriate level of cover, while it may be relatively cheaper than one that does, it could prove very costly if something happened that wasn’t covered or not covered to the right level.”

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Notes to Editors

¹ www.cornhilldirect.co.uk/homeinsurance/homedefaqtoComparisonTool.html

¹ www.cornhilldirect.co.uk/motorinsurance/car/motordefaqtoComparisonTool.html

² www.hiscoxonline.com/jsp/marketing/productsContents.jsp

³ www.petprotect.co.uk/TheRightCover/OurProducts/comparisontool.asp

For further information contact:

Defaqto Limited 

Chris Johnston or Luci Mylward

01844 295 454

According to a recent survey¹, there are 1.8 million pet insurance claims made for veterinary treatment for cats and dogs each year. Unlike most personal insurance products such as home and motor insurance, which can be changed annually, the nature of pet insurance means that it is likely to be taken out for the life of the pet   This is because if pets are treated under one policy and then, at renewal, a new one is taken out, the new insurer generally will not cover any ‘pre-existing’ conditions, and therefore, policyholders  will have to pay for the treatment of these conditions themselves.

Understanding exactly the policy terms relating to the reimbursement of vets’ fees could mean having a policy that covers the cost of your pet’s treatment and one that covered it for a limited sum of money or for a restricted time, or both.

In Defaqto’s recent pet insurance report “The UK Pet Insurance Market - Its bark is worse than its bite,” ² published in December 2007, details are provided as to how the pet market settles claims made for veterinary fees. Essentially, there are three types of methods insurers use to pay veterinary claims:

• Policies that pay vets’ fees on a ‘per condition with a 12 month time limit’ basis will provide cover up to the fee limit or 12 months, whichever is reached first.
• Policies that pay vets’ fees on a ‘per condition limit’ basis will provide cover up to the fee limit. Once this limit has been reached no further cover is provided for the treatment.
• ‘Per year’ policies will pay vets’ fees up to the fee limit, however, provided that the policy is renewed each year, the insurer will continue to provide cover for the treatment.

Mike Powell, Consultant - General Insurance at Defaqto, said: “While superficially straightforward, choosing the right pet insurance policy for your situation will repay the time taken to research what is on offer in the market. 

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Notes to editors

1Sainsbury’s Finance Pet Insurance Data, 2007.

²The report “Pet Insurance in the UK  2007- Bark worse than Bite ” is on sale priced £1,200 excluding VAT for a PDF version and £595 (No VAT payable) for a single printed copy. For further information please contact Chris Johnston on 01844 295457, or the Sales Department on Freephone 0808 1000 804 or visit http://www.defaqto.com/

A press copy of the report is available on request to accredited journalists from Defaqto.

For further information contact:

Defaqto Limited 

Mike Powell, Chris Johnston or Luci Mylward

01844 295 454

In its new report into the Pet Insurance Market [1], Defaqto raises the concern that the rate of provider churn could have a detrimental effect on the market unless adequate arrangements are put in place to protect existing policyholders.

Defaqto has identified six companies that have left the market in the last year and nine that have joined, a churn rate of 20%. Unless those pulling out of the market have put in place adequate transition arrangements to ensure that their customers’ pets can remain on cover without having to be re-insured, public confidence in the market could be weakened.

Underlying the churn rate is the fact that the market remains relatively small in absolute terms with premium Income totalling around £400 million per year. (more…)

Anyone tempted to buy a pet or who received one for Christmas should not forget that a key part of having a cat or dog is making sure it can be properly looked after when it is ill, says Defaqto in its most recent report, Pet Insurance in the UK 2007.[1]New owners need to look beyond the immediate pleasure of having a pet to what can happen to it over its life. Not only are the costs of treating pets rising, but just as with humans, new treatments are being introduced all the time to improve a pet’s quality of life when it is unwell. 

Although there are over 120 policies examined in the report, they fall into two main types: those paying claims only for the first twelve months of an illness only and those that will pay for the whole time the pet needs treatment for that condition, but with a limit on the expenditure each year.

(more…)