Important notice to all Argos and Homebase pet insurance customers

As of Monday 17th January 2009, all Argos and Homebase pet insurance policies will be underwritten by Agria International Forsakring AB.

Agria are a specialist pet insurance underwritter that already provide healthcare cover under brand names such as The Kennel Club and Crufts Pet Insurance. Now, they will underwrite Argos and Homebase pet insurance after AXA alledgedly decided to streamline their pet insurance operations. The change is of immediate effect for new customers. For existing policyholders, this switch may be effective at renewal time.

What does this mean for Argos and Homebase customers?

• Smaller prices for new customers: from £3.99 per month before 5% online discount
• No change in the cover provided
• No change in the policy wording
• No change in the claim payment process
• No change in location of the customer service – remains in the UK

Who are Agria?

• Part of Agria Djurförsäkring, no. 1 pet insurer in Sweden
• Have been offering animal insurance since 1890
• Operate in 6 countries
• Bought out PetPartners in 2007 to enter the UK market

Why the change of underwriter from AXA to Agria?

You will find below the official announcement made by Agria – but read between the lines.

Official: “The Pet Insurance market is changing as insurance companies get more experience of the level of claims being made by customers. More sophisticated treatments are becoming available and the cost of treatment is increasing. This is putting pressure on insurers to raise their prices.”

What this means: Vet inflation has been rising high and quick (thought to be around 10-15% per year). Pet insurance is one of the most claimed for type of insurance. As a result, insurers have been paying bigger and bigger amount in claims which entails an increase in premiums. This makes pet insurance more difficult to afford.

Official: “Some companies, like AXA, offer pet insurance as part of a wide range of other insurance products, others like Agria concentrate on a specialist area.”

What this means: Pet insurance is not the priority of all round insurers that provide cover for home, car, businesses etc… pet insurance is a smaller part of their activity, not their core business. Agria, on the contrary, are all about pet insurance and therefore put more efforts into making in successful and viable.

Official: “Argos felt that a change of insurer would benefit our customers in the long run, as a specialist pet insurer underwriting our product could help limit proposed price increases.”

What this means: Argos are concerned about price increases (probably requested by AXA) and how this would affect their business. Argos are a provider of cheap pet insurance and need to sustain their position on the market. Agria, with their pet insurance claim expertise, will help them achieve just that.

You can read more about Agria, Argos pet insurance and Homebase pet insurance. You can also leave your comments below if you’re an existing customer of the brands and share your experience of the switchover.