After our dog died I had to continue paying premiums to Perfect Pet

Counting the cost of pet insurance as pet care gets ever more expensive.Photograph: Traimak Ivan/Alamy

We recently had our beloved springer spaniel put to sleep. He was 14, so a good age, and there was no other option after he suffered a stroke.

I phoned to cancel our pet insurance with Perfect Pet, only to be told we must continue paying until it ends in November. It said this was because we had already made a claim for an unrelated stomach issue.

That means another nine months of payments for a deceased dog.

Looking online, this seems to be common, but we, and other pet owners we know, had no idea.

I feel this is wrong, particularly for owners of older pets who are more likely to have to make a claim, and then face paying expensive premiums even after they die.

With the rising cost, increasing exclusions, and higher excess fees, it feels like pet insurance is becoming a waste of money.

GW, Hove

I was sorry to hear about the loss of your pet. Perfect Pet says it could not comment on individual cases, but explained it only collected outstanding premiums if a successful claim had already been made in the policy year.

It explains: “The contract is for the year, and, in return for the promise to pay the full premium, we pay out claims. We fully detail this in our policy wording and customer journey, and it is in line with general insurance practices.”

At £279, your annual policy looks well-priced in a market where premiums for dogs are up by 23% in the past year, according to the consultancy Pearson Ham. The average cost is £412, it says, but this masks big differences linked to the age of the animal. For a dog over 10 years old, the figure is £1,252.

You feel the industry treats owners of older pets unfairly. The claim you made was for £550, of which Perfect Pet paid roughly £300.

In a world where people complain about astronomical pet care costs, and the competition watchdog is investigating the veterinary market, this does not seem unfair.

What does surprise me, though, is that the role of insurance in this market does not feature more prominently in the Competition and Markets Authority inquiry.

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