Renewal Disaster

Have been insured since 2010 with Argos Pet Insurance, under a Platinum policy, for our labrador. We've never had to make any claims and premiums haven't risen too much. However, when it came time for renewal this year the premium had gone up from £26.61 to £40.95 per month, over 50%. When I queried this I was told that it was due to our dog's age and the fact that Argos had had to pay out for hip operations. I wasn't offered any other type of policy and said I would be shopping around.

What annoyed me was that on the comparison website, if I was a brand new customer to Argos I could have had exactly the same insurance for £26.85 per month.

On a comparison website I found another insurer which offered comparable benefits and in some cases more e.g. instead of £7000 per year vet fees - £12000.

I rang Argos to cancel and explained the above as my reason for cancellation and was told that obviously there was more medical history because of the length of time I had been with them, NEVER CLAIMED NO VISITS TO VET OTHER THAN ANNUAL VACCINATIONS!!!

Then I was told that as a joint policyholder I couldn't cancel the insurance, even though they've never spoken to my partner about this and the money comes out of my bank account.