Pet ins question

[Weirdfish]

I know there's quite a few on here that own dogs, so hopefully get some good feedback to my question.
Our dog ins seems to have got a bit silly, and I'm currently looking around to see if we can get a better deal.
What sort of premiums are people paying, and for what type of cover, also, have you had the need to claim, and how was it handled/settled.
Thanx.

[neillp]

It really depends on the dog breed, age, £ excess and health for quotes. Heinz 57's are cheaper to insure than some pedigrees because of know issues with the breed.

I have had my dog insured with Tesco since we got her, I think the monthly premium started at £10 a month but now is £40. She is nearly 10 and the insurance has been invaluable, Tesco have always paid out no questions.

Sadly last week we found out she has cancer and we have decided not to put here through treatment as she hates the vets. We will enjoy her last few weeks and make sure she is happy to the end.

[ach5]

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

And there's definitely other threads as I started one recently but I cant find it!

[Saint-Just]

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...=pet+insurance

And there's definitely other threads as I started one recently but I cant find it!

Oh the irony

[Elanman]

I went with Petplan as most vets seem to like it - not cheap but has been said a few times you need to check that they will stay you if there are problems, cheap insurance, that rockets up in subsequent years (should you have a problem), will leave you regretting your choice. With all insurance it's all about risk management - do you feel lucky! I pay £37 per month and, as said, it depends on dog type, age of dog, amount covered and where you live.

[Seamaster77]

Vote for John Lewis here after using pet plan , Pdsa, m&s and kennel club (also pet plan) I have life policy on my plans so any ailments can be claimed for multiple times if required.

Just renewed my two(both peds)for £42 a month total which wasn't bad as some quotes for just one of them were £70!

Luckily never had to claim so far in last 6 years of current two dogs

Also got £25 back via quidco so check any deals on there for company's you decided to go with

[dogpuf]

Best bet is to open a savings account and set up a dd to it for a typical pet ins e.g. £20

Leave it to accumulate and pay for any vet bills out of it

I have done this about 18 months ago after trying to claim for my Daxie Jack after he was bitten by another dog and it went septic. Treatment cost £105 and my insurance had an excess of £100

Secondly now my Daxie Foxy has turned eight the premiums have rocketed

IMO pet insurance is a real rip off

[Saint-Just]

Any insurance is a rip off... Until the brown smelly stuff hits the rotating wind generating device.

Exactly like a car insurance, where a little bump ( or a slightly bigger one) requires careful consideration before asking the insurance to cover it as it will impact future premiums, a pet insurance is there for the big stuff. A broken leg, with surgery may run into £2-3k. Cancer can easily double that, and the prognosis can be excellent. It will take you 10 years to save enough for the broken leg.

Furthermore, you have known about the excess for a long time. It was not added while you were not looking so why would it suddenly be a rip off to you?

[beechcustom]

I have my dog insured with More Than. Cost me eight quid a month when I first took it out when Lucy was 12months and that has gradually doubled over the last five years. I have to pay the first 10% in excess fees then I have up to 3 grand of cover. Lucy is registered as a collie cross but I have since found out that she is in fact an Australian Kelpie.

Anyway, Lucy got a strange puncture wound in her leg in November which lead to a 900 quid bill. A few years ago she had a swelling behind the eye which resulted in serious medical attention and a 4 grand bill!!! Needless to say, I am very greatful for having the insurance cover and I'd advise every dog owner to continue to insure their pets.

EDIT: Regarding payouts - absolutely no issue whatsoever. The vet handled it all and by all accounts my insurers paid out without a quible.

[Firesam]

Well, I can only say good things about the two insurers I had for my pedigree G.S.Pointer.
As he came from a KC registered breeder, they included a years cover with pet-plan.
Anybody who knows anything about pointers will know that when they're not working, they are plain simple clumsy oafs (love them for it).
Over the 4 years I kept him with pet-plan, I made numerous claims which totalled about £13k, the biggest of which was £5300. They never questioned it once, and my premiums only rose commensurate to his age.
As a 6yo his next premium seemed to rocket with pet-plan so I switched to Tesco and halved my premium straight away.
Again, I have made numerous claims with reasonable excesses and cannot fault their service to date.

[subchris]

I thought there was only one maybe two insurance companies that allow numerous payouts for the same issue with the same dog? I thought the problem with most pet insurances was that you can only make one large claim for a certain illness then any claim thereafter has to be of a different illness or am I way off piste??!
I would love to know as we forked out around £7k in the last 3years my dog was alive and we are thinking about getting another two but not without insurance!

Chris

[Firesam]

I thought there was only one maybe two insurance companies that allow numerous payouts for the same issue with the same dog? I thought the problem with most pet insurances was that you can only make one large claim for a certain illness then any claim thereafter has to be of a different illness or am I way off piste??!
I would love to know as we forked out around £7k in the last 3years my dog was alive and we are thinking about getting another two but not without insurance!

Chris

I hear what you're saying, I think it all comes down to how the vet interprets the ailment, I had two claims about a year apart for roughly the same ailment..... Extreme swelling in head behind the eye, the vet stated the cause for one as a grass seed entering the skin and becoming infected, and the second as a bad reaction to a blackthorn scratch that got infected.

[Weirdfish]

I thought there was only one maybe two insurance companies that allow numerous payouts for the same issue with the same dog? I thought the problem with most pet insurances was that you can only make one large claim for a certain illness then any claim thereafter has to be of a different illness or am I way off piste??!
I would love to know as we forked out around £7k in the last 3years my dog was alive and we are thinking about getting another two but not without insurance!

Chris

Are these policies not known as " lifetime "
If so then they are more expensive, for the obvious reason.

[Saint-Just]

There are more than 2 that offer 'Lifetime' cover, but PetPlan were the first to offer it and the others took time to follow suite if I am not mistaken.
The Tescos, John Lewis etc. are all right but at the merci of a change in provider: suddenly your premium can change, or terms of cover change and there is nothing either you or indeed JL/Tesco can do about it.

I am looking at Petplan, the Kennel Club and NFU at the moment...

[markbannister]

Soon to be 10 years old greyhound about £45/month for Petplan's top cover. Not yet had our money's worth and hope we don't need it but it instantly paid out for dental treatment.

[deejay]

Before you change, have you made a claim already? New insurers typically don't cover any illness on which a claim has been made.
I'm one of these people that after decades of paying all types of insurances I had never made a claim on any. Until we got a Labrador pup who at 4 months old was diagnosed with elbow displasia. Total bill was about £3.5k. Premium did rocket from 12 pm to 27 pm the next year. Think it is about 37 pm at age 4.

[MrSimba]

Best bet is to open a savings account and set up a dd to it for a typical pet ins e.g. £20

Leave it to accumulate and pay for any vet bills out of it

I have done this about 18 months ago after trying to claim for my Daxie Jack after he was bitten by another dog and it went septic. Treatment cost £105 and my insurance had an excess of £100

Secondly now my Daxie Foxy has turned eight the premiums have rocketed

IMO pet insurance is a real rip off

Not a dog here but a cat, February 2014 came home to find my house on fire, the poor little thing only 5 months old had managed to hide in the bathroom but had burned paws, face, lungs & mouth/throat also burned from smoke inhalation & massive carbon monoxide poisoning :(

She was in a very bad way :(

I'd only just joined Tesco pet insurance as I'd only had her 2 months and paid a grand total of 2 months £8 premiums to them & they could not have been any more helpful or sympathetic.

With a LOT of vets treatment the cat has fully recovered apart from scar tissue to the pads on her paws but nothing she does not just get on with happily but the bill Tesco settled with the two vets was substantial luckily I'd opted for the 'enhanced' cover as it was only about £1 more a month.

But I take your point as my previous cat I had 18 years & never claimed, but with pets insurance for them is one thing I'd not be without.