Dog insurance

[EdWinchester]

My dog is 7 and we have insurance with John Lewis.

It’s £45 a month. I’ve just received a renewal and they’ve put it up to £62.

My dog has never been to the vet apart from to be castrated and to have his vaccinations as a pup. I feel the premiums are excessive! I’m tempted to cancel it tbh as it only covers him for a max of £3k per year.

Ant recommendations for less extortionate pet insurance?

[Floralgizelle]

Have you tried a comparison site? Especially with no previous health problems your premium shouldnt be that high. If you like being with john lewis, you could do the comparison site and ring them, they often bring prices down when you threaten to leave or swap to another company.

[EdWinchester]

I will try comparison site, thanks.

[pigsDOfly]

I take it that's life time cover OP?

That does seem high and a hell of a jump in one year.

My dog will be 8 in April, has had a few operations - nothing major or terribly serious thankfully - and been on treatment for an ongoing condition that thankfully has been under control for some months now but has flared up several in the past.

I'm with Pet Plan, life time cover, and pay just a bit more than you at just over £64.28 per month and that was with a rise this last year. I'm okay with that as I must have claimed several thousand off them by now.

My excess is £100 and I'm covered for up to £7000 per year. I also get loads of other things on top like complementary treatment, holiday cancellation etc, and of course third party.

Sounds like you're not getting a great deal from JL now, even if it was good in the past.

In your shoes, with your dog's great health history and no pre existing conditions, I'd be looking at other insurers before my dog becomes a senior, when things might get pricier and it becomes more difficult to get a new insurance company to insure him.

I know it's no quite the same, but I've been with the same house insurance company for many years, never bothered to change as it''s only ever gone up by a small amount. This year I was about to renew when I realised that they'd doubled the premium in one fell swoop from last year.

Needless to say I cancelled - they weren't interested when I rang them - and got a fantastic deal with a new company. Sometimes it really is worthwhile to have a look around.

[TitchyP]

That seems high, ours is about £35 a month with lifetime cover up to £6k per condition per year. £90 excess.

We're with Animal Friends who get a bit of a bad press but they've paid out a fair few times with no problems for us. Accident prone dog 🙄

[EdWinchester]

No, it's not lifetime cover. I am clearly being ripped off.

[DogInATent]

What breed is the dog?

It's relevant - premiums aren't based so much on your claims as the breed average. If it's one of the shorter-lived breeds prone to serious health conditions in older age (e.g. a bulldog) it could be that you get similar premiums offered when you shop around. But it's definitely worth shopping around.

Note, you'll be a due a change in terms offered next year anyway. At 8 years old most insurances will start to increase the owner-contribution to treatment costs.

[EdWinchester]

He's a schnauzer. Excellent pedigree with no health problems, inc eyes. Not that insurers go into that much detail.

[pigsDOfly]

Not lifetime cover? Then that is incredibly expensive.

It might be a good idea to see if you can get lifetime cover now as he's that bit older anyway, as you never know what might happen.

I paid out for years for my two cats with lifetime cover and it wasn't until they were old that I really got the benefit of it. They both ended up with ongoing conditions and I was thankful to be able to claim for all treatment.

With my dog, if I hadn't had lifetime cover her whole life I would have had to pay out thousands for treatment she's had on top of any insurance premiums as I wouldn't have a dog with some sort of insurance.

[GCAcademic]

I pay that for lifetime cover with PetPlan. And that’s for a ten year old dog that we previously put in a £9k claim for.

[Smalldogwatchingsquirrels]

I pay £30 a month for cover of up to £8000 per condition for my 5 year old cross breed. They have just paid out £3500 for treatment so I feel I have got my moneys worth. I wish I had got lifetime cover though as her condition could recur at some point in the future.

[ChorleyFMcominginyourears]

I'm with petplan but when it's due I'm thinking about going with (I think it's called) bought by many? They seem to be run by petplan but are cheaper and you get more!

[EdWinchester]

Thanks all. Equivalent cover with Petplan is £44.97 - and that's the first one I looked up!

[EdWinchester]

Bought by many is £55.

[EdWinchester]

No, tell a lie. Equivalent cover is £28.48

[NyNameIsTaken]

I'm with animal friends, £17 a month lifetime cover for a lab.

I went through topcashback and got something £50 cashback too.

[Littlefrog99]

I'm with animal friends for our 8 year old rescue staffie who has had numerous illnesses and accidents including cancer. We've claimed every year for one thing or another. Our premiums have just gone up to a grand old £22 per month for £1500 cover per year. They've paid out every claim we've made minus the £99 excess. I'd say you're definitely paying over the odds.

[CantWaitToRetire]

We were with John Lewis and had lifetime cover for 7K. My dog suffers occasional pancreatitis so we've made on average a couple of claims a year. Our premiums skyrocketed to the degree it was just laughable (and unaffordable) - way, way higher than yours. I can't swap because a new insurer would likely not cover the existing condition. We've cancelled the policy and we're putting monthly contributions into a savings account instead.

[EdWinchester]

Thanks. Off to look up Animal Friends.

I have a colleague that doesn’t insure. She puts money in an account each month instead and is also a Dogs’ Trust member as that gives her 3rd party public liability insurance.

[BiteyShark]

It's a risk putting money away unless you have access to a substantial amount. I know someone who's dog had been in good health until recently but have spent over £10k this year on specialist vets, scans and treatment.

[StarJazmin]

£22 per month for £1500 cover per year.

Unfortunately £1.5k doesn’t go very far for anything other than a relatively minor injury/short single illness.

[EdWinchester]

I know - I am risk averse as our last dog cost the flippin' earth in vet's fees, for at least the last 8 years of her life (she was 14).

[BiteyShark]

StarJazmin I agree. Claimed over £2k for a severe bout of D&V that required admission and lots of tests.

[StarJazmin]

Choosing cheaper premiums/lower level of coverage might be a reasonable strategy though, if you did have some savings for worst case scenario.