Pet insurance?

[doghelp123]

Trying to set up pet insurance and they have so many policy's? We have been looking at lifetime policy's which cover £4000 a year is this enough? How much do people have normally for a puppy?

[Scattyhattie]

£4000 a year won't go very far, my dog had MRI/CT and couple nights hospitalization at nearly £3k that's with very reasonable priced vets. Specialist surgery is expensive and more commonly needed than realise.

I'd say 7k is minimum & have to consider that the vet fees will go up in 5/10years so won't go as far as now. Unlike other types of insurance once your dog has anything on its records it will be classed as a preexisting condition if wishing to switch insurer & they tend to group things so minor uti may mean all bladder conditions. So you maybe stuck with whatever policy you choose for dogs lifetime.
Vets don't have to do direct claims & some insurers are known to be poor/slow paying so may have to pay up front. So worth checking they'll accept your choice.

Make sure read policy details fully as its surprising how many don't then discover don't have cover thought they had.

Mine are with petplan it was more expensive early on but premiums hasn't go up much over years & not hiked up with claims or been made unaffordable as dog hits old age like many do.

[BiteyShark]

I have a life time cover with petplan for £4000. I have claimed almost £5000 and he is only 2.5 years old. My regret is not getting more cover as I have seen how quickly costs rise. However, I cannot increase it or move now as we would have so many conditions excluded that it wouldn't be worth it.

It was only a few weeks ago when we were at a specialist vets as my dog had a fall and had a possible spinal injury and an operation just for spinal disc decompression would have been £5000 minimum (fortunately we didn't need to go down the surgical route). I have a friend who had a previously health youngish dog until they found cancer and their bill was over £10,000 for treatment.

Go for life cover and as much cover you can afford. Avoid any that have limits per condition because you might need to use all of your yearly amount on one condition. Read the T&Cs very very closely as policies differ. For example, do they cover dental (lots don't), do they cover hydrotherapy, behavioural issues etc.

I went with petplan because they don't hike premiums if you claim. Yes they go up yearly because as your dog ages it's more of a risk but despite having many many claims I haven't been penalised for it.

I can't actually recommend any other company because I have only had petplan but other people on similar threads have said boughtbymany and morethan have been good so maybe search for some older threads and have a read.

[ShizeItsWeegie]

Look at the policies closely. Some have stuff you might never need like boarding if you are ill yourself for example.
Remember when you see the vet that your 'contract' with him or her is between you, not between the vet and your insurance company so be prepared to pay the vet and be reimbursed by your insurance company yourself.
Some practices charge to fill out the forms on your behalf as it is time consuming.