Advice on doggy insurance :)

[DoubleTweenQueen]

We have a lovely German Shorthaired Pointer X reserved for us, currently in a lovely foster home until we can travel to pick him up. He is about 13 months old. I am looking at insurance cover for him, and would welcome your advice about what sort of cover to go for - accident only at this stage of his young life? - and what companies you would recommend. Thankyou!!

[Girlintheframe]

I personally wouldn't go for accident only. If pup does develop some kind of long term problem you will pay a fortune to get any one to cover you in the future. IMO your best to get full coverage right from the start. We want with bought by many. They do 3 tiers so you can pick which one is right for you. We went for lifetime cover up to £15,000 per year.
If you have a X he is probably a bit hardier than pedigree so you might only want a lower level of cover. But all dogs can develop long term problems like diabetes, pancreatic problems, illnesses like cancer etc.

[BiteyShark]

I have claimed around £5000 in the first three years of my dogs life. I know someone with over £10,000 bill (insured) in one year for cancer in a relatively young dog. An MRI will set you back 2-3k. Cruciate ligament surgery can be a few thousand and often both legs end up affected. This is just to give you an idea of how much vet fees can be.

Don't go for just accident cover unless you have several thousands of pounds in the bank. Even a simple ear infection could end up pricey if it needs several visits and doesn't clear up with drops requiring sedation for a thorough examination. One of my claims was over £2000 for severe D&V which required admission, tests and treatment.

Anything you see your vet about even without a diagnosis or claim can be excluded as preexisting if you swop companies or decide to not insure straight away. For example I know someone who had to have their dog treated for diarrhoea in the first 2 weeks exclusion period of insurance and ended up with a blanket 6 month exclusion for anything related to digestion/stomach etc and would only be lifted if no further incidents occurred.

My recommendation would be to get a life cover with as much yearly amount as you can afford. Read the T&Cs closely as not all policies are equal.

I am with petplan but haven't used anyone else but lots of people recommend BBM and if you search for old threads you can find some listing people's experiences with different companies.

[DoubleTweenQueen]

Thanks for that advice! I see costs have gone up a lot since we had our cat, 10 yrs ago! Really useful, thanks x

[ByAppointmentTo]

Go for the most comprehensive cover you can afford. My six year old crossbreed became ill last year. He ran up a £4500 in just two weeks. We were with PetPlan and they paid out every penny after our excess.