What should I be looking for in pet insurance? Any recommendations? 7 month old pure breed.

[sleepingpup]

I am looking for Pet Insurance for my 7 month old Bedlington. What should I be looking for in a policy?
Does anyone have any particularly good ( or maybe bad experiences) ? Or recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

[RunningFromInsanity]

You need to look at what the type of insurance is- is it ‘life long’, do they pay a certain amount per year, or a certain amount per illness?

Are there any exemptions- ie I found out my Pet Protect didn’t cover cruciate injuries which for my breed and lifestyle is a strong possibility.

How much is the premium, some you pay a set in initial fee per claim, others is a % of the over all claim.

[BiteyShark]

I would go for a life time policy for as much cover as you can afford. Personally I wouldn't choose a policy that requires a percentage as well as an excess for young dogs as it can quickly mount up.

Policies are not equal so do check the small print.

Has your dog been to the vets for ANYTHING? If so you might find exclusions for things that you didn't expect e.g. for diarrhoea they may exclude any future stomach issues as they can deem it to be a preexisting condition.

I am with petplan and they have paid out many thousands for my young dog. Pricey compared to other companies but they paid out quickly and my policy has hardly increased.

Can't recommend anyone else as that is the only company I have been with but if you search for older threads there have been many where other companies have been recommended.

[BellaVida]

I have Pet Plan lifetime policy paid monthly. I got a free one with my puppy’s first trip to the vet, but the vet casually mentioned that’s who she had all her pets with- obviously they’re not allowed to recommend specific ones.

In any case, I think it’s just a case of checking all the exclusions, any limits on the amount they pay out per condition and probably worth asking your vet if they can process any claims directly, as they can’t with all providers.

[Zebrahooves]

We've got a lifetime Pet plan policy and my dog unfortunately picked up a lifelong condition quite young. They have paid out for everything, tests, scans, medications, the lot.

[dementedpixie]

I have Bought by Many for my cats. I imagine they are good for dog insurance too

[Girlintheframe]

We have BBM too.
We have lifetime cover, up to 15K and it covers us abroad (was meant to be in France this summer). I recently claimed and there was not one bit of bother. Whole process very smooth and quick.
They were considerably cheaper than Petplan for us

[MaybeIDidMaybeIDidnt]

Tesco Insurance have been brilliant. We had their Premier Cover, really good value. Our dog has a lifelong condition and we claim for medication monthly. Sometimes they pay on the same day the claim is submitted.

[wetotter]

I would say that (unless you have several thousand in savings which you do not mind spending on your dog) you look for:

• lifetime policy (premium may go up, but your dog will always get cover)
  
• sufficient annual cover (several thousand?) which resets annually fot everything (and does not have any per condition ceilings)
  
• whether anything is excluded/limited (NB complementary therapies usually are limited and may be excluded)
  
• what the excess is
  

And also look for reviews (they abound online). And yes, declare every trip made to vets already.

Basically, you get what you pay for. The more expensive policies provide higher claim ceilings and fewer excluded conditions.

[Panicmode1]

I have the Tesco lifetime highest level of cover. My dog has cost £££ with cancer investigations, chemo and follow ups. They have been fantastic - really efficient and helpful when I've had to phone. If you claim for recurring conditions, you can just upload invoices and they pay almost instantly. Excess per condition is £120.

[Joiningthegossip]

Steer clear of perfect pets insurance, I wish I read the reviews before taking it out. When I needed to claim they made some stupid excuse up that it was pre-existing and wouldn't pay out.
(My dog is 8 and always been healthy)

[Scattyhattie]

Petplan are often more expensive in comparison when younger but my oldies policy is now looking reasonable when many fellow old dog owners are finding they're having to cancel policy as unaffordable after claims or just age. I pay 20% of bill on top of excess but I prefer this if keeps premiums affordable. With previous insurer as claiming as increased premiums I found I didn't claim for everything as knew I'd pay back way more over pets lifetime, it doesn't effect Petplan so it all goes in. At the moment my dogs medications alone are more than monthly premiums.

Make sure you read the policy documents as many people skip as boring but find later aren't covered for what they thought or are exclusions when claiming. You get 14 days to cancel.

[sleepingpup]

thank you all

[Baybetterdays]

Lifetime - petplan is gold standard but eg More Than, Sainsbury’s have also paid out 5k each for my dog. Lifetime is important though as you soon reach condition limits.