Pet insurance

[DewDropsonKittens]

Slightly boring thread,

Our 4 weeks free insurance runs out tomorrow and the offer is extortionate each month.

Does anyone have any advice on dog insurance, providers, which type of cover we need?

We have a bullmastiff 😁

Have you tried any of the comparisons site?

I have Tesco with my cats. Huge claims and they've been amazing.

I use bought by many lifetime cover, they have been good so far.

I would definitely do the lifetime cover. Stick with a reputable insurer because as soon as your dog has any kind of treatment, a new insurer won't cover it (even with lifetime cover) and so you're stuck with whoever you choose, really.

Avoid companies like Pet Plan as they're extortionate and have big price rises each year.

Buy the best life cover insurance you can afford. Don't just go for cheap because when you need it you want the insurance to pay out and to cover your costs. Go for life cover so any conditions or illnesses will be covered for life as long as you stick with the company.

Be aware that anything you have gone to your vet about already, even if you have not claimed, could impact future claims as they can deem it preexisting. When I made my first claim they asked for a 'full' history of all my visits from the vet.

As for cover you need as much as you can afford. I made the mistake of only having £4000 per year but am stuck now as we have claimed for so many things already and moving would mean so many things would be excluded.

To give you an idea of costs. It was over £2000 for severe D&V which required lots of tests, treatments and admissions. Endoscopy was around £600.

We were at a specialist vet centre a few weeks ago (which a lot of operations and conditions would be referred to) and I was looking at the price list. An MRI was around £2000. An operation to relief a spinal disc compression would have set me back just over £5000. Luxating patella surgery around £3500. Someone I know has treated their youngish dog who had cancer and their bill was over £10,000 for the year.

Avoid companies like Pet Plan as they're extortionate and have big price rises each year.

I have found their price rises to be relatively modest considering we have claimed almost £5000 and my dog isn't even 3 years old yet.

I'm with Animal friends they consistently seem to be the cheapest on most comparison sites and they also donate a lot of money to animal charities which I like. I would advise spending a little more for a lifetime plan that has a yearly amount rather than per condition as should your furbaby develop a condition that requires regular surgery or expensive medication it could end up costing a fortune and the insurance may not cover it all. Also comprehensive is the way to go as it covers almost everything including dental

I would go with petplan!
We Insure both our dogs with them and our previous dog and the yearly increments were just a few pounds.
They paid out substantial claims ( approx £20,000 over his lifetime) for previous dog and never once quibbled.
All.claims paid in full within 2 weeks.
Definately choose lifetime cover also.

Ask your vet which company they have the least hassle with in terms of payouts - that was a big factor for me.

Also - and this may sound stupid - but don't be surprised when premiums go up each year rather than down. I've lost count of the number of people who moan about this on the dog forums I'm on and they just can't grasp why it doesn't work like car insurance.

I have Petplan. I heard from someone who works at a vets that they don't recommend Animal Friends.

Defintely ask your vet as PP mentioned.

Btw at the specialist vet Center they did a direct claim with petplan so if we had ended up needing expensive surgery at least we would have only needed to find the amount above our claim limit. I understand that lots of vets only do direct claims with certain insurers and won't with others for obvious reasons.

Sainsburys are underwritten by Allianz the same company as Petplan and have been fabulous with the big claims that we have made for our many pets over the years.

Make sure you go for lifetime cover though whatever you do, with the highest cover amount you can afford.

I know of so many people who have under insured and bitterly regretted it.

Pet plan are really good. You can get them through top Cashback too.

Thank you for all the helpful responses.

Pet plan have quoted £122 a MONTH! for lifetime cover up to £7000 a year

Looking on compare the market similar cover with other providers is coming out at £42 a month which is pet plans basic yearly plan quote

Is there a reason for such huge difference in cost?

I know when I took out petplan insurance they advertised that premiums rise with age but not with claims. So I guess those they don't claim probably feel aggrieved when premiums rise but for people like me who have claimed lots I am glad they don't rise like car insurance claims. Saying that I would have preferred to have never claimed and just paid the premiums.

I have seen people complain that other companies do push premiums up with claims but obviously have no first hand knowledge of that as I have only had pet plan.

The other thing is to really drill into the T&Cs to really compare policies. Do they cover dental? Do they cover hydrotherapy? Do they cover behavioural issues? Don't assume that all policies are equal as you really have to get into the fine print to find out.

Although I would probably go with petplan again if I had another dog I have seen people rate boughtbymany as good and some of their policies when I read them seemed just as good on paper.

Also check there is no cap for each condition per year. For example I would look for a simple claim cap rather than one that would pay up to £7000 per year but had a cap of a few thousand per condition iykwim.

PetPlan is absolutely the company that I and all my colleagues that I'm aware of recommend - it's the only one I have and would ever use for my own dogs.

Most practices will deal with PP directly but may not do so with some other companies as they are known for not paying out.

The monthly premiums may be higher at the start with PP but they do not then usually massively hike them up in subsequent years. Beware of many companies which use low initial premiums to hook you in and then increase them extortionately in later renewals, by which point you're often stuck due to pre-existing conditions, as well as paying a high excess plus 20% of all final bills by the time the dog is 6 or 7 years old.

@DewDropsonKittens "What a boring thread" ??

Not sure why you have just the four weeks free cover / if it means you only recently got the dog and the free cover for it is up but premiums are steep for most plans and pet insurance.

They get steeper for some breeds particular larger ones like yourself and will vary and increase further depending on age and whatnot.

Only thing you can do is get quotes from as many different places as you can - see what the basic policy and standard cover offers and what the lowest monthly will roughly rust you.

Won't be cheap regardless. It'll be boring too pet insurance is never riveting

I've got three dogs. The magnificent sighthounds are at risk of broken legs because they run so fast, so they are insured through Petplan.

The third dog is a cross breed short legged, hairy arsed brick built shit house of a dog who has never been ill or had an injury so I stopped insuring him and put £50 a month by as savings for him in the event of him needing any treatment.

For Bull Mastiff def get ‘lifetime’ policy this means they will continue to pay out for same condition Year in year out up to annual limit. Get as high annual limit as you can afford def £6000 or over. Petplan are expensive as they are bespoke pet insurers & are great at paying out ( good relationships with vet practices) also think Tesco, direct line are ok but these cheap premium quotes will eventually get higher. I work at Vets & bills for giant breeds are eye wateringly high.

We had Direct Line, I don't remember the details but had no problems with them at all and a nice message of condolence at the end. Might be worth a look.

Have you talked to Petplan on the phone to make sure your quote doesn't include any additional extras to make it so high? For example they asked me if I wanted cover for the original purchase price of the pet. How old is your dog?

I only have cats but have had a great experience with Petplan with my eldest cat. For the past 5 years I've claimed several times a year for her hyperthyroidism, renal disease and recurring UTIs. They always pay quickly and my premium hasn't gone up much over the years and not all this year (even though she's nearly 17).

Just make sure you are comparing like with like! No good if one quote is for a year's treatment only, (say if a pet develops a lifetime condition) and another is cover for life for that lifetime condition.

I spoke with petplan on the phone, there is 3 tiers £42, £112 or £120 which is more than our maxed out life insurance a month.

I am going to definitely go for lifetime cover

I had our older dog insured with just an accident only policy through Animal Friends, but getting the payout after a small claim took nearly 3 months and in the end I paid our vet as I felt so embarassed (they are a local independent, not chain) and they put a credit on my account when the insurance payout eventually went through.

Our new puppy came with 4 weeks Petplan so I've carried that on for her (spaniel) at £20 a month and changed over our older dog (spaniel too), his is £25 a month. It's not lifetime cover but to be honest, we've got savings that would cover any huge bills so I'm not overly worried about long term cover.