Dog Insurance - Any Advice?

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

Both our Golden Retrievers (aged 3 and 6) are insured. Our current insurance company is messing us around by constantly changing the dates they collect and saying they have, 'the right to do so,,'

So, am on the market for another dog insurance company...

Any good ones?

I've just applied for dog insurance with Animal Friends, which is an ethical pet insurance company. Reasonably priced (£16 a month with lifelong cover for chronic conditions) and the ethical side of it attracted me (they donate all of their net profits to animal charities).

Look for cover for life policies so that they can not place exclusions on conditions after a certain time or payout.

If you have had any sort of previous vet treatment for either of your dogs be aware that these conditions or related problems are going to be excluded on a new policy - if you don't tell the insurer your vet will have to legally so not telling them will not help you. Think carefully if you have had treatment and think there will be expense for this in the future before you change company at all right now.

I've gone with M&S - and have had to claim and claim and claim (I have a v accident prone black lab) and they have been fabulous.

They have a generous payout per condition, per year which is something to look out for - a lot of policies will only pay out a certain amount per condition fullstop which is not terribly useful it your dogs get a long term condition such as arthritis, diabetes etc.

Ditto M&S

I was insured with the same co. for 14 years. I only realised when I made a claim for the very last time (the only claim might I add) that if some of the treatment began on the last year of the policy and some in the new year, they treat each claim as separate and you have to pay 2 lots of excess. As my vet put in the claim in one go as everything was connected to the same problem, this is how they got out of paying what I believe they should have.
With hindsight, renewing your yearly policy means exactly that... the old one becomes void. Well silly me!
The fact that over the years I've paid somewhere in the region of £7,000 to the same company, loyalty accounts for nothing!
I might just set up a separate bank account and save that way for the next dog ... if I can ever bring myself to get one that is.

My friend is a vet and he recommends PetPlan every time. We have claimed from them and they were brilliant, paid up in two weeks. Plus they dont put the excess up if your dog develops a condition. Highly recommended.

Pet Plan for us! Expensive but worth it if you can afford it.

We have just got a golden retreiver puppy and have been looking at insurance recommended by Which who suggest
insuring for life long cover 7,000

1.AXA direct
2.Halifax
3.M &S
4.Petplan supreme

Quotes for my puppy have come out at

1.293.56 pa
2.255.51 pa
3.234.48 pa
4.342.00 pa

Hope this helps