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MNHQ

Mumsnet users share what they think of pet insurance providers

299 replies

EllieMumsnet · 23/08/2018 08:48

This activity is now closed

We want to know what you think of all things pet insurance as well as pet insurance providers. Have you found the perfect plan for you? Is there something you wish providers would do more of? Perhaps you can share how you found the pet insurer you are currently with?

Whatever your thoughts and feelings are about pet insurance and the providers, please share them on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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Mumsnet users share what they think of pet insurance providers
OP posts:
SJRaRa · 31/08/2018 17:49

We have a 2 year old labrador covered by a mid range plan by Animal Friends, it's £15 a month, but we also have a plan with the vet for £12 a month which covers his injections, flea and worming and check ups, the pet insurance is more a back up for if anything serious happens. For the first year we had him on a basic plan that was £6 a month but after a friends dog got diagnosed with something that would need ongoing treatment we decided to up the cover to include covering conditions up to a certain amount every year (I think it's about £2000 per condition) being a labrador who will eat anything and everything we have had him at the vets a few times for anti sickness treatment but the bills usually come in just over £50 and being as the excess on the insurance policy is £50 I've never bothered claiming

Honeyroar · 31/08/2018 17:55

Thanks.

princesslunar · 31/08/2018 18:19

We use Tesco pet insurance.
Good price, paid claim twice no hassle.
Always easy to deal with and quick to answer phone call.
Would recommend from our experiences using them

TheVicarOfNibbleswicke · 31/08/2018 18:54

Is there a good comparison website for pet insurance? We might be adopting a young lab x

angiehoggett · 31/08/2018 20:58

put some aside each month then use it when you need to, it's extremely expensive unless you can find a good deal

StyleOfTheTimes · 31/08/2018 21:03

We paid into our insurance company for years and then we had a very poorly puppy who unfortunately had to be put down. They managed to wriggle out of paying out for his vet care, medication or his cremation. After this we combed our insurance policy with a fine tooth comb realised we weren’t covered for lots of things so we cancelled it and now we bank money and use that for our vet bills.

emmmaaa26 · 31/08/2018 21:39

We don't have pet insurance for ours as its sooo expensive and you have to pay ridiculous excess. Instead I put money away each month and up until now its not been touched (touch wood). Im not saying this is the best option but we also did this for our old dog and never had any issues.

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 31/08/2018 23:16

I went with PetPlan Covered For Life because of all the mumsnet recommendations. It's pricey but at least I know it won't go up massively as he ages and I get peace of mind that they'll almost certainly pay out if I need to claim - by some miracle, we haven't yet.

kkhimji · 31/08/2018 23:49

Petplan is the best

SSCRASE123 · 01/09/2018 12:14

Can be very handy and a comfort when required but I remain suspicious of insurers in general and if there's a way to avoid paying out then they will.

vickyors · 01/09/2018 14:11

We don't use a pet insurance provider for our Labrador, as we prefer to pay when we need. Generally she's really healthy and easy, so we're lucky, and even when our dogs are old they seem pretty easy to manage. I would feel odd about getting insurance then having to claim.. plus, our local vet seems very reasonably priced..

hungryhippie · 01/09/2018 16:47

We are with petplan for our 15 week old puppy. We have lifetime insurance and have already had to claim twice!
Once, she ate some raisins and had to have her stomach pumped and 2 days on a drip and she is currently on crate rest after breaking her toe!

She would have cost us over £1000 in vet bills if we werent insured.
I find them very fair and the vet can claim for us which is a massive bonus. I wouldnt go with anyone else.

CopperPan · 01/09/2018 20:47

We've been using Petplan for our dog and we've had no complaints. She has had a couple of health conditions over the years and the coverage and customer service has been excellent.

actualpuffins · 02/09/2018 06:13

I looked into pet insurance recently, but none of the providers had good reviews when it came to claims handling, so I haven't bothered with it.

Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow · 02/09/2018 07:22

This is something the FCA needs to look at. I debated it endlessly with a
company last week offering “insured for life”
cover.

I asked what that meant in practice. Once a pet has a condition then premiums need only rise exorbitantly for them to push a customer out who they don’t want to insure any more. There is no restriction on that.

Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow · 02/09/2018 07:24

I should add I have faithfully paid Pet Plan for our insurance for ten years and it’s now £600 a year! We have never claimed. I could have stuck the equivalent in a bank account. But that’s the thing with insurance - you are paying for the “what if” and it’s not a savings account

natavi · 02/09/2018 14:05

They're ok if something on the more expensive side happens

Sparrowlegs248 · 02/09/2018 14:17

I can't recommend Petplan highly enough. I had paid 5 months premiums before my pet was ill with an ongoing issue. I had taken out the best package including "covered for life" . I think some companies offer cheap premiums with an inferior service, and honestly think you get what you pay for.

puffylovett · 02/09/2018 14:17

I fail to understand why pet insurance policies are now so expensive. After 15 years of paying £18 per month for a black spaniel (gradually increasing to £40 as she got much older and claims mounted up) why am I now being quoted £46 per month for a 2 year old totally healthy black spaniel from the same insurance provider?

Is this because vet fees are now astronomical? It makes me shudder to think that human medical care may go this way...

NoLogicInThis · 02/09/2018 14:45

I wish pet insurers covered for pre existing conditions as they use that as a get out to not pay out for anything further down the line even though it's not fully down to the pre existing condition

MissJadeA · 02/09/2018 18:37

I have 3 cats and have never purchased pet insurance for them. I’ve heard some stories from people which have put me off massively. Of companies trying to find any way to not pay out.

However my friend recently had an incident with her cat and her insurance company have been fantastic. So I’m unsure on how I feel about it at the moment..

TomHardysNextWife · 02/09/2018 21:48

I've chosen my dog's insurance via google searches. Initially I had a full cover policy, but after that took nearly 4 months to pay our vet, I swapped to an accident only one that costs around £10 per month. Having said that, we have the money to cover any emergency treatments, so it's not an issue for us.
I do find that it is so hard to claim (same with any insurance really), and you feel like you are being investigated while doing so. I only have cover now for the 3rd party liability aspect. Having an accident prone spaniel, we've spent a small fortune at the vets but I take that on the chin as we've chosen to have a pet and he's a much loved member of the family.

KingBobra · 03/09/2018 08:40

I have PetPlan insurance, because it seemed to offer the best cover. We previously had another provider but they only cover accidents and not illness and it cost a small fortune when our previous cat got sick.

glmcall123 · 03/09/2018 09:10

Vet fees seem to have rocketed since pet insurance became the norm. Our vet was going to charge £450 to check our dogs teeth because of bad breath, we had to leave a week and it cleared up in its own. Both sides are profiteering.

jazzitup · 03/09/2018 09:50

Becuse the costs can be rather expensive to say the least, insurance should always be factored in.