Tesco/Argos Insurance

[KatharineClifton]

After looking at lots of policies I have narrowed it down to these two. They are the only ones I've seen that don't have the excess plus a % of the bill on policies for 8+ dogs. I am trying to insure a 9 year old.

Prices are similar with one paying out a bit more per year per condition.

Is there any substantial difference?

Sorry I can't be more help but was wondering the same thing myself for our new dog, Argos is on my shortlist of insurers to choose...

We had Tesco insurance for our Border Collie's lifetime, it was over £42 per month when he was 14 yo.

I would suggest you look very closely at the terms and conditions of the policy. Ours would only pay for one claim per condition, not much good with a dog with colitis. They paid once for a tumour to be removed but refused the second because it was the 'same condition'. They refused to pay very expensive investigations when he suddenly lost his appetite because of the way the vet's surgery had completed their section of the claim form.

We couldn't change insurers because of his existing conditions and age.

We have taken out insurance with Directline with advanced cover for our new pup, which covers conditions up to £7k regardless of number of claims.

When we got our Collie we didn't think that one day he would be older and might need medical help (I know, we were just pleased to have a dog at last!) and so got only basic cover. Everything is easier with hindsight.

Hope this helps

I hoping that all the reports come back good about Argos as that who we've insured our pup with.

I called them before taking out the policy and they assured me that the £7k vet fees amount is an annual amount that gets renewed each year regardless of condition.

I guess I won't really know until we start claiming

We are with Tesco and have the higher cover.

We have had two payouts from them, one which I thought they might have quibbled but they didn't. Cat fell on face and had to go to speciaist vet. Very good but ££££.

I currently pay around£44 per month, 3 cats 1 dog.

Thanks all. I've gone through the terms and conditions and can't see any real difference so have gone for Tesco as the amount available per condition was higher than Argos.

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo - my mum found Direct Line very good with her aging collies. It's a bit too pricey though for me with an older dog.

Our hound is with Tesco (cos the underwriters the other pets are with have greys classed as high-risk so a no-go for her). Haven't had to claim so far off it though.

Sent you a message OP!

Can I just add that you must go with an insurer that will cover a life time condition .

Also consider going for a company that vets are happy to deal with directly and vis versa so you dont have to pay out first .

Insurance companies can take a while to pay out .

Dont go for basic cover - you never know what is going to happen

I'm on my 2nd year with argos and I'm very happy with them.
I made 1 claim last year for just over £200 and they paid the vets directly, I just had to pay £55 excess.
I made a claim last week too, again for £200 (again). Excess this.year is £65 and the rest was collected directly from insurance.
I pay £24 a month for my 16 month old springer spaniel. That includes lifetime cover and £7000 claim per year. The vet thinks I only pay 1 excess per year, I'm not sure though and I've never made more than 1 claim in a year.

My understanding is that is one excess per condition. So if the dog developed arthritis for example then it would be one payment of £60 and all further treatment for arthritis would be free for the duration of the lifetime of the policy. But if the dog developed a different condition as well after the arthritis then it would be another excess payment. I;m not 100% on that though.

That sounds right Katherine. Perhaps that's what the vet meant and I misunderstood him?
The two times I've claimed have both been for skin infections so maybe if they'd been in the same year, I'd have got away with just 1 excess. I don't mind, I've saved money so far by having insurance.

Watch the small print- a lot of insurance companies only pay out for the first 12 months of a condition, which means that, say, your dog had a skin condition which flared up this summer, but then settled and got worse the next summer(and you then decided on investigative tests), they wouldn't pay at all, regardless of the fact that you didn't claim the previous summer, as the condition was now deemed to be more than 12 mths old

The excess is usually per condition and per year. So 2 conditions, you pay 2 excesses, each year.

How would it work with something long term like arthritis Joolyjoolyjoo?

Hi Katherine, if it was a 12mth policy they would pay out for treatment and investigation for the first year, then not pay any more

Thanks. I suppose they win most ways. But in an unexpected emergency it is still worth having the cover.

Can i ask why nobody has petplan insurance? Is it just preference? We have got a 9 month lab who is insured through petplan, approx 25.00 monthly.
Are they any good? We only went through them as the breeder gave us the details in the puppy pack.
Just curious really and of course worried that they might not be any good compared to others

Petplan looks good. I just tried for a quote and they don't offer lifetime for a 9 year old. Did you notice that one of the conditions is that you have to have an annual dental inspection - I expect it is something that can be done in conjunction with vacs - bit of an unusual condition though in terms of insurance.

Ah, Petplan also charge a higher excess of £75 and a 20% proportion of the bill for older dogs. Argos/Tesco don't charge the extra % part of the bill, and two of the very few who don't for older dogs.

I hadn't noticed the bit about teeth checks but like you said, that can be done with vaccinations. I am going to look into Argos and Tesco out of curiosity.
Thankyou

mishymashy- petplan definitely pricier, but they do seem to pay out well, and quibble less (have been on the receiving end of many odd quibbles from insurance companies in my time, eg. we won't pay out for cataracts because we see from the history that the dog once had conjunctivitis 5 years ago !) Some insurance companies seem to want to find any excuse to wriggle out of paying!