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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Do you have insurance for your dog?

57 replies

ihatethecold · 02/05/2013 13:48

My free 4 weeks are nearly up and I'm looking at quotes for my puppy.

Petplan is very expensive, coming in at 31 per month,

Have found a more affordable one at 15 per month but this is not whole life, but seems to have most bases covered.

What type if any do you have.

Thanks, there is so many options that I'm quite confused.

OP posts:
TwllBach · 03/05/2013 06:39

Both my animals are insured but I can remember if it is the life time one or not. They're both with pet plan though.

They're coming up for renewal soon so I will be shopping around for a good deal!

Notsoblonde · 03/05/2013 06:50

am quite Shock at the amounts some of you pay, am with healthy pets and am £10 a month it gives me £7500 cover and I have claimed three times

Bowlersarm · 03/05/2013 06:52

Sainsburys pet insurance here. About £28 per dog. I thought it was essential to have pet insurance for liability in case your dog ran into road and caused an accident, bit another dog who had to have surgery, or a hundred other scenarios.

HoneyDragon · 03/05/2013 07:08

Notsblonde. Is that life time? Or per condition?

IncognitoIsMyFavouriteWord · 03/05/2013 07:14

my 3 have lifetime cover with protect your bubble.

I got a good deal to insure all 3 and it costs me just over £30 per month

Abra1d · 03/05/2013 07:20

It is not necessary legally. I have never had insurance and believe it has contributed to cost increases in treatment for dogs. We do have savings, though, which would cover treatment. We pay out most for dental cleaning, which is rarely covered. I clean my dog's teeth to try and keep these dentals down.

Fairydogmother · 03/05/2013 07:26

My two are insured with tescos and they're brilliant. Pay the vet direct with no fussing.

My younger dog has had over £5k in claims in the 2.5 years of her life so thank god for them! One costs £10 pm and one is £8 pm as neither have a large value

SilverBellsandCockleShells · 03/05/2013 07:32

We have an accident-only policy for our pup. We don't need third party cover as its covered by our house insurance.

I went to confused.com and looked at the different options. We ended up with the cheapest option as it was the only one without the third party cover.

homebythesea · 03/05/2013 07:38

I would urge every dog owner to get cover. Our very healthy 3 year old became very ill from an apparently innocuous injury. We ended up having to take him to intensive care vet hospital and the very first question was " are you insured because treatment will cost at least £2000". Could you really face having to make a decision to treat or not in those circumstances?.

Original poster
ihatethecold · 03/05/2013 08:50

Thanks everyone for your responses, I'm definitely going to get insurance, it's just deciding what type.

I got a quote will Churchill but the form stated that they will only insure the value of the dog up to 500 pounds.
My dog costs me a lot more than that.

Is that normal practise?

OP posts:
tabulahrasa · 03/05/2013 09:04

'am quite shock at the amounts some of you pay, am with healthy pets and am £10 a month it gives me £7500 cover and I have claimed three times'

With mine it was definitely a breed thing, Rotties are expensive to insure it turns out...I should have checked what insurance group he was in when I was checking out running costs, lol.

In regard to having to pay upfront, I stick it on a credit card and the insurance has so far always paid out before the bill is due.

There was no limit on what my dog is worth, they just asked what he cost.

SilverBellsandCockleShells · 03/05/2013 09:08

"I got a quote will Churchill but the form stated that they will only insure the value of the dog up to 500 pounds.
My dog costs me a lot more than that."

I can't help thinking that this is a little mercenary ... surely your dog is family member and your insurance is to ensure his continued health and happines, not to replace him for a newer model if he pops his clogs!

Original poster
ihatethecold · 03/05/2013 09:12

I didn't mean it to sound like that, what I mean is will the insurance be invalid if I didn't put the correct cost of buying him.

OP posts:
SilverBellsandCockleShells · 03/05/2013 09:14

Ah, OK!

Have a look at confused.com. You can enter the purchase price, breed, etc. there and see what comes up ...

Bunnylion · 03/05/2013 11:20

Once you've short listed your potential insurance companies, it's worth asking your vet about which ones they are happy to chase for the money, and which ones you need to pay upfront and claim back yourself.

I'm with petplan and my vet deals with them directly so I never pay more than the excess.

Fairydogmother · 03/05/2013 12:00

bunnylion - very good point as some vets refuse to claim the money from certain companies and make you pay it and claim it.

Original poster
ihatethecold · 03/05/2013 12:03

Really?
My vet is about 85 and deaf as a door post.

I might get my DH to speak to him about that then

Have got a better price with direct line,13 per month

John Lewis were as exp as petplan.

OP posts:
HotPanda · 03/05/2013 13:04

Mine is insured with Direct Line. We went with a lifetime policy, and I am glad we did as at 7 months he was terribly ill and they paid out the massive fees no quibble direct to the vet.

It does mean that 5 years on we are paying £35 per month for the little fuzzball but it is worth it to me to know the condition is covered.

On the other side, my Mums very elderly dog has now had most conditions going it seems and her insurance will no longer pay out so she has cancelled it and is putting the money aside to cover the fees.
Sadly he is on his last legs - they have already refused him an op so if he gets anything that cannot be managed by medication then decisions will have to be made.

Ponyofdoom · 03/05/2013 21:59

I don't insure mine, I find its cheaper to save into an account and pay out if anything is needed. Also with insurance you just end up with lots of exclusions. I have just paid out £800 for my old dog to have an op but that's still cheaper than having insured her for 12 years! When my other dog escaped and caused a car accident my household cover paid up. Best to check though to make sure, I think most household cover with contents would though?

Fairydogmother · 03/05/2013 22:05

As long as you have some form of 3rd party cover from your household insurance it should be ok. If someone perceives threat from your dog they can claim from you and it won't be cheap!

astheworldfallsdown · 04/05/2013 01:21

Mine are uninsurable (mix of advanced age and pre-existing conditions!), so I have a savings account for them. And a lovely vet who doesn't get the arm in, which helps too.

landrover · 04/05/2013 23:05

Alright you lot, are you ready? my dogs pet insurance now £166 per month!!!!!!!! Ahhhhh!! I can't think about it!!!!
Its sainsburys and they have been brilliant though!!! It wasnt so bad till he reached 7 (veteran), but now he is 8 and a half and a newfoundland!!! everything goes by weight so meds cost a lot more!!

Original poster
ihatethecold · 05/05/2013 08:04

Are you actually paying that then ?

Jeez that's a scary amount of money

OP posts:
landrover · 05/05/2013 10:03

After a lot of thought we decided to pay it this year (prob for the last time though). You just worry about heart problems meds ops etc, its a difficult decision though x

atrcts · 05/05/2013 10:08

The only thing I found with lifetime cover was that t started out a reasonable price and then the annual fee varied, so when my dog was 10 she was charged about £500 for annual cover. So I didn't bother, I just put the £500 into a savings account and felt smug at the end of the year when I hadn't used any of it! It is risky of course, as broken bones for example cost thousands, but i was willing to take the risk and it paid off.

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