There will never be another Monty… but now there is Logan!!

[PacificDogwood]

Squeeee!!

Picking him up on Sunday.

Oh he's lovely!

Pet insurance: You need to make sure that it's lifetime cover. If they offer to cover a certain amount of fees 'every 12 months', they're telling you that you are renewing your insurance every 12 months and usually, anything you claimed for in the previous 12 months is now classed as a 'pre-existing condition'.

If you get a lifetime policy, then unless you have a break in your insurance (DO NOT DO IT), they will keep covering everything that was not pre-existing before the first day that you took a policy with them.

Eg.

'Every 12 months' cover to £4000:

1st year: Ear infection - abx, clean outs, operation, etc; broken leg £4500 - all bar £500 covered.
2nd year:Limit returns to £4000, but ear infections & leg related issue are pre-existing, all else covered. Ear infections return, Stomach condition declared - lots of investigations; £5000. Ear infections excluded, all costs of Stomach conditions covered up to £4000.
3rd year: Limit returns to £4000, but ear infections, leg related issues and stomach conditions are excluded.....

'Lifetime':

1st year: all covered bar £500
2nd year: limit returns to £4000, all covered
3rd year: limit returns to £4000, all covered

That's the difference.

Pacific, Which has notified me that they have a feature on pet insurance this month. Saw it and thought of you

www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/reviews-ns/pet-insurance/7-ways-to-reduce-pet-insurance-cost/?utm_campaign=Member_Newsletter_090515&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget

Don't know if you're a member, but might be worth it?

Thank you so much, both!

So, More Than Premier cover says:
"So any ongoing illnesses are not excluded and continue to be covered, up to the limit, as long as you renew your policy."
Limit is £12.000/year - that's plenty, right?

Aaargh!

No....so I've read the More Than options now.

They're a bit more confusing.

Basic: Up to (say) £3000 per condition, for up to 12 months from date of first claim. SO >£300012 months

So, is that good or not?!

They are half the premium than PetPlan - too good to be true, right?

Having just got a quote from More Than, they're only about £3 pm cheaper than Petplan, so I'd go PP if I were you, tbh.

Really?? Interesting. For Trigger (I've put him as a 'mixed breed' because I can't be sure he's a cross of two pedigree dogs) the difference is only £3 per month.

Really?!
The difference for us is £25/month vs 50£/month

x-post

Do More Than pay direct to vets? Is that a consideration? Would you be able to lay your hands on, say, £7000 of vets fees while they processed your claim?

And comparison websites are just utterly useless - they just confuse me more.

Have you definitely compared 'pure breed' with 'pure breed'? Are you certain that your boy is a pure grey because crossbreeds are half the price of pedigrees if Triggs is anything to go by ?

Weeeeel, I could, but we may have to eat beans on toast that month, so yes, that IS a consideration.

I am going to phone them and speak to an actual person, I think.

Yes, he is a pure breed - has tattoos and all in his ears to prove it.
He never raced, but he was bred for racing.

That is a definite, then

I don't think he'd hold still for a tattoo removal

It seems quite a commitment to make as you obviously only keep your lifetime cover for ALL conditions when you keep renewing with the same insurer and you've started insuring a young/healthy dog, yes?

If I make him a 'cross-breed >20kg' his insurance premium actually goes UP

I suppose greys have this reputation of being comparatively healthy for a large breed…
Still, weird.

Yes, exactly.

My westie came to us at 2. We took him for check over/vaccinations and I started to say that his paw looked pink. The vet held up her hand and said 'I'm terribly sorry, but I don't have time to give a detailed consult today. Have you got pet insurance by the way? Sign up with petplan on your way out, then come and see me in three weeks if you have any concerns about him....

When we went back 3 weeks later, the vet said 'his paw looks like an allergic reaction, is he insured? It turned out to be severe allergy to everything and he had hugely expensive investigations then desensitisation programmes from Texas, America, courtesy of Petplan. Had he not been insured, he would have been stuck on steroids forever.

The name's Bond, James Bond

Just thought I owed you all some photos - and thanks, lougle, for your hand-holding.

That's a very interesting story - I've got Luggie booked in for a check-up next week...

But you're suddenly going to be busy and postpone until you have your insurance in place and past the exclusion zone. Because that way, it doesn't matter what the vet says

Beautiful boy

Oh my goodness Pacific he is sooo handsome! Lovely shine to his coat. Great to hear that you can let him off the lead and he has good recall, makes life with a dog so much more fun. I take he is very much "family" now?!

I am amazed at the complexity of insuring a dog, more to think about than car insurance! Hope it is not too mind blowingly expensive for you. Have you contacted any other retired grey owners to compare notes?

Thank you for the photos - looking forward to one showing "Frisbee action"!!

Aww, he's so handsome, Pacific . And looks so much happier when he's not drookit!

I don't know if you have sorted insurance, but we went with Petplan, with their lifetime cover. One of the Classic ones.

My vets recommended them, because they are so much easier for them to deal with, they pay them directly and the last thing you need if your hound needs vet care is the stress of finding money and doing lots of phoning around to get payment sorted. Don't know if that helps your decision?

I'm very jealous that you have somewhere to let him off lead. We are haven't got anywhere local, so will need to meet up soon as I'm itching to let Argo off the lead and let him stretch his legs. Plus, I think he needs a little sighthound buddy. Maybe Luggie can teach him to retrieve?