insurance - help me understand!

[ThatWentWell]

Have always used John Lewis as they have Lifetime cover. This year's quote is much higher than previous 3 yrs (no claims or changes of details etc).

I've looked at others with Lifetime and they are cheaper, yet seem so provide more cover (in terms of £).

I find a lot of the terms confusing and not sure what I NEED to have a good coverage of.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

I'm with Pet Plan and like your policy mine suddenly rose in price quite considerably.

Obviously, the age of the dog is a factor but I had a good look at mine and found I suddenly had all sorts of cover that I'm sure I didn't have before such as 'repatriating' the dog from abroad in the case of illness (not sure if that's hers or mine), which as I'm never planning to take her abroad is pretty unnecessary.

I need to speak to them but just haven't got round to it as it all feels like a bit of a mission tbh.

Obviously you need good cover for your own circumstances. Vet fees being the priority of course. They generally offer cover for kennelling if the owner goes into hospital but if you have someone who is able to look after your dog while you're not there then that's something you don't need; all these things add up.

Third party is a good thing to have in case your dog caused and accident running in the road, for example.

They will try to pile it on but anything you don't understand you should ring them and ask them exactly what it means.

I had an exemption on my policy because for her first year I didn't have life time cover but I was able to get that removed after I'd had life time cover for a few years. So things like that are always worth keeping an eye on.

Some policies are standard so you have to take whatever they offer, and pay the cost, but some policies can be more tailored to the pet owner's needs.

I have £2,000 in premium bonds I add £100 every year on ddog bday started this with my previous pets and £50 adding £10 a month instead of paying insurance. Insurance is a rip off I avoid it.

That's a very good way to cover it Lighteningirl if you start as soon as you get the animal. Lovely if you win money, if you don't though, £2000 is not going to cover a lot of things. Realise of course, that as dog gets older obviously your pot gets greater. Not a bad idea at all.

I wouldn't say it's a rip off though. Depends how much you need to make use of it.

When my cats were old their insurance paid out over and over with no limits for on-going treatment. And the cost of premiums actually went down when they got very old.

When my dog was a couple of years old she needed expensive treatment on her eyes - saw a specialist, needed an operation etc. Again, all paid by insurance without hesitation.

That's the nature of insurance. If you don't use it it does feel like a rip off but I wouldn't go without house and contents insurance on my home for example, although I think I've claimed on it a maximum of 3 times.

This is an interesting thread. I'm just searching for renewal for my dog today. I have never had insurance for dogs or cats before, over 27 years of pet ownership but had a nasty shock earlier in the year when my 7 yr old dog had a spine injury. He had an x Ray at the vets and we were told he would need an MRI at a specialist vet which would lead to an operation with several weeks rehab. The total cost was going to be over £7,000. Sadly our poor dog died before he could have the treatment, but the thought of paying out £7,000 was horrifying.

So, I'm looking to insure my current dog who is four. There seem to be four levels of insurance and I really don't know what to go for and with which company.any advice would be very welcome.

I have never had pet ins but I always had a flexible mortgage so would have used that if I had to. Now I'm mortgage free so the premium bonds seemed a better way, reading this thread tho I think I might work a bit harder on topping it up.

I have a nearly 3 year old lab and Pet Plan ~ £32/month.

Its lifetime cover and I've used it twice with no problems paying out directly to vet. Pet Plan have a good reputation and generally don't increase for claims, but do increase as the dog ages and the risk of claim increases (as do all plans). So I expect it to get much higher as he gets older (and that's the reason we cant afford a much wanted 2nd dog).

Lighteninggirl - our lab-pointer cross has had three knee surgeries this year, for ruptured cruciate ligaments and a dislocated knee cap, plus two further admissions for a seroma in the wound from her last operation and a gastric ulcer caused by the anti-inflammatories she was on - and to date, her vet bills are in the region of £8,000. And we still have her final appointment, which will include sedation and x-Rays - so at least another £300-£500.

£2,000 would not even have covered her first surgery.

I forgot to say - we have PetPlan insurance for all three of our pets, and they have been wonderful, especially over the last year, with all of ddog2's knee issues.

Insurance is only a rip off if you dont need it, and who can predict?
Expensive, but for a dog you would have to save alot to cover the costs if something big happens. Dogs vet bills can be massive, plus the insurance offers liablity insurance if your dog causes an accident or bites someone which can be invaluable.

I have checked with dh, and I was wrong - ddog2's care this year has cost us over £9,000 so far.

We have a nasty feeling that next year's premium is not going to be nice, but we are considering offering a significantly increased excess in exchange for lower premiums.