insurance for puppy?

[springsprinkle]

Should I buy insurance for my 16 week mongrel (yorkie cross) male pup? The vet gave me a list of providers and said buy a whole life policy.
I've researched but am confused! Any advice please?
Should I start with cheaper basic policy and increase as dog ages?
Is it better to have annual say £3k limit, or £1k per ailment pa?
One friend says use Argos or Tesco, another said the excess is usually more than the cost of the vet visit.
And can you get cover if your dog bites another dog/person/causes an accident?
Thanks.

We've just switched our insurance from tesco as it was extortionate! 2yo labrador, no claims so far.

We have an all of life Policy, 7k per issue per year, reset on renewal. It's £20 per month but for a mixed breed i would expect to pay less.

I would insure tbh, if only to cover things like sudden illness and urgent treatment. Excess is usually £75 ish but surgery for a broken leg could potentially cost thousands.

Yes to your last question too!

Thank you. Does it work like house/car insurance where premium increases relative to claims made and age of dog, but basically they cannot essentially refuse to renew? And where do you find out what 3rd party liability cover is included - I searched on money supermarket, their comparison tool is rubbish, give only the briefest of details and want you to sign up to the policy before knowing what you've signed up to

Make sure you get a whole of life from the start.

My dog had skin allergies from a young age and my first policy only covered 12 months.

I then took out a whole of life policy but the allergies were a pre-existing medical condition by then, so wasn't covered. I've been paying for treatment for the last 12 years.

We use petplan a lifetime policy. We have 4K coverage each year. It also covers recurring problems each year.

For example my dog had surgery on both her front legs. Insurance covered it. Under some insurance policies we could not claim for the same problem again. She will almost certainly have issues in the future such as arthritis. Under petplan as long as we haven't used the 4K that year they will pay out for her existing condition.

They also increase their yearly price up until the dog turns around 8 (earlier for giant breeds) and then it stops as that is the time you usually need the coverage. You also only pay the excess once so £90 a year is all you will have to pay even if you claim several times for different things.

As Niffler said, premiums increase per year, but until you actually make a claim you have a certain amount of flexibility.

Yy to existing conditions too. One of our Kittens caught cat flu at 2 weeks old so we haven't bothered insuring her as any lung issues (and other things) will not be covered. Instead we put a set amount into savings each month to cover her vet bills.

You should be able to find more details about the policy on the provider's website if not from the comparison site itself.

Thank you all for your help.

I'm going to go with PetPlan.
Now. While he's 100%

Mrscharlesbrandon - hope you don't mind me asking, who is your £20 per month, all of life policy with please?

Any recommendations or companies to stay away from?

Avoid Animal Friends and E&L

Otherwise read the small print. Insurance can be very expensive and you may be better off saving up. If you have a large breed dog though, definitely insure from a pup, as they are almost certain to have a health problem and it will be expensive.

Yes, avoid Animal Friends. They will refuse a claim as standard. I really regret signing up with them and now my dog has pre-existing conditions so I'm stuck.

Pet Plan are meant to be good.

Pet Plan are good.

thank you all. getting him chipped in morning then will start cover.

You want £7k per year as a minimum really, if its a young dog its worth baring in mind that in 10yrs it won't be worth as much as now too.
My dog had £6k of vet bills in a year, spent £2k in first orthopedic consult just on diagnosing problem & he didn't need surgery. Thankfully the 2nd MRI scan he needed in same year was for a different condition as we only had £4k per condition per year cover.

Specialist vet referrals & hospitalisation can cost a lot, many orthopedic referrals i see via work are young to middle aged dogs, mix of pedigrees & cross breeds so i wouldn't want to bank on dog being fine until old age.

Petplan are often more expensive to start but don't seem to raise premiums as much at renewal & heard claims don't bump it up, but i've not had claim yet.

It doesn't really work like car/house insurance where you can shop round each year as whatever is on your dogs vet records will be classed as pre-existing conditions on switching and they generalise it so diarrhea can become all bowel conditions.
It can make it difficult to move later on so best to chose well at start not look for cheapest while young.

Company longevity is also worth thinking about after some insurers (Axa, Halifax) have left the pet market & its customers over a barrel having to stay with higher cost premiums from the replacement insurer or leave & pets too old/exclusions to get same cover.

Vets also don't have to accept direct payments from insurers (some have reputation for poor/slow pay out) so may ask for client to pay upfront & reclaim it themselves so its worth asking which insurers they will accept.