DDog is 8 and in fairly good health - NO insurance claims ever made.
Insurance is up for renewal next month and there's been a massive hike in price since last year, this together with an issue trying to make a claim last year and vet saying that insurance provider is known for being difficult is making me think we should look into alternative providers.
Re. issue last year - we'd had a gap of about 18 months with no insurance for no particular reason, during this time DDog hurt his back with no apparent cause and was on fairly heavy duty painkillers and sedatives for 7-10 days to keep him doped up and pain-free. Back pain resolved itself after a few days and hasn't happened again since; vet suspected he'd just pulled/twisted something. Last year, DDog had an episode where he appeared to lose control of his rear end, we tried to claim for the cost of investigations into the cause on the insurance but they said that because we had previously paid for treatment for his back they wouldn't cover ANYTHING related to his back. Following a second identical episode the cause has been found to be anal glads - and with hindsight I suspect that his initial back pain may have also been related so I do understand the insurers refusing to pay out on a potentially pre-existing condition that we had (albeit unknowingly) not disclosed. Our concern is with the assertion that absolutely no issue with his back can be claimed for. As well as the initial back pain episode, we've paid for all sorts of things over the years (cuts, scrapes, vomitting, pulled muscles, cut tail, sore ears, lumps/bumps etc.) that it's not been worth the hassle of claiming for - and if the same principle applies, very little of DDog is actually insured (I think probably just his front paws, eyes and teeth!). I did toy with the idea of just setting up a savings account and ditching the insurance all together given that should something happen it may not be covered and we'd have to cover the cost ourselves anyway, but DDog's brother died very suddenly a couple of years ago (despite absolutely perfect health until then) and I am loathe to not take all precautions possible as a result.
So, can anyone recommend an insurer who is reasonable, or am I asking for the impossible?!
(Sorry for the long post, I didn't want to drip-feed!).