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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

Best pet insurance recommendations for puppy please

25 replies

monkeywithacowface · 27/08/2017 14:42

New rescue pup (10/11 weeks old) has 4 weeks free insurance with petplan. Need to set up our own insurance for him ASAP and wondered if I should carry on with plan or if there are better insurance companies.

Any recommendations? He's a bit of a mutt so not a pedigree breed but want good coverage him.

OP posts:
BLUEsNewSpringWatch · 27/08/2017 15:09

Petplan are the best. They will cost more in the first place but don't put their prices up when you claim or as much as other companies as the dog ages, so in they long run usually work out better.

Plus petplan is normally accepted by veterinary practices for direct claims (i.e. you don't pay vet anything, your vet claims directly from insurance rather than you having to pay vet then claim it back from insurance yourself). Vets are the willing to do this with petplan due to confidence in pet plan paying out (other companies often try to get out of paying).

I would never insure with anyone else.

WeAllHaveWings · 27/08/2017 15:11

Our lab is having problems with his knees and weve been having lots of trips to the vets. Vets asked if he was insured and was obviously very pleased he was with Petplan. Said as far as she was concerned they are the best insurance to have/deal with.

But be aware good doesn't mean cheap and premiums will increase as your dog ages. We are over £500 a year now for a 4 year old Labrador.

Also you need to decide the insurer and level of cover now as once you have any pre-existing conditions you will not be able to change insurers and be covered for them or anything related to them, or increase cover with you current insurer.

My dsis cheaply insured her cat without lifetime cover and it's ongoing kidney problems were only covered in the first year and now cost her a fortune.

BLUEsNewSpringWatch · 27/08/2017 15:12

Oh and make sure whatever policy you take out is a lifetime cover one.

Original poster
monkeywithacowface · 27/08/2017 16:21

Ok thank you that's good to know. I was planning to get lifetime cover so I will contact Petplan and get a price for continuing with the cover we have once the 4 weeks are up. I figured if the rescue we got him from always use petplan then it must be a reasonable choice.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 27/08/2017 16:25

Also worth talking to your vets. Some only claim direct from some insurers and some expect you to pay then claim it back if your insurer isn't on their list.

OrangeJulius · 27/08/2017 16:52

I have Lifetime Cover with Petplan for my dog and cats and they've always paid out very quickly when I claimed.

NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown · 27/08/2017 17:02

MoreThan was the best we found when we first insured our dog (although this was 4 years ago).
And if I was looking now, I'd look at <a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=boughtbymany.com/offers/pet-insurance/" target="_blank">https://boughtbymany.com/offers/pet-insurance/

Our dog is an idiot so we have definitely had more from the insurance company than we have paid in, but it is expensive, especially when it goes up year on year

Eifla · 27/08/2017 20:59

Petplan 100%.

My dog is nearly 14 and has been insured since he was about 4 - never claimed a penny and was starting to get a bit miffed about all I've paid in over the years going to waste Blush

The last year & this year we have had to claim thousands - got everything back ever paid in and more.

Would never be without it.

niknac1 · 27/08/2017 21:02

Another vote for More than, had no problem with the claims we've made, all pet insurance goes up every year as your pet gets older.

BLUEsNewSpringWatch · 27/08/2017 21:21

all pet insurance goes up every year as your pet gets older.

Yes but some far more than others. I know someone's who's premium went from £25pm to over £70pm by the time dog was 3yrs! That's extortion and why you shouldn't just go with a lifetime policy with whomever starts off cheapest.

Also a lot (possibly all bar petplan) of the insurers increase prices (often substantially) if you claim.

niknac1 · 27/08/2017 22:24

Our puppy came with the free petplan insurance from the breeder, when I looked around there was a significant difference in price. From my experience my pet insurance got much more expensive when my dogs were about 8 or nine years old. My current insurance hasn't increased dramatically but maybe the increases are based on claims, but I'm not an expert.

BiteyShark · 28/08/2017 05:55

I went with petplan because I had heard they didn't quibble with claims and that was certainly true when I had to claim very early on with an emergency vet appointment. The vets filled in the claim for me and although I had to pay upfront as it was an emergency vets and not my own vet they paid out very quickly.

mando12345 · 28/08/2017 08:48

I'm with direct line. I've claimed sure a bit and now pay £76 per month for a 9 year lab. I think it's a lot but they pay out with no problem.
I looked at petplan when I got my dog but what put me off is as the dog gets older you pay the excess plus 15 to 20% of the claim, the percentage varies. We are in the London area which I think puts the premium up.
I would be interested to hear what other people pay for an older dog with petplan.

mando12345 · 28/08/2017 08:49

Quite not sure!!

BiteyShark · 28/08/2017 08:57

mando12345 with my petplan (life cover) we just pay the excess. There is no percentage on top to pay.

mando12345 · 28/08/2017 09:17

Oh that's good BiteyShark, they've obviously changed.
This was 9 years ago obviously when my dog was a Puppy!

Floralnomad · 28/08/2017 09:38

I'm also with direct Line , life cover , they've always paid out promptly and without fuss . Dog was 7 this year and the premium did go up significantly to over £500 but I called them , and put the excess up a bit which then left the premiums the same as the previous year . The higher excess doesn't bother me .

CaptWentworth · 28/08/2017 09:43

Petplan was recommended by our vet. Probably because they pay out with least fuss and direct to vet, so they get their fees paid quickly. We've claimed several times, including an expensive weekend injury to our cat which would have cost £1000. No quibble, just paid £65 excess and left them to get on with it. Our other cat has just been diagnosed with a lifelong condition which would run into thousands over the years and they're paying that for life. Real peace of mind.

Original poster
monkeywithacowface · 28/08/2017 09:55

This is all really helpful, thank you very much

OP posts:
mando12345 · 28/08/2017 10:04

Hi OP, if you decide to change insurers make sure you overlap insurances for two weeks as you are not covered for the first two weeks for illnesses.
Also I would give petplan a call to double check the excess level as the dog gets older, as I recall they told me they can alter the excess every year.

Olliver27 · 29/08/2017 19:11

I went with PetPlan for the fact that my vet will accept payment direct from them but not from some other companies. I'm constantly tempted to change to one of the cheaper companies though - I pay £175 per month for 5 dogs, haven't had a claim in over 3 years.

Original poster
monkeywithacowface · 29/08/2017 19:54

£175 a month!? Yikes!!

Will be speaking to the vets in the morning and seeing what they say about it.

OP posts:
Olliver27 · 29/08/2017 20:29

That £175 a month is for 5 dogs - ranging from a Rottie cross to a Chihuahua.

Olliver27 · 29/08/2017 20:30

It would be my luck that as soon as I changed to a cheaper insurance, two of them would hurt themselves on the same day!

Oops4 · 31/08/2017 18:22

We're with with pet plan for our cat and have had to make a few claims over the years and have never had a problem.

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