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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Pet Insurance Recommendations

27 replies

SlaveToDisney · 28/08/2017 09:17

Hi all,

We are picking up our new rottweiler puppy on Saturday and I want to get some insurance sorted for him. I have heard good things about petplan but for a lifetime cover policy they want £107 a month Shock that is more than my car insurance and house insurance put together!

Can anyone recommend any good insurers that I can check out?

Thanks in advance

OP posts:
lovemylover · 28/08/2017 09:23

I use Animal friends for my cats.they ate very reasonable.and when I needed to claim for my cat with heart failure they paid out very quickly.not sure how much they will charge for a fdoig.but dog insurance is usually more expensive

BiteyShark · 28/08/2017 09:30

Is that the most expensive life cover? I went with the one for £4K of cover each year.

NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown · 28/08/2017 09:35

MoreThan was the best we found when we first insured our dog (although this was 4 years ago).

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. Started off about £17 a month and is now over £30 although we have claimed quite a lot.

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/

Original poster
SlaveToDisney · 28/08/2017 09:39

Thanks for the recommendations. I want one with a high coverage amount per year and definitely one that will cover him for life. Because he's a rottweiler if he needs any medication/procedures then he will need a high dose due to his (eventual) weight.

OP posts:
VioletCharlotte · 28/08/2017 09:50

Mines with Legal and General and they've been pretty good. My dog developed a life time condition last year, I was expecting the premium to go sky high this year,but it hasn't.

Whatever you do, please make sure you take out a life time policy. It's worth every penny.

Pradaqueen · 28/08/2017 10:00

Is your new pup a KC registered dog? I found KC insurance was good value 4 months 1/2 price and then £80pcm for £15k cover pa. I have a Leonberger. Then again I was totally confused by the compare the market stuff and decided to just continue with the free insurance he came with from the breeder. I would also add giant breeds can be more susceptible to joint issues (dislocations etc) and I've already had to fork out for an x-ray (£400) and he is 18wks old.... they were excellent on the phone at both taking out the policy and claiming for the x-ray.

Original poster
SlaveToDisney · 28/08/2017 13:26

The one thing I do know is I want a lifetime policy. The new pup is not kc registered himself but his mum and dad are (and I've seen their certificates).

OP posts:
CornflakeHomunculus · 28/08/2017 13:39

The new pup is not kc registered himself but his mum and dad are

What reason has the breeder given for not registering the litter if both parents are registered? There's not much in the way of good reasons for not bothering registering pups if they can be.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 28/08/2017 13:43

Both out dogs and our cat are insured with PetPlan, and we have always found them to be very helpful.

When ddog2 rupture both cruciate ligaments, and needed two lots of knee surgery (followed by a third when she dislocated her kneecap) in the space of 12 months, they paid up all the vets' bills without a murmur - and they came to over £10,000.

Even better, the premium did not shoot up the next year.

BLUEsNewSpringWatch · 28/08/2017 15:09

The new pup is not kc registered himself but his mum and dad are

As cornflake said what reason did they give for not registering the litter? As there aren't really any good reasons for it but plenty of bad ones like over breeding the bitch (KC don't allow more than 4 litters born to a bitch to be registered, as more than that compromises the health of the bitch and potentially the pups too). Or the parents papers are false/ from other dogs.

On the insurance side I'd compare cost of insuring a rottie cross, rather than rottie- since no papers can very well mean that there is something else in there too.

tabulahrasa · 28/08/2017 16:00

Are the parents fully health tested, hips, elbows and heart?

Not being KC registered should have raised up a huge huge big red warning flag.

As the owner of a Rottie with elbow dysplasia - if your puppy has any health issues, £107 a month is a bargain compared to the actual vet bills.

fannydaggerz · 28/08/2017 17:29

Do NOT insure with animal friends. They left me in ££££'s of pounds worth of debt as they didn't pay out for no reason and one of my dogs had had a major operation. There is also a Facebook group with thousands of members who have been through the same. Watchdog are aware of them as so many complaints have been made. Avoid them at all costs!!

Petplan, more than, supermarket insurance, direct line are all good companies to insure with.

Get a lifetime policy and take the extra cover, its expensive but it's worth it for peace of mind.

Catch583 · 28/08/2017 19:49

Young dogs have accidents, old dogs have chronic conditions. You buy a lovely healthy puppy and don't consider that he could develop a lifelong disease or that when he's only 8 his insurance premiums will sky rocket.
So buy the best-recommended, fullest cover you can afford. Join a Rottweiler forum and ask other owners for advice.

WeAllHaveWings · 28/08/2017 22:57

Getting an extra large breed, especially a rottie, is going to be dry expensive for insurance and premiums will really rocket as he gets older as bone problems are very common and expensive in such a large breed, but unless you have thousands of pounds savings or are willing to PTS rather than pay for treatment you need to invest in as much lifetime cover as you can (or choose a smaller dog you can afford).

Wolfiefan · 28/08/2017 23:03

Avoid animal friends.
Not being KC registered is a huge red flag for me. Have health tests been done. What's the co efficient of breeding?

Original poster
SlaveToDisney · 29/08/2017 07:35

The reason the puppy is not of registered is because it is mums 5th litter. It was an accidental conception (dogs know nothing about contraception and their owners weren't careful enough with keeping them seperate) the people I am buying the pup from are friends of ours and the pup has been fully vet checked and is all fine. I have owned rotties before and my last rotties insurance was only £38 a month for £5000 cover a year on a lifetime policy. Oh and also I have said to friends about the health risks of mum having a 5th litter and dad has now been neutered.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 29/08/2017 07:48

So it's a back yard breeder? I am guessing health tests not done. (On parents. NOT pup.) 5th litter isn't an accident. It's a money making scheme. So how does that mean it's not registered? No idea of co efficient of breeding then? I wouldn't be buying a dog from these people.

tabulahrasa · 29/08/2017 08:42

So no health tests done Sad

Original poster
SlaveToDisney · 29/08/2017 09:09

No they are not backyard breeders they were kc registered breeders/approved breeders. The parents are fully clear as they are both kc registered and the pups have been fully healthchecked by the vet aswell.

OP posts:
BiteyShark · 29/08/2017 09:22

I think with health tests the PPs are referring to things such as DNA testing of the parents, Hip scores etc rather than just a vet check. Being KC registered does not necessarily mean those things have been done.

I know people who didn't bother with them but personally I made sure my pups parents had some of the genetic tests done for the nastier conditions.

tabulahrasa · 29/08/2017 09:43

"The parents are fully clear as they are both kc registered and the pups have been fully healthchecked by the vet"

The parents should have been hip scored, elbow scored and preferably heart checked before they were bred from the first time.

That is not a check up at the vets, but proper tests with certification showing the results.

Those health issues in rotties are the reason they're so expensive to insure... because of people breeding them without testing and breeding yet more rotties destined for a life of painful medical conditions.

DeadButDelicious · 29/08/2017 10:20

The parents being KC registered means nothing in regards to health tests (hip and elbow scoring etc). I would be asking to see those results. I am glad that they have neutered the male now. Hopefully that will mean no more 'accidental' litters.

As far as pet insurance goes we were with NCI up until the death of our much loved pug in March of this year. She developed a condition called NME ( necrotising meningoencephalitis) which all told cost around £10k to diagnose and maintain for the year she lived with it. MRI's, spinal taps, neurologist appointments, ongoing medication etc added up pretty quickly, thankfully they paid out. We had lifetime cover which cost us £40 a month, she died just after her renewal which jumped to £60, which wasn't bad considering. I'd of paid it gladly if it meant she was still here.

CornflakeHomunculus · 29/08/2017 12:40

The mating may have been accidental (though a great many breeders manage to keep entire dogs of both sexes without ever having unplanned matings) but they actively chose to allow the pregnancy to continue, despite there being other options and knowing there's a very good reason why the KC only allow four litters to be registered per bitch.

As has been said, both parents as an absolute minimum should have been hip scored (with results lower than the breed average), elbow scored (with results of 0:0) and have been heart screened by a cardiologist. Ideally they should also have current BVA eye tests and have been DNA tested for Degenerative Myelopathy, X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy and Juvenile Laryngeal Paralysis & Polyneuropathy. The puppies themselves should have been screened by a BVA panellist for signs of Multifocal Retinal Dysplasia.

Its also wise to check the inbreeding coefficient of the mating, you can do that using the KC Mate Select tool. Below 5% is preferable but ideally it should be as close to 0% as possible. This article explains why this is so important.

Whitney168 · 29/08/2017 13:45

You're right, you do need a hefty insurance policy. As they are friends of yours, have you seen the parents' hip and elbow scores, and official heart test results? 'KC registered/approved' (neither are actually really a thing) means nothing if they are not doing all this.

Can't say I would swallow the accidental fifth litter excuse for a moment, if they've managed four (which is more than enough for any bitch in itself, even though permitted), they surely knew how to prevent a fifth, or to deal with it after it happened by injection or by getting the poor bitch who had done quite enough spayed immediately.

Anyway - back to the subject - as others have said, avoid Animal Friends, or anything through E&L or underwritten by them like the plague.

Wolfiefan · 29/08/2017 19:50

I think you have completely misunderstood how decent breeders work. They decide to breed from a particular dog or bitch. They have tests depending on breed. Not a check up like at vaccination. My dog for example comes from a breed that is prone to heart issues. Both parents need heart testing BEFORE any mating. They select an appropriate dog or bitch to mate their dog to. (Checking it has also had the necessary health tests and will be a decent match. Looking at past pedigree and health history of the lines. Look at co efficient of breeding. Any faults on either side. Eg my breed dark eyes are desirable. Daft I know.) THEN they breed.
Accidental breeder is a back yard and incompetent breeder. KC reg means bugger all. I could get KC reg and breed multiple litters without any health tests. Like a puppy farmer. KC don't care. They register. Don't police.