Pet Insurance

[Shoeshelpplease]

Hi, we have a puppy and are looking at pet insurance for him. It is so expensive isn't it!

He came with 4 weeks free via Petlan and they have quoted me £22.50, £35.71 and £55,28 monthly for their Essential, Classic and Ultimate Plans. When pushed they have also offered 2 free months or 10% discount.

Can you recommend the best insurer in terms of value for money and also if needed, in terms of paying out and their customer services? It would be great to get a vets input too.

Thanks in advance.

I have claimed approx £4500 for my dog and he is only just 2 years old. Petplan paid up quickly within 10 days each time with no quibbles.

Insurance isn't cheap but honestly if you can see how costs quickly mount up it's understandable. It seems dear because we are used to the NHS rather than private health care which is what vet care is.

Whoever you go to I would get as much cover per year you can afford and a life time cover. Fortunately I have a life time cover otherwise my dog would be mostly uninsurable now with the conditions we have claimed as they would now be deemed preexisting on a simple yearly policy. Also I only have an amount of £4000 per year and I regret not going to a higher amount now I have seen how quickly you can churn through that with investigations, treatments and surgery.

It also makes me shudder when I see people recommend saving the monthly premiums instead as I have only paid less than £800 for the two years so if I had gone down that route I would now have a mostly uninsurable dog and be thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Pet Plan are not cheap, but in my opinion are worth the cost. Mine is a little under £40pm for a two-year old. The cost will rise as the dog gets older, but they have paid out quickly when its been needed, will deal directly with vets so in many cases you don't need to pay out up front, and they don't increase their premiums at renewal after a pay out.

I use BoughtbyMany but their cost is on par with PetPlan. Their top level cover does have a higher limit than PetPlan which is why I went with them. However, PetPlan typically come highly recommended on here and other forums, plus pay the vet directly (vs you pay the vet then reclaim the money). That is obviously very useful to some people - or just preferable to others.

In all honesty, when you get a puppy you basically get a unique and single shot at getting the most comprehensive cover you can. They don't have any pre-existing conditions at that point so you can get everything included. My own preference is, therefore, to get the maximum level of cover right from the off and rest easy knowing the dog is as covered as possible.

We have Tesco and pay £28 a month for their top plan.

Thanks all, we went with John Lewis in the end.