Insurance

[BeeBella]

Hello everyone,

Looking for insurance for new puppy where they pay the vet direct. I've been googling and there's huge variations in price. I understand PetPlan to be the best but they're also the most expensive.

Has anyone used BoughtByMany? They pay vets direct and look reasonable.

I have no idea what I should be paying for a miniature poodle.

Thanks

[Itsjustmee]

Yes I have boughtbymany on my french bulldog
Pay 44 a month for £7000 lifetime policy
99 excess for as many claims in a year
20 percent co pay
Although I haven’t had to claim a few friends have and they all said they were excellent
They are very popular with people who have Bull type breeds as they will pay for the OP for the breathing problems
They have a few different policies so you can tweak them to suit your needs

Pet plan was double the cost for a comparable policy

[threemilesupthreemilesdown]

Are you definitely comparing like for like policies?

Things I would consider:
Lifetime or 12 month limited policy
Amount of vet fees cover
What are the fixed excesses and is there a percentage excess on top (or will one be introduced as the pet ages?)
Complementary fees cover
Dental cover
Behavioural disorder cover
Any specific exclusions or maximum benefit caps (treatment of cruciate ligament disorders is a common one)

If so you might not be missing anything

[BeeBella]

OK, I rang the vet and they do accept direct payments from BBM. It's almost half the price of PetPlan with same cover. What am I missing?

[mynameisntlouise]

With cat insurance I found it was down to the vet whether they took direct payment or not.

I used to be with Direct line and my usual vet (companion care) wouldn't take direct payment, largest bill I had to pay upfront with them was about £400 but I was referred to a pet hospital for ongoing treatments at £500 a pop and they fortunately did accept direct payment.

Could you get a credit card which is specifically for the purpose emergency vet fees? Then you might be able to shop around for insurance and save yourself some money.

[Girlintheframe]

We use BBM. I find the level of coverage for price much more reasonable than pet plan.
We have the highest level of cover which is still less than pet plan.
They also get really good reviews and their customer service has been excellent.

[BiteyShark]

Not all vets do direct payments as PP said. With ours you have to pay upfront but then they sort the claim form out for you.

However, when they referred me to a specialist vet hospital they did deal direct and all I needed to pay was the excess although they did do a kind of pre approval and I had to sign disclaimers to say I would pay full if my insurance wouldn't pay out.

[Undomesticgodde55]

Petplan for our dog too. I know it's expensive but I also know he's insured for life if he gets a long term condition. My friend fell short with hip dysplasia and her insurance - they only insured her for the first year (the dog was 2 years old) so she now has very expensive vet bills and hydrotherapy on her hands.

[threemilesupthreemilesdown]

If paying the vet direct is the most critical aspect for you, check with your vet first which companies they are happy to accept direct claims from. Some will have a list, some will expect you to pay up front regardless of insurance company, some will have an administration fee for processing the claim.

IMO Petplan are still the gold standard.