Another insurance question

[pistachioicecream]

Sorry I know there are several threads about insurance but am going round in circles.

Our puppy came with 5 weeks free Kennel Club insurance from the breeder. That runs out today.

I thought we had organised different insurance to overlap with Co-Op Pet Insurance (underwritten by Allianz) but Co-op made an admin error and we don't have cover!

We'd opted for them as they were cheaper than Pet Plan (who are also underwritten by Allianz) or Kennel Club (underwritten by Agria). But the cover is only for £5K per year. I've subsequently been worrying that's not enough.

We're lucky enough that we could afford higher cover but DH would prefer to spend less if we can.

I just wondered what people's experiences were with any of our options:

Co-op - they are a lot cheaper than the other two (£26 per month for £5K per year)
PetPlan - (£45 per month for £7K or £57 per month for £12K)
Kennel Club - they're offering 3 months half price if we continue the policy with them. (£60 per month for £7K cover but first 3 months at £30)

I guess I'm suspicious as to why Co-Op is so much cheaper when its basically the same policy as the Petplan one. Although obv for slightly less cover.

I know Petplan are well thought of but what about the kennel club policy?

Any thoughts or experiences would be gratefully received!

Thank you

Have you actually compared the policy side by side. I am not talking about the actual amount but the real details.

Are there any limits per condition?
Does it cover dental?
Any stipulations on 'approved' only specialist centres?
Does it cover holiday cancellation?
Does it cover alternative therapy like behavioural treatment?
Does it cover hydrotherapy?

BTW I have £4k per year with petplan and we can't up it as we have had so many claims.

It really isn't enough and you only realise that when you look down the list of a specialist hospital.

I started a thread about insurance this week (you probably saw it). I went with PetPlan in the end.
I don’t have any experience to offer you, but if you do chose to go with them I have a referral voucher for 2 months free when you buy a years plan if you’d like it.

There are lots of things to factor in. Is your dog a pedigree, crossbreed or mixed breed, what size are they?

Mine were/are both large breed, so vet bills were inevitably more expensive than they would be with a tiny dog, but they were/are down as crossbreeds (they tried to charge Me more for ‘Lurcher’ being a breed, but I fought them, as one is the result of two cross breeds, so a mix of four breeds and the other was a really Heinz 57, of unknown heritage, so neither could be classed as ‘a breed’). Not sure if with the modern trend for particular crosses that crossbreeds come out any cheaper these days though.

What I will say is that one inpatient stay at a specialist hospital, no surgery, but supportive care in ICU, various tests and an MRI came to over £7,000, so the Co-op policy wouldn’t have covered it. Follow up appointments afterwards were £450 per appointment as well.

I’ve had dogs for over 30 years now and learned the hard way to go for the highest level of cover I can afford and be careful to look at the small print for exemptions and restrictions. (Eg restrictions can be limits on things like cruciate surgery, exemptions or other limitations can be related to dental)

Thanks for the replies.

She is a medium sized pedigree dog.

@AmigoDog - that voucher sounds great if you don't mind. I think I'm veering towards PetPlan. It's cheaper than Kennel club and everyone says very positive things about them.

Now just to persuade dh ;-)

My dh was the same when I took out the policy. He had to eat his words when we used over 21 grands worth of cover in under 18 months on one 6 year old dog!

Bear in mind if you switch insurers now, you’ll Probably have a 2 week exclusion period...

It’s probably still worth it financially, but just so you’re aware.

You might want to find out from your vet if they make you pay upfront for all/some insurance companies when your pet gets treatment. If all companies are treated the same and incur the same vet admin charges you will be liable for.

Some dont charge you upfront, they charge the insurer directly. So you don’t need to find money to pay upfront.

This may not be relevant if you have enough savings or a credit card right enough!

Also look at the increases in premiums.

PetPlan don't increase the premium because you make a claim, but it does go up with age.

I'm with PetPlan. I have made a number of claims for the same issues with my now 9 year old dog and find they are always prompt to pay and I have never had a claim queried.

I recently submitted a claim for a couple of different treatment session, which came to well over £700, it was paid in less than a week.

We’re with kennel club. Was £38 last year I think and is going up to £44. We’ve not had a problem with them. They have a 24 hour helpline which we used when our pup ate grapes!!
The vet claims from them direct.

Petplan must make sure you have enough max coverage it is always more than u think u need

Pistachio - I’ll try and DM it tomorrow. I’ll let you know if I can’t for any reason. I didn’t have one and was a bit annoyed that I could have saved £100 if someone had mentioned it. Obviously no worries if you use another company though.