Insurance for new puppy

[Squaddielife]

Due to get Patterdale pup soon and still looking at insurance

I was set on Bought by Many but on trust pilot there's feedback of increasing (like double!) Insurance cost at renewal.

Anyone know of insurance companies that don't hike their costs extensively year on year? I understand premiums increase but I'm not keen on them doubling and making it unreachable as pup grows.

Also, im going for a lifetime plan but would you say a yearly total (so £7000 over the year for eg) would be better than a limit per condition per year (say £1000)?

Another company I've seen is Animal Friends - anyone with experience of those?

Don't got for a condition limit. Even a bout of D&V set us back over £2k as it needed tests and admissions. It is far better to have a limit that can be spent on one thing or many things.

I am with petplan and it increases by age but not by claims (we have had many and are over 5k at 4 years old).

Can't comment on other companies as not used them but look at the T&Cs very closely. I have seen BBM on here being praised by others if you search for past threads.

I’d avoid animal friends. £1000 isn’t much. We spent about that for an ear infection!!

Go for lifetime insurance without a doubt, we’ve been with animal friends for a while and they’ve always paid out and never had any issues with renewing, it does go up though. FWIW, Tesco on an old dog we’re pretty good but it wasn’t lifetime. Our one dog is 9, we pay about 20 and other dog is nearly 6 and riddled with problems unfortunately, hers is around 35. We have been with them since she was 1 and I think it started about 26 a month.

It will always go up as they get older, if they’re not neutered/ vaccinated etc.

@BiteyShark

Don't got for a condition limit. Even a bout of D&V set us back over £2k as it needed tests and admissions. It is far better to have a limit that can be spent on one thing or many things.

I am with petplan and it increases by age but not by claims (we have had many and are over 5k at 4 years old).

Can't comment on other companies as not used them but look at the T&Cs very closely. I have seen BBM on here being praised by others if you search for past threads.

Thanks, I have no idea how much vets bills can cost for a dog so thats really helpful. I guess 7k per year over all conditions is pretty average/good then?

@Wolfiefan

I’d avoid animal friends. £1000 isn’t much. We spent about that for an ear infection!!

Thanks, thats really helpful

Will premiums increase if we have pup spayed do you know?

They shouldn’t increase, most insurance providers I’ve found prefer it as it reduces the likelihood of certain illnesses

Surely you wouldn’t get a dog spayed as a pup though?

@Wolfiefan

Surely you wouldn’t get a dog spayed as a pup though?

No no, of course not. Unsure if/when we will spay but was wondering if this affected policy cost etc

Also worth talking to the vet to see which companies they would claim direct from. Saves you paying out then trying to claim back.

Our vet does direct claims with some and not others, so that made a difference.

Have heard same about Bought By Many - cheap to lure you in then hike prices. And anecdotally people I know who work at vets have Petplan so that’s who we went with. Have made one claim so fair and they paid out straight away.

Vet nurse here , i would go for lifetime , read small print ,its often unknown that insurers can void a claim if vaccine overdue ,even if totally unrelated problem, boring to read but worth it .
Most companies will do a direct claim but its practice choice as to whether they accept it or not , if its a complicated claim its often more trouble than its worth for the practice to process / wait , so i would not bank on that and have a plan to cover bill whilst waiting for insurance to pay you.
Animal friends used to have a bad reputation but greatly improved now worth looking at ,i think they have new underwriters -read independent reviews for the companies you are interested in.
Its not always the big names that are the best , do a lot of research .
If breeder or vet offers you 4 weeks free i would take it as it often gives immediate cover without commitment ,use the time to shop around knowing you have cover in the meantime.

@tsmainsqueeze

Vet nurse here , i would go for lifetime , read small print ,its often unknown that insurers can void a claim if vaccine overdue ,even if totally unrelated problem, boring to read but worth it . Most companies will do a direct claim but its practice choice as to whether they accept it or not , if its a complicated claim its often more trouble than its worth for the practice to process / wait , so i would not bank on that and have a plan to cover bill whilst waiting for insurance to pay you. Animal friends used to have a bad reputation but greatly improved now worth looking at ,i think they have new underwriters -read independent reviews for the companies you are interested in. Its not always the big names that are the best , do a lot of research . If breeder or vet offers you 4 weeks free i would take it as it often gives immediate cover without commitment ,use the time to shop around knowing you have cover in the meantime.

Thats really helpful thank you.

Have you any experience with 'Bought by Many'? they seem really popular .

Would you advise going for a policy which gives so much £s per condition per year or one that gives a total yearly to use against any condition?

I thinking 7000 per year against any condition...would you think this sufficient?

Thanks again for your advise

As a vet who has just bought a puppy like many others in the profession I have moved away from Pet Plan and have gone with bought by many. The BBM cover is higher and when you read the detail better if you buy the top whack policy. We all go for £15K as in 10 years time £7K will not be sufficient. Plus BBM will cover what are currently novel technologies like transplants and stem cell treatment, but in 10 years time these could be the norm.

Petplan do currently cover stem cell treatments

I have had bought by many for nearly 3 years and have been really happy with them as have others I have recommended them too.

Avoid animal friends, they will do anything to worm out of paying and they do not have new underwriters. See the Facebook group Animal Friends Not for the reasons why all pet owners should avoid them. We no longer use insurance companies, we self insure by having a savings account for the dogs and put a monthly amount in. It builds up nicely as they rarely need treatment when young and there's a lump sum for when they are older. We also are members of the Dog's Trust, who provide public liability insurance for members, so if your dog, for example, causes an accident, you are covered. It's only £25 per year, so we'll worth it.

@Lonecatwithkitten

As a vet who has just bought a puppy like many others in the profession I have moved away from Pet Plan and have gone with bought by many. The BBM cover is higher and when you read the detail better if you buy the top whack policy. We all go for £15K as in 10 years time £7K will not be sufficient. Plus BBM will cover what are currently novel technologies like transplants and stem cell treatment, but in 10 years time these could be the norm.

Hello! I'm also looking and have been fixed on BBM because of all the latest positive reviews I've seen... can I ask: 1) what you mean by the top wack BBM policy being better (apart from the obvious re a higher pay out) ?

And 2) why do you say that in 10 years £7k won't be enough (& so you went for the £15k option)?

Sorry if these are silly questions. I'm trying to figure out this minefield of info ... & was actually thinking about the £3k lifetime option for my new poochon pup - which I thought may be enough having reviewed average annual payouts online, & of course though they can vary, a few websites seem to suggest claims are typically between £700-2000) .. so I thought £3k may be enough

... and advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks

@BringBackDoves

Our vet does direct claims with some and not others, so that made a difference.

Have heard same about Bought By Many - cheap to lure you in then hike prices. And anecdotally people I know who work at vets have Petplan so that’s who we went with. Have made one claim so fair and they paid out straight away.

Thus is super helpful to check out & keep in mind! Thanks so much!

I bought a lifetime cover insurance policy which covers for £15000 per illness for my mini schnauzer, he's 4 years old. He has lymphoma cancer and I have claimed a lot on the insurance in the last year, about £7000 so far. Everything has been covered except the odd weird things like they don't pay for drugs that have been priced over 100% of markup, so I have to pay the difference. It's usually only a couple of pounds.

Before the lymphoma, I was paying about £24 a month. Since I've claimed and the insurance policy has renewed, I pay approx £34 a month. It's gone up but not excessively. Sadly my mini schnauzer will have to be put to sleep in the near future, but I can recommend my insurers for their help. They've dealt with my vets directly but apart from one occasion, have always been really quick to pay out.

It's with Purely Pets.

@Shazz20 if you read the detail of the premium BBM policy it covers a lot of things that other policies don't, or if they do at not such a high level.
I have clients whose pets regular exceed £7K per year now, and a referral for investigation of slightly complex medical problem is somewhere between 3-4K. Costs will always rise and in a few years £7K will not be sufficient cover. I have a giant breed dog ruptured both his cruciates this year he has not got enough insurance money left to have the second one repaired.
Yes Pet Plan cover stem cell, but it is at least £3K I recently researched if for a client which as you need to have exhausted all other options you may not have £3K left in your policy.

You have to buy pet insurance with a long-term view as you can't guarantee you'll be able to switch on renewal in future without exclusions as once have seen vet for any conditions even if not claimed if its on the notes it will be preexisting & they group it. I've had pets long enough to see what happens when insurers decide to leave the market or underwriters change although so many are by RSA now. BBM offers good value its just still relatively new to know how will pan out.

£7k sadly doesn't go that far currently
especially if live in south UK where vet fees tend to be higher, an MRI to just diagnose can be £3k and orthopedic treatment seems fairly common with all sorts of breeds/mixes, though any specialist treatment can quickly eat through cover.

@lonecatwithkitten Not sure I exhausted all other options but she'd had medications for arthritis some years. The referral vets I'd contacted sent off pre-auth for the stem cell treatment and PP agreed after checking history, although I'd say £3k is lower end of what it can cost. I was able to plan treatment over 2 insurance periods to spread the cost which helped. There's some good videos on regenerative treatments by CAM youtube.com/playlist?list=PL36es_JbeNrYhaSdeXfjyt27D1jABSXxy

BBM also give you free access to Vet Plus, online consultations. You just log in the app, and you normally get an appointment offered within 15mns to 1/2h, outside normal hours.

The vets are brilliant, much less likely to suggest extra tests and overnight stays, and they provide a written report of the consultation with clear recommendations.

I have found these Skype appointments so much better than those with the vet at our local clinic.

As PPs mentioned get as much yearly cover as you can afford. I have £4K and it isn't enough but we are stuck with it but fortunate enough to be able to top it up if required.

Yes the value will diminish year on year but I won't be putting my dog through months of vet treatment when older given how he has reacted to treatment already so it is enough to diagnose but if I could turn the clock back I would have insured for a lot more.

BBM racked up the price after our initial first year. Ours was a multi dog policy not sure if that makes a difference. I will not insure with them again.