Pet Insurance

[Silversurfer101]

Does anyone have any advice on good providers of pet insurance? Or what to look out for when choosing? I’ve just got a puppy and not really sure what I’m looking for. Thank you!

[dementedpixie]

ManyPets (used to be Bought by Many)

[NotADressPerson]

Lifetime policy

[AwkwardPaws27]

I would absolutely recommend:

-Lifetime cover - not a yearly policy. So if they developed an ongoing condition you are covered after the first year

• At least £7k a year cover. More if you can afford it, or if you have a breed prone to particularly expense conditions (IVDD in dachshunds, for example).
  

• Ask your vets who they will do "direct claims" with. This is where the insurance pay the vet directly, do you don't have to find the cash then wait weeks or months to be reimbursed.
  

• Take out cover ASAP. There's usually a 14 day period in which illness won't be covered so don't delay.
  

• Decide if you want dental cover. Most only cover accidents, not cleaning or extractions due to decay. Personally I didn't go for this, but have a savings pot for it.
  

We're with Many Pets (formerly called Bought By Many) and they've been excellent. We're on their old Fixed For Life policy - I don't think they offer it now though - where premiums never rise. They've paid over £8k in the last 9 months without quibbling.

When I used to work in a vets PetPlan were always highly rated too, and rarely rejected claims.

Has puppy seen a vet at all yet? Be aware that any symptoms could cause exclusions (so if he's already been seen for diarrhoea, for example, insurers probably won't cover you for that).

[OrlandointheWilderness]

I've just gone with boughtbymany (many pets now I think) as they offered the highest cover. Pup is insured to the hilt after older spaniel cost us upwards of 10k in his lifetime!

[KillingEvenings]

We use ManyPets / Bought by Many. Have not had to claim yet (touch wood) but have heard lots of good things from friends who have (and from the vet).

We have used their video vet service that is included for free and that's been invaluable and has saved us from having to track down out of hours vet service when the dog was poorly, when the dog was limping, when the dog ate a paracetamol.

If you go with them, feel free to use my code. We both get an Amazon gift card if you sign up.

[PizzaPalaver]

Petplan
But also ask your vets who they work with and who you would have to pay & then claim back
Our vets only work with a few insurers

[wishuponastar1988]

We've been with more than since our dog was a puppy (she's now6. Have claimed a couple of times and they have paid out no problems however this year our premium is £153 per month and will probably go up again at renewal in October! We've had the lifetime cover

[BoodleBug51]

We're with Bought by Many (or whatever they are now called).

Highly impressed - we had a poorly dog on holiday recently and did a video call with a lovely vet at 1am, who was really reassuring and told us that the issue could wait until the next day. She sent us a link to local vets in the area to see the next day in person. They followed this up with emails and texts - it was all part of the insurance (think it's called First Vet app).

Our cover is £20 a month, and the claims we've made paid out within 7 days.

[SirSniffsAlot]

I also am with ManyPets. They have been brilliant at paying some very high/frequent claims, plus the free video vet (First Vet) has been very convenient and useful too.

[PugInTheHouse]

We have ours with Asda, it's £10k lifetime cover for £29 a month for a large breed. Tesco offers decent policies also. We tried Bought by Many and it was nearly £70 a month!

[Hoppinggreen]

We have Petplan, mostly because they just deal with and pay the vet direct

[dementedpixie]

I found petplan too expensive. Manypets will also pay direct to the vet

[Narwhalelife]

Pet plan with a lifetime policy- just had to put through our 1st claim, fingers crossed all ok so far - will try and update when it’s all done!

[muddyford]

ManyPets here too. £15,000 cover and they cover working gundogs. Half the price of our previous specialist insurer.

[muddyford]

Oh, with Manypets, if you dog has a pre-existing condition but it doesn't come to the attention of a vet for it for two years they start to cover the condition again.

[Rebelmcstreettuff]

We had to threaten Petplan with court action as they wouldn't pay out for an op on our dog......no reason for them not to pay out as we had paid premiums for 2 years.
Our vets recommend them too and were no help.
Really bad customer service,AVOID

[Hoppinggreen]

I have to say my experiences with Petplan have all been very positive

[Aria20]

Has anyone used "purely pets" for pet insurance? Seem quite reasonable cover and prices. I've just had renewal through from petplan and it's gone up nearly £80 and I've not made any claims!

[TreetopsandTailwaggers]

I’ve been with PetPlan for decades. Had one attempt at going with a different company and was royally ripped off, so stuck with PetPlan after that.

My last two dogs had A LOT (tens of thousands) of claims between them over the past three years, all paid really quickly with no problems at all. The vast majority of payments were in my account within 48 hours of the vet putting in an electronic claim.

I will be going with PetPlan again for my next dog.

[Skt0]

Hey, Bought by many is supposed to be really good. They have free vet calls and other offers when you sign up to them.
here is a 20 £ voucher.

mention-me.com/m/ol/ml3qm-sangeetha-kanekal

[User3456]

Get a lifetime cover one with at least £6000 cover.
We went for a higher excess to keep premiums lower (on the thought that we can afford a £200 excess anytime but never a £3000 bill for example).
We have ended up at referral vets a couple of times and they are ridiculously expensive.
I have heard good things about bought by many but have never used them.
We have successfully claimed with John Lewis and Argos pet insurance - no problems.
We had a problem with animal friends once - they wouldn't pay for an emergency trip to the vets on the grounds that the condition wasn't life threatening (but how do you know before you get to the vets?)
Congrats on the puppy!

[Lelivre]

We use co-op (legal and general) and within no time had to make a claim for a stomach virus and then another a few weeks later due to an accident and broken foot, surgery etc. Our cover is about £2000 (I think per claim as opposed to per year) anyway with the accident we used it all. We have a copay of 10% as she is a older dog and a rescue. I thought they were brilliant and our premiums didn't go up that much.

[XelaM]

PetPlan paid out £4000 for our dog's surgery without any questions. Paid directly to the vet. I would recommend them.

[katmunchkin]

Also with Asda here, £25 a month for a medium breed with £4000 of cover. Just had to claim for first time, paid out, in full, no queries, within 3 days of claim going in! Highly recommend, hope the renewal price stays reasonable as I'd happily stay with them.

[GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal]

I've literally just bought a lifetime policy with a company called Napo. It's £25 per month for my Cav, up to £8000 per annum cover, with a £75 excess and free online vets calls. Seemed a good deal compared to Pet Plan and Many Pets, which I also looked at, and seemed to have good reviews online.