Pet Plan

[cleowasmycat]

I'm now paying £70 a month for a 9 year old male neutered pug. That's more than my car. Is there a cheaper alternative with the same benefits?
Thanks

Tbh I think that's quite reasonable. I'm paying £66 for my 4 year old (no previous claims).
There is definitely cheaper insurance out there but likely for less benefits. Though many pets has comparable cover and is usually slightly cheaper. You will also have to bare in mind anything you've visited the vet for (usually in the last two year but check each policy) will be excluded.

Insurance is expensive but equally so is treatment if your dog needs it. It's a catch 22 unfortunately.

Have you claimed previously or have any pre existing conditions? It will affect your ability to switch and impact on any advice given

Think are more likely to make claims on pet insurance than car insurance. A Pug will be expensive and have just hit that senior bracket so you may find far fewer insurer options for lifetime cover. Will also need to weigh up what's on your dogs vet records as they will likely be excluded as pre-existing and they tend to group conditions so something minor like diarrhea would be excision of all bowel conditions etc, sometimes they may review after 2yrs and reinstate but may not.

For what it's worth my ancient dog is with Petplan and you can claim for everything without worrying about the premiums skyrocketing on renewal which is very common to get shot of higher risks, although they do all rise and expect vet bills will also rise sharply soon. Over the past few years I've claimed £3-4k per year for all dog's arthritis meds and treatments and last 2 nearly full £7k. As vets know will get paid by Petplan I only have to pay excess + my co-payment as they can request payment in full and claim back yourself, some insurers do quibble stupid stuff to avoid paying, my vet moans about time spent writing letters to try get them to cough up.

I've been told by a vet who I know socially (not actually my vet) that PetPlan is the best bet because he's never known them not pay out whereas some of the others can be a bit more argumentative.

Pugs are a high risk breed. My 14 old wei GSP cross died in June and I was only paying 56 quid a month for him. In my 30 ish years experience of having dogs, petplan are not the cheapest but they are the best.

I would think it’s the breed that’s your problem and you are going to have the same issue with most insurance companies, plus others can be a lot less reliable than PetPlan.

My 16.5 year old Lurcher was only £75 a month on PetPlan’s top cover, despite us claiming quite a bit for his arthritis and other old dog issues in the last couple of years.

I have always found them quick to pay out and not come across a vet yet who doesn’t do direct claims with them at least for larger sums.

Now he's 9 I doubt you can move him. Most insurers won't take on dogs over 8.

We've claimed our full policy limit for the last 2 years (£4000 each year) and Petplan have not penalised us with particularly higher premiums. I would stay put - the claim process is easy and they pay out quickly.