Pet insurance

[mumof31968]

Got a 15 weeks old cockerpoo, looking to get insurance for him, been told lifetime cover is the best policy to get they is that many to chose from. What's the best company to go with thanks.

AVOID Manypets like the plague. I insured my big dog with them when they were Bought By Many and the service was fine. I added my small dog to the policy. Then they rebranded as ManyPets and it's now been a month since I submitted a £2k claim and they haven't done anything, despite chasing. Google suggests this is far from an unusual experience...

I rate Petplan. They've never not paid out.

PetPlan pay out. But (bitter experience) get a lifetime policy for a high limit per year. Standing in a vet’s being asked whether you want to go ahead with a lifesaving procedure that will take you £6k over your insurance limit is no fun at all.

Another vote for Petplan

Vote for Petplan here too. You can claim directly through the vets rather than having to pay upfront and then reclaim, and they've always paid out no hassle.

I have claimed many thousands from petplan. They also covered dental (with a clause that my dog must have had his teeth checked by a vet at least once a year).

They paid out quickly each time with no issues.

The only downside is I didn't get enough cover when I first insured him. I only have £4000 each year on a life policy and that amount is dismally low as vet costs can quickly spiral into several thousands very easily (we had one claim this year in that amount for an emergency surgery to remove an foreign body obstruction).

Pet plan. They're one of the few that most vets are happy to do direct claims with meaning you don't have to fork out £££ upfront as you do with most pet insurance. The reason for that is they are quick at dealing with claims.

Petplan have always paid out promptly and all the vets/specialists have been fine doing direct claims so I've only had excess to cover. Individual claims don't effect premiums so you can claim for everything without stressing that doing so will cost you more in the long run which I found with previous insurer.

While they are more expensive premiums they continued insuring my oldie when I've seen online that many end up feeling forced to cancel buly insurers as renewals were unaffordable. People often think well I won't put my dog through invasive surgery when old but many common conditions (heart, organs, arthritis, diabetes etc) the drugs & treatments are expensive but can still have good quality of life.
Unlike most types of insuranve do have to buy pets with the long term in mind as once dog has a condition noted (not even claimed) on their vet records, if you switch it will be pre-existing and not covered, they also tend to group so that bad case of diarrhea could lead to all bowel conditions exclusion. Get highest cover can afford as vet bills soon mount up if need specialists & doesn't increase over time either so in 10yrs time it will seem even less.

We had £7k cover and it still was thousands short.

Go for £12k per year if you can, or per condition.

Pet plan. They were fab when our old girl needed a fair bit of treatment over a long period of time. Never quibbled.

Petplan - but get more than you think you need.
We've claimed the full £4k for the last 2 years due to a heart condition.
The premiums go up every year but I don't think we have been penalised by claiming on the policy.

Another vote for Petplan. They pay up without question.

I'm another one who uses Petplan . Get a lifetime policy as others say , and yes you don't have to pay the vet and claim back , no hassle and no grief with them 👍🏻.

Petplan here too. They’ve paid out in under a week 3 times for my cockapoo

I mean they paid with a week of the claim 3 times, not that I claimed 3 times in less than a week 🙈

We have Animal Friends. Used them for the first time last week. The vets submitted the claim on our behalf on Monday and the claim was accepted and paid on Thursday!

Insurance Emporium Lifetime Gold. They have been really good when I've claimed for my puppy. Paid out within 2 days of receipt of claim from the vet.

Totally agree with the PP about Many Pets.
I am moving to Petplan on renewal but I have been with Waggel in the past and they were excellent (cover just a bit too low)

I used Animal Friends. Always paid out fast with no issues.

Not sure if this is right I've never done it before

Ongoing is what you really want.

I've claimed with Petplan several times and never had an issue.

Definitely the one on the left for ongoing treatment.

if you go with 12 month cover they won’t cover a condition that goes into the next year or reoccurs later down the line.

You need Covered for Life, and a high limit.

Just to give you an idea: a scan to find what was wrong with a suddenly very ill dog, plus blood tests, plus anaesthesia, emergency operation and post-op nursing, came in at over 9 thousand pounds. We didn't have long to decide what to do, but we paid the extra. And our dog died, and we are still paying back the extra.

Had she lived, follow-up appointments would have been needed, plus ongoing blood tests, plus lifelong medication.

Get a lot of cover, unless you are able to say firmly, 'If it's ill, we'll put it to sleep' and really mean it.

I have covered for life with Direct Line and they’ve been fine when I’ve needed to use them - which is a lot this year . My son has lifetime cover with Petplan for his Siamese cats and they are also excellent .