Puppy insurance

[Rzim]

Bringing my show cocker spaniel home 2 weeks today who will be 8 weeks old. Puppy will come with 5 weeks pet insurance / not sure who to go with after that - any suggestions gratefully received! Thank you x

We've been with purely pets since ours was a puppy, so over 6 years now and they've been great. Never queried any claims and pay out quickly directly to our vets. We've got £15k per year lifetime cover and now pay £38 per month

I use Kennel Club (but with a multi dog discount) and currently pay £130 a month to cover all three of my dogs. But I have a 10 year old (show cocker) who has ongoing care covered under her insurance and has had some huge operations.

I’ve always used KC. They pay out quickly, you can get cover up to £20K etc. They paid out within 10 days of my most recent claim.

Whoever you use, do a Google to check the reviews online - lots of insurers are very dodgy when it comes to paying out. And get high cover (at least £10K but ideally £15K) - anything less than £10K is asking for trouble. Cockers are prone to eye issues and that treatment/operation can be anywhere between £2-6K depending on how serious the deterioration is.

Have fun! Cockers are lovely (intelligent) dogs!

We've always been with Tesco and have never had any issues. They pay out quickly and are good to deal with.

We are with ManyPets for our 4 dogs (inc the young puppy). Seems reasonable premium, and they paid a recent claim very quickly, so I'm happy with them. I have been with Pet Plan previously, and would ideally use them again, as they are really very good (easy to contact, pay quickly, easy for vets to deal with etc), but they are more expensive, so have stuck with Many Pets for now. I would make sure you have enough vets fees cover, and have a policy which covers the dog for life, so any condition they get early on is covered in future years, especially as they are so young.

I agree with those saying stay with the KC, in fact their insurance is Agria, but through the KC.

Do check who your vets are happy to claim directly from.

Always be wary of telling your vet your dog is insured. Best to keep that info to yourself until you need to make a claim.

If you have the money to pay vets for treatment, then wait until your insurers pay out, all good you can shop around. If you don’t have the spare money for any treatment, then go with whoever vets deal direct with. We are with Emporium Insurance, who are quite reasonable and pay out quite quick. I have a lifetime policy, medium cover of £4,000 per condition, it’s about £240 per year.

I don’t think it makes a difference to treatment but then I trust our vets. I wouldn’t want to have to pay out thousands and wait to be refunded.

Super helpful advice many thx all x

Whatever company you go for make sure you get a lifetime policy. Not one that only covers conditions for a year. If your dog develops a condition that requires ongoing treatment once your policy renews the condition will be classed as pre-existing and therefore no longer covered.