Changing insurance

[WhippetOfMassDestruction]

I don't know if this is a daft question or not!

Petplan have gone up 20% for the next years's cover so I thought I'd have a look around.

I know pre-existing conditions are excluded. The only claim we've made for our three year old whippy is for an injury - a nasty cut that needed stitches and took a while to heal. My question is, when they say they won't cover pre-existing injuries or illness, do they just mean following on from the previous incident? If we change provider and a similar thing happens in future, would they pay out?

Picture of the reprobate for fun 😁

Thank you 😊

What a cutie 😍

You can ask the insurer whether this injury would result in any exclusions, it really depends on their underwriters.

Pre-existing conditions are anything mentioned in the dogs vet history rather than what you made a claim for, so you may want to contact all vets your dogs seen to request a copy to check over if unsure if anything else as when you make the first claim you usually have to submit the full vet history. Insurers also tend to group rather than specific condition so you can end up with more not covered i.e fatty lump maybe all lumps incl cancer, bloody diarrhea maybe all bowel conditions. Sometimes with more minor conditions they will reconsider cover if it's not reoccurred or needed treatment within a specified period but is still the underwriters decision to reinstate.

How old is your dog? Premiums rise each year anyway but appears all insurance types have gone up way more than usual this year. Tbh 20% doesn't seem that bad compared to some renewals people have posted online.

If you decide to switch overlap policies so that the old doesn't run out until after the typical 14 day period at start of new policy they won't cover to avoid fraud, so if pet is ill you can claim from old and have option to just cancel new policy during cool off period.

I will say Petplan are good at paying up quickly so vets tend to be happy to claim direct rather than expect you to pay upfront and reclaim yourself. Unlike many they also don't penalise the individual for making claims so you can put everything through without fearing effect on renewal as some will hike up premiums when know have you over a barrel with pre-existing conditions after a big claim or when dog is old and higher risk of claims but is often when you need your insurance cover most.

Read the policy details carefully, some people only find out when need big op it's not the advertised £x vet fees per year as assumed but split £x allocated per x-rays, surgery etc so doesn't cover much or limited £ per condition over lifetime. May not cover bilateral conditions only paying for one and left on own if other (hip/elbow, cruciate etc) goes and needs treatment.

Thank you! He's only three. I know the premiums go up every year as a matter of course, it's just a steep rise on top of already expensive monthly payments. Petplan are great, I have many years experience with them and can't fault them, so would only be looking to get something very similar - life cover etc.

The only thing he's ever needed treatment for is the cut he had, and with him being a whippet it's something they are prone to, so I wouldn't dream of moving if the new insurer wouldn't cover a similar accident because it's happened previously.

Anything mentioned on the vets notes can be deemed to be a preexisting condition so even if they never treated anything but just advised needs to be mentioned.

I would mentioned everything you have discussed with your vet and get explicit details of what the new insurance would cover.

All insurance goes up every year regardless of making a claim or not.
Personally I had petplan insurance for 13 years and claimed continually for the last 10 years for a lifetime health issue and petplan paid all my claims(a lot) and I wouldn't use anyone else just based on that alone
I'd really not change insurance as all go up as pet ages

Also to add my policy when my dog was a puppy was £25 per month but by 13 it was £83 but I claimed over £200 a month for a decade