Insurance

[newpuppyhelpplease]

Hi - I'm sure this has been covered many times but we are about to get a new spaniel puppy and having been stung by the previous insurance company and their refusal to pay after sadly losing him I wonder if anyone has any opinions on the best companies to use? My husband thinks we should just put money away each month and whilst that would have worked with our previous dog I am erring on the side of 'you just never know' and I know I would pay money I can't afford if needed!! Any other puppy advice gratefully received - it's been a long time since I've had a puppy, tia

Apologies 'losing him' referred to losing my lovely old boy

I have so far found Petplan to be hugely superior to John Lewis. 2 labs. One completely uninsurable thanks to John Lewis.
Elder dog has been uninsured since he was 8. At almost 14 costs about £250 per month in arthritis drugs. Still lower than the requested premium. Obviously we are not covered for catastrophic events, but he is realistically too elderly for anaesthesia.
Younger dog, close to 8. £75 per month with Petplan. Been very impressed so far.

Edited to add : sorry about your elderly boy. It is so heartbreaking.

Personnally I never skimp on insurance with a young dog. I always use Pet Plan not always the cheapest but will pay up and very very clear on what they cover which is most things. Price does not go up if you claim.

Just getting a diagnosis these days can be in the £1000's so a chronic condition in a youung dog over their lifetime could cost a huge amount of money. I prefer to take the insurance to start with.

My older dogs (12 and above) are not insured as the treatment option will be limited.

We pay Petplan. They have never refused a claim. I currently pay about £120 per month for my old dog, but get £200 of medication each month. He's just had a biopsy and xrays - £750, but I'll get around £500 back.

Unless you have £10K spare you can afford to put on your dog, please get insurance. Spaniels are not the healthiest of breeds (PRA, dysplasia to name a few) and whilst breeding can reduce the risk, it is always there.You also have the risk of catastrophic injury (hit by a car, attacked by another dog, eats something toxic, allergic reaction). Why take the risk?

Pet Plan is good (expensive though IMO) as is Sainsbury’s.

Really sorry to hear about your old dog, but please do insure your puppy. You don’t want to be in a position where a vet gives a quote and you can’t afford it.

Another vote here for PetPlan.
Pay about £60 a month for my 6 year old.
Have claimed about £2000 this year so far.

We got quotes from Petplan after seeing them recommended but ended up going with Agria instead. Ours is also a spaniel and Agria were just as well reviewed as Petplan, but significantly cheaper. We got 20k a year lifetime cover and the same level of service (virtual vet etc) for less than 15k cover with Petplan.

I know people who have had great experiences with both

I use ManyPets for my spaniel, it’s about £45 a month and he’s nearly 3. They’ve paid out really quickly for a few things (random injuries!) and so been impressed with them so far

My springers with Napo, he's 3 & currently pay £40 a month for £16000 lifetime cover. Have just had to do my first claim for a £6000 op to fuse his foot/wrist back together as he broke it just running around. I'd never have been able to afford that, & they paid the vets direct within a week & kept me updated via a live chat. Dreading how much it will go up next year but I couldn't be without insurance for him

My first two labs, never got insurance just put money away. Were really lucky and both only ever had a single trip to the vets costing £600/£700, the other times were annual vaccinations.

Our boy lab, we have insurance with ManyPets. He’s two and a half, haven’t had to claim, pay just over £50 a month. I like that they pay 20% of premiums back after 12 months if you haven’t claimed. I’m just about to get £120 back from them.

Sorry didn't realise I'd posted the almost same thing twice 😂 glad you've got sorted

Pet plan
are a little more expensive but are great with claims and customer support. Just make sure you get a decent level of cover at least £7000 a year as things such as Xrays etc and medications are expensive.
Been with them for years first with our dog who sadly died year's ago.
We now have 3 cats with petplan, 1 has recently been unwell requiring monthly meds and regular monitoring / blood test pet plan have never declined any pay out so far.
She may have a heart scan in future and removal of a small lump (which pet an pre authorised ) xray will cost £1000 plus alone !!! Can't recall exactly cost of lump removal but it's not cheap either.