Best pet insurance for older dog

[dgrad21]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any recommendations for pet insurance for a 10 year old beagle? We have always been registered at the PDSA due to low income but not entitled to this anymore so I would like to get my dog insured, preferably lifetime cover. I realise this will be a lot more expensive but vet bills are insane where I am. There’s so many different companies to choose from I have no clue! I used to be with Pet Plan but they don’t offer insurance for dogs 10 and above.

We recently had a nightmare with our dog as she ate something she shouldn’t have and got toxicity poisoning, she recovered but it was costly ££££ would I need to make insurance company aware of this also and would it come under pre-existing conditions even though it isn’t ongoing?

Thanks in advance!!

Unfortunately that would come under a pre-existing condition and you typically wouldn’t be covered.

At 10yo you will also find it almost impossible to get affordable first-time cover.

I have a 9yr old rescue. Had her for a year and she's cost a fortune so far. I use Animal Friends for insurance. It's a lifetime policy, she also ate something she shouldn't earlier this year and I was an hour away from the vet saying she wouldn't recover. But Animal Friends were excellent with my old dog and have been brilliant with this old lady. They've covered her again for the next year, £35 a month. I'd recommend checking them out.

Do be careful with Animal Friends - lots of vets won’t use them as they have a reputation for not paying out.

We self insure when they get to a certain age at £100 per month into a bank account, it’s a risk, but we did this with our last dog when they got to 8, we spent a bit on her having tests and scans in her last year, passed when she was 12. We always insure at puppy stage, our current dog had various stomach issues which we claimed for and probably couldn’t again, we’ve had her teeth cleaned twice which insurance doesn’t pay for at £330 a pop, we don’t let her off the lead anymore, she’s 11 now but we expect her to go for a few more years. Insured or not I do not believe in letting an animal suffer so dearly loved as our pets are we would do the kindest thing if they got very ill at this stage in life.

@butterycroissantsAF paid out immediately when my doggo needed treatment this year. They did with previous dog about 15yrs ago, different vet. But yes, check first.

I thought it would be impossible but I’ve been getting some quotes this morning, averaging around £60-£70 pm for lifetime cover with pre-existing conditions. I don’t know whether to bother or to ‘self insure’ 😩

I didn't realise there was an age limit with covered for life with petplan, luckily I insured mine with covered for life at just shy of 8 years old so am still covered now at 13 (he's got several on-going conditions). Definitely something to bare in mind if I rehome an older dog again at some point.

Waggel don't have an upper age limit and don't co-insure when they get to a certain age. Have found them good so far, ie they've paid out!