Pet insurance recommendations

[BonosToupee]

Sorry if this has been done a gazillion times, but I did a search and couldn’t find anything recent.
My 2 year old cocker spaniel is insured with Agria and I need to find a cheaper option.
I know they’re one of the best, but I’ve never made a claim and the increase on his renewal is just silly!

We use Petplan for both our dogs and they are expensive but I am scared to move, it’s one of those everything for life insurance.
I saw ManyPets recommended on here as a good insurer and I’ll be using them for our next dogs.
Animal Friends is very bad for excluding things at the drop of a gat, I don’t recommend them.

Petplan, every time.

Quite the opposite we've had a very good experience with Animal Friends and our boy. He had a long term condition and died from it a few weeks ago, they paid everything.

Just a warning. You may not have claimed but if your animal has been treated for anything it can be excluded by other insurers. Unfortunately pet insurance will go up year on year.

I've got a credit card with interest free on purchases over so many months and it's used solely for the vets. Think it's got a £16k balance.

I had both of mine insured, the youngest I'd never made a claim on and worked out I'd spent over £1200 on for 6 years ....and the insurance for the eldest stopped paying out as it was only ever for ripped dew claws (cocker spaniel). Unfortunately he didn't understand that he wasn't allowed to do it anymore The last renewal I had was for £600 for the youngest (7) and they wanted £2.5k for my 13 year old. Bugger that.

Petgevity. My premiums went down £24 this renewal.

I swapped my 4 year old Labrador from Marks and Spencer to Sainsbury's earlier this year.

We're with Purely Pets - they have never once quibbled with a claim, and there have been a lot, as our dog developed a long-term condition after we'd had her for a couple of years.

Some good suggestions there!
Thanks everyone

Think what you can afford monthly and start saving. This plus a good credit card is hopefully all you need.

A young dog should not need expensive vet treatment and once they reach that stage, you should have a sizable pot.
This works well for me, I over 25 years of dog ownership.

I've claimed £15k for my 4 year old cocker. I wouldn't have saved anywhere near that amount.

I'm with PetPlan and they have always been good at paying out.

This. Non-negotiable. I’d cut back on so many things before I cut back on this.

Tesco.

Petplan are worth every penny but we also had no issues at all with Animal Friends

We are also with Agria through the Kennel Club for our 3 year old cocker.

Yes, they are perhaps more expensive. I’ve recently made our first claim after she ate something that she shouldn’t which landed us with a £1K vet bill (thanks to out of hours vet prices!)

Put in my claim, attached all the paperwork from the vets, Agria paid out within 10 days. No quibbling, no fuss etc.

We were days away from receiving details of the annual review and I was really worried that our premiums would rocket. Surprisingly, the increase was similar to last year’s.

So as others have said, look at what else you can cut back on before making changes to your pet insurance. You might save a few pounds initially but you could end up spending more further on.

Just reviving this as we have had our Petplan renewal - £120 a month for a 7 year old cross-breed (labradoodle). She's pretty healthy too (although has been to the vet for a couple of random things - eye infection - can't remember what else). For £7k worth of cover.

I'm obviously reluctant to move anywhere else but this does seem like a huge amount for a healthy dog. Is this in the region that other people are paying with Petplan? It's the age old decision of whether to stick or change provider.

My recommendation is to save every month towards vet bills. I’m now 17 years into doing this. My last dog died at 13 and if she had been insured, I would never have claimed. My current dog is four and so far, I would not have claimed.

It’s a risk admittedly but for me that risk has massively paid off.

It’s the breed. Large designer cross-breeds tend to be more expensive to insure, in my experience given they are prone to defects from both breeds. Labradoodles and golden doodles are about the worst. Location also impacts insurance costs.

I have a 11 year old Golden Retriever. Her cost is £125 for £12k cover.

Petulant is more expensive than other providers, but it’s also better in terms of speed of paying out and likelihood of paying out.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks
Thanks, not wanting to get into a huge debate about cross breeds, but she's actually not a straight cross (she's a very mixed breed but from health tested parents) and small in size (more large cockapoo size than lab), but it is entirely possible that insurers lump them altogether as obviously they aren't asking for the full parental history of the dog.

Petplan ask what the 2 main breeds are if it's a crossbreed. We're with them and they are good at paying out. We have a dog with allergies and have to claim all year round for treatment.

@Summerbay23 Has it increased massively from last year? My 5 year old's renewal has just come through and it's only increased by £7 a month.
(Cocker spaniel living in North Scotland = £46.50 for £7k.)

If you can afford to pay for treatment for any pre-existing conditions, it might be worth looking to see if you can get insurance a bit cheaper elsewhere. I'd ask for a print out of her medical history first though to check what's been written. Any passing comment about a limp/itch etc could exclude legs and skin, even though no treatment was necessary.

It's gone up by about £20 from last year. Thanks - good shout about asking for a printout of her medical history. Are you also with Petplan currently?

@Summerbay23 I am with Pet Plan, yes.

Whilst covered by the free KC puppy insurance, my dog needed an injection to make her vomit up a foreign object and needed her anal glands emptying. When I switched to Pet Plan, they excluded the whole of the digestive system from entry to exit.

I can't fault them though. They've paid out around £15k for other things. I'm dreading the day her premiums become unaffordable.

Petplan.. They paid out for a drug that wasn’t even licences yet in uk for our cat, saving his life. Not looking forward to renewing in a few years time though…