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ChrisP

Pet insurance for dogs

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We're recently bought a puppy, and I had a couple of questions about insurance for him...

 

Am I right in assuming the majority of people insure their dogs? Which insurance company would you recommend as normal insurance for him?

 

Also, we're going to be taking him abroad this summer so I'm after insurance that will cover him for Europe. Does anyone here have any experiences, positive or negative, with any of the insurance companies out there for when they've taken their dog abroad?

 

There's so much information out there, it's a mind field! Good job he's a little cutie :lol:

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Hi Chris P we have both our dogs insured with Pet Plan,covered for life.It is very expensive but if diagnosed with something which will require long term treatment it is taken care of.I found cheaper policies would not cover say Diabetes when you renewed the following year.Vets can do so much nowadays and by the time you add up blood tests,scans etc etc you only need one sickness to recover your monthly premiums.We took our dog to France last year but thankfully didn't need vet except for worming treatment before coming home.As far as I can remember she was covered abroad.

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I would also recommend petplan. They are one of the most expensive but at least when you need them you are covered. With so many of the others you'd be better flushing your premiums down the loo each month, and most will exclude the condition come renewal time.

 

Whatever you do avoid anything underwritten by E&L, our vets wont even deal with them!

 

Our rottie had to be put down March 2014, I rang to cancell the policy and thought no more until I realised in December that they were still taking the premiums. Called them and within a week I had a cheque for a full refund of the premiums, no quibbles.

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Another fan of Pet Plan here. I have it for my dog, Meg.

 

I would definitely advise getting insurance. We didn't have insurance on my Labrador Ben as we knew he had some pre existing conditions when we rescued him. Late last year he was diagnosed with anal gland Cancer and we had to pay for the operation and Chemotherapy afterwards and this to date has cost over £8,000 and it's ongoing.

I wish we had got insurance for him even though some things would have been exempt but it would have covered his Cancer treatment.

 

I would say get it ASAP, it's best to be safe. :D

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I'm with PetPlan too, I've only made (she says touching wood and with fingers crossed) four small claims in the time I've had Willow (seven years) and they have always been paid instantly - in fact, they are so quick to pay that my vet is always happy for me to just pay my excess and the vet claims the balance direct from PetPlan - I know they won't do that with all insurers.

 

I must say, I'm now finding Willow's cover increasingly expensive, she is 13 this year and the level of cover is dwindling - from memory the excess is now £125 plus 20% of the balance. I had a £300 bill a few months ago and got back £130 from Pet Plan (very quickly, I might add). Better than nothing, but I have so far paid out MASSIVELY more than I have claimed back (that has been so with Willow's predecessors, too). That said, I don't really have the cover to profit from it, it's there more for peace of mind so that cost doesn't have to be the deciding factor in a treatment plan (and I hope I would always have it fairly low down the list anyway).

 

I think you can opt for a higher excess if you would prefer a lower premium, although not sure how much difference that makes to your monthly payment.

 

Turning to more serious matters - why have we not yet seen pictures of the pupster!!!!!????? :think::shameonu::wink:

 

Also I found with PP that when I 'phoned up to query the dramatic rise in Willow's premium they immediately offered to reduce it for me - I was pleased, obviously, but slightly narked and felt a bit like they were trying it on.

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I have had both Petplan and M&S pet insurance in the past, both cover ongoing issues> do also check that your policy covers your dog for 3rd party damage, so if they ran out in front of a car, or caused damage or injury, then you'd be covered.

 

Some people don't have pet insurance, and just lay aside the equivalent each month into a savings account.

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Our dog is with John Lewis. They offer the same lifetime cover Petplan do, but was cheaper for our dog (pedigree Cocker Spaniel). Not had to claim, so cant say how they are about paying up, but thought as they are JL who tend to be fair......we shall see :pray: Not sure about their cover abroad either.

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We got our dog last year and she is now one. We invested £500 in shares and will do the same again next month so will have £1000 in the pot. We have public liability for her through the dogs trust, I think someone on here recommended this to us. So to date she has cost £35 vets fees and we still haves our shares which have increased in value too :D Had previous experience with very expensive cat costing £6k and insurance coughing up for £2k which was the policy limit (in my ignorance I thought 2k cover would be ample for a cat ) that was 15 years ago, how wrong was I!

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Bramble - I'll post a picture as soon as I work out how to! :lol:

 

Thanks all for the advice, think we are going to go with Pet Plan as that seems to be a popular choice. They also cover little Oscar when we take him abroad in a couple of weeks...though hopefully he won't need it!

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