Don't get to giddy!!! We collect the lil fella on Sunday so no pics until then.
So were getting an 8 week old Springer / Cocker Spaniel Cross.
Can't wait to get him and anticipating him getting in as much trouble as myself so insurance is a must.
Any tips also helpful as its been over 5 years since I had a dog, I'm going to get us both to school anyway so were both on the right track.
Of course it goes without saying that daft pics are welcome!!
None, save your money. And if there is a problem, Vets do 'deals' for customers who pay with their own cash.
We've two spaniels, a Cocker and a Springer both working stock.
We went with Petplan (Allianz) for first two years to ensure no nasty surprises as one of the few that will cover a condition throughout the life of the pet with limits renewing each year. Not the cheapest but by far the best cover.
Now we know she's a healthy dog we've cancelled it and just saving the cash.
Never insured ours. Got a quote for them both and just set up a direct debit to put the money in a savings account each month to the value of the premium. So far over £3k to the good.
we use pet-insurance.co.uk - think our cat is about £5 a month, the dog is £10
you need to look at policies carefully - went with the above as they provide lifetime cover (meaning if your pet gets diabetes, they will pay for the meds, for the rest of its lifetime - whereas some policies only cover you for 12 months, then you have to find the £££ to pay for the meds !)
my bosses puppy ate a scarf, and had to be cut open to remove it - £1500 quid ! so definatley worth it I would say.
not forgetting if your dog runs into the road and causes an accident (or similar) without insurance you can be held liable for car repairs / hospital bills etc....
When looking be aware of the different types of cover.
Some will only payout [i]x[/i] amount per condition and some will continue to payout for treatment over the life of the animal.
The former is not going to be very helpful for long term illness.
Other than this it much-of-a-muchness. Personally I've been using Sainsburys for the last 2 years as I've got £50 vouchers out of them each year.
[i]not forgetting if your dog runs into the road and causes an accident (or similar) without insurance you can be held liable for car repairs / hospital bills etc.... [/i]
Urban myth - driver should drive with due-care and attention.
[i]my bosses puppy ate a scarf, and had to be cut open to remove it - £1500 quid ! so definatley worth it I would say.[/i]
Get another puppy...
Petplan here, not the cheapest, but we claimed over £8k a year ago just for one injury. The other dog was £12K a year claims, she had loads of problems. 😯
more than. better/more cover than petplan and half the price.
Within the first few months of having our Lab he had run into some bushes and got a thorn in his eyeball requiring emergency surgery to save it. That cost my insurance company nearly £2k.
PetPlan, while a tad on the expensive side, covers him for £7k per year for life... It is worth the £35 I pay each month to know that I won't have to chose between my dog's life and a new car/holiday/etc etc
I've got no idea if his isurance premium is going to go up this year because of that claim - so that may be the only downside...
Our dog walker is with PetPlan too and has an English Mastiff which is plagued with problems, their insurance ran out £1k ago - and she just went back to the specialist vet hospital. Without their insurance the cash would have run out £8k ago... I know what I'd prefer.
Some people never have problems - so they'll tell you to save your cash and self insure. Others will have had problems, and will tell you that insurance is worth it. I'm the latter. For me, PetPlan have been great, pay up quickly and without argument and with very little paperwork.
Membership of the dogs trust (dogstrust.org.uk) costs £25 per annum and covers you for 3rd party liability if you choose to 'self insure' as suggested by br, cupra and sandwicheater.
We're with Petplan as well.
Definitely not the cheapest insurer, but they've always paid out for us; unlike our friends Tesco policy.
Don't forget that insurance is always dear until you need it.
^ i'm prepared to make the appropriate decisions for my dog's best welfare, but choosing between spending 3k on her or not, on top of what could already be an emotional situation, is not something i ever wanted to have to go through. YMMV.
i'm with petplan. mine's just had to have a cut attended to. the vets have the forms for petplan and say they'll take care of it all. we're back there for stitches out monday so we'll see how the claims process goes.
anyway - good luck with the new pup! pics required asap. 😀
Petplan is up there missus is a vet and used pet plan. She never did deals with uninsured as she charged what it cost. Ask a vet for a breakdown of common procedures and see if you can afford it. Gastro surgery at 2am is not cheap and far too common....
Fully agree with Helios's comments. Another petplan recommendation for me
Argos - £9.36 a month to insure our 2-year-old cocker. We used to be with Tesco but they put the premium up 50% in 12 months for no reason, so I ****ed 'em off.
Ours shredded a "Kong" and swallowed part of it - cost £900 in repair bills. He wasn't insured at the time.
Also as with all insurance read the small print especially in relation to life time costs like medication.
petplan, they cover dental
[i]We used to be with Tesco but they put the premium up 50% in 12 months for no reason, so I ****ed 'em off.[/i]
We're binning M&S for the same reason.
Confused.com brings up a huge variety of options.
The other is to not bother, but that's like any non-legally obligated insurance, isn't it?
we used M&S and had over £6k's worth of vets bills out of them, easy enough to claim too.
think it's like any insurance - shop around when it comes to renewing.
saving's fine - but not much use when you dog mangles himself aged 1 and you've £20 in your fund and the vet's bill is £600.
We're with More Than for our Springer and the cat. Not had any problems with payouts. Will continue with the policies even when the OH graduates (vet).
cheers for the info guys, will get on to it straight away.
BASC and the NFU offer good policies.