Hit me with knowledge on this.. Minefield.. We’ve just got a westie puppy and trying to sort out insurance is a nightmare! Any help with good providers or knowledge would be great

TBH they all suck, the rates will rise rapidly when they get older, I pay over £100 PM for a pair of Border Terriers, in fairness the KC paid out a fair whack (on the first months free insurance) for the older one when she was a pup & broke her leg, but they have had their money back (2k) & then some by now, but once you have claimed its a risk to change insurer.
If I was to start again I would self insure in a separate account & only take any money out once the dog passes.
HTH.

Read the small print, decide your level of risk.
Once you claim for something if it’s ongoing you will need to stick with that provider.
Some providers will not cover for life (anything that is ongoing payout ends at the end of the policy year)
PetPlan normally comes out as the bells and whistles option so start there and work back.

If I was to start again I would self insure in a separate account & only take any money out once the dog passes.

Stop paying then?

Stop paying then?

I take it you understand the increased risk involved with owning an 11 Y/O heavily inbreed BT right?

I think we are with More Than for Pete, our collie cross, we’ve been with them for ages now as we are stuck with them as he has an existing condition, so it’s certainly worth choosing carefully!

I think our premiums are about £70 a month, but then Pete is going to be 13 in a few months time and is currently on meds which are about £70 a month… plus he’s just had scans and the like which all add up. But overall, I think we have paid way more in premiums than we have ever claimed.

But for the next one, similar to 2unfit above, we are going to take out insurance for only the first couple of years when it’s usually pretty cheap, while paying the rest of what we pay now into a self-insurance account. Then after a couple of years just self insure.

We pay £14 per dog per month on petplan, one of the few that insure for life and up to 4k for the year. Been worth its weight in gold the last few weeks, amazing how a few blood tests, an X-ray and fluids for a few days reached £1000 very quickly! Also now have a dog with a lifelong condition (Addisons) so good to know we are covered. Actually thinking about putting it up to the 7k limit given how quickly costs spiralled in less than a week!

Petplan. £30 a month on a labrador. They’ve been very good when we’ve claimed for the dogs and the cats.

One of the dogs had her anal glands cleaned out last week …. We paid the £75 excess. The total bill was £280 .. Pretty sure it took them about ten minutes!

The other lab had a new hip …. That pretty much swallowed our 7k limit … Had no problems claiming and her renewal only went up £2 per month for this year.

Plus our vets and the specialist who did her hip claim direct with us using pet plan so we don’t have to pay upfront and claim it back

Anni… but your dogs just take after you, so are Petplan mad? Have they not heard? ;o)

Shhh Nick!! Not yet!! Holding out for as long as we can on that little secret! I’m amazed Bupa Havnt disowned me yet ;o)

+1 for Petplan…….

I’d not think of self insuring a dog – think I’ve got bills of nearly 1k for having the dog put in a scanner….and about 3-4 grand for an op + loads for silly stuff numerous ear infections / pad damage.

Westies are susceptible to a couple of health issues one of which is skin conditions (as are other breeds). One of my GSD’s has skin problems, and after many unsuccessful treatments, we eventually put her on Atopica. Without insurance, this would be £350 per month!

I’m with Petplan, whole life cover, they pay up without quibble every month (and have done for a couple of years now). It costs around £45 per month for her, about £35 for my second shepherd, and about £20 for the springer – wouldn’t be without it (insurance) myself.

I’ve just brought our little labradoodle back from the vets for the removal of a stem cell tumour, that’s going off for biopsy.
This surgery was prompted by a lump on her neck.
She is only three and the first year, premium was £17 per month, next year it is £24 and renewal (from tomorrow) is £30 per month.
I’m with john Lewis insurance and told them about the illness. They fairly agreed that the renewal premium won’t increase but I expect a heft increase next year.
The cover is £10k per year per condition, with lifetime cover, so if this illness carries on over a renewal, it’s not excluded. Without lifetime cover, any illness already claimed for is classed as pre-existing at renewal so cover is therefore excluded.
I know it’s early days is her life but the treatment has probaly cost the premiums paid to date.
I am, however, entirely aware that I am now stuck with john lewis unless I change and want to risk the illness reoccurring and being excluded by the new insurer.

Personally, I’d never self insure my pet.

Pet Plan for 20 plus years , they’re very good when we’ve had to use them . If you do insure the whole life policy is probably worth the extra monthly payment .

We don’t bother any more and there’s a strong argument for keep the money stashed away in case vet treatment is required.

That said I’ve just dropped daughter #3 at a friends house. They had a puppy last year that had a bowel issue. It had numerous vet visits and 3 ops at the vet teaching hospital and they still had to put the poor thing down at 14 weeks.
Insurance paid £4k (the max cover you can get for a puppy apparaently) and they had to pay a further £3k themselves 😯