Pet (dog) insurance – recommendations please..

Mrs MM is insisting we insure Ted the border terrier.
She is also asking I locate a ‘lifetime’ policy – one that would cover him for a recurring illness if needed (seems that, if he gets an illness that could return, most ‘normal’ policies will have an exemption for that illness when renewal comes round..)
Anyone have good reports and, dare I ask reports of companies we should avoid…
Cheers
C

Tescos seem fine though we haven’t had to claim yet, touch wood!

Petplan is what we use and the misses is a vet

we use m&S which has been fine, dont think tesco do a for life policy

The Tesco one is very good. My idiot hounds have cost a lot this year (£1200 of veterinary bills!) and Tesco have paid up without a murmur. Note that there’s an excess of £80 (I think) but this is pretty much standard.

The other thing is that they can take ages to pay. Took around 6 weeks to get a claim paid earlier this year, though a more recent one was a lot quicker.

If you go for the top cover it’s ‘for life’ inasmuch as they don’t stop cover at the end of the policy, but there’s a limit on any one specific condition (£4000 I think) after which they don’t cover.

We’ve had Petplan for both the hounds we’ve owned so far. They’ve been excellent, especially covering Ted the longdog and his ‘leap before you look’ approach to life.

Petplan here for our two Dachshunds.

Their approach to long term illnesses/ conditions (heavens forbid) is very good.

Came recommended by the vets we use.

Not cheap but good piece of mind.

Stay away from E+L not good cover. Directline were good for our old dog when she developed arthritis cover not restricted from one year to the next. I can’t remember which company Huxley is insured with, will have a look and report back.

Missy is insured with Animal Friends. They do the lifetime cover thing. There are various levels to choose from. There is an excess, but there is with most policies I think. They have always paid out promptly. I chose them specifically because in addition to good cover they give their profits to animal charities.

Another vote for Petplan here.

we just save £30 a month into an account to cover vet bills, so far we are have £2k+ saved for the two dogs. If they never need anything then we have the funds, if we do then the bulk if not all of the money is there to cover it.

If you go for the top cover it’s ‘for life’ inasmuch as they don’t stop cover at the end of the policy, but there’s a limit on any one specific condition (£4000 I think) after which they don’t cover.

which is a key problem, our M&S insurance is £7000 a year for any problem and that re sets each year. Petplan is even better but costs more.

Our thought process is that the insurance is for in case the worst happens and keeps on happening. A tesco insurance of £4000 a year wouldnt help because if needs must I could find 4 grand anyway.

Longdogs are not the only ones with a look before you leap attitude to life life, our Lurcher has been on the lead for most of the last 6 months due to one leap too far!!

Tesco for our 2…

No dramas so far, only 1 claim mind… But that went through nobdramas at all..

Do not go with E&L as said above. Many vets have problems with them, and a lot will not deal with E&L clients due to the problems in claiming back the money.

Petplan here, very very good, not cheap, but very good.

Hope Ted is a puppy, or you might find it difficult to insure, especially for any current problems.

I forgot to say, last year claimed £8K for one spaniel and the other who has recently passed had been maxed out at £6K per year for the last 6 years at least and that was discounted from the vet for treatment.

I’ve worked in pet insurance (Tesco) for a summer job a few years back,and can gladly state that 90% of the time pet insurance is a sham.

The premiums SERIOUSLY ramp up once the pet reaches 8 years of age to the point that had you been putting the premiums from the first 8 years of the pets life, you would be more that capable of paying any vets bills that arise. Adding to this the £4000 1 year limit to ongoing claims on individual conditions and you’re buggered after a year with no paying out for the pet and a massively increased premium.

The only ones worth going for are the proper lifetime cover policies. DO NOT use Tesco

ALL insurance is a scam. Or at the very least, a gamble…

Direct Line – £38,000 over 8 years. Never a problem with them. Cannot recommend highly enough.

hels – Member
ALL insurance is a scam. Or at the very least, a gamble…

Wow…

Thats helpfull.. 🙄

We were with Petplan, but they really dragged out a claim and the vets started threatening legal action.
Decided not to renew and went with More Than. Half the price, similar level of cover.

Decided not to renew and went with More Than. Half the price, similar level of cover.

Be carefull when swapping pet insurance, a lot will not insure dogs older than a certain age, and will not cover for any previous claims/conditions. 😉

Pet plan have been superb, paying out over £1800 in total. When my cat was stolen they were sympathetic and assisted the police. My I recomended them to my sister who has two labradors, they have been great with them to. I don’t know how someone can say ALL insurance is s scam.

I just did – have keyboard can say anything…

This is almost as big a con as extended warranties – all IMHO which you can ignore as you wish.

Greenbee, provided by John Lewis, underwritten by AXA.
Very good plan, although I think they may have dropped the ‘Greenbee’ name now.

not sure you understand what a pet means if you think insurance is like an extended warrenty

ALL insurance is a scam

I’ve spent on average £30 a month for 8 years on my dog – total outlay – circa £3,000. They have paid out £38,000. I don’t see the scam – enlighten me?

Or at the very least, a gamble…

Indeed – you might need it, you might not. What do YOU do – insure nothing and save the dosh you would outlay on premiums and put it under your mattress? Over many years, you MAY have saved up enough readies to cover that unexpected vet bill or that stolen bike. On the other hand, you may not. I certainly wouldn’t in my example above. Not insuring is a gamble too.

You pays your money and you takes your choices – but I don’t see the “scam” part. 😕

Insuring a pets a bit different to extending the warranty on your kettle. Do some people not insure thier bikes?

+1 for M&S, since taking out pet insurance our dog has unluckly had many visits to the vet for a variety of ‘issues’… started with her deciding to lick up some random rat poison (bloody lucky we spotted it – albeit too late for the dog to not get her stomach pumped). Then she got attacked by another dog which cleared a 7ft wall for an unprovoked attack. Then we found out that she’s allergic to pretty much everything; beef, chicken, cats, dust! But M&S has covered the lot (except the excess). Vet (who we now know rather well) said that most insurers are underwritten by same companies as their claim forms are the same. Vet also said that M&S was one of the best. Most imporatant point, is that once you pick a policy, do not change!! we are now basically with M&S for ever, because upon renewal if we were to change companies, eveything before is a pre-existing condition as is not covered!!

pick wisely & don’t change would be my advice

We have Petplan, £20/month IIRC, seems to have gone up slightly each year and a bigger step this year, but it came with a change in T&C’s based upon dog under control, injury to others etc. Not sure if this was breed related (she is a Stafford).
Not claimed yet as only had minor ailments that have not hit excess level, but a friend said you can claim for recurrences of the same problem, just keep receipts and claim once you have a total greater than your excess. The same friend has a springer with a long term condition, and other than some minor arguing at the beginning they’re happy with the service they’ve received.

Not sure if this was breed related (she is a Stafford).

Unfortunately it is breed related.

I’ve just checked and we have claimed well over £60K for one of our dogs (10+ years), the other dog was £8K+ last year, (MRI, knee operation & rehab)

Pet plan, maybe slightly more expensive, but there is a reason for that, they are generally thought of as one of the best/leaders in pet insurance. All the vets & nurses at local surgery are with pet plan, and no its not because of the discount.

Not sure if this was breed related (she is a Stafford).

Unfortunately it is breed related.

Actually I don’t think it is breed related. They gave us the same T&Cs upon renewal and our dog Oscar is a Beagle.

New dog is relatively cheap? Surely not worth insuring an old one?

We use More Than due to the large amount of cover.
A few points.
Cover is by breed. Basil the GWP is more than twice the monthly premium of Sybil who is an GWP Viszla cross.
The cover gets more and more expensive every renewal.
They do pay out within two weeks.
But the thing we noticed about all the different companies was that the small print must be read. Lots will not pay for repeat illness or have a low maximum for repeat illness’.
We have insurance essentially so we don’t have a terrible decision between a bill we cannot afford eg. broken legs £2000+ or putting a dog to sleep.

Cheers all!
Pet-Plan came up a lot as well when we checked with friends ) just wanted to check the Hive mind – will now check Petplan and M&S and go from there.