pet insurance – which one?

we have a new springer spaniel puppy arriving in a few weeks and want to insure her
any recommendations or advice on what to look for?

it seems that that some (PetPlan being one of them) offer cover for life
however all the cover for life policies seem to be able to review the policy premium every year so if you havea large claim one year for something that is ongoing i guess they can make the following years premium prohibitive – is my understanding correct?

Don't know the ins and outs of pet insurance but I think that some will only pay for the condition until the end of your policy period and then exclude it when you renew. Of course, if you were to then transfer to another company they would also exclude it as a pre-existing condition!! Other more enlightened companies don't do this but you're right the premiums will reflect what's happened. So read the small print and don't just go on price.

No idea if this will meet your need but worth calling / popping into your local branch for a chat…. NFU Mutual. BTW I'm not "recommending" as I work for the company but not in the sales area but should be worth a call to talk it through.

Having had springer's for over 20 years I would recommend insurance. YEP, there will be the usual ex's later on in life, but it's still worth it.

Ears can be a problem, grass seeds in paws another, if she hasn't been docked the the tail could be in for a few cuts & damage.

All that said, they are such fun dogs that enjoy life to the full & are great with the kids.

Enjoy.

ps. English or Welsh? We have Welshies

Oh yea, forgot too add, make sure that your VET will be happy to deal with the insurer as some seam loathed to deal with some.

I did a lot of research and went with Petplan. Yes, they all have proviso's in about upping the ante if things get expensive but Petplan's small print seemed the least tricky. Obviously we'll not know till we need it but that's insurance for you.

Gooner,

Hi, I breed English mastiffs so have a good idea from the customer and owner point of view.
Don't scrimp on cheap policies, It is a scarily false economy. I hope your dog is healthy for life, but if it's not, it can cost as much as a half decent car over the life of your dog.
Yes, the premium can be reviewed but will still be cheaper than trying to get a new policy with a pre existing condition, So:
Don't go for a 2K(for example)per illness policy as if in later years, your dog develops arthritis as a result of the injury that cost 2K years ago, the insurance company won't pay out
Do go for a covered for life policy but as I said, make sure there isn't a limit on the claim per illness, at least not a stupidly low one.
Do check that the insurance company will pay the vet direct. Some will ask you to pay then reimburse you,also check your vet will let the insurance company pay them and not expect you to fork out first
Do get your puppy chipped and tagged
Being a springer this next one might be difficult!! Try not to let your dog out of sight in popular walking areas. Theft of pedigree dogs is becoming huge. (at the risk of sounding cold hearted, the insurance will cover replacement, but that hardly helps). Hope that helps. I have used Sainsburys, Tesco and Pet plan, all of whom have been fantastic and have never quibled a claim. Currently with Pet plan.
If you have any other questions, email me at twinfolk@aol.com
All the best

dont waste your money. as with many insurances you have been blackmailed into believing that you NEED it. in all likelihood you will not.

I took out insurance for my lurcher pup with M&S costs £15 a month and goes up to £7000 a year, however unlike many it does reset each year regardless of whether its an on going problem. Petplan is good but a lot of money. Darrell I think your wrong

dont waste your money. as with many insurances you have been blackmailed into believing that you NEED it. in all likelihood you will not.

darrell, never heard such a load of bo**ocks in my life. Bet you've got your bike, house and personal effects insured at the very least

Gooner, we've had dogs for 15 years and currently have 5 working labradors. Would never dream of not insuring ours, at least to the age where their premiums become prohibitive. It's very important to have them covered from day one in case there is any congenital problem. One of ours a few years ago had a couple of ingrowing eylashes which ended up costing about £1000 to fix – paid for many years of insurance. Also, being a springer, yours will get knocks/injuries from time to time as they are so active

We currently use Petplan, but have used others. Go with any of the bigger ones that has the best deal for you. As you say, the premium will go up with age and any ongoing conditions, just like personal medical insurance – fact of life unfortunately

Not E & I. They're lousy at paying up…

NFU have always been my choice, for what its worth. They go out of their way to make it a bit more personal (learn your name, call from time to time to make sure you're happy etc)

Yep, I'd agree with most of the above really.

Definately go with a "life long" policy – it's very frustrating to start a new, effective but expensive course of treatment, only for the renewal date to come along and insurance company stop paying!

Definately don't touch E&L.

As for Darrell's comment, yep, the choice is yours. You don't have to get insurance and you can just put money aside etc etc. Hopefully you'll never need insurance but, if the worst happens, there's nothing I dread more than the conversation with an owner trying to decide if they can afford the treatment available!

I've heard that the RSPCA policies are quite reasonable for cost Vs coverage.

dont waste your money. as with many insurances you have been blackmailed into believing that you NEED it. in all likelihood you will not.

Insurance works by a lot of people putting money in a pot and then a few people make claims. e.g. 10 people pay £100 in (£1,000) and two make claims of £450. So a lot of time you won't need to claim but if you need to it's saves you from a potentially large bill. If you're lucky / careful then you may never claim on your insurance. It doesn't mean it's been a waste of money though.

Apart from compulsory insurance (eg car and employers liability) it's up to individuals to think if they want insurance or not – they should balance the risk versus costs. So for white goods I don't take out insurance as I'm happy to take the risk of it breaking down (agree some shops try to "blackmail" you into taking it). I haven't got the cat insured as I can pay out for any op if needed and I'll take the risk. For buildings/contents I have insurance as the sums involved are potentially large for the premium involved. Also have AA cover (insurance) to save the cost and hassle if I break down.

I have a 8 month old english springer and yes with this breed definetly need insurance they are bonkers
Looked into lots of insurance and went with petplan for a month and then found m&s to be soo much better and cheeper so cancelled with them and went with M&S

Darrell,
I appreciate what you are saying, but… I do have larger than normal dogs but as an example, my oldest mastiff, Sadie had a knee operation that cost 4.5K all in at the time. It took 6 months to get her walking properly. Her other knee is now playing up, Guess what, another 4.5K operation. Simple I hear you say, however the insurance company is saying (and strangely, I agree) that the stress of using 1 good leg for 6 months to do the work of two legs while the other was healing is effectively the same injury as it is likely the cause of thr second knee. £9k!!! I am insured for life with no limit. Can you imagine having to foot that bill without insurance.
Anyone with a pedegree dog would be mad not to insure.

E&L treated me terribly when Monty had his spleen removed a few months ago.

Stalling tactics and nonsense, the vets almost shuddered when I mentioned them.

Pet insurance is something that most people who have it are likely to use at some stage, just like medical insurance would be.

Lots of people have very little idea of the potential costs that can be involved as we are insulated by the NHS (as a side point I think it would be a good idea to present everyone with a costing when they leave hospital, might reduce some wasters but would introduce another layer of staff to manage it.

I would also go with a life cover plan and would check with your vet before taking it out or changing insurers as many companies will happily take your premiums, then when you try and claim for say something like a skin complaint, weasel out of the claim by requesting a history from your vet and noting previous visits with skin complaints when insured with other companies!