Dog, Pet Insurance

[djgeoff]

ive just had my renewal quote in from heathly pets for my dog insurance and its shot up from £14 a month to £40 with excess of £75 plus 25% of the claim, ............ guess what i? i am not renewing that.

 

does anyone know of a good cheap pet insurance for my dog ?

would prefer teeth cover as well.

 

regards geoff

Edited September 10, 2010 by djgeoff

[wymberley]

ive just had my renewal quote in from heathly pets for my dog insurance and its shot up from £14 a month to £40 with excess of £75 plus 25% of the claim, ............ guess what i? i am not renewing that.

 

does anyone know of a good cheap pet insurance for my dog ?

would prefer teeth cover as well.

 

regards geoff

Geoff, hi.

Half the reason for this post, apart from trying to answer your question, is a warning to other new dog owners like me that being somewhat naive about it all, there's a trap waiting for the unwary.

Have a look at Pet Plan. My vet genuinely recommends them (not supposed to) and, sadly in one respect, they pay out with no quibble. My monthly premium is just over £20 with an excess of £75, end of. For teeth, you have to be able to provide evidence of routine dental care. I (NOW) have the cheapest "for life" policy.

Why "NOW"? Well, they also do a cheaper 12 month policy and here's the rub which is the trap that in my ignorance I fell into. As said, they pay out promptly but it turns out that you're only covered for any given medical condition for 12 months. My pup had a skin infection (which turned out to be nothing) and a really bad ear infection requiring an treatment under sedation. I had a letter with my renewal papers saying that we've made the changes that you requested. Having made no such request, I rang them and discovered the error of my ways. If I had kept the original policy and if in, say, 10 years time, I made another claim for either of the conditions as above or any other claim for any other condition previously claimed in excess of one year previously, it would have not been met.

That is why I changed the policy which, now that I understand it all, means what it says. However, I did have to argue the toss because of the "previous existing conditions" and negotiated a 24 month (as opposed to a permanent) delay on being able to claim for those in the future.

I am fully aware of "you get what you pay for" but as "a dog is for life", I simply for the life of me cannot see the point of such a policy which may explain why I fell into the trap. No doubt someone will explain.

Having said all that, I still recommend them, but as ever, it's buyer beware and, again as ever, in the case of insurance policies, read the small print.

Cheers

[al4x]

My only issue with petplan is the premium doubled between year 1 and year 3, its already more than my car insurance and that is on a 3 year old dog with no claims at all. May be decent cover but i have a feeling they price it to get rid of you before the dog gets old

[J@mes]

My missus spent ages looking for the best insurance in respect of how much it costs and how much you get back, and what they cover and for how long.

 

we ended up with Argos Pet Insurance. Can't comment on their ability to pay out as we haven't had to claim yet, but lb for lb they were the best!

[wymberley]

My only issue with petplan is the premium doubled between year 1 and year 3, its already more than my car insurance and that is on a 3 year old dog with no claims at all. May be decent cover but i have a feeling they price it to get rid of you before the dog gets old

Will watch out, al4x. To be fair, apart from the skin condition and the quite expensive ear infection, There was also a pricey claim for a ****** barbed wire incident in the first year. Prior to opting to upgrade, my second year renewal was just a few pence - not sure how many now, just remember that the pound figure was the same.

Cheers

[al4x]

mine started at £13 a month and is now £26 thats a fair amount of wedge for no claims and a 3 year old dog. I'll probably have a litter of pups this year and put some money aside from that and divert the money into a savings account in the future. Though I am slightly different as i get drugs at cost and non urgent vet attention free

[wymberley]

mine started at £13 a month and is now £26 thats a fair amount of wedge for no claims and a 3 year old dog. I'll probably have a litter of pups this year and put some money aside from that and divert the money into a savings account in the future. Though I am slightly different as i get drugs at cost and non urgent vet attention free

Can I join?

[Bazooka Joe]

My only issue with petplan is the premium doubled between year 1 and year 3, its already more than my car insurance and that is on a 3 year old dog with no claims at all. May be decent cover but i have a feeling they price it to get rid of you before the dog gets old

 

 

I've mulled over this for a while now, & read different threads with members views & suggestions, but still cannot make my mind up....saying that PetPlan are favorites, they have being recommended...

 

Reading Alex's post brings more questions ?

 

This for life policy...have they got you by the b@lls, Alex's doubled, does this mean that to keep the policy running, & your dog covered, you have to pay through the nose every time your insurance is due. Seems that the first year is just to suck you in, then slap you with double a premium the next year.

 

Also, if your dog has an illness, has treatment, & you swap insurers...(looking for a better premium)...would the new insurers cover the dog for the same illness, since you broke the contract with the previous insurers ?

 

Not wanting to commit myself to one insurer, & to keep cover for my dog, I've to pay an increased amount ever year.

 

BJ.

[al4x]

pretty much BJ my sceptical view is they will keep ramping the premium, swapping about is fine unless you have a pet with issues when you will start getting exclusions on the policy. However it does come down to money and I'd be interested what people find with a 7 or 8 year old dog as I can't see it being affordable by then. Had I made a claim i'd half understand it but the way it is if I shop about I can get insured for my first years premium with petplan. Fundamentally my dog's third party liability is covered under my house insurance. If I shoot it I assume my BASC cover will pay out

So you're left with an accident or illness the cheap policies would cover an accident and the first part of an illness its only if its an ongoing issue you could have a problem, its a big dilema

[wymberley]

I've mulled over this for a while now, & read different threads with members views & suggestions, but still cannot make my mind up....saying that PetPlan are favorites, they have being recommended...

 

Reading Alex's post brings more questions ?

 

This for life policy...have they got you by the b@lls, Alex's doubled, does this mean that to keep the policy running, & your dog covered, you have to pay through the nose every time your insurance is due. Seems that the first year is just to suck you in, then slap you with double a premium the next year.

 

Also, if your dog has an illness, has treatment, & you swap insurers...(looking for a better premium)...would the new insurers cover the dog for the same illness, since you broke the contract with the previous insurers ?

 

Not wanting to commit myself to one insurer, & to keep cover for my dog, I've to pay an increased amount ever year.

 

BJ.

Hello, Joe.

Minefield isn't it!? As said I'm a novice at this so I'm going to have to wait and see what happens next year with the for life policy. I must admit I was quite surprised that the renewel for the 12 month one was literally a few pence. You still re-new the policy annually with the for life so at the year's end if you do not wish to re-new, there's no contract broken. Taking out a different policy means loads of questions; pre or existing conditions being one. Tell a porky (doesn't always work, they rang my vet while I was on the phone to them) and you get cheap(er) insurance; make a claim and they find out - trouble. So, mate, yep, they've got you by the b@lls but isn't that standard operational procedure for any insurance policy or company?

Best regards,

Phil

 

Edit: bit about vet added.

Edited September 10, 2010 by wymberley

[apache]

No insurance will cover you for any pre-existing problem. It is common when submitting a claim for the company to ask the vet for all the history they have on the animal, and if it's been registered elsewhere they may ask for that too.

 

A skin rash 5 years ago may mean they won't pay for the flea allergy the dog now has.

 

If you are going to insure a pet then you want a 'for life' policy and start it as soon as you get the puppy. Go with a reputable company and make sure there is a decent claim limit (£5000+).

 

If you can afford a sudden bill for £5000 when the dog has a complicated fracture of it's leg then all well and good - if not the monthly cost of insurance is minimal.

 

Of course it goes up as the dog gets older - there won't be many dogs that don't need some kind of treatment as they age. Insurance is just based on risk.

[Maltese Falcon]

ive just had my renewal quote in from heathly pets for my dog insurance and its shot up from £14 a month to £40 with excess of £75 plus 25% of the claim, ............ guess what i? i am not renewing that.

 

does anyone know of a good cheap pet insurance for my dog ?

would prefer teeth cover as well.

 

regards geoff

 

Hello Geoff,

 

Try PETPARTNERS insurance, i have found these to be very good as regards to cover and paying up when i needed to claim and i have put some big claims for my weimaraner one of them was for £1250 a couple of years ago. I have what is called Lifelong insurance, this is the one you want. My bitch has been insured with them since she was a pup, she is now four and a half years old.

 

My premium started at £14.50 per month and i've just had the renual and it has gone up to £18.42 so it's not too bad considering how many claims i have put in the past four years.

 

This is the cover i have. Vet fees cover upto £7500 per year lifelong.

Death benefit upto £1000

Loss by theft or straying upto £1000

Third party liability upto £1,000,000

Boarding fees (in case you are taken to hospital with no one to look after your dog) £1000

Advertising the loss of your pet upto £1000.

The excess is £50 and 10% of total bill.

They do cover dental work on dogs but make sure you ask about this as they have clauses. ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT.

 

As someone has already said no insurance will cover for an exsisting condition so make sure you keep this in mind when you are changing to another insurance.

 

Petplan are also classed as a good insurance and i did consider them in the end i ended going with petpartners insurance as i have heard very good reports about them.

 

Hope this will be of help to you.

 

Regards

 

Maltese Falcon.

[djgeoff]

thanks for all your input folks, its a mine field!

i cant believe mine has gone up more than my volvo t5 fully comp motor insurance.

my dog is not a working dog but love her to bits so i have to get her covered

once again thanks

[djgeoff]

Hello Geoff,

 

Try PETPARTNERS insurance, i have found these to be very good as regards to cover and paying up when i needed to claim and i have put some big claims for my weimaraner one of them was for £1250 a couple of years ago. I have what is called Lifelong insurance, this is the one you want. My bitch has been insured with them since she was a pup, she is now four and a half years old.

 

My premium started at £14.50 per month and i've just had the renual and it has gone up to £18.42 so it's not too bad considering how many claims i have put in the past four years.

 

This is the cover i have. Vet fees cover upto £7500 per year lifelong.

Death benefit upto £1000

Loss by theft or straying upto £1000

Third party liability upto £1,000,000

Boarding fees (in case you are taken to hospital with no one to look after your dog) £1000

Advertising the loss of your pet upto £1000.

The excess is £50 and 10% of total bill.

They do cover dental work on dogs but make sure you ask about this as they have clauses. ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT.

 

As someone has already said no insurance will cover for an exsisting condition so make sure you keep this in mind when you are changing to another insurance.

 

Petplan are also classed as a good insurance and i did consider them in the end i ended going with petpartners insurance as i have heard very good reports about them.

 

Hope this will be of help to you.

 

Regards

 

Maltese Falcon.

cheers for that ive just been on phone to them

did u know petpartners has changed its name and the quote for my 5 yr old dog is £27.72 excess £50 plus 10% of bill

and the rest is the same as yours so thats better than healthy pets

so i am waiting for the paper work so i can give it a good going over

and they do cover dental with some clauses

thanks very much

[djgeoff]

Geoff, hi.

Half the reason for this post, apart from trying to answer your question, is a warning to other new dog owners like me that being somewhat naive about it all, there's a trap waiting for the unwary.

Have a look at Pet Plan. My vet genuinely recommends them (not supposed to) and, sadly in one respect, they pay out with no quibble. My monthly premium is just over £20 with an excess of £75, end of. For teeth, you have to be able to provide evidence of routine dental care. I (NOW) have the cheapest "for life" policy.

Why "NOW"? Well, they also do a cheaper 12 month policy and here's the rub which is the trap that in my ignorance I fell into. As said, they pay out promptly but it turns out that you're only covered for any given medical condition for 12 months. My pup had a skin infection (which turned out to be nothing) and a really bad ear infection requiring an treatment under sedation. I had a letter with my renewal papers saying that we've made the changes that you requested. Having made no such request, I rang them and discovered the error of my ways. If I had kept the original policy and if in, say, 10 years time, I made another claim for either of the conditions as above or any other claim for any other condition previously claimed in excess of one year previously, it would have not been met.

That is why I changed the policy which, now that I understand it all, means what it says. However, I did have to argue the toss because of the "previous existing conditions" and negotiated a 24 month (as opposed to a permanent) delay on being able to claim for those in the future.

I am fully aware of "you get what you pay for" but as "a dog is for life", I simply for the life of me cannot see the point of such a policy which may explain why I fell into the trap. No doubt someone will explain.

Having said all that, I still recommend them, but as ever, it's buyer beware and, again as ever, in the case of insurance policies, read the small print.

Cheers

thanks for the info just come off phone to them they are sending out info

but for the life long they do 3 grades A, B, C

c being the top dog ( excuse pun)

A £17.60 month 4000 vet

b £28.18 vet ? i forgot

c 32.81 vet 1200

 

all £75 excess

from what i gather the lower ones exclude stuff that in my case i would not need like death ( dog is rescue dog paid £80)

holiday cancellation etc

but to be sure i am going to wait and read paper work when it arrives

once again thanks

[tus]

just got my renewal from direct line and its £23.32 a month for both of my springers one 18 months and the other 18 weeks £5000 £75 excess

[djgeoff]

just got my renewal from direct line and its £23.32 a month for both of my springers one 18 months and the other 18 weeks £5000 £75 excess

yer nice one its because they r young i was told dog 5 and over is classed as old, mine is 5 nearly 6

cheers though and thanks for the post

[billytheghillie]

got my cocker nearly 7 years old on morethan £14 a month, try them

[gunhills]

Wasn't aware that MoreThan & Directline covered working gundogs :blink:

[al4x]

Wasn't aware that MoreThan & Directline covered working gundogs :blink:

 

 

is a pet that goes out with you a working gundog though?

[MC]

For what it is worth I have Merlin insured through the BASC, the premium is about £24 a month. Fleur is insured with Morethan at about a tenner. As Fleur is only 7 months old and will not be working for a year or so I have gone with the cheapest. When it comes up for renewal next year I will probably add her on to the same policy as Merlin.

 

Merlins policy is a lifetime cover and is one of the best I could find. I believe the broker is Marsh. I have never had to claim on either but I see it as essential. Yes there are cheaper, and there may well be better but the BASC one covers working dogs while working etc so hopefully there will never be an issue should I ever need to claim.

 

The Excess is £75 on both.

[al4x]

Has Merlins gone up fast MC as from what I remember its petplan do the BASC cover. I'm half waiting to see if I laugh when this years renewal comes through having nearly doubled last time

[MC]

Has Merlins gone up fast MC as from what I remember its petplan do the BASC cover. I'm half waiting to see if I laugh when this years renewal comes through having nearly doubled last time

 

No it has not gone up fast, I think when we first got him he was insured through the kennel club, it started of about 12 quid a month and then the second year was about £18 then it has been a couple of quid a year.

 

I think you are right it is petplan that BASC do but you get a discount for being a BASC Member, not much but it all helps.

[al4x]

weird so all I can assume is petplan don't want my custom to go from £13 to £26 by the time the dog is 3 makes you wonder what next year will bring

[MC]

I should add that in the 3rd year the Kennel Club wanted £32 a month which is why I went elsewhere.