How much maximum benefit for vets fees does everyone have?

[Evadee]

I know this is very much an open ended question but....

We currently have Petplan Covered for Life Supreme for Tia with maximum vet fees of £12K and 3rd party liability of 3 million it's the most expensive plan.  Renewal has come in at £42 per month  

Phoned Petplan again to try and negotiate but they won't budge, asked them why a 14% rise and was told it is the breed of dog (cocker owners must make a lot of claims).

Want to stay with Petplan but take out a less deluxe policy, especially now we have 2 cockers to insure.  They have quoted me their new classic plan which offers max vets fees of £7K and third party liability of 2 million at £25.88 p m.

Just wanted a reality check on the vets fees bit really especially from people who have had big vets bills, examples of what vets bills could run to in 1 year, although I do realise this is open ended/the sky could be the limit.  But is £7K a fair realistic limit for the average dog?

Grateful for any feedback/experiences  

[LynneB]

Phoebe is now 2.5 years old and has only been to the vets for boosters. Zen is 2 years old and apart from eating something he shouldn't has only been to the vets for boosters.
very healthy dogs as far as I am concerned.....

[*Jay*]

I have £7000 a year from Axa and I think it is more than adequate for us.

I think it would depend on what vet prices are like in your area but I think you would be very unlikely to spend more than that a year (unless it's something like hip replacements etc which can be about £3-4k each.)

[Danni and Freya]

I have £7000 a year from Axa and I think it is more than adequate for us.

I think it would depend on what vet prices are like in your area but I think you would be very unlikely to spend more than that a year (unless it's something like hip replacements etc which can be about £3-4k each.)

Ditto and cheap too, I pay £9.25 a month for Freya, we claimed for the first time this year so will see if that goes up a lot when I renew 

[Evadee]

Thanks for the feedback 

Think we will go with the classic plan, Tia's been healthy so far 

[pennylopey]

We've got £7k and at the grand old age of 5.5 months we're just awaiting payment for an £930 claim! 

I'd hope that £7k would be realistic! We pay £11 pm at the moment, wonder what it'll be at renewal. 

[Rats and Dogs]

My friend has a £4000 policy, and thought she would never use it all up in a year. However, last year her dog slipped in the snow and ended up with 3 slipped discs that needed repaired, his MRI and op took up the whole cost of her policy for the year - just 2 weeks after it had started, so she had no cover for the remainder of the year. Plus, unfortunately, he has been diagnosed with a couple of other minor lifetime conditions, but has no cover now until the policy is renewed next year.

I think it is is best to take out the maximum cover that you can afford, as you never know what is around the corner. Hopefully, it will never be needed, but best to have it.

[minimoo]

i am £7000 with AXA too , i feel its the best deal at the moment and will stay with them if they dont go and hike up their prices next year

[Millies_Mum]

Ours is £10,000, with £2m liability and lots of other benefits should Millie require them eg complimentary treatments, clinical diet, referral costs etc etc and we pay £13.88 per month from John Lewis.

I read alot of the posts and did quite a bit of comparison prior to chosing a policy and we felt this the best cover on offer just now
 

[BillysMum]

i've just changed from m&s to AXA for both of mine so they have £7,000.

[Sarah.H]

Ours is £7500 per condition for the lifetime of the dog with healthy pets, it was a really good deal when we first took it out (about three years ago) but the premium has just gone up to £38  . I did an online quote with the same company and it came back as about £20, when I phoned up to query this I was told they could only offer that to new clients and I could cancel my policy and start a new one, but then she wouldn't be insured for any problems she's had in the mean time. She's had an ear, eye and lip fold infection so I wouldn't be covered, she also got hit by a car so I would imagine she wouldn't be covered for the joint she injured then (which she had started limping on recently) so I really don't know what to do. I hate insurance companies 

[penguins87]

Kennel Club £10,000 and £2 million third party ..plus a few optional extras you can add such as loss by accident , holiday cancellation, boarding fees , overseas travel. £ 19.00 pm

however I think that Sarah is right some companies tend to pull you in at a good rate and then POW ! It increases dramatically  after about two years . Ours has not yet and we have been with them three years but i'm waiting .. 

I hate all insurance companies house,cars, pets . Nightmare to deal with and cost a packet.. 

I would still hate to be without insurance though . I was listening to radio 2 on this subject and one guy put the monthly premium in the bank each month to pay his vet bills. However if one of my girls got seriously ill at £20 a month I'd have to save 4 Years of premiums just to save £1000 ... Too risky for me ..

[black taz]

Becareful downgrading your policy.  I downgraded all mine from gold to silver last year, then when i went to claim for Kira's ear infection they told me it wasnt covered as the condition existed before i took the policy out.  I did manage to get it included eventually but it took months and lots of telephone conversations to get it sorted out.

[Jessie_Pup]

Kennel Club £10,000 and £2 million third party ..plus a few optional extras you can add such as loss by accident , holiday cancellation, boarding fees , overseas travel. £ 19.00 pm

however I think that Sarah is right some companies tend to pull you in at a good rate and then POW ! It increases dramatically  after about two years . Ours has not yet and we have been with them three years but i'm waiting .. 

I hate all insurance companies house,cars, pets . Nightmare to deal with and cost a packet.. 

I would still hate to be without insurance though . I was listening to radio 2 on this subject and one guy put the monthly premium in the bank each month to pay his vet bills. However if one of my girls got seriously ill at £20 a month I'd have to save 4 Years of premiums just to save £1000 ... Too risky for me ..

Dylan and Jessie are also with the Kennel Club. This year Dylans yearly premium at 10yrs and with his cataract problem is £700, Jessie who is 7 1/2 about £600

[Jan D]

Axa and £7000 for me too for Bobby but have Roxy with Morethan at the moment, still £7k