Insurance - do we have a definitive answer?

[Coco]

On who is the best insurer and who is the best budget insurer?
Also, what is the best type of plan and how much cover/excess is best to go for?
Do you really need holiday cover, death benefit etc?
Who is to be avoided?

Please everyone contribute your thoughts and experiences as I've searched the archives and there are bits of info here and there so it'd be nice to have it all collated in one place for reference   

[BabyB]

I cannot fault Petplan - excellent at paying out ongoing claims - although they're not the cheapest I haven't found them to hike up renewals - I've been with them 10 years and all 4 of ours are insured with them.

[*Jay*]

Don't touch E&L with the proverbial bargepole!

[highlandlass]

Was with petplan cos heard they were best - premium went from £17.99 a month in first year to £23!!!! I cancelled - now with L&V, slightly reduced cover but £10 a month!

[Nicola]

I've found Healthy Pets to be really good, I have the gold level cover and they paid out for Rodaidh's knee op quickly and with no quibbles and the premiums have stayed really really reasonable again this year. I had the renewals through about 2 weeks ago and for Tilly and Rodaidh together I'm only paying £15 per month   You don't get some of the bells and whistles stuff you do with other insurers like alternative therapies etc. but I really only want insurance to cover accident, illness and 3rd party liability.

I know somebody on here, I think it might have been Sheryl had a nightmare of a time with Tesco pet insurance.

[Cob-Web]

I don't think that there is a definitive answer because everyone has different needs and requirements, so different policies suit different circumstances 

for instance, if you holiday abroad regularly, then holiday cover is more appropriate than if you always take your dog caravanning with you in the UK  A higher excess might be more suitable if you are happy to absorb low cost bills yourself, and added extras such as behavioural and complimentary treatment might be influenced by your own opinion of these treatments 

I have seen horror stories about nearly every company out there - sometimes it is a misinterpretation of the policy by the policy-holder, other times it is companies being inflexible or insensitive, but ALL companies are there to make a profit so I don't think any of them can be expected to put their customers needs before their own (although sometimes, they do go the extra mile which is a pleasant surprise  )

I have yet to find a true like-for-like comparison between two different policies - they all vary slightly in the cover and exclusions; so it really is a case of deciding what you need, and then finding a policy that suits 

[stuffster]

For full lifelong cover with high limits etc I have found Greenbee to be by far the best value and I know lots of other COLers have been pleasantly surprised with their Greenbee quote.

But as Rachel said, it depends what you want. There are cheaper places but I want high levels of cover so I prefer this one!

[allylou]

like others have said i don't think there is a straight forward answer to pet insurance - mine are now with Healthy Pets, their silver policy.

They don't offer the best cover but if you are on a tight budget  (i am!  ) they do seem to offer a reasonable cover for a reasonable price. 

Have also been with More Than, Direct Line and Sainsbury's in the past - have always changed each year because even though i have never claimed the premiums always seem to go up by at least 25%. 

[JenLloyd]

I've looked at the Healthy Pets website, but it doesn't mention anywhere about dental.  Anyone with a policy that could tell me whether dental work is included?  Some don't cover dental work, but some do if it is caused by an injury.

[debsallen]

I've found Healthy Pets to be really good, I have the gold level cover and they paid out for Rodaidh's knee op quickly and with no quibbles and the premiums have stayed really really reasonable again this year. I had the renewals through about 2 weeks ago and for Tilly and Rodaidh together I'm only paying £15 per month   You don't get some of the bells and whistles stuff you do with other insurers like alternative therapies etc. but I really only want insurance to cover accident, illness and 3rd party liability.

I know somebody on here, I think it might have been Sheryl had a nightmare of a time with Tesco pet insurance.

I have just cancelled my insurance with Healthy pets as it has gone from £22 a month for my two, to £38!!!!!  So am looking elsewhere now

[waggytails]

My old girl Millie is with Argos insurance, we have made loads of claims over the years and had no problems with payment, at the moment we pay £17 a month, which is really good considering her age 14 and the amount of money they have had to pay out.  Hattie my pup is with healthy pets not made any claims so cant say how good they are.

[Mrs K]

Don't have a lot of experience to draw on as we only got Molly in November  However petplan paid out without question when she cut her paw and dealt direct with vet, however 'budget' they are not!
My friend (who is a vet nurse) deals with all claims on behalf of her vet surgery and swears by PetPlan and wouldn't allow her worst enemy to go near E & L. She also said that Tesco had been difficult and a bit funny on a couple of recent claims but that in the past they had been ok

[GinnyB]

I've not had Mali insured up to now but having spoken to my neighbour this week who has a Cav' in hospital with a slipped disc, I think I need to get something sorted. Her bills had reached £4k already and Oscar is still in hospital 60 miles away 

[Coco]

I don't really have any idea of treatment costs. Is it easy to get say £2500 bills? Or more?
Do most everyday treatments (swallowed a sock, cut a pad, grass seed) cost enough that you'ld bother to claim if the excess is say £60?

[raylou]

We have always used petplan and found them to be fantastic to deal with. Never any ifs or buts, they pay up straight away.

My firm have a couple of kennels as clients (I work in accountancy) and my son`s friend is a vet nurse and they all swear by petplan.

No they aren`t cheap - We pay £21 a month for Bon ( she is 4 1/2) but peace of mind is worth alot and knowing that if, God forbid, she were to develop a life long illness they would cover her for the remainder of her life is worth every penny I think.