CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Insurance => Topic started by: Gypsysmum on April 19, 2018, 05:19:31 PM
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Hi
I am about to collect my new puppy :happydance:
I would love to hear others' views on their insurance company so that I can rule out the less than satisfactory ones. I have already seen that Animal Friends has its critics. Any others?
I had good experience in the past with Asda. They took on my nine year old lurcher and paid out lots of money for her old age problems.
John Lewis was good for my last rescue but he was healthy until a short illness at the end.
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I’ve just gone with Direct Line, they were very reasonable as my previous company had hiked up their prices. Haven’t had to use them yet so can’t comment on what they’re like. Good luck with your new puppy x
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Can vouch for RSA being a decent outfit as I used to work for them (commercial underwriter - now retired). Did lots of research but in the end went with More Than since I picked up Jack as a pup. Cover/cost ratio was good at the time and policy covers all the usual incidentals. Premium has gone up almost £100 pa this year even though I've had no claims (touch wood) but will stick with them for the time being...
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all insurance companies have their critics. my 2 oldies are insured with animal friends and the 2 babies are insured with more than. i kept the cover level high for the pups as you are not really sure what if any treatment you are going to need where as the oldies its more precautionary. Having said that watch the small print with all companies, at the end of the day they are not in the business of handing out willy nilly. at the end of the day you will never know unless you have to claim. first year premiums tend to be good value then they start upping the premiums quite substantially unless you keep an eye out, whether you have claimed or not!
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We are with petplan. I knew from previous pets that petplan are quite expensive in comparison to others however i cant fault the cover we receive. Our dog has been quite poorly as a pup with various different ailments. We opted for the 'cover for life' we have already claimed twice (once for the removal of a tumour and once for a hip injury which is requiring ongoing care) . With the tumour we paid exces and petplan plid our vets the rest of the fee direct, with the xrays for his hip we paid exccess and claimed back the rest of the money which we recieved within a week of making the claim!
Like i said, i believe they are more expensive than others but so worth it from our experience so far
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I am with Animal Friends.....never heard anything bad about them
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Animal Friends here as well.
This year's renewal is up a bit (Now £219) from previous years but, with two rather pricey claims paid out during the last seven years, we're still well ahead of the curve.
More importantly as far as I'm concerned, They're a nice friendly company to deal with so I'm more than happy to stick with them.
Bob.
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With the Kennel club. Did a lot of research when Dylan was a pup, and narrowed it to KC, Petplan and Animal friends, eventually choosing KC. Had one claim in year 1 when Dylan caught his foot in a door and had to have an X-ray but the premium didn’t,t do up. Gone up but £20 this year, Dylan is coming up for 3. Paid pit no problem. Also a very useful helpline staffed by vet nurses, which we used when up in the highlands miles from vets and Dylan had a badly upset tum. They phoned us several times to make sure he was OK.mmore than happy so far, but as I say he is not quite 3 and has not had anything major, so time will tell. It,s a minefield.
Lesley and Dylan
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Had a very poor experience with Animal Friends when my previous dogs were classed as seniors. Current girl, Daisy, has a bank account.
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We were with NFU for years but because of Smudges hips (only made one small claim when he saw a consultant) and my old terriers age, the premiums rocketed. When we sold our field a few years ago we put a lump sum in a bank account for the dogs and we now insure on a 12 month policy so we can switch easily. This year we are with Pet Plan.
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I'm with NFU and have been since William was a pup. He's almost 14 now and Louis will be 9 shortly.
They're not the cheapest but because William has a number of lifelong conditions such as Dry Eye, Cataracts and damaged discs, I've stuck with them because I know he will always be covered and because I make regular claims for his eye check ups, Optimmune ointment and the acupuncture he has that helps keep him supple and hopefully therefore makes his back less likely to get worse.
I pay £70 per month for William and £42 per month for Louis, although some of that is Insurance Premium Tax of course, which the government seems to increase every year and our insurers have to collect it from us and pass it on to the government! So far in this insurance year I've claimed £460 against William and know that I'll be claiming at least another £105 for acupuncture and Optimmune before renewal. Over the last 5 or 6 years I've either claimed more than I've paid in premiums for William or about the same as I've paid. He seems to be prone to lumps, bumps and accidents, so I never know what's next with him!
In contrast, Louis is one of those very robust dogs who never seems to need to go to the vet. I think apart from his puppy vacs, booster one year later and titre testing every three years since then he's only ever been to the vets for one ear infection and anal gland emptying two or three times. Not bad for an 8 year old dog! But I bet if I cancelled his insurance something would happen.
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We had been with John Lewis. We claimed over £4500 over a 18month period for Darwin's spinal problem. They had been really good, but over a 2year period it went up to nearly £150 a month! So now Darwin is insured with the Bank of Mum and Dad. We spend less than £500 a year on his on going care
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price of insurance also not helped by fact the goverment are using insurance as a stealth tax re Insurance Premium Tax
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Must admit i was horrified when I read about Animal Friends on COL Ollie is 10 and been with them since 7 mth old, touch wood he is well, but when you have paid your dues you expect!
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Pet Plan for all three: 2 x ten year old, 1 x one year old
They are expensive, but have never quibbled and they won't drop cover as the dog gets older. They paid out £4,500 for a consultation and MRI for Murphy a couple of months ago; even though our normal vet could not find anything really wrong - other than he'd lost his bark. They cover the prescriptions of both older dogs.
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Animal Friends it would seem are not consistent in the way they treat their customers.
I never had an issue with them for 7 years, the premium went up a bit each year but that is to be expected - so we were paying £55 per month - on renewal this year they raised the premium by 400% to £221.00 per month with a 20% co-pay for good measure!
Grace had treatment in her 7th year for skin issues and the diagnosis of MVD - they said this was their reason for the increase and that if I renewed for the 8th year and made any claim they would put the premium up again - hence after 7 years we now have no insurance!
I would avoid them - they have left me with no insurance just when I really need it - and there is zero point in paying the extra for lifetime cover when they price you out like this just because you claimed and have a dog that has an ongoing condition!