CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Insurance => Topic started by: DennyK on May 26, 2006, 01:35:58 PM
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...last night, about half an hour after going to bed, Pads started barking. We decided to ignore (against my better judgment as he never makes a noise nowadays at night).
This morning, I got up at 7am and Paddy had poo'ed everywhere in the kitchen: as I walked towards the glass door into the kitchen, I could see piles of poo, but when I walked in, I found piles of poo, puddles of liquid poo and a pile of vomit. Then around the corner, I found a puddle of blood, about eighteen inches long and six inches wide. Paddy was just sitting weakly in his basket, wagging his little tail.
He was in the vets before 8am and has been kept in overnight. On a drip and having a general anaesthetic this morning, to have a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy.
The cautionary tale for the new puppy owners is about insurance cover. I made use of the free six weeks' insurance cover that comes with Kennel Club registered puppies, but then switched to Marks & Spencer cover. Because Paddy's first bout of colitis occurred during the six week free period, M&S treat it as being part of the colitis saga, therefore a pre-existing condition.
The vet thinks that it is probably colitis again, but that we'll now have to go on a permanent prescription-only feed regime, with steroids and anti-biotics. None of this is covered by insurance and we'll gladly pay to keep Paddy healthy and happy, but...if any of you get a problem during the first six weeks of free cover, which MIGHT recur - do give serious thought to sticking with that insurer. Alternatively - if I had my time over, I'd just take out the M&S cover from day one of having got Pads and not "coasted" on the "benefit" of free insurance. Today will cost £500. God knows what else will come.
In the meantime, have a kind thought for Pads ....
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So sorry to hear about poor Paddy.
Do hope he gets much better soon, and can come home for some cuddles.
Thanks for the advice about insurance too!
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Oh poor Paddy :'( :'( I'm really sorry to hear he's ill. That must have been such a shock for you this morning...
I'm also really sorry about your insurance... Definitely a cautionary tale :-\
Lots of healing hugs and :-* on their way to Pads :luv: :luv:
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Oh, bless him, poor Paddy boy. :luv:
That's awful about the insuranc, and a good tip, I shall bear that in mind. I hope he's on th mend really soon, Hamish and Indie send him cuddles and a gravybone xx :luv:
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Poor Pads :'( Get well soon.
I've got Maisy insured with Petplan on their supreme cover as I just cant take the risk of some high street insurance company not paying out for any required treatment. Treatments are so bl**dy expensive. I was warned off these kind of insurace companies to be honest. However, my OH's mum has a black lab who's insured with Sainsburys & she's never had problems with health exclusions, but I have a feeling they'll cease cover after he reaches a certain age :huh: (when things start to go wrong of course)
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Oh poor little Pads - get well soon sweetie! :luv:
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Poor Paddy, hope he feels better soon :luv:
Thanks for pointing that out about the insurance, just wish you could have found out another way :-\
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I hope Paddy is better soon - what a worry for you :-\
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So sorry to hear this -hope he's feeling much better soon :luv:
Was just about to switch to M and S after free Pet Plan but perhaps better stick to Pet Plan in case something happens after Poppy's 'parasite.' Still waiting to hear if she's completely clear now.
Many hugs and healing thoughts coming your way :luv: Take care of yourself.
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Aww gentle hugs for Pads - poor lad :luv:
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oh Denise, what a nightmare....
am so sorry to hear Paddy has had this setback.... I thought he was doing so well on the Forthglade....
i hope all the tests tomorrow go well, and Pads is home soon..
re. the insurance - thanks for hte advice. it is such a shame you will be left holding hte bill for all this. i know we all would pay anything to keep our pooches healthy, but it must be a worry...
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Vet has phoned to confirm that they've taken stomach, small intestinal and bowel samples for testing. No ulceration in the stomach or small intestine, some haemorrhaging in the stomach, but really roughened and inflamed/swollen bowel, so almost certainly colitis again. he's also anaemic because of the blood loss. But wagging his tail and looking cute apparently. We've been told not to go and see him this evening because arriving and then leaving him behind will be more distressing for him than just snuffling down on his own.... :'(
Thanks for all your kind thoughts and hugs for Pads - I'll be passing them on for sure tomorrow!
Denise
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AWWWW bless him :luv: I'm really sorry he is poorly, i hope he gets better soon. :blink:
Good point about the insurance, thanks for sharing!
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Poor Pads :'( Get well soon.
I've got Maisy insured with Petplan on their supreme cover as I just cant take the risk of some high street insurance company not paying out for any required treatment. Treatments are so bl**dy expensive. I was warned off these kind of insurace companies to be honest. However, my OH's mum has a black lab who's insured with Sainsburys & she's never had problems with health exclusions, but I have a feeling they'll cease cover after he reaches a certain age :huh: (when things start to go wrong of course)
I insured Alfie with M&S after doing a lot of reasearch on various insurers and doing a search here on COL too. I don't know the ins and outs of the Sainsbury's policy but M&S certainly offer full life cover and indeed everything else that Pet Plan offer and they're also cheaper. I think the level of cover someone is willing to pay for is more the issue rather than the insurance company they choose. With the range of financial services offered by the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's and M&S these days I think they're a pretty safe bet as long as you research the policy fully ;)
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Oh poor little man :'( i hope he gets better soon :-*
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Vet has phoned to confirm that they've taken stomach, small intestinal and bowel samples for testing. No ulceration in the stomach or small intestine, some haemorrhaging in the stomach, but really roughened and inflamed/swollen bowel, so almost certainly colitis again. he's also anaemic because of the blood loss. But wagging his tail and looking cute apparently. We've been told not to go and see him this evening because arriving and then leaving him behind will be more distressing for him than just snuffling down on his own.... :'(
Thanks for all your kind thoughts and hugs for Pads - I'll be passing them on for sure tomorrow!
Denise
So sorry to hear about his illness and very good advice about insurance. How about popping a t shirt or jumper down to the vets with your scent on for him to snuggle up with tonight?
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Really sorry to hear Paddy is not well love to you all :luv:
As for Ins I also had the 6 wks free ins from KC and had to claim with a broken jaw
I have since changed to Halifax pet ins, this is life cover, we chose them as after our research petplan had exactly the same but OH works for part of Halifax and got discount
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Oh poor paddy..poor you! Get well soon pads..You'll be in my prayers :-*
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I'm so sorry to hear this. It must have been awful and pretty scarey for you to find him in such a state. I hope he goes on to make a quick recovery and is home with you soon.
I was fortunate in a way with Fern, in that she didn't come with any free insurance, so I got her insured straight away with Tesco and have stuck with them, even though they only pay out for the first year of any condition at least I am aware of it.
I agree that it is easy to fall foul of insurance cos. little rules and it's well worth thoroughly researching cover first. We had a springer with arthritis, liver disease and cancer and after the first year we paid for all her medication. It's what you do when you love your dogs.....
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I'm so sorry to hear this. It must have been awful and pretty scarey for you to find him in such a state. I hope he goes on to make a quick recovery and is home with you soon.
I was fortunate in a way with Fern, in that she didn't come with any free insurance, so I got her insured straight away with Tesco and have stuck with them, even though they only pay out for the first year of any condition at least I am aware of it.
I agree that it is easy to fall foul of insurance cos. little rules and it's well worth thoroughly researching cover first. We had a springer with arthritis, liver disease and cancer and after the first year we paid for all her medication. It's what you do when you love your dogs.....
What you have is yearly cover - it's well worth taking out a policy with lifetime cover, in case you need to claim on longer than a year - I work in a vets and a lot of people fall foul of this, then can't change companies. More than and M&S both do lifetim policis in their insurance range, I'd recommend you get one. ;)
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Poor paddy - get well soon little man. We are thinking about you :'(
sue, zak and strider
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Sorry to hear about little Paddy. Hope he's feeling better soon.
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Get well soon Paddy :luv:
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get well soon Paddy
x x x :luv:
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I'm so sorry to hear about Paddy. It must have been so distressing to find him like that. :'(
I'm thinking of you and Paddy and sending our love. :luv:
On the insurance front, I registered for the six weeks free insurance but took out my own insurance with Direct Line at the same time. There's a fourteen day delay from taking out the insurance before you can claim so that's why I registered for the six weeks free.
I always take my own insurance straight away for exactly the reasons you have found. It is so expensive to pay for treatment. I have found the Direct Line policy very good. I have a lifetime policy as opposed to a yearly cover.
Although there are pitfalls with insurance I certainly couldn't be without it.
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How worrying - I hope Paddy continues to recover (http://smily.hit.bg/hug.gif)
On the insurance front, I registered for the six weeks free insurance but took out my own insurance with Direct Line at the same time. There's a fourteen day delay from taking out the insurance before you can claim so that's why I registered for the six weeks free.
Go careful if you plan to do this - if you do have to claim while you have two insurance policies in place, then you may end up in the middle of a fight between the companies, as they tend to have clauses that relate to other policies :-\ In the mean time, you are waiting for your payout ::)
Obviously, if your pup/dog hasn't been treated during any period of insurance then there is no risk when you change - but if they have had anything other than routine treatment (even if you haven't claimed on the policy) - think very carefully before changing the policy - it may have implications in years to come :-\
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Sending my love and best wishes to Paddy :luv: Hope he is feeling better soon. xx
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awww hope paddys soon on the mend :luv:
our 6 wks free ins runs out today.i'm doin a search when get off col,and will take out policy straight away.glad i read about year or life cover here though,will make sure i get life.
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I'm so sorry to hear this. It must have been awful and pretty scarey for you to find him in such a state. I hope he goes on to make a quick recovery and is home with you soon.
I was fortunate in a way with Fern, in that she didn't come with any free insurance, so I got her insured straight away with Tesco and have stuck with them, even though they only pay out for the first year of any condition at least I am aware of it.
I agree that it is easy to fall foul of insurance cos. little rules and it's well worth thoroughly researching cover first. We had a springer with arthritis, liver disease and cancer and after the first year we paid for all her medication. It's what you do when you love your dogs.....
What you have is yearly cover - it's well worth taking out a policy with lifetime cover, in case you need to claim on longer than a year - I work in a vets and a lot of people fall foul of this, then can't change companies. More than and M&S both do lifetim policis in their insurance range, I'd recommend you get one. ;)
Thnaks Shona. I didn't realise there were different types of pet insurance policy in that way, just the differences in terms and conditions between companies. I just thought an annual renewal was the norm like with other insurance. I'll look into it for Oct renewal, but Fern will be over 7 by then, wont I find it difficult to insure an older dog if I move? Tesco have said that they will insure for life, so I'm a bit confused now....
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Get well soon little man! :luv:
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hoping pad's is feeling a lot better today....gentle manly cocker squidges from jarv to poorly paddy :luv:
and thanks all for the insurance tips...will check out my m&s policy and make sure it's the right one...
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Obviously, if your pup/dog hasn't been treated during any period of insurance then there is no risk when you change - but if they have had anything other than routine treatment (even if you haven't claimed on the policy) - think very carefully before changing the policy - it may have implications in years to come :-\
Paddy is ready to be picked up at noon today, so I'll let you know how he is when he's back and being cuddled!
Rachel's hit the nail on the head, more succinctly than my original post. If you're pup doesn't have anything happen/arise during that six week free insurance period, then you're safe to pick whichever policy you want going forward, because you won't be going into the new policy with anything which the new insurer can reasonably say is a "pre-existing condition" which is excluded from pretty much every policy I've seen. It's really a counsel of caution for those who are still in that six week period who have had something happen (e.g. Dood with Poppy) or those who are getting ready to pick up their puppies soon. For the former category - check with your vet whether any issues your dog's been treated for are capable of recurring - and would it be "recurring" - like colitis flaring up, rather than repeat bad luck - like your pup broke its front pay during its first week with you and then its back leg at six months old - this wouldn't be a "recurrence" of a "pre-existing condition". for those who are just about to get their puppies - if you can afford it, just ignore the six weeks' free insurance and get your preferred policy in place from day one, just in case.
Edited to say - I can't criticise M&S - I still think it's a great policy with fantastic levels of cover and I'd highly recommend it. It gives whole of life cover, the vet fees are set at the highest lever (£7k per annum I think). Pretty much EVERY policy will exclude "pre-existing conditions" - the point is that if something which amounts to a "pre-existing condition" arises in those first six weeks of free insurance cover from the Kennel Club's provider, then you should seriously consider staying with that insurer - it's good cover, not quite as good as M&S and a bit more expensive. But the price difference is nothing when you consider that, after the £500 I'll be handing over today, we have spent more than £950 on treating Paddy's colitis so far (not yet seven months old) and that if he goes onto steroids etc, this will mean that we have a lifetime of uninsured costs. We're lucky in that we can afford that without it causing us to hurt financially, but it would be much nicer if an insurance company were paying! For anyone with a healthy puppy still within the first six weeks' free cover, I'd suggest getting the M&S cover straight away - just in case!
Denise
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I hope Paddy is home safely and being given gentle cocker cuddles :luv:
For anyone with a healthy puppy still within the first six weeks' free cover, I'd suggest getting the M&S cover straight away - just in case!
This solution does come with its own risks if you do have to claim while you have two policies in existance, though; read the small print very carefully to make sure you don't get caught out ;)
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Sorry to not have posted till now - I hope Paddy is feeling much better.
Lots of cuddles from us :-*
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Being a complete idiot as usual. My free cover has now expired and duh haven't got any at the mo :embarassed:
If so if we continued with Petplan would they refuse any future claim for Poppy (if any trouble caused by parasite) as cover was not continuous? If so I'll get on to M and S.
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Being a complete idiot as usual. My free cover has now expired and duh haven't got any at the mo :embarassed:
If so if we continued with Petplan would they refuse any future claim for Poppy (if any trouble caused by parasite) as cover was not continuous? If so I'll get on to M and S.
You might be in a bit of trouble TBH. Petplan may reinsure you and cover future claims but other insurance companies will be tricky now that your girl has already been ill.
Phone Petplan ASAP!
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been busy today and only just seen this.i do hope paddy is feeling better.please give him a gentle hug from me.
funny about the insurance thing.i haven't activated ellies free insurance.i am taking a chance and just going for the m&s cover.paddy is insured with the kc and although i haven't made a claim i did want to change to m&s for him to,but when he got his rash last year the vet thought it may be due to a grass allergy and so it looks like i am stuck with the kc for him.i really wanted the m&s.
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been busy today and only just seen this.i do hope paddy is feeling better.please give him a gentle hug from me.
funny about the insurance thing.i haven't activated ellies free insurance.i am taking a chance and just going for the m&s cover.paddy is insured with the kc and although i haven't made a claim i did want to change to m&s for him to,but when he got his rash last year the vet thought it may be due to a grass allergy and so it looks like i am stuck with the kc for him.i really wanted the m&s.
lyn, we didn't want to have double cover and any problems with 2 policies so we never activated the kc cover - went straight to m&s to keep things simple. i would check with m&s if they can take over paddy's cover too....
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you know helen i think i will ask m&s anyway.surely if it was a grass allergy it would have resurfaced by now.he spends hours in the garden and tbh the grass has now got seed on it coz it's been so wet i can't mow ph34r
we were at the vets today.ellie had her first vax(she was so brave and didn't make a sound,unlike pads who screamed the place down when he had his)she is, as i type this. barking like a little maniac at pads,who thinks it's great :005:so no ill effects there.
i may give our vet a call tuesday and see what they think about the allergy thing.
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Being a complete idiot as usual. My free cover has now expired and duh haven't got any at the mo :embarassed:
If so if we continued with Petplan would they refuse any future claim for Poppy (if any trouble caused by parasite) as cover was not continuous? If so I'll get on to M and S.
I don't want to worry you, but if your 6 week cover has expired, then even if you go back to Petplan you might find they consider any gastrointestinal problems "pre-existing" - I suggest you call them as soon as possible, and ask them ph34r
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Hope Paddy's home now and feeling better :luv:
I insured Ben the day before we got him as I'm a bit of a worrier and wanted him covered from the minute I got him. The KC free insurance application form asked for my direct debit details which I wasn't too happy giving and he would have been double insured anyway so I didn't bother + they were really expensive compared the company I'm with now. I've made one claim already and they paid up without question.
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Hope Paddy's feeling better this morning. :luv:
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A fully rehydrated Paddy returned yesterday lunchtime, and it was like he was on rocket fuel: so lively, scampering everywhere and soooooooo pleased to be home. Lots of cuddles and a nice gentle walk: then he conked out, ate his dinner and started to look very poorly again.
Today - lively as anything. He's on antibiotics, eye drops for inflamed conjunctivitis (unrelated) and a stomach soothing lotion - smells of licorice. YUK. also on the sensitivity food from the vets. Test results on all the samples of stomach, small intestine and bowel tissues due back next Monday. Fingers crossed that it shows up a specific curable cause.
Many thanks for all the kind thoughts, cocker kisses and hugs!
Denise
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Awwww, I'm glad he's home and feeling a bit better. Lots more hugs on the way so he stays that way! :luv: :luv:
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hugs and kisses sent for paddy from sasha get well soon
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Glad Paddy's so much better today Denise. :blink:
Here's hoping he continues to improve!! ;)
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Hi,
I have not been on COL for a while, so just catching up on this one. Glad to hear Paddy is ok now - he is such a sweatie - I bet he has grown!!
I remember after my eldest Jess had 6 weeks free insurance and then I moved to Petplan, because she had been to the vet twice they stuck some exclusions on her. Stupid things like exclusion of any skin ailments because she had been stung by a bee! It took me ages and a lot of pen-to-paper to have the exclusions removed. For Mica, I ignored the 6 weeks free and went straight to petplan. However, they are now sooo expensive I am thinking of moving to M&S. Will they be as fussy as Petplan and exclude my two dogs of anything they have visited the vet for over their life?? Any experience of moving from one plan to M&S?
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I moved Dallas from the KC to More Than to M&S :005: When we moved to M&S they excluded lip fold problems as I had bought Hibiscrub for work and put notes on his file to the effect of "routine cleaning of lip folds" ::) However, they lifted this exclusion at this years renewal - no idea why, it just wasn't listed anymore. So I took him in and had the op done ph34r Vegas has food intolerances so they excluded that (fair enough but it is controlled by diet so no vet treatment needed) but they didn't exclude a leg injury he had when he was younger :-\ I don't know how they decide what to exclude and what not to exclude but its worth giving it a go. You can cancel the policy within a certain number of days if you are not happy with it.
I didn't activate Aspens KC insurance either - just put him right onto M&S
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Hi,
I have not been on COL for a while, so just catching up on this one. Glad to hear Paddy is ok now - he is such a sweatie - I bet he has grown!!
Saddest part of looking at Paddy is that he hasn't grown or put on any weight in over five weeks, and his coat is getting very dull and rough looking, because he isn't absorbing any nutrients. Even on the sensitivity diet and taking antacids and anti-biotics for inflammation, he's really not improving. Very subdued, sad looking little dog: it's breaking my heart really.... :'( :'(
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Poor little Paddy - hope he picks up soon, bless him. He sounds like a total star! :luv:
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Oh Denise, I really feel for you.... please don't worry to much about little Pads.... (I know this is easier said than done...)
I really hope you can sort this one out and get him back to his bouncing happy self....
Such a shame about this setback, the Forthglade seemed to suit him so well :'(
:-* to you for all you are doing for him...
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So Sorry to hear he is looking so unwell. Do let us know how he gets on. He is such a lovely pup!