CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Insurance => Topic started by: bobthebuilder on August 31, 2009, 08:57:22 AM
-
Our brand new Cocker pup arrived yesterday, full of life and seems to have settled in very well.
We have been given 4 weeks free insurance with Pet Plan but wonder if other owners recommend insurance or simply put the premiums in a savings account in case they are needed.
Any advice would be helpful. :D :D
-
Personally I pay insurance as it's not just vets bills that are covered.
In todays "sue society" I worry about if my dog got out, caused an accident or bit someone (not because they're vicious), all of which could result in a hefty cost...
Regarding the vets bill, for Jasper at least, I've now made 2 claims for fairly minor ops and the sum I received back through insurance equated to the annual premium anyway so I have had monies back from them. Each incident didn't involve anything big time going wqrong as even the removal of a grass seed under sedation cost £200 :shades:
-
Both mine are insured and at the moment i'm in the process of making a claim that will probably total at least £2,000 by the time we are
done. If you are going to put some money away each month rather than pay to be insured it might be worth starting by put a lump sum aside (if you can afford it) and then adding to that each month.
Good luck with new pup - what is his/her name?
Also, welcome to COL
-
Thanks for the advice.
Is Pet Plan good or do people have experience with other companies?
-
From past posts i've read it seems pet plan are vey good (also, probably one of the most expensive). Insurance is a bit of a minefield and there are frequent discussions on here about different ones. It's worth having a search through the threads. If you do decide on insurance i would say try to make sure the cover is ongoing per illness (not just payable for a year - hope that makes sense) and check the excesses and exclusions. Have fun :blink:
-
Just got a Cocker bitch, 11 weeks old now, so been looking for insurance, tried the comparison sites,
but the best on i have found up to yet is with the PDSA, http://www.bdmlconnect.co.uk/newpet/schemes/pb/pdsa/brochure/pages/frame.asp (http://www.bdmlconnect.co.uk/newpet/schemes/pb/pdsa/brochure/pages/frame.asp)
about £7000 vet cover for about £12.50 per month,
£1100 excess tho,
hope this helps
-
Just got a Cocker bitch, 11 weeks old now, so been looking for insurance, tried the comparison sites,
but the best on i have found up to yet is with the PDSA, http://www.bdmlconnect.co.uk/newpet/schemes/pb/pdsa/brochure/pages/frame.asp (http://www.bdmlconnect.co.uk/newpet/schemes/pb/pdsa/brochure/pages/frame.asp)
about £7000 vet cover for about £12.50 per month,
£1100 excess tho,
hope this helps
I just checked this and you can choose a voluntary excess of £25, £50 or £100 - your actual premium will probably depend on which amount you choose. A £1100 excess would be rather excessive :005:
-
OOPS! sorry, typo,
i meant £100
:lol2:
-
Mine are both insured with the kennel club, I had 6 weeks free when they were pups so just continued with it, its is expensive and maybe I should shop around but I am very happy with the service I have had from them so a bit reluctant to change.
Most vet bills are £100's of pounds upwards so it depends on your financial situation as to whether you go for insurance or savings plan. For me its peace of mind that no matter what happens I can afford the treatment. Some conditions can be ongoing and quickly drain your bank account.
-
Sharon,
totally agree, we have the Kennel Club six weeks free as well at mo,
If you are happy with something, stick with it, of course,
Am just thinking about value for money, from what i have found, £12.50 for £7000 of vets cover seems good,
have been quoted £25 for £5000 of vets cover with a £100 excess plus 10% of each bill,
Some conditions can be ongoing and quickly drain your bank account
Totally agree,
We have had Cavaliers with heart murmurs in the past,
have paid £60 per month for tablets,
But did not have many single bills over £100,
Part of the premiums with the PDSA's cover goes to the PDSA
-
Hello and welcome to COL. :D Congratulations on your new arrival - we will be needing photos!
If you are going to put some money away each month rather than pay to be insured it might be worth starting by put a lump sum aside (if you can afford it) and then adding to that each month.
Totally agree with this. If you are going to go down the 'savings account' route, please consider what you would do if your pup got ill before there was much money in your fund. I've just done a quick sum and worked out that Henry's ( :luv: :luv: :luv:) vet's bill in the wonderful 2 weeks we had him would have amounted to approximately 11.5 YEARS of premiums. :o :o :o So if you aren't going to insure, I'd have to suggest you had a contingency of say, £5000. I know that sounds like a lot, but believe me it can mount up quickly.
I don't want to depress anyone - I'm sure that cases like ours are very, very rare. But personally I would say insurance is worth the peace of mind.
-
Who are you insured with annie_9_17?
-
Who are you insured with annie_9_17?
We'd only had little Henry :luv: :luv: :luv: 2 weeks :'(, so he was still on his 4 weeks free Pet Plan. I haven't had the heart to do any claim forms yet, and there's a couple of reasons I probably won't get it all back. Our 2 cats have always been with Pet Plan and they've always paid up, so we'll just have to wait and see. I think the general consensus of them is good but one of the more expensive ones.
-
Thanks for the advice.
Is Pet Plan good or do people have experience with other companies?
I have both Gabby and Pepper insured with Pet Plan. It is expensive though but I think it is worth the money. I pay £40 for Gabby and £47 per month for Pepper :o :o - it has gone from £40 to £47 in 7 months. :o :o This is their Supreme Plan and covers up to £12,000 vet bills per year (it is a policy for life), £750 complementary therapy per year, £1000 advertising and reward, £1000 boarding fees if you are taken ill, £650 theft or straying, £650 death from injury or illness, £1000, holiday cancellation, £3,000,000 3rd party liability, £500 emergency repatriation, £1500 quarantine expenses and loss of documents. The excess for vet fees is £100, £75 for complementary therapy, £250 3rd party liability.
I used to work as a veterinary nurse with another nurse who used to work at Pet Plan and had many years experience of other insurance companies. Pet Plan do pay out extremely quickly as we found out when one of our cats had a huge claim. They also paid directly to the vet.
I think ours costs a bit more because we live in 'a high risk' area - London. ::) ::)
-
I'm currently dithering between an expensive Petplan at £24 (£4k life long annual cover) or Greenbee at £17 (£7k lifelong annual cover) Those two seem to be the most favorite on here!!
Although Argos needs a bit more investigation coming in at £14 (£7k annual lifelong cover) :-\
-
The Argos quote does look cheap.
Anyone got any experience of them paying out when needed?? >:D
-
They also paid directly to the vet.
This is up to the vet rather than the insurance company. Any insurance company will pay either you or the vet as directed but a lot of vets don't accept direct payment from the insurers so you have to pay upfront and then claim it back yourself.
I'm currently dithering between an expensive Petplan at £24 (£4k life long annual cover) or Greenbee at £17 (£7k lifelong annual cover)
Out of those two I'd go for the cheaper one which offers more cover! Although you need to check that the policy covers the rest of your requirements obviously.
-
WE had a phone call from the kennel club asking if we were going to continue with their insurance once the free period ended. I said we were to look around for value and lo and behold they asked us to check the crufts insurance £13.50 a month for life cover i think. but we paid in full in one go which qualified for a little discount.
Phill , Shirley and Ellie
-
Mmmm now considering Crufts insurance, it was £16 for £7500 life long cover but I notice the Excess is £50 plus 10%. Decisions decisions!! >:(
-
I maybe completely stupid :005: but when you are all saying life long cover..is that life of same illness..My two are with tesco and its a bad policy in the sense it's £10 but on 4yrs...I can't move Maisie Cavvy as she has had too much done...but want to move annies insurance
-
Life long cover means that they will pay up to a certain amount each year for life.
My policy for Gabby and Pepper is £12,000 for vets fees per year for life.
Hope this helps.
-
Has anyone had experience of PDSA Pet Insurance?
What are they like & could you recommend them?
-
We settled for HSBC, nice simple terms, have a look at their website
Lifetime cover, providing you renew your policy each year. Up to £7,500 per year for veterinary fees. Probably not as comprehensive as some, but only about £14 a month, our new male puppy is slightly more, but only by about a pound (5% online discount for 2nd dog).
My hubby spent hours trawling all the policies we could find and we decided this one was the best and affordable for us.
There's a policy document you can read before getting a quote.
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/insurance/pet-insurance
My poor cats x 3 are not insured and cost us a blurdy fortune >:(
We also liked the look of Virgin and Animal Friends as well, although AF require quite a high percentage of the bill to be paid by you.
Good Luck :blink:
-
I'm being a bit thick here and have looked at your link too! Just got in from work maybe thats why :005:! Does it cover for the whole of life. I notice if its a new application the dog must be under 9 which is fair enough. I don't want anything that stops as the dog gets older and then you end up having to shop around with a list of previous ailments!
-
I had Pet Plan for Jenny and over the years we had claims which were paid prompt.ley and didnt take to long when we lost Jenny I have Peny with Pet plan as she is insured for liability ect, There is not much diffence with kennel club regarding price. We had 4weeks cover also but time goes rfeally quick Hope our qnswers have helped you with your decision.
-
HSBC covers a condition for life upto £7500 per year. It also covers for burial/cremation, which is not on many policies.
-
Thanks everyone for your help,
just getting up to speed on pet insurance,
have noticed the "Condition for Life" term,
On the PDSA quote, it says "12 month/ Max-benefit / Reinstatment"
Is this the same or some thing else?
-
HSBC covers a condition for life upto £7500 per year. It also covers for burial/cremation, which is not on many policies.
Just had a quote from HSBC,
Does look good
-
Just following on from the mention of Argos insurance, we did an online quote with them and they seem to be quoting the best so far for us, and thats not just best on cover price, but what it includes.
Im just wondering what everyone elses thoughts are on Argos as a company to deal with and like..
The quote we got for Floyd was £11.78 monthly or £141.28 annually for their platinum cover, this inlcudes
Ongoing cover provided up to £7,000 per year, treatment period is unlimited and excess charges of £60.
Whats your thoughts?
-
Hi
I asked about Insurance a week ago as I had the both girls with More Than, when Holly's renewal came it had gone up from £15.99 to £20.99.Honey's would be the same, so with both dogs covered this would be costing just under £42.a month :o a number of great insurance names given and went for Healthy Pets.www.healthy-pets.co.uk.
Although I could have signed up on line I wanted to speak to someone as Holly being a Ex Puppy Farm girl we had only a rough idea of her age. The lady I spoke to was so helpful and I now have them at the princely sum of £19.77 for them both. :clapping: I had the Gold cover which £5000 excess £75. dog third party £1 million. death by illness/accident / advertising reward /theft or straying £750. excess £100.
holiday cancellation £2000.
Hope this helps