Insurance in France

[twiceover2]

We are moving to France in September.  I know there are a few people on here who live over there and wondered if anyone could please point us in the direction of good insurance companies or anything we need to be aware of that's different from the UK?

[amichell]

Sorry, I missed this post, not that I can be much help! I don't have insurance for Lucie, mainly because all the French companies I looked at seemed to offer little cover for a high fee and I couldn't find one that would offer lifetime cover. Reading the small print just seemed to give them every loophole to slip through, a lot isn't covered and the percentage you pay towards each claim is high. I even asked at my bank who highly promote pet insurance but they won't cover unless your house policy is with them.

I didn't have my last boy insured either and fortunately until he was diagnosed with anal cancer, his yearly vet bills were less than I would of paid with any insurance policy. So with Lucie I decided to take the chance and not take insurance, I'm kicking myself now of course    Lucie eye ops alone nearly broke me let alone the vet bills since. Although whether the insurance would of paid out for her entropion op, I don't know, I noticed on one they had a small print of 'diseases known to be hereditary'.

I would advise to read the small print of any policy very carefully, a lot will cover for diagnosis and initial treatment but if it's an ongoing problem the covers stops and 7-8yrs seems to be the cut off point of any insurer.

Sorry, I know this doesn't help you much but hopefully in bringing this back up, someone else will be along to offer some better advice.
I'll be watching out too 

[twiceover2]

Thanks for the reply, amichell.  I've been trying to research online.  It seems that very few owners in France do insure and, as you say, the policies aren't as comprehensive as UK ones.  I have read that vet fees tend to be lower in France though and wondered if that fitted with anyone's experience?

[tenaille]

Hi,
In my experience vet fees can be a lot lower in France.  We travel back and forth frequently and try to have all Beaus vaccinations and any other treatments done by our French vet.  Beaus surgery last year was also done in France.
We are impressed with the service and facilities offered at reasonable cost.

[amichell]

Sorry, I can't compare as I haven't lived in the UK for over 18 years.

Harley's yearly vaccinations were about €90+ including his rabies booster for passport.

Do ask around once you arrive as the consultation fees can differ quite a bit between practices.

[amichell]

Just a quick update. I spoke to my vet last week about insurance for dogs, he said Bulle Bleue and SanteVet are the best insurance companies here. http://www.bullebleue.fr/   http://www.santevet.com/assurance-mutuelle-chien

Bulle Bleue I had already dismissed from a previous search, but I applied for a quote with SanteVet and for a quick comparison, for Lucie at 1yr the quote was €63 a month on the Optimal option, it gives you 100% cover but the maximum annual claim is €2500, no death or liability cover, €75 excess and with lots of exclusions and that's without mentioning her eye problems either. The minimum cover on the light option was €19 a month, only 50% of costs covered to a max claim of €1100 a year with even more exclusions.

I guess it makes it a little easier to understand why only 3% of the French have pet insurance and from what I read only 10% know that pet insurance even exists!

I hope you can continue with whatever cover you have at the moment, can you maybe just tell them your on holiday for the time being?

[twiceover2]

Thanks for that info.  It doesn't sound like the insurance is worth having at all in France.  I have already told Pippa's insurer we're moving as hers was up for renewal.  I guess I'll just cancel the others and put the money that we would have spent on insurance into an account to go towards anything that crops up in the future 

Harley's vaccinations sound a similar price to over here.  I'm getting Pippa spayed in the UK before we go at a cost of £156.  Amber will be due to be done in September so it will be interesting to see how much the op costs in France. 

[tenaille]

Hi,
Have you checked out the European cover in the Argos pet policy,   the gold/platinum cover has unlimited days in Europe.

Edit: Its quite confusing trying to work out just what the difference in cover is when abroad, probably worth investigating though

[amichell]

I can send over Lucie's quote for comparison if that is any help to you.

Entropion is one of their many exclusions so I'm not kicking myself quite so hard now

[twiceover2]

I can send over Lucie's quote for comparison if that is any help to you.

Entropion is one of their many exclusions so I'm not kicking myself quite so hard now

Thanks but I think from what you've said we have decided not to insure them in France. It is a bit of a worry but the cover doesn't seem to be worth paying for.  I'm surprised to hear it wouldn't even have covered you for the entropion.  I hope you get Lucie's eye problems sorted soon.  Good luck with the raw feeding.  It really suits mine.  I have found a company that will bring Nutriment from the UK to the Dordogne, so hopefully will be sticking with that when we come over.