Insurance

[Brimbeck(Dyllan)]

Dyllan's puppy insurance runs out soon. I've looked at different policies but I'm not sure which are any good in practice.
Does anyone have any good advice please?

[Krisdt]

From what I have looked at I am going to go with more than. Loki is still in his 6 weeks free through the Kennel Club. Also a few peeps on here seem to like marks and spencer. But everyone has said stay away from tesco. I just did an internet search and looked at a fair few options it may be worth googling it and seeing what suits you best. Make sure you read the small print as some looked good but had a few hidden conditions.

[Cob-Web]

It depends what you are looking for in an insurance really, Sarah - you do tend to get what you pay for 

Some policies are pretty basic, but others far more comprehensive, and the prices reflect this 

Generally, there are two types of policy - ones which only cover payments for 12 months for any condition - so if your dog is diagnosed with a long term condition, once the 12 months is up, you are on your own. The others cover conditions "for life", so as long as you renew the policy, then the insurance will pay out for each condition - BUT, both types usually have a "maximum" amount they will pay. As veterinary care is so expensive, the higher this is the better, really 

Some cover prescription diets, some don't; some cover pre-op tests, others exclude them unless clinically linked; some will pay for behavioural referrals, others won't 

If you dog has been to the vets for anything other than routine treatment so far in his life, then you might be best to stick with the current insurance company - even if you didn't claim, you have to declare treatment in any new applications and it will be excluded from any polcyyou take out 

[Penelope]

Be VERY careful.  We thought we had very good insurance for our dogs.  Our Yorkie Meg got Cushings Disease which would mean tablets for the rest of her life.  She then got very sick, and due to various complications, died last week.  When we looked at our insurance policy, it turned out that the £2,000 cover we had which we thought was per illness, per year, was in fact total that once the £2,000 had been spent, they would not pay anything else.
That would have meant that had she lived, once they had paid out £2,000 for treatment, tablets etc on her Cushings disease, they would have stopped paying!
We then rang to see if we could upgrade our other 2 dogs to the gold cover so it would be a bit better (They are all on silver), and were told we could only upgrade if we stopped the policy and then started a new one - so they would NOT be covered for anything they have had so far!
We are now looking for a policy which covers whole of life for illnesses, but they are expensive.  My advice would be to compare and read the small print, and get the best cover you can afford -just in case.  We are now wishing we had gold from the start for all our 3 dogs.

[Kirstie & pup]

My mother-in-law    has paid out £25 per month for 14 years.
Her dog has had lots of problems broken legs, jaw problems, arthritis, even seen a dog psychiatrist !! (its a westie)
She still would not recommend insurance as she has paid out far more in contributions.

[happydog]

She still would not recommend insurance as she has paid out far more in contributions.

I think it's fine to say that with hindsight and if the money that would be spent on insurance is put aside in a separate bank account to cover for eventualities. I personally prefer to ensure that should Fern need treatment she can have it without any worry about whether or not I could afford it at the time. My rescue springer had to have a leg amutated due to cancer. There is no way I could have found the money for it up front. I was insured thank goodness. It was a stressful enough time without having to worry about how I was going to pay for it as well.

[debbie321]

I'm with Healthy Pets and have gold cover.  It was 5.55 per month and that has gone up by just 10p this year!  I did read the small print and phoned them for more details - they seem like a good company but this is only the second year.  They paid for one bout of treatment with no problems at all.  As far as I can see they will cover each individual illness to a max of £6000 for life.  This is the link http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/index.htm

[happydog]

I'm with Healthy Pets and have gold cover.  It was 5.55 per month and that has gone up by just 10p this year!  I did read the small print and phoned them for more details - they seem like a good company but this is only the second year.  They paid for one bout of treatment with no problems at all.  As far as I can see they will cover each individual illness to a max of £6000 for life.  This is the link http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/index.htm

I've just moved Ferns Insurance to them debbie321. I've taken out the gold option too. I pay £12.09 pcm with a £5,000 maximum  and a £50 excess. I think it's a pretty good price for insuring a 7 year old.

[debbie321]

Looks like the premiums will go up as Ben gets older then!  But I still think that they are value for money - I'm not looking for a new insurer as they have been great so far.  £12.09 doesn't sound over priced for a 7yr old especially as they offer fantastic cover

[speedyjaney]

We have all our pets with M&S and so far have been great.

We had a very poorly kitten who recently died and they are paying out for all his treatment at our vets (circa £400) and also for all the costs that Cambridge University Vet Hospital incurred trying to diagnose and save him which is around £2000!!

He was one and we had the policy for 4 months!

We are staying with them even tho the premiums are rising...its worth the peace of mind it brings in my book!

Janey

[CraftySam]

I'm with Healthy Pets and have gold cover.  It was 5.55 per month and that has gone up by just 10p this year!  I did read the small print and phoned them for more details - they seem like a good company but this is only the second year.  They paid for one bout of treatment with no problems at all.  As far as I can see they will cover each individual illness to a max of £6000 for life.  This is the link http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/index.htm

Out of interest I've just been to have a look, as your premium is a lot less than what I pay. My dogs are 2 3/4yrs old, 14 months old and six months old. They quoted me over £45 a month for three dogs, for the gold cover with £5000 limit per condition. I was unsure whether thats per year or per condition and there's not much on the website but in the FAQs I think its saying they'd pay upto £5000 per condition per year. I've not seen that before, I've seen either/or. I may well investigate more when my policy is up for renewal. It is more expensive than my current policy but if they do pay £5000 per condition per year then it would be worth it, though tbh I'd be surprised (and highly delighted   ) if it was.
Debbie I think you've struck gold if thats the cover you get for £5.55 a month!!!!

I'm currently with Direct Line which costs me just over £40 a month for my three dogs on their Advance policy. That covers £6000 per condition for life. Sapphi had to have an op earlier this year and they paid up without question, if a little slowly.
I do know there are now policy's around that will now pay up to £7000 per condition for life. So its certainly worth looking around but I'd recommend you looking at the small print very carefully.  

I believe there is a Pet Plan policy that covers covers each condition without limit, but of course it comes at a price. A price that is out of my reach.  

[Rhona W]

Out of interest I've just been to have a look, as your premium is a lot less than what I pay. My dogs are 2 3/4yrs old, 14 months old and six months old. They quoted me over £45 a month for three dogs, for the gold cover with £5000 limit per condition.

They only quoted me £19.46 a month for my two. 

We are with Halifax and pay around £21 a month, but that gives us £6000 per year for life.

[CraftySam]

Out of interest I've just been to have a look, as your premium is a lot less than what I pay. My dogs are 2 3/4yrs old, 14 months old and six months old. They quoted me over £45 a month for three dogs, for the gold cover with £5000 limit per condition.

They only quoted me £19.46 a month for my two. 

We are with Halifax and pay around £21 a month, but that gives us £6000 per year for life.

Flipplin' heck! Par for the course though.  Its probably as I had to tick the "been treated by a vet in last 12 months" for Sapphi and Max.  Max was very minor ailments like the runs, but Sapphi had to have an op earlier this year. It didn't ask for details as to why they'd been treated, but when it was last due for renewal I checked out More Than who wouldn't cover Sapphi for d&v as she'd already had it. So if she had d&v for an unspecific reason, which could happen a fair few times I imagine, then it wouldn't be covered. Last Christmas she had a severe bout of d&v and she ended up in the emergency vets on Boxing day which with treatment cost a small fortune. With treatment it took a week for her to get over, but there wasn't a specific cause for it.  If its the same everywhere I guess I'll never be able to move. 

[Cob-Web]

There is a clause in the Healthy Pets policy that is the same as the one the Direct Line introduced that made me change from them 

It relates to "routine" pre-op blood tests, which they won't pay for - so if your dog needs an operation to remove a seed, for instance (something that IS covered by the insurance), the policy won't pay for pre-op blood tests unless they are clinically indicated.

I prefer to have these done (they can pick up abnormailities that would otherwise have gone un-noticed), but don't like the price tag that comes with them........its not nice to have to make the decision as to whether or not to have them done when your dog is sick/injured and your vet is asking you about them

[PennyB]

its not nice to have to make the decision as to whether or not to have them done when your dog is sick/injured and your vet is asking you about them

My vet doesn't ask about them routinely