Change insurance or not?

[Liz F]

Hi
I currently have Diesel and Olli insured with Petplan, insurance covers any condition for life.  My vets deal direct with Petplan, so ive never had to pay upfront, they even complete the forms and Petplan pay them direct, they then let me know if I have excess to pay.
I have claimed for Diesel numerous times and everything has always gone smoothly.  I have never had to claim for Olli.

As I say I have been very happy with Petplan - other than the price.  Iam paying £50 per month, £25 per dog, reading topics and talking to other dog owners it seems I may be paying over the odds.

Am I paying too much?  I have had a quote from Sainsburys which is half the cost and covers for life up to £7,500 per condition.

I dont know weather to change insurance or stick with what I know.

Any suggestions for best insurance greatly welcomed 

Thanks
Liz

[cazza]

We pay £9 a month for the cocker and £19 per month for the lab

Have claimed once - but the person that was looking after the dog paid the vet and I waitied til the insurance came thro and then paid them

Sorry no much help really

Just remember to read the small print of all insurances and compare them before you make a decision

[Emma xx]

Alfie is insured with Greenbee for just over £14 a month. We had a few quotes from different companies including petplan and decided this one offered the best plan along with a not too bad price tag . Sorry, im not much help either but i do think petplan is a bit exensive, although if you are happy with it and the fact the vets deal with them direct then stick with them xxx

[vixen]

My two girls are insured with Sainsburys and it costs about £24 a month for the two. That is life time cover.
When I renewed this year, the premiums went down slightly but they slying put the excess up from £55 to £85  without informing me 
My vet insists that the client pays upfront which is really annoying. 
With my previous dog, I had Petplan and was paying much more than Sainsburys for less cover.

[smartietopdog]

I'm with Greenbee for Smartie (Chops isn't covered as he's too old for an affordable quote ) and it costs about £11 a month. I've claimed once, but my vet wants to be paid upfront, and you then claim it back from the insurers. My excess is £75 tho

I'm not sure I might be inclined to stick with Petplan as the vet deals with them, unless you have credit cards or savings to pay for it yourself first? (I'm constantly broke, so it is a struggle to find it for me!) But then, if you do have a back-up £25 does seem to be way over the odds 

[vixen]

I'm not sure I might be inclined to stick with Petplan as the vet deals with them,

I think it depends on your vet whether you have to pay upfront or nor (I may be wrong).  Different vets/practices have different policies in the way they deal with insurance companies.
When I was with Petplan, I know I had to pay several hundreds of pounds for my GSP's operations upfront and it was a real worry.  Even if you know you will get it back, it is still inconvenient.  
It might be worth the OP asking her vets if they deal with ALL insurance companies directly.

[mooching]

For me, I'd rather stick with PetPlan as everything is much more straightforward. They're the only ones that my vet will deal with direct (because of their reliability and willingness to pay out) and were the only ones my last dog's consultant would deal with direct too.

I have both my new pup and my old cat insured with PetPlan. PetPlan even paid out for a dental clean and extractions for my cat - a number of companies won't pay out for dentals, I understand. Her policy (she's 11) is still just £11 per month. My new pup's is £25 a month, which I am happy with too (dogs tend to get more things wrong with them than cats)

[Liz F]

For me, I'd rather stick with PetPlan as everything is much more straightforward. They're the only ones that my vet will deal with direct (because of their reliability and willingness to pay out) and were the only ones my last dog's consultant would deal with direct too.

I have both my new pup and my old cat insured with PetPlan. PetPlan even paid out for a dental clean and extractions for my cat - a number of companies won't pay out for dentals, I understand. Her policy (she's 11) is still just £11 per month. My new pup's is £25 a month, which I am happy with too (dogs tend to get more things wrong with them than cats)

Hi thanks
Petplan wont pay for a dental clean for Diesel ??

[jann]

I'm with Greenbee for Smartie (Chops isn't covered as he's too old for an affordable quote ) and it costs about £11 a month. I've claimed once, but my vet wants to be paid upfront, and you then claim it back from the insurers. My excess is £75 tho

I'm not sure I might be inclined to stick with Petplan as the vet deals with them, unless you have credit cards or savings to pay for it yourself first? (I'm constantly broke, so it is a struggle to find it for me!) But then, if you do have a back-up £25 does seem to be way over the odds 

I'm also with Greenbee and they deal directly with my vet !!  It is the individual Vets who decide whether they want to accept the claim work involved !

If you change Insurers, You must consider that if you have had claims with your current insurers you must declare it to the new company and they may decide to exclude the condition you claimed for 

Liz F  -  I don't think any Insurers that I know of will cover routine dentals 

[mooching]

Because my cat needed extractions as well, the dental clean was also covered, it appears!

[Danni and Freya]

If I could afford to I would have kept Freya on Petplan, as everyone sings thier praises and my vet will only deal with them directly. However, now I have the two pups there was no way, Freya was £28 a month on her own  After reading everyones experiences I have decided to go with AXA. She is now £9.04 a month for an almost identical policy, its £7000 a year for vets bills, rather than a limit on each condition

[jann]

Because my cat needed extractions as well, the dental clean was also covered, it appears!

yes, that's right, Barnaby's was covered when he had extractions as well  

[Nicola]

If you've had to claim a lot for one of your dogs you should bear in mind that if you do change the new company is likely to view anything the dog has had treatment for as a pre-existing condition and will therefore not cover any future treatment for that condition should it reoccur. For example when I changed the dogs from M&S to Healthy Pets they excluded anything to do with ear infections/canker on Tilly's policy as she'd had treatment for that in the past. It's still down as an exclusion on her policy even though she's now been with HP for 3 years.

The thing with most insurance policies is that no matter who they're with they tend to be underwritten by the same few companies; they give you a low initial quote to reel you in and then once you're with them for a while the prices often go up. When I first insured the dogs with Healthy Pets I paid £23 per month for all 3 dogs with a £50 excess so about £7-8 per dog. It didn't go up much at all in the first year but quite a bit in the 2nd year but as of this year I now pay £68 per month with a £75 excess so more than £20 per dog. I can't change companies as Rodaidh and Tilly both have pre-existing conditions but I'm happy with the service they've given me, I've claimed thousands of pounds back and every time they've paid up promptly and have never quibbled anything, I've certainly had my money's worth from them.

[Liz F]

If you've had to claim a lot for one of your dogs you should bear in mind that if you do change the new company is likely to view anything the dog has had treatment for as a pre-existing condition and will therefore not cover any future treatment for that condition should it reoccur. For example when I changed the dogs from M&S to Healthy Pets they excluded anything to do with ear infections/canker on Tilly's policy as she'd had treatment for that in the past. It's still down as an exclusion on her policy even though she's now been with HP for 3 years.

The thing with most insurance policies is that no matter who they're with they tend to be underwritten by the same few companies; they give you a low initial quote to reel you in and then once you're with them for a while the prices often go up. When I first insured the dogs with Healthy Pets I paid £23 per month for all 3 dogs with a £50 excess so about £7-8 per dog. It didn't go up much at all in the first year but quite a bit in the 2nd year but as of this year I now pay £68 per month with a £75 excess so more than £20 per dog. I can't change companies as Rodaidh and Tilly both have pre-existing conditions but I'm happy with the service they've given me, I've claimed thousands of pounds back and every time they've paid up promptly and have never quibbled anything, I've certainly had my mon :luv:ey's worth from them.

Thanks everyone for your advise, the claims for Diesel have been for a bee sting (which required emergency vet £220) and castration due to undescended testicle (wouldn't need to claim for this again)

Nicola, hope Tilly is feeling better, reading your topic shes lucky to have a mam as dedicated as you, respect to you and  to Tilly

[Liz F]

I'm with Greenbee for Smartie (Chops isn't covered as he's too old for an affordable quote ) and it costs about £11 a month. I've claimed once, but my vet wants to be paid upfront, and you then claim it back from the insurers. My excess is £75 tho

I'm not sure I might be inclined to stick with Petplan as the vet deals with them, unless you have credit cards or savings to pay for it yourself first? (I'm constantly broke, so it is a struggle to find it for me!) But then, if you do have a back-up £25 does seem to be way over the odds 

I'm also with Greenbee and they deal directly with my vet !!  It is the individual Vets who decide whether they want to accept the claim work involved !

If you change Insurers, You must consider that if you have had claims with your current insurers you must declare it to the new company and they may decide to exclude the condition you claimed for 

Liz F  -  I don't think any Insurers that I know of will cover routine dentals 


Hi Jann
Your signature is fab, is it a canvas you have photographed? or a photo you have edited? Could you let me know how its been done or if its a canvas who did it

Thanks
Liz