How much do you pay for large breed dog insurance?

twinklie

We shall be acquiring a large breed dog in the future and have been researching pet insurance prices. Ideally we want to get one where the insurance is for any condition for the life of the dog....much like Pet Plan do.

Pet Plan were quoting £44.50 per month. Which amazed me. Anyone pay more or less than this for the same type of insurance. My parents have never had pet insurance for the dogs I've had growing up (neither have inlaws). However, as this is our first dog together me and the OH want to get it as we don't have a big safety net if the dog needs an op or has an accident. And I couldn't bare the thought of getting it PTS just because of money!

I'm happy to pay whatever it takes....but at the same time....don't wanna be chucking my money away!

foreign_correspondent

For the record, large dogs are more expensive than small dogs, and pedigrees more expensive than cross breeds! I wonder if some breeds are more expensive than others, too - especially some that tend to suffer from a variety of health conditions....?

I am with Halifax, I only insure up to £1000, as I could raid the ISA if it came to more than that, and it costs me £7 a month for my small/medium crossbreed.

When I looked at the next level up (which I think was £4000 cover) I think, IIRC it would have been about £15 a month.

Halfax ia a 'for life' policy

Misty_Blue

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I wonder if some breeds are more expensive than others, too

Yes, they are. Depending on the number of health issues common in the breed, as you say, but also on perceptions of the breed's temperament. The monthly premium for my friend's Rottie is three times that of my Gordon Setter, with the same company for the same cover! Some companies will no longer cover breeds like the Shar Pei.

Does Moneysupermarket or a similar site do a pet insurance comparison, perhaps?

starrydarkangel

I have two Akitas and pay £24.50 per month with Pet Plan.

I hope this helps

callywally

You could try healthy pets i have found them to be quite good

MaximumImpact

Try the National Farmers Union. We pay just under £300 per year for 2 x Giant Breeds and 2 x Heinz 57 cats. I haven't found it anymore expensive to insure a giant breed against a medium breed.

twinklie

callywally wrote: »

You could try healthy pets i have found them to be quite good

Thanks I've not heard of those. I'll have a look.

tori.k

Heathy pets are good but donk think its really a true life of the pet Plan.
On there max policy you get 5k worth of treatment a yr, its not done on condition so its on going (each yr another 5k) decided it was enough for us as missy our JRT is still very young and it was only £66 for the yr,
but she still has a money box that i put in each week, that way there is always money kept by for her booster jab, pet insurance, food and to get her spayed in a few months,
So if the kids starve least i know the dog's ok...lol

olias

I have just got a policy with the AA (small breed, but I'm sure it's the same for large) They have something called 'co insurance' which is basically that instead of an excess, you pay 10% of the vet bill, or £35, whichever is the greater. It really brings the cost of the policy down - I am paying £13 pm, whereas tesco wanted £35 pm:eek: when I was due for renewal.

As far as I can see, for any vets bill less than £600 you are better off (most policies have £60 excess). As there is a far greater liklihood of a small claim, then I think it's worth it. OK, you will have to pay more for a larger claim, but even if you are talking several thousand for something serious, you would only be paying a £200 'excess'.

Olias

ali-t

i have a staffy and a rottie both insured with M&S. the 6 year old staffy has had quite a few claims and is £15 per month and the 6 month old rottie is £25pcm with absolutely no claims.

It depends on the breed and I found that most policies include things you will never need but do not allow you to trim the policy to remove the extras therefore reducing your premiums.

Somnium

I have a large breed dog who is nearly seven (£46ish per month) and each year I have a good nosey about to see what other policies are about. So far I havent found anyone who beat Pet Plan for cover, yes they are more costly than others but they cover pretty much everything if you go for there top of the range cover, and like you we do not have a safety net so would hate for H to go without, so yes we are paying for peace of mind. There are some companies who come pretty darn close to them though like M&S and Kennel Club so may be worth checking them out. I think it comes down to breed, H is an Airdale Terrier yet if he were a Border Collie he would be under £30 for exact same cover!