Pet Insurance guide discussion area

patsythomas

We should have pet insurance as I have pet name tufy she was not well and doctor treated her and all expenses was given by my insurance company.

Thanks

clairesilverspar

We're looking at insurance plans for our two cats. They are brothers from the same litter, moggies, and turn two this month. They are both house cats, too wary of the outside to go wandering much, though if it's sunny one will sunbathe in the yard as long as nothing spooks him. We do keep their vaccinations up to date and take them for yearly check-ups, but neither has any health issues.

I've been looking at quotes from various places and I have to admit I'm quite confused. I think we want a 'lifetime' insurance. One we can keep going and be covered for anything which might crop up.
I've had a quote from Tesco Insurance for £15 per month (includes both kitties) for their "premier" level. From what I understand from the policy summary, this includes £7,500 per illness per year with an excess of £60. It covers dental treatment as long as they get regular check ups.

Has anyone any experience with Tesco Insurance? Does this look like a good deal? Are they likely to pay out ok? Also I'm not sure how insurance works, do they pay the vets directly, or do I have to pay then claim back? Is this down to the individual vet? I intend to give them a call to check they accept Tesco. I've never been responsible for pets before so not had to deal with insurance.

sheramber

I have Tesco for one of my dogs but have not claimed for anything.

A friend ,who is a veterinary nurse, has Tesco insurance for her dog who has allergies and is very happy with them.

They have paid for allergy testing with no problem.

It is up to your vet whether he will claim direct or not, so if that is important do check with him first.

Sam_Donovan

Hi

I have been looking at puppy insurance however I feel like I have looked at every recommended company and each of them has something putting me off either high exccess, low vet fee limits , no dental etc ( asda , more than, direct line, churchill, pet plan, john lewis, sainsburys, the co op are the main ones I can remember! ).

I was settled on Tesco, however have just read they have new policy of only allowing their recommended specialists or you have to pay £200 so this makes me wary of them as we live quite rural and not sure how many would be close to us.

Petplan was almost 3 times as expensive as any other quote I've looked at, and Sainsburys was almost double . I know you get what you pay for so if I need to pay more I can do this but don't want to feel like I'm paying more than I need too either.

I was considering taking out a basic accident & legal cover and then saving monthly however I know this is risky and I would feel better with full insurance in place.

The pup is pedigree medium breed and relatively healthy breed with no major issues.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

SueMaggie

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has a guide to what to look for when buying pet insurance - here - which may be useful.

sheramber

Sam_Donovan wrote: »

Hi

I have been looking at puppy insurance however I feel like I have looked at every recommended company and each of them has something putting me off either high exccess, low vet fee limits , no dental etc ( asda , more than, direct line, churchill, pet plan, john lewis, sainsburys, the co op are the main ones I can remember! ).

I was settled on Tesco, however have just read they have new policy of only allowing their recommended specialists or you have to pay £200 so this makes me wary of them as we live quite rural and not sure how many would be close to us.

Petplan was almost 3 times as expensive as any other quote I've looked at, and Sainsburys was almost double . I know you get what you pay for so if I need to pay more I can do this but don't want to feel like I'm paying more than I need too either.

I was considering taking out a basic accident & legal cover and then saving monthly however I know this is risky and I would feel better with full insurance in place.

The pup is pedigree medium breed and relatively healthy breed with no major issues.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

You can see a list of the current Tesco referral vets here. They do say they will be adding to the list.

https://www.rsagroup.com/media/1394/preferredreferralnetwork.pdf

They do say that is there is not one in your area to phone them first or you will have to pay the excess.

My other dog's policy is with another company and they have the same requirement so you may find this will be added to all policies eventually.

Will the increased premium for another company come to more than a possible £200 cost?

One advantage of Petplan is although they are more expensive they do not increase premiums if you make a claim. They do have an annual increase for increased costs, inflation Etc. Some other companies do load your premiums based on your claims in addition to other normal increases.

Sam_Donovan

Thank you both SueMaggie &sheramber that is really helpful.

The closest vet on that recommended list is 30 mins away in the main city so that should be fine.

I will also ask my vets who they are happy to work with.

I think petplan was £70 a month which for an 8 week old healthy dog seems incredibly high but I will keep reviewing

Between insurance and choosing dog food I think a new baby would be easier

gettingready

clairesilverspar wrote: »

I've had a quote from Tesco Insurance for £15 per month (includes both kitties) for their "premier" level. From what I understand from the policy summary, this includes £7,500 per illness per year with an excess of £60. It covers dental treatment as long as they get regular check ups.

Has anyone any experience with Tesco Insurance? Does this look like a good deal? Are they likely to pay out ok? Also I'm not sure how insurance works, do they pay the vets directly, or do I have to pay then claim back? Is this down to the individual vet? I intend to give them a call to check they accept Tesco. I've never been responsible for pets before so not had to deal with insurance.

I have a feeling it is 7500 per year total (for all/any conditions within that year) and not 7500 per condition per year. Or it could be 7500 per condition full stop - this s not a good deal.

You want a life time cover with a "pot of money" that renews every ear and that you can use for any condition.

It is up to the vets if the accept direct claims from an particulate insurer.

MeesterLeRoy

I'm currently on the search for an insurance company myself so I can cover my 5 yr old cat and 6 month year old pug. Before I got my pug I did a lot of research on the breed and saw that they're prone to a lot of skin problems and breathing difficulties since they're brachycephalic breeds. I've read about how it was pretty common about pugs losing an eye too. I made sure I found a reputable breeder though who bred healthy pugs (I didn't care much for show quality, just wanted a pug that was in fine tune so I could limit these possibilities) However I do want to take more precautions just in case, especially with my cat whose been in and out of the animal hospital for being a mischievous little slime ball. Vet bills can be extremely high especially when it's an emergency, not that I don't have money saved up to pay for it, it just would be extremely difficult to manage if it did happen.

Several names that have been popping up are Pet Plan, Trupanion, and Healthy Paws. These companies don't tag you for genetic conditions and don't have an age limit either so it's nice for people who want to insure older pets ..

But I've found that Embrace though and Healthy Paws both have discounts for signing up multiple pets at once. It seems Healthy Paws offers five additional discounts for AAA, AARP, Military, Microchipping and being an animal welfare. I'm looking for review and coupon sites that offer these promo codes but so far no luck (anyone know where I can find?) I'm leaning more towards Healthy Paws because of that and also because they donate a substantial portion of their earnings to animal rescue efforts. They have unlimited lifetime benefits also and less genetic health limitations than PetPlan. From what I've heard they have a slightly faster claim payment as well which saves me the burden of paying one credit card cycle.

I found these pretty links useful, they explain the basics about insurance so it kind of helps me figure out more or less what company I'll want to go with but it's still something I want to talk to my vet about this weekend when I take my pets in for their checkup. Any thoughts?

petmd.com/centers/insurance
petinsuranceu.com/pet-insurance-reviews/
consumerreports.org/pet-products/is-pet-insurance-worth-cost/

PhiltheBear

All policies underwritten by RSA (not just Tesco) are now having this "we will choose your vet" written in. You really need to consider if that's a good idea. Firstly, if you have a relationship with an existing vet that you trust why would you want to move? Secondly, why would they do that? Is it because they a) get a rake off from the vet or b) that they force the vet to keep fees down and, in the process, perhaps don't give the best treatment but merely the minimum they can get away with?

Letting your insurance company choose your vet is a BAD idea. It's not just me that thinks that, the RCVS thinks that too.

I prefer to pay more for a much better insurance than anything the RSA offers so that I know that my pets will get the very best of treatment from someone I trust.