Pet insurance- which one best value for money

DebtphobicDeirdre

We got our gorgeous black 3yr-old Standard Poodle in September and still haven't got any pet insurance. As getting organised is one of my resolutions for 2007 I thought I might ask which is the best value pet insurance.
I have heard a few nightmare stories about cheaper ones never paying up. The vet recommends PetPlan and he is aMember of their scheme, it seems very dear though for a fit and healthy young dog.

Dee123_2

Have a look at Martin's article on the front of the site.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1130761827,56015,

and perhaps also have a read through the Insurance Board?

pjs_3

my husband has just re-done ours for our 2 year old bulldog. Searched all over and found Axa to be the cheapest. Went with Marks and Spencer last year but they put the quote up too much this year. Def not Kennel club they were the most expensive! The only thing which changed on our policy was that if he dies we would not get the full amount we paid for him.

Mics_chick

Sorry can't remember who I had insurance with for my dog but wanted to point out that a very important question to ask is what happens at the next renewal if your pet develops any sort of long term illness.

I was thinking of changing my dog insurance because it was about £5/6 cheaper per month - not a lot but it was in percentage terms when I was paying about £17 and was quoted about £11/12.

I was definitely going to change insurers when I went to my current insurers to cancel the policy they said ask new insurers above question. I did and was told that depending on the condition they would either not insure my dog at all or that illness would be excluded from the policy. For example if your dog developed diabetes they would pay out for treatment until your next renewal date but then they would either refuse to renew insurance at all or say that they would continue to insure your dog but that illness would be totally excluded, that is they no longer pay for the dog's treatment!!! So be careful and make sure that your insurer will continue to pay for treatment even after the current term that you're covered for...

mizmir

Definitely avoid any policy that limits the pay out per condition - it really doesn't take long to run up a tidy sum if your dog is on regular medication. I made that mistake and am now paying the price - our 13 year old needs two daily medications and is no longer covered by insurance - and of course no chance of insurance elsewhere for these conditions once they are diagnosed.

I am in the same position - I cancelled our previous insurance on all our dogs because of their policy on limiting per condition - am now looking for insurance for the younger 3 (1, 4 and 10) - so far M&S are cheapest by a long way they allow £7000 a year, will insure any age animal (not a worry for you) - and it seems you can order via Quidco too. I think they are more expensive for pedigree dogs - 2 of mine are, 1 isn't - and she was the cheapest. Will check out Axa though.

black-saturn

I found Tesco to be quite good.

Hay_2

Both of ours are with tesco...by far the cheapest for us:T

nuttywoman

I`m with M & S at £10 a month with no excess to pay but if it goes up will shop around.

mizmir

Hay wrote:

Both of ours are with tesco...by far the cheapest for us:T

Definitely worth checking them all with your own details as for me Tesco was £20 a month dearer than the nearest rival! M&S and Axa are about the same and seem to offer the same cover. Am going to ring Axa and see if they'll do a discount for multiple dogs!

Kimberley

M&S as far as i know are the only ones who have a nil excess policy.

alyth

I'm also with Tescos for my doglet, when it came up for renewal in November I checked around and they were still the cheapest, and as i have a rottweiller they also covered for "incidents" with other animals - mind you, given that she covers behind me when she meets another dog, I'm figuring I won't need that part of the insurance! Worth checking thought what genetic faults poodles have, and ensuring that the policy covers that - rotties tend to have hip and joint problems, aruwen's on anti-inflammatory tablets at £40 a pop for the rest of her life, but I never claimed on the insurance for that, but if poodles are genetically programmed for some sort of disorder, such as dalmations that have a genetic disposure to deafness, then might be worth checking that out with regards to poodles.