New dog insurance queries

Sooz00

I unexpectedly have a new dog, a lovely little abandoned poundie who was scarily close to being PTS last week. He was only supposed to be with me for emergency foster but even after 2 days, it became clear that he was unlikely to be going anywhere... as long as I can successfully integrate him with the cats, that is!

I've had him vet checked and aside from some problems in and around his ears, he's not too bad. I'm treating those and he's also now had his first vaccination and is due back for his second and microchip in 2 weeks.

I am currently looking at insurance for him and it's a while since I've had a new pet. I've tried the compare engines but they don't bring up some of the bigger insurers and after reading about Halifax, I'm a bit nervous about going with some of the retailers rather than specialist providers.

PetPlan are coming up at just under £20 a month, RSA (via Tesco) at about £16 a month. I think I've decided against the RSA product because it seems to be condition limited (i.e. if your pet gets an illness which goes up to the £7000 limit they don't cover you after that). Also, they only cover hydrotherapy before & after surgery and not if it is needed for a condition for which surgery is not the best option (I had problems for M&S with that and one of my other dogs so steering away from them for the same reason). I'm just looking at Axa now to see what their policy and premiums are like.

What I'm looking for is a lifetime policy with vet fee cover that is reinstated every year, one that does cover alternative therapies, one that is not going to lure me in with a daft low price and then double it after a year and a reliable insurer/underwriter.

Does anybody have any ideas of who would best suit what I am looking for?

krlyr

Petplan is usually considered the creme de la creme of pet insurance so if it's affordable then I would consider them. General consensus is that premiums only increase by a little, whereas supermarket-type insurers tend to offer good initial premiums and jump a fair amount each year. Petplan may go up a pound or two next year and cost you £22, but Tesco may up it by £6 - and the year after you have £24 for PP vs £28 for Tesco, £26 vs £34, etc. and your cheap policy is no longer so cheap. Not to say Petplan policies can't jump up but it seems to be less common.
My two are currently with Axa, we were with Sainsburys (underwritten by Axa) the year before but Axa offered the same policy directly for less. I'm seriously tempted to switch to Petplan when they're due for renewal.

Whether to go for a "per condition" or "per year" policy is something you will have to weigh up. Do you know the breed(s) of the dog? Could be worth researching what issues the breeds are prone to. For example, my breeds are prone to hip dysplasia. With pain relief, hydrotherapy and possible hip replacement, it could all add up to the £7000 limit in one year - which is fine, but if it's a "per year" policy then I'm stuffed if they developed a serious tummy bug and needed intensive care for a week, or ran into a bush and punctured an eye and needed it removed. Whereas if it was per condition, I may have wiped out the funds for anything relating to their hips in the future but I have £7000 cover for that tummy bug, £7000 for that eye removal, etc. Pros and cons to each method, but try to think whether the dog is likely to need more than £7000 spent on one particular condition. A breed prone to cancers may perhaps run over this bill if it was young and you were willing to put it through MRIs, chemotherapy, etc. but if it was an older dog or one with health issues already, you might not be so likely to.

Sooz00

Thanks Krlyr - breed wise, being a poundie and having no history whatsoever, we're not sure at all. I could take a guess at maybe some JRT, I thought maybe a tiny bit of staffie but vet thinks not and said he thought there was dachshund in him, whatever he is, he's adorable! I'm used to owning and fostering bigger dogs so this pint-sized boy is new for me!

My cats are with PetPlan and I've never had a problem with them. To be honest, after all of the claims I've made this year, I'm surprised they consider us insurable. And I'm still paying off vet fees as we're over the maximum limit again this year. Whilst PetPlan are definitely the company I'd prefer to go with in term of reliability/service, I'm a bit worried that £7000 isn't a huge amount nowadays and I can't afford the £35 a month that the £12000 costs. I'm already stuck with M&S (RSA) on the dog side because of a pre-existing condition but I've had such trouble with them in the past, that I wouldn't insure another pet with them.

I'm just wondering if there are any alternatives that cover the sorts of things I'm looking for.

Edit: Just completed the Axa quote and that's £12.52 BUT on reading the policy details, it says that the dog would have to be vaccinated yearly against some things which I'm pretty sure my vet said are 3 yearly! Surely that's unfair and a bit risky, isn't it?

krlyr

Could be worth speaking to Axa and seeing if they'll budge on the vaccination issue. Could depend on the vaccines used by the vet as I believe not all manufacturers have given in to the 3 year recommendation (makes them more money if they suggest yearly!). I know a few people have asked if titre testing is acceptable in lieu of vaccinations so Axa may be willing to accept a veterinary-recommended vaccine plan instead.

gettingready

Have a look at Argos Platinum.

My cats are insured for 7k per year and dog for 10k per year, renevable every year so it is life time cover and not per condition, excess £65 and no % to pay.

Not sure what a quote for your dog would be, Zara my GS is quite expensive, reneval came up at £44 per month ....But a tiney dog like yours may be cheaper.

Hillbilly1

I would avoid non-specialist insurers in the current market. Where Lloyds adn Halifax go, other non-pet insurance providers are likely to follow.

Have a look at Kennel Club too. Similar to Pet Plan and seem to cap old age additions to 10% (PP can get to 20%). The underwriter of KC is agria and they have just launched an Agria product list. Currently v new but if run like KC will be as good as PP!

I agree with the Op that £10k per year for a dog is the best level to have, PP do £12k and KC £10k. we have a small dog and spinal surgery on him was still £5.5k (insured to £6k! yippee!)

Mabinogion

Hi
I have arrived at this thread because I am at my wits end now having been dumped by Halifax Pet Xtra ~ I need a new policy 'now' and have looked through the 'reviews centre website' and cannot find one Insurer of any use, as soon as I decide on one I find loads of bad reviews about it ~ I know I can't get cover for 2 pre existing conditions (thanks to H/fax) but where do I go? My dog is now 9yrs old and all the Asda/Tesco/Argos lot seem very bad on paying out so am lost.
I read in the thread above regarding under writers etc but Agria were the under writers for Halifax so what does that mean?

Croatoan

Mabinogion wrote: »

Hi
I have arrived at this thread because I am at my wits end now having been dumped by Halifax Pet Xtra ~ I need a new policy 'now' and have looked through the 'reviews centre website' and cannot find one Insurer of any use, as soon as I decide on one I find loads of bad reviews about it ~ I know I can't get cover for 2 pre existing conditions (thanks to H/fax) but where do I go? My dog is now 9yrs old and all the Asda/Tesco/Argos lot seem very bad on paying out so am lost.
I read in the thread above regarding under writers etc but Agria were the under writers for Halifax so what does that mean?

There is no such thing as an insurance company that doesn't get bad reviews so don't waste your time looking. As has been mentioned, Petplan seems to be the insurer if choice if you can afford the premiums, but you'll be able to find bad reviews for them, too.
If you decide not to go with Petplan, and imo cost is probably the only reason not to choose them, then you might as well just take all the bad reviews with a pinch of salt, pick the cheapest and hope they pay out if you need it.

Kinski

Sooz00 wrote: »

.
Edit: Just completed the Axa quote and that's £12.52 BUT on reading the policy details, it says that the dog would have to be vaccinated yearly against some things which I'm pretty sure my vet said are 3 yearly! Surely that's unfair and a bit risky, isn't it?

My pair are with axa as was my bridge baby, I don't vaccinate my dogs any more and I've never had a problem getting axa to pay up. The only problem with them is that they take ages to pay, it always took them about 3 months to settle. I think the vaccination clause will be if the dog gets any illness that could be avoided if a dog was inoculated, then they won't pay out.

Hillbilly1

Kinski wrote: »

My pair are with axa as was my bridge baby, I don't vaccinate my dogs any more and I've never had a problem getting axa to pay up. The only problem with them is that they take ages to pay, it always took them about 3 months to settle. I think the vaccination clause will be if the dog gets any illness that could be avoided if a dog was inoculated, then they won't pay out.

Not giving preventative treatment does open you up to the insurance company not paying fr KC, parvo, lepo, lungworm. That is alot of disease! We have recently had a clent not paid f paro as it wasnt vaccinated. We think parvo ws only one of multiple problems but as it tested positive and then passed away the company are within their rights not to pay.

For older dogs Saisnburys are doing £7.5k per condition with no time limit. More Than do similar but not sure if they start at over 9.

hethmar

"No time limit" is not the same as lifetime cover though as it simply means you can claim UP to the limit set for a condition and then you are on your own.

I am nervous too about a lot of the insurers. I know RSA who underwrite M and S have said that they are not making a profit One of mine is with M and S and I cant move as he has an ongoing lifetime condition which is expensive. If M and S pull out of pet insurance not sure what we will do. Other boy is with AXA. I may look into moving him to Petplan next renewal but Im a bit wary that minor ailments which havent even warranted a claim on AXA will be used in the future to get out of paying for anything that can be connected to a previous problem.