pet insurers - who is good & bad

simple_but_sweet

i currently use https://www.healthy-pets.co.uk by far cheaper for my 2 dogs, althought (thankfully) i've never had to contact them. Currently my 2 dogs are insured on a lifetime plan for £18.23 (for both), but just got my renewal through today and it's increased to £21.45

Ainat

With our last dog we had Tesco insurance. When we needed them, they paid out, and pretty quickly too. The vets bills were coming in fast with all the things we tried to save our girl. We couldn't save her. Tesco's customer service was really good, and they finalised all payments really quickly with minimal input from us - there wasn't tons of forms or lengthy horrible conversations. From that respect they were really good. This was in 2012.

We've got another dog now - need to sort his insurance, so I'm looking in to all the options myself again. Really tempted to go back to Tesco again as their customer service was fantastic. The only reason I wouldn't is the limit we had per condition was £4,000. We very nearly hit that with our last dog. Had we hit it we would have had to pay all costs above that limit, (we would of if there was anything left to try). So yea, I'm looking around to see what other insurers are out there. Although I have also discovered Tesco do have a £7,000 limit policy too, so I am seriously considering going with them again.

danhbmw

We have our Westie insured with Direct Line on a "lifetime" policy with a £6k limit.
We have had an ongoing claim for a couple of years now and so obviously the price is increasing now.
One of the reasons I chose DIrect Line was the fact my vet can claim directly from them, I ring DL for some claim forms and they send six at a time that the vet keeps for me then after each visit/prescription they send the form off and get paid as I've now spent well beyond the excess amount!

1DayAAT

I use Animal Friends who have very competitive rates and also donate some proceeds to animal charities which I found appealing. I have never had to make a claim (2 year old miniature dachshund, insured with them since 14 weeks old) - but have had to make a couple of enquiries and always have received prompt and helpful/friendly replies

RuthnJasper

asharon wrote: »

Petplan is expensive, but they offer great service, no quibble payouts. Only ever been with them so no comparison

I'd echo this. My Staffie Jasper was with Petplan. They were more expensive but they did offer the following in terms of what some of the other cheaper providers did not -

1) They insure the dog for the whole of his/her life; even if they live to a ripe old age - some policies will only cover a dog until it's around 8 years old;

2) If the dog gets a long-term (or even life-term) illness, such as cancer or diabetes, they will insure the dog for the WHOLE remainder of his/her life, even if it it many years - some policies will only cover a long-term illness/injury for the first 12 months of it.

3) They were very quick and efficient, and helpful to deal with by 'phone, when I had to claim.

That said, you DO pay a higher premium for these benefits and when I began to find things difficult financially I'm afraid I had to give up the insurance policy as it was too much to pay every month. Jasper still loved me anyway though! That said, had I not been struggling financially, I would still have been happy to continue to pay Petplan's premiums even though I was well aware of how much more they cost than cheaper policies, for the reasons outlined above.

I think the key thing is to read the small print and be certain of what you are and (most importantly) are not getting for your money. And, with the benefit of hindsight (my financial troubles mostly beginning with Jasper's predecessor Tess becoming very unwell at a young age and not being insured ), I believe that it IS worth having some sort of pet insurance, even if it only provides a limited amount of cover.

Best wishes to you OP, for a very happy (and healthy!) future with your pup. x

LyndaP

I too have a 11 week old puppy and I am trying to look for insurance. More Than come up with £12000 maximum, lifetime cover for £12.50 per month. £75 excess. Seems very reasonable. Anyone got any experience of them?

platterfish

LyndaP wrote: »

I too have a 11 week old puppy and I am trying to look for insurance. More Than come up with £12000 maximum, lifetime cover for £12.50 per month. £75 excess. Seems very reasonable. Anyone got any experience of them?

Just looked at MoreThan, I think they must have changed there pet insurance offering recently as when I looked when I needed it, I didn't find it any good - however now I would consider it. As you say it is lifetime cover and 12k a year which is very good, and is very reasonably priced, It would tempt me if I had not already got it!

W1zz

Which policy is this with More Than? I'm in similar situation. My 1 month PetPlan cover expires on Monday so just looking around.

Puppy is 12 week old, but quote from More Than (Classic Cover) is £17.39 with £4K limit or £20.18 with £8K. Dog is a Cockerpoo.

My PetPlan quote was £22.62 with £4K limit.

Healthy-pets (Silver) quote coming at £13.74 (£4.25K) or £16.30 (£7.5K). Although that looks like a 12 month renewing policy as doesnt' mention lifetime cover.

hollie.weimeraner

We have used Petplan in the past and cannot fault their customer service and speed of payment BUT they are expensive and policies rose astronomically after the dogs reached 7 years.


We are now with Protect your Bubble and have had 1 recent claim for our 9 year old which was paid out quickly with no fuss (at this age you also pay a percentage of the claim yourself).


As for Morethan I cannot comment but have a look at some feedback - they get very good on price but appalling on customer service and claims handling.

platterfish

W1zz wrote: »

Which policy is this with More Than? I'm in similar situation. My 1 month PetPlan cover expires on Monday so just looking around.

Puppy is 12 week old, but quote from More Than (Classic Cover) is £17.39 with £4K limit or £20.18 with £8K. Dog is a Cockerpoo.

My PetPlan quote was £22.62 with £4K limit.

Healthy-pets (Silver) quote coming at £13.74 (£4.25K) or £16.30 (£7.5K). Although that looks like a 12 month renewing policy as doesnt' mention lifetime cover.

The premier cover, theres a free upgrade offer for new customers from classic to premier. The only thing is it doesn't tell you what the price difference is when its not on offer, so you don't know what the jump will be after its free time is up.

There is also 40 quid cash back when you go through Quidco, but that amount expires today.