Newbie needing advice on pet insurance

misschantelle

Hi all

I am a newbie to this forum and I just wanted to ask about pet insurance as it looks so complicated online. I do not know which one to go for, yearly one or life time one?

My dog is 18 months old and I have had him since he was 6 weeks old. The insurance I did have was with Pet Plan but theirs has gone right up and I can't afford it. I could barely afford it before.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

SensibleSarah

Unfortunately, pet insurance companies pretty much have us over a barrel. You'll definitely want to go for a lifetime policy so that if you need to claim, you can continue to claim for the same treatment if needed the following year.
There is nothing to stop your new company from hiking up the prices next renewal though, and you lose the protection of a lifetime policy if you move then & your dog has an existing condition that will not be covered any more.

Personally I go for a cheapish lifetime policy & also put money aside each month as I have multiple pets (5) who to this point have all been very healthy & I've never had to make a claim in the last 13 years. One day that will change though & by putting away money each month it means that I can spend it on any of them, rather than their individual policies which all have various limits & excesses. If I had just one pet I'd opt for the best I could afford though, which is probably pet plan.

sheramber

A lifetime policy where the vet fees cover reinstates each year is by far the best.

Next is cover for a set amount per condition until the amount is used up. After that you cannot claim any more for that condition.

A 12 month policy only covers you for a condition for 12 months from first occurrence. So if your develops an ongoing condition you cannot claim anything after 12 months. For something like arthritis or diabetes you could be left with no cover for many years.

Petplan is the Rolls Royce of policies. Although they are more expensive they do not increase your premiums if you make a claim. Other companies do hike up the premiums of you claim.

Premiums are based on your dog's breed and age and your post code ( which determines the average vet fees charged in your area)

Also check out the excess you have to pay. Some are fixed, some are a percentage of the bill and some have a fixed excess until a certain age when a percentage pf the bill is added to the fixed excess.

Be wary of very cheap cover. There is probably a reason for that.

Stay away from E& L or any policies underwritten by them. They have a reputation for finding reasons not to pay out.

If you Google for a company name and 'reviews' you will find what others have written about them. However, remember people tend to complain but not give praise so it may not be a true picture. Some complaints arise because people assume things instead of reading the policy carefully.

Ask your vet what companies they are happy to deal with if it is important that you can elect for payment direct to the vet rather than you pay the vet and claim the money back.

I have one dog ( 11 years old) insured with Tesco but have not claimed anything for him. A friend has claimed for allergy tests for her dog and is happy with the service she got.

My other one ( 7 years old) is with NCI ( transferred from AXA). aGAIN i have not claimed anything from them, although I did claim over £3000 from AXA, NCI have just reduced my premium by nearly £5 per month.

I pay around £25 per month for each dog.

Oddjob

My dog is insured with Co-op, they have the same underwriters as Petplan. I had a claim last year and they didn't put the premium up when it came up for renewal later on. They paid up fast and the vets were happy to bill them directly.

MrsShazbat

We're looking for insurance right now for our husky adopted from Dogs' Trust. She came with 4 weeks' free cover with Petplan - we received the paperwork this weekend, just as it's about to expire! I followed the MSE way of checking all the comparison sites plus others - it's actually worse than looking for car insurance!!