Pet Insurance guide discussion area
Comments
-
In my experience Pet Insurance is a total waste of money. I have had my cat for 10 years, as a responsible owner I have paid for pet insurance for the whole time and have never claimed until last year. Generally younger pets do not require vet treatment that would cost more money than your excess so it is only really worth taking out when your pet starts to age. The premiums go up and up every year regardless of how old your pet is when you join. In my experience insurance companies will find any possible loophole to stop paying out. My cat had an eye infection, they paid out but then over a year later he had a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT issue that just happened to be with the same eye and they wouldn't pay. It's cost me hundreds which I could have paid for using the 10 years of wasted premiums. Please please take my advice, put a tenner a month into a savings account instead. If you need it you've got it, if you don't then you can treat yourself and your furry friend! P.s. I foolishly went with Tesco if you must buy pet insurance for gods sake don't go with them!
Thanks for that, I was really leaning towards self insuring but wondered if I was being foolish. I used to have 4 cats (now with the ex) and to this day (after 10 years) they've incurred very little or no vet fees at all. I now have a kitten and will be doing what you advise, £10 per month in a savings account. I am skint, but not in debt, so if I did need emergency treatment costing hundreds/thousands of pounds in the near future then I'd rather borrow the money from my bank to be honest!0 -
I would urge anyone with a Tesco Clubcard to get a quote from Tesco as they have 25% discount at the moment. For each of our cats, it's about £45 a year for standard cover with £50 excess. They don't need to be jabbed, but they won't be covered for the diseases that the vaccinations cover.
The cover is underwritten by Royal Insurance and includes a free vet helpline.
For those that think that insurance is a waste of money (I was one of them), wait until your pet cuts their paw open on some glass or rusty barbed wire (as it was in our case) and see how much it will cost you in vet bills (about £300 for us)!
BTW, When using GoCompare and Comparethemarket.com, Tesco didn't appear on their quotes, so I think you'll need to visit Tesco.com for their quote.0 -
There's an even better deal out there than the Dogs Trust third party insurance - Pet ID Club. I think their name is being changed to Priority and the website's being revamped at the moment. I would have given the link, but as a new user I'm apparently not allowed to.
My daughter and I spent months hunting high and low on the net for a company which just did public indemnity insurance without all the medical frills and we eventually found this one.
For just £19.95 per pet per year, you still get £1,000,000 of public indemnity insurance for dogs, (they insure horses as well I think but not sure about other animals), as well as various other bits and pieces like a free upgrade to Petlog Premium for new members.
I dealt with a really lovely helpful lady called Charlie Fry. She can be contacted on 01273-837676.
The only possible drawback to this is that your pet needs to have been ID chipped - but then, if you're a responsible enough owner to be seeking third party insurance . . . its a pretty safe bet that you've had your pet chipped!
If you can be discipined enough not to touch it for anything else, there's an awful lot to be said for self insuring for medical bills. Admittedly we've always had rescue pets who on the whole tend to be more sturdy than pure breeds, but even with a rescue greyhound, (who is more than a bit of a medical liability with fragile limbs, a dodgy digestive system and extremely thin skin), the current £10 pw per dog we put aside has so far covered all eventualities.
And we get the interest on our money too - not that it's much these days even in a top rate paying ISA!
Having just managed to finish reading all the other posts . . . beware! Yes - some home insurance policies do cover pets for third party indemnity - but if you look more closely into it . . . only when the pet(s) in question are on your own property - not out in public. Which is when you're really more likely to need it!0 -
Like others, I have never had pet insurance. And I have had two or three dogs at a time.
Mostly, I found that my vet bills were cheaper than any excess on insurance.
I have had some high bills over the years - but, I still think I have been better off this way.
As someone said earlier - a lot depends what part of the country one lives in.
I have just got another greyhound. So they may be prone to arthritis in old age.
But they have very healthy heart and lungs.
I tried for years to find a third party insurance for my dogs.
I finally took out a life membership with the Dogs Trust.
A greyhound is for life - not just for racing.0 -
Hi Deltadawn, It seems we're both new at this, so I hope this is the right way to post a reply.Like others, I have never had pet insurance. And I have had two or three dogs at a time.
Mostly, I found that my vet bills were cheaper than any excess on insurance.
I have had some high bills over the years - but, I still think I have been better off this way.
As someone said earlier - a lot depends what part of the country one lives in.
I have just got another greyhound. So they may be prone to arthritis in old age.
But they have very healthy heart and lungs.
I tried for years to find a third party insurance for my dogs.
I finally took out a life membership with the Dogs Trust.
Regarding possible arthritis in Greyhounds as they age. With our vet's agreement, we give ours a 500gm tablet of Glucosamine and Chondroitin every day and it really seems to help with the aches and stiffness. Its given her a new lease of life.
Cheapest way to buy is mail order. Look in your newspaper for ads for a company in Guernsey0 -
When you do your comparisons, make sure you check out Argos Platinum (but ignore their other policies) as they give long-term cover. fairly low price (OK not exactly the cheapest but very cheap for what's on offer) and good online feedback. Also check if they're still doing cashback via the usual sites.There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker0
-
Your should include NFU as you can't get a quote from them on comparison sites you have to call them up but they were the cheapest lifetime policy for me as if you don't care about how much you get back should your pet die then you are allowed to reduce the amount 'paid' for. I.e. I bought Panda for £1000 and insuring him for that much cost alot but they said I could reduced this so I reduced it to £250 and it reduced my premium LOADS! This is because they insure race horses too so they go by price of the pet too. and they offer excellent lifetime cover and different ranged of cover too.
Plus you get a no claims bonus every year and a benefit for staying with them (money off your policy each year which increases year on year)
I have never had to claim yet but have heard they are very good and I am very happy with them.0 -
bojovictoria wrote: »Hi Deltadawn, It seems we're both new at this, so I hope this is the right way to post a reply.
Regarding possible arthritis in Greyhounds as they age. With our vet's agreement, we give ours a 500gm tablet of Glucosamine and Chondroitin every day and it really seems to help with the aches and stiffness. Its given her a new lease of life.
Cheapest way to buy is mail order. Look in your newspaper for ads for a company in Guernsey
Hello bojovictoria.
My whippet who died 12 weeks ago, was on Glucosamine & Chondroitin for several years.
I go on the internet to Healthy Direct.A greyhound is for life - not just for racing.0 -
sitting on the other side of the fence it is realy frustrating when someone has taken the time to get insurance but have ended up with cover or a company that doesn't do the job.
I think in general you DO get what you pay for. There are companies out there that have reputations for offering great cover at tiny prices and this is because they very rarely pay out.
As a profession we are not really permitted to advise over who to use due to the perceived conflict of interest for vets recommending insurance. That said, we can give general advice and either before you look or once you have selected your insurer pop in an ask you vet if company x is any good and if they do direct claims with them - either the look on their face may give you the answer or they may diplomatically explain that the would not make direct claims in which case that'll probably tell you if you need to think again.
generally, if nothing else, you need:
1) life cover - this will cover for ongoing conditions for life
2) good limits - 1-2000 is very quickly reached these days0
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 607.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173K Life & Family
- 247.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards