Any recommendations of Giant dog insurance?

[foliedouce]

Just got a Great Dane puppy (don't ask), and the vet said we need to find an insurance company that covers giant breeds (no st) but also made the point of getting 'whole of life insurance' which to be honest I hadn't thought of.

Does anyone have any recommendations they can share?

Thanks

[moorx]

Pet Plan all the way for me.

http://www.petplan.co.uk/puppy-insurance.asp

I don't have a giant breed, but they have paid out without query and very promptly for Sam whippet's recent medical condition. We have the 'Covered for Life' plan with cover up to £7000 per year.

[WildCards]

We have two large breed dogs with Pet Protect. Our dogs are only 10 months old, we've never had to claim so I can't comment on their service, but we did get whole life policies for both and they worked out cheaper than Pet Plan who we were advised to go with by the vet.

[cirks]

We're looking currently but with two large dogs the costs vary for whole-life policies from around £45 per dog per month to Petplan at £85 per month. The latter, for those getting their calculators out, works out at over £2000 a year insurance and that's not even Petplan's top option which would work out nearer £2500

[WildCards]

We pay £16pm for each of our dogs.

[foliedouce]

Thanks guys - all roads lead back to Petplan by the sound of it.

I've just got a quote for a shade under £100 per month for mid range cover for life or £120 for the top policy.

That's around £10k over the life of the dog, so I may just take the punt that I won't spend that much on vets fees. I've been lucky with my uninsured 10 year old Border Collie who has only cost me £600 when he swallowed a champagne cork and bunged himself up. I appreciate a Great Dane is a different proposition though.

[bexVN]

foliedouce said:

Thanks guys - all roads lead back to Petplan by the sound of it.

I've just got a quote for a shade under £100 per month for mid range cover for life or £120 for the top policy.

That's around £10k over the life of the dog, so I may just take the punt that I won't spend that much on vets fees. I've been lucky with my uninsured 10 year old Border Collie who has only cost me £600 when he swallowed a champagne cork and bunged himself up. I appreciate a Great Dane is a different proposition though.

Please just be aware Great Danes are not the hardiest of breeds (bloat/gdv/joint/spine issues) and just routine treatments will regularly break £100 due to his size. Helpful hint my cat cost 4.5k several years ago post rta. If a cat can reach that amount post trauma in 4 months of treatment, imagine what a great dane could do!!

[foliedouce]

bexVN said:

Please just be aware Great Danes are not the hardiest of breeds (bloat/gdv/joint/spine issues) and just routine treatments will regularly break £100 due to his size. Helpful hint my cat cost 4.5k several years ago post rta. If a cat can reach that amount post trauma in 4 months of treatment, imagine what a great dane could do!!

Agreed, and that is the worry, but £120 / month seems a bit steep. Tough call.

[bexVN]

foliedouce said:

bexVN said:

Please just be aware Great Danes are not the hardiest of breeds (bloat/gdv/joint/spine issues) and just routine treatments will regularly break £100 due to his size. Helpful hint my cat cost 4.5k several years ago post rta. If a cat can reach that amount post trauma in 4 months of treatment, imagine what a great dane could do!!

Agreed, and that is the worry, but £120 / month seems a bit steep. Tough call.

Yes it is, what about the one mentioned above quoting £16/month, though I see they said large breed (not quite the same as giant breed)

Have a look at Agria pet insurance, have someone I know work for them (ex vet nurse) and she has been impressed by their cover. I don't really know the company but worth a look at

[foliedouce]

bexVN said:

Yes it is, what about the one mentioned above quoting £16/month, though I see they said large breed (not quite the same as giant breed)

Have a look at Agria pet insurance, have someone I know work for them (ex vet nurse) and she has been impressed by their cover. I don't really know the company but worth a look at

Thanks, Agria are a slightly more reasonable £82 per month with the first 2 months at 50% off

[bexVN]

foliedouce said:

bexVN said:

Yes it is, what about the one mentioned above quoting £16/month, though I see they said large breed (not quite the same as giant breed)

Have a look at Agria pet insurance, have someone I know work for them (ex vet nurse) and she has been impressed by their cover. I don't really know the company but worth a look at

Thanks, Agria are a slightly more reasonable £82 per month with the first 2 months at 50% off

£40 difference is quite a lot, I believe their cover is decent aswell. I pay £28/month for my whippet. When you consider life span differences between the breeds it probably isn't that much different in the end! depends on future increases I guess.

My advice is if you can afford the costs that may occur with a treatable condition (eg a cruciate) then maybe you can afford to not have insurance but you should at least make sure you have 3rd party cover. But if these costs are a concern then insurance brings peace of mind.

[andym1603]

On our 5th Great Dane, Currently insured with More Than for £63pm. Used Petplan previously but got fed up with their price increases even though no claims were made. Would recommend that you do not even consider E&L as they have proved to be hopeless.
As said Danes can be high maintenance but not all are. Some good info can be had from experienced owners on greatdaneowners.co.uk or the Facebook group Great Danes UK (GDUK.

[LordHaveMurci]

We recently insured our rescued American Bulldog, being the breed he is we were limited on choice & ended up with Co-Op. Pet Friends were a close 2nd, Pet Plan were ridiculously expensive.

The main downside to Co-Op is the £5k per annum (not per condition) limit, they do cover dental though which many don't.

[Zoon]

Jesus Christ I didn't realise dogs cost more than cars to insure.

[LordHaveMurci]

Zoon said:

Jesus Christ I didn't realise dogs cost more than cars to insure.

Yup - we have 3 cars & 3 dogs in our household, dogs definitely mmore expensive & one of them isn't insured!

[bexVN]

Zoon said:

Jesus Christ I didn't realise dogs cost more than cars to insure.

A recent study showed pet insurance has the highest number of claimants over other insurances. I guess that is why premiums have gone up!

[Mexican cuties]

Definitely get something for life, ie agria, thought with our 2 chihuahuas that the worse that could happen was a broken leg, bring in heart murmur, glaucoma for tia and a near fatal dog attack on nali, and our policy covered for a year of the condition only, much wiser now, would also talk to some one rather than do it online as they are there to offer best possible advice for something that you never want to have to use, but thank God it's there when you need it, obviously with us we paid what we needed to and claimed back what we could, good luck

[Takemeaway]

foliedouce said:

Thanks guys - all roads lead back to Petplan by the sound of it.

I've just got a quote for a shade under £100 per month for mid range cover for life or £120 for the top policy.

That's around £10k over the life of the dog, so I may just take the punt that I won't spend that much on vets fees. I've been lucky with my uninsured 10 year old Border Collie who has only cost me £600 when he swallowed a champagne cork and bunged himself up. I appreciate a Great Dane is a different proposition though.

Old post resurrection but does covered for life mean that the price is the same for the same cover for the life of the dog, OR, will the price vary each year - from reading the above it sounds like it is the same price each year - is that right?

[andym1603]

Takemeaway said:

Old post resurrection but does covered for life mean that the price is the same for the same cover for the life of the dog, OR, will the price vary each year - from reading the above it sounds like it is the same price each year - is that right?

Think your premiums will increase per annum but if your dog develops an illness the insurance company will cover all related costs for the life of the dog. I am lead to believe some companies will restrict how long they payout for, and of course if you change companies some will not accept existing conditions. It's a minefield. As a side note we had our last Great Dane insured with Animal friends and never had a problem with them.

[moorx]

Takemeaway said:

Old post resurrection but does covered for life mean that the price is the same for the same cover for the life of the dog, OR, will the price vary each year - from reading the above it sounds like it is the same price each year - is that right?

Your premiums will increase over the lifetime of the dog. Generally, there are a few age 'thresholds' after which the price increases - 8 is one I think (which our whippets have just passed). I think some policies also introduce additional conditions for older dogs, like the owner having to pay a percentage of the total treatment cost as well as the excess.

We still have Pet Plan for our whippets, they have paid for ongoing chronic conditions as well as acute issues. Always very responsive and helpful. No complaints, although they're not the cheapest.