Any recommendations of Giant dog insurance?

[LordHaveMurci]

Switched my 4 to Agria earlier this year, not cheap but they do seem to be very good, yet to make a claim but their £50 promo vet voucher was paid out in 2-3 days!

[rxe]

We self insure our two German Shepherds - IMO if you have the capability to peel out if the worst happens, it’s not a bad approach. The old dog was about £750 a year when we tried to insure her as a pup. Currently we are £7500 up, other than routine check ups, she’s never needed the vet. Clearly we are at risk of something going wrong in the last few years of her life, but I wouldn’t put a 10 year old shep through massively invasive treatment anyway. The 2 year old pup currently has £1400 in the kitty.

We do have the advantage that we researched them very carefully when we bought them - if they were strays or rescues then the calculation would probably be different.

[Thevet]

I was quoted £80 pcm for insuring my ex rottie which I thought was astonishing considering I would never have used it for run of the mill stuff, over 7 years he cost me £2k mind you recently the list price for removing a small 9mm skin lump from my daughter's malamute face was £625.

[cirks]

Have to read policies carefully because, as others have said, some cover up to certain limits, some up to certain ages, some a mixture of the two etc.
We've got 2 mountain dogs and were originally with Tesco - cheap start but then massively ramped up the premiums when the dogs were only about 4-5 years old with only two claims against one of them (some stitches after the dopey animal ran into a just about static car and the other for a stomach issue (no op)).
Changed to Direct Line and despite not being cheap, are way cheaper than most (approx £100 for both dogs) with up to £8K cover but unlimited for life for single issue.
We nearly self-insured and probably would have done if DL hadn't worked out 'reasonable'. One of the dogs booked in for a scan of a shoulder issue so will be costing a few grand....

[Sterillium]

I have two Mastiffs that equate to about 25 stones of drooling and cuddles...

I went with "Bought By Many" who I had never heard of but were offering a very good price for 2x full life cover, and I am SO glad I did, because in the last three years we have had over £12,000 of claims (one needed two eye ops and the other now has two titanium knees!) and Bought By Many have paid out on time, every time.

[anonymous-user]

I've had GD's all my life. You're better off making a savings account and putting money in there every month. Even if you do find a company that you can just about stomach the monthly premium, if you claim, the increase is horrendous.

[Algarve]

flashbang said:

I've had GD's all my life. You're better off making a savings account and putting money in there every month. Even if you do find a company that you can just about stomach the monthly premium, if you claim, the increase is horrendous.

It doesn't work very well when you put £80 a month in a biscuit tin and your dog needs new knees and you've got £240 in there though

[Sterillium]

Algarve said:

flashbang said:

I've had GD's all my life. You're better off making a savings account and putting money in there every month. Even if you do find a company that you can just about stomach the monthly premium, if you claim, the increase is horrendous.

It doesn't work very well when you put £80 a month in a biscuit tin and your dog needs new knees and you've got £240 in there though

Exactly this. There’s absolutely no way the insurers will ever get their money back from my two policies. And the monthly premium rose only £29, at its natural renewal point, after they’d just paid a five-figure bill for me.

[agent006]

Zoon said:

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

To be fair, they are terrible drivers.

[anonymous-user]

Sterillium said:

Algarve said:

flashbang said:

I've had GD's all my life. You're better off making a savings account and putting money in there every month. Even if you do find a company that you can just about stomach the monthly premium, if you claim, the increase is horrendous.

It doesn't work very well when you put £80 a month in a biscuit tin and your dog needs new knees and you've got £240 in there though

Exactly this. There’s absolutely no way the insurers will ever get their money back from my two policies. And the monthly premium rose only £29, at its natural renewal point, after they’d just paid a five-figure bill for me.

That's because as soon as a vet knows an animal is insured, the bill goes skyyyyyyy high. Ching ching.

[renmure]

I've always had Great Danes and GSDs.

My last Dane died of natural causes at 11 and, other than his annual injections, never saw a vet. In his last year, his insurance premiums were around £120pcm.

Another of my Danes a few years ago had a heart condition and was receiving over £100 of drugs per month for over 2 years following lots of other investigations and scans. His monthly premium was in the region of £60pcm.

An earlier Dane only saw the vet once. However it was for an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction which cost around £2k. He wasn't insured which in retrospect wasn't too clever.

Neither of my current GSDs are insured tho and none of the previous ones have been either and so far that's all worked out ok.

Suppose in the end the Insurance companies always come out ahead.

[Algarve]

The only insurance I have is the very basic legal requirement stuff for the country I'm in. dog equivalent of third party only . Its < 100 euros a year each for my dogo argentino and my pit bull.

I've got enough dogs though that I'd never win with medical insurance for them.

If I only had one dog my preference would be biscuit tin for the monthly premiums along with an unused, 5k+ limit credit card or access to easy money I was willing/able to dip into as required. If I couldn't afford to eat a 3k or more loss then I'd just bite my tongue and pay the ripoff price for insurance.

[Sterillium]

flashbang said:

Sterillium said:

Algarve said:

flashbang said:

I've had GD's all my life. You're better off making a savings account and putting money in there every month. Even if you do find a company that you can just about stomach the monthly premium, if you claim, the increase is horrendous.

It doesn't work very well when you put £80 a month in a biscuit tin and your dog needs new knees and you've got £240 in there though

Exactly this. There’s absolutely no way the insurers will ever get their money back from my two policies. And the monthly premium rose only £29, at its natural renewal point, after they’d just paid a five-figure bill for me.

That's because as soon as a vet knows an animal is insured, the bill goes skyyyyyyy high. Ching ching.

The vets we used didn't know we were insured until after the ops were complete; their prices are the same regardless.

[Algarve]

Sterillium said:

The vets we used didn't know we were insured until after the ops were complete; their prices are the same regardless.

Any vet we've ever worked with would certainly know if it was an insurance job before they started any real work. They all want to know you'll be able to pay the bill rather than them having to chase you for payment.

I don't think many operations would happen without the vet already knowing who was paying.

[Boosted LS1]

Eons ago I insured my border collie via a company called DBI. Could have been DBA. It was a policy that cut out the nonsense and was very well priced. You didn't need to be a breeder to get cover. Are they worth looking at? I'm not sure if the link is the same company.

https://www.dog-breeds.co.uk/hints-and-tips/breede...

The breeders insurance back then was cheaper then the usual stuff being promoted at the vets etc.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Monday 28th September 22:33

[Sterillium]

Algarve said:

I don't think many operations would happen without the vet already knowing who was paying.

Ours did.

[spanner10]

Boosted LS1 said:

Eons ago I insured my border collie via a company called DBI. Could have been DBA. It was a policy that cut out the nonsense and was very well priced. You didn't need to be a breeder to get cover. Are they worth looking at? I'm not sure if the link is the same company.

https://www.dog-breeds.co.uk/hints-and-tips/breede...

The breeders insurance back then was cheaper then the usual stuff being promoted at the vets etc.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Monday 28th September 22:33

It was DBI and I think they ceased underwriting about 1995. The link supplied is E & L who as mentioned earlier should be avoided- see online reviews. We once got a clients claim paid by E & L after months of jumping through many hoops. It was the only claim cheque we ever got from them and wrote no more business. Not worth it.

Petplan are probably the best but very expensive and the premiums rocket as the dog ages, just when you need it. I would self insure at about £100 per month if you can afford it and b) hope for the best c) haggle with vets every time. It is the rise of insurance that has fuelled the rise in vets costs and the breadth of treatments available. In turn this has attracted venture capitalists / large chains to buy up vets so that they can cash in on insurers.

An important thing to note is that most Household Contents insurance policies include TP liabillty cover ( but do check) so that aspect is free.

One of the big chains of vets in the UK own not only the vets but the laboratories, the referral specialists ( inc MRI scans ) online vet med supplies and finally, when they can't squeeze any more cash out of you, the pet crematorium.

Locally there was a marvelous vet who dispensed veterinary medicine for over 45 years til he retired with the absolute minimum of fuss, time,cost and conversation and while not everyone got on with him all the time, he is greatly missed.

Edited by spanner10 on Monday 28th September 23:11

[agent006]

I've noticed that round here too. There are increasingly few genuinely independent local vet practices. The two we use have both been swallowed up by large chains. I've no problem with lining the pockets of the Vets themselves who train for years and do a very demanding job that I know I certainly haven't got the emotional resilience for; but chucking money at investment groups is another question altogether.