Dog Insurance - new pup

[Skyedriver]

Hi again
New pup 13 weeks, Poodle / Springer cross.
Wife is looking at all the different pet insurance options, there's so many different options, excesses etc.

Had a dog insurance years ago and the pay out when she was ill was so complicated, despite ever increasing premiums, new excess every year etc that we've been reluctant to insure after the first couple of years. This may well be the case again, just putting money away in case.

Any recommendations for insurance cover that does what it says without complications. Hopefully the dog is not going to need any vet attention beyond the usual injections etc but she wants to be safe for the first couple of years until you know there's nothing there we don't yet know of.

Thanks

Rare moment when she's not terrorising the other dog or running around like a whirling Dervish.

[Coxey]

We use the kennel club for both our golden retrievers

[moorx]

Pet Plan here for two of our dogs - covered for life policies.

[oddman]

moorx said:

Pet Plan here for two of our dogs - covered for life policies.

Same here. Not cheap especially as dogs get older but when I've had to use it they've paid out within the week no quibble.

There is a strong argument for opening an account for the dog seeding it with £1000 and dropping in the premium every month.

[Nezquick]

A word of advice - take out the insurance before you take it to the vet for the first time.

We made that error, and at our first appt the vet mentioned that she could hear a very faint heart murmur. About 12 months later, when our dog developed full blown heart failure, which we eventually had to put him to sleep for, the insurer (Pet Plan) used that heart murmur entry as a "get out of jail free" card and wouldn't cover any of our vet bills (about £10-12k in all).

[ozzuk]

Vet bills are getting crazy, so either build a separate savings pot or go with someone like Pet Plan. Make sure you get lifetime cover and check what annual allowances are.

We spend hundreds a month on one of our dogs (elbow displasia) as we didn't have lifetime cover. He gets librella injections for pain, acupuncture, massage, hydro...he's better looked after than me .

An xray now is £500..it really builds up.

[Skyedriver]

Lot of recommendations here for Pet Plan, I'll advise wife accordingly thanks.
Unfortunately she's had her first visit to the vets already but got a clean bill of health thank heavens.
Thanks everyone who responded.

[QBee]

PetPlan are making big claims about paying quickly and being reliable and paying claims.
The current TV ads with Noel Fitzpatrick etc.
So they have a lot of expensively acquired reputation to lose if they don't perform.

But the advice to insure before you go anywhere near a vet is very important.

It has applied to BUPA cover for humans for years - they automatically exclude any pre-existing conditions, pre-existing at the time you take out the policy.
It's perfectly logical from their and the veterinary insurers' perspective.
Otherwise, when told by the vet your dog needs £10,000 worth of treatement, you would take out a policy with the insurer for a downpayment of £75 and expect them to pay for something you knew about before you took out the policy.
The only time you don't know about any medical condition your new dog may have is the day you buy it.
Not the day it starts falling over, even before you get it to the vet.

Two years ago we acquired a 2 year old dog from its first owner.
Cross breeed, fit and healthy, not breeds known to have problems, and confirmed fit and healthy by the previous owners.
So we have gone the cash pot way, no insurance, but £££ paid into a deposit account every month by standing order the day I get paid, to pay for non-routine vet stuff. There's around £2,000 in there now, growing month by month as the risk of needing a vet increases.

But vet fees are getting silly now, so even I am questioning whether we are saving enough. I should probably double it.
Also, it only needs him to get something expensive and long term and I think we might wish we had insured instead.
But would this threat of vet fees put me off having another dog? NEVER!

There's no right answer.

[wax lyrical]

I would recommend 'Many Pets'. Vets and animal hospitals are used to dealing with them directly, so you don't have to pay the costs up front and then reclaim. Our Puppy had to have a double hernia operation at 6 mths old. Cost £3k. Covered no hassle. We have cover of £15k per year.

[Bujinkhal]

Another vote for pet plan, found our rescue pup had hip dysplacia about 6 months after we got him, £4k+ operation, my entire involvement with getting that paid for completely was to sign one form at the vet.

It did get expensive though, by the time he was 10 it was £100 a month.