Discussion
Afternoon PH,
Helping a friend sort out some pet insurance after her dad has been hit with a bill for close to £1,000 on his dog.
She has a Pedigree Yorkshire Terrier (male), neutered and up to date on jabs. A year old this month.
She also has a cross bread Miniature Poodle/Bearded Collie, eight years old, neutered, but not up to date on jabs.
Can anyone recommend any insurance companies? I've had a look on Confused and getting companies we've not heard of so unsure if they are any good.
She wants to go with Pet Plan, however, they are nearly £40 a month, so looking to see if she can get it a little cheaper.
Thanks
.
Helping a friend sort out some pet insurance after her dad has been hit with a bill for close to £1,000 on his dog.
She has a Pedigree Yorkshire Terrier (male), neutered and up to date on jabs. A year old this month.
She also has a cross bread Miniature Poodle/Bearded Collie, eight years old, neutered, but not up to date on jabs.
Can anyone recommend any insurance companies? I've had a look on Confused and getting companies we've not heard of so unsure if they are any good.
She wants to go with Pet Plan, however, they are nearly £40 a month, so looking to see if she can get it a little cheaper.
Thanks
.When I was looking I was told two things. Firstly, go for lifetime cover, if the dog gets ill it'll be covered (up to the yearly limit) for the rest of its insured life with that insurer as oppose to normal policies where after the first year the claim for a condition will be stopped.
Secondly, when looking for an insurer look for someone that isnt going to disappear in a year or two. I recall Halifax pulled out of the pet insurance market a few years back leaving all their customers that were making long term claims with lifetime cover high and dry.
Like all insurance, prices are very specific to individual situations but £40 a month for both of them sounds reasonable to me. A pedigree and a older dog are both higher risk I think, plus Petplan are one of the better companies out there, they will pay the majority of vets direct which makes life easier. Obviously you want the best value for money but cheapest isnt always the same thing.
Secondly, when looking for an insurer look for someone that isnt going to disappear in a year or two. I recall Halifax pulled out of the pet insurance market a few years back leaving all their customers that were making long term claims with lifetime cover high and dry.
Like all insurance, prices are very specific to individual situations but £40 a month for both of them sounds reasonable to me. A pedigree and a older dog are both higher risk I think, plus Petplan are one of the better companies out there, they will pay the majority of vets direct which makes life easier. Obviously you want the best value for money but cheapest isnt always the same thing.
Petplan or John Lewis were the two names that kept coming up top when we looked last year for lifetime cover.
Look for ones who will pay your vet direct. Ask your vet which companies they can/will bill direct (note this is different from a recommendation).
Be realistic about what maximum payout you need. It's unlikely that you will need the upper reaches of multiple tens of thousand a year unless you have a breed that is prone to chronic conditions.
Look for ones who will pay your vet direct. Ask your vet which companies they can/will bill direct (note this is different from a recommendation).
Be realistic about what maximum payout you need. It's unlikely that you will need the upper reaches of multiple tens of thousand a year unless you have a breed that is prone to chronic conditions.
CaptainMorgan said:
When I was looking I was told two things. Firstly, go for lifetime cover, if the dog gets ill it'll be covered (up to the yearly limit) for the rest of its insured life with that insurer as oppose to normal policies where after the first year the claim for a condition will be stopped.
Secondly, when looking for an insurer look for someone that isnt going to disappear in a year or two. I recall Halifax pulled out of the pet insurance market a few years back leaving all their customers that were making long term claims with lifetime cover high and dry.
Like all insurance, prices are very specific to individual situations but £40 a month for both of them sounds reasonable to me. A pedigree and a older dog are both higher risk I think, plus Petplan are one of the better companies out there, they will pay the majority of vets direct which makes life easier. Obviously you want the best value for money but cheapest isnt always the same thing.
She wants lifetime cover, that was one of the conditions. Secondly, when looking for an insurer look for someone that isnt going to disappear in a year or two. I recall Halifax pulled out of the pet insurance market a few years back leaving all their customers that were making long term claims with lifetime cover high and dry.
Like all insurance, prices are very specific to individual situations but £40 a month for both of them sounds reasonable to me. A pedigree and a older dog are both higher risk I think, plus Petplan are one of the better companies out there, they will pay the majority of vets direct which makes life easier. Obviously you want the best value for money but cheapest isnt always the same thing.
Completely understand cheapest isn't always best, found that with car insurance! PetPlan seems to be talked about a lot though.
agent006 said:
Petplan or John Lewis were the two names that kept coming up top when we looked last year for lifetime cover.
Look for ones who will pay your vet direct. Ask your vet which companies they can/will bill direct (note this is different from a recommendation).
Be realistic about what maximum payout you need. It's unlikely that you will need the upper reaches of multiple tens of thousand a year unless you have a breed that is prone to chronic conditions.
I'll look into John Lewis when I next see her, thanks Look for ones who will pay your vet direct. Ask your vet which companies they can/will bill direct (note this is different from a recommendation).
Be realistic about what maximum payout you need. It's unlikely that you will need the upper reaches of multiple tens of thousand a year unless you have a breed that is prone to chronic conditions.
.I think one Pet Plan cover had a limit of £4k, the other £7k, it was £2 difference or something.
Pet plan are most commonly used by vets as they are the market leaders. My sister is a VN and part of her role is to deal with her practice claim forms. Pet plan may be at the upper end of prices but they do what they say they will.
Be very wary of high street companies offering pet insurance. They can be difficult to claim against and won't cover certain conditions.
£40 sounds about right - my new puppy is costing me £67 per month through PP.
Be very wary of high street companies offering pet insurance. They can be difficult to claim against and won't cover certain conditions.
£40 sounds about right - my new puppy is costing me £67 per month through PP.
We are with More than.
We have just had about 3k worth of treatment on our dog, they didn't bat an eyelid and only seemed concerned with the dogs welfare.
They were also the cheapest, plus the Vets, the hospital and hydrotherapy people all commented that we were lucky to be with them.
We have just had about 3k worth of treatment on our dog, they didn't bat an eyelid and only seemed concerned with the dogs welfare.
They were also the cheapest, plus the Vets, the hospital and hydrotherapy people all commented that we were lucky to be with them.
Our German Shepherd is almost 3 now and has always been insured with Pet Plan. I believe they are regarded as one of the more expensive insurers but my other half and I can't recommend them highly enough.
Our dog has had thousands spent on her, having swallowed a bone at less than a year old and subsequently requiring an operation as well as having mild hip dysplasia which requires a lifetime of supplements. Despite this, our premiums have not increased (even slightly) each year.
At present, we pay around £40 per month.
Our dog has had thousands spent on her, having swallowed a bone at less than a year old and subsequently requiring an operation as well as having mild hip dysplasia which requires a lifetime of supplements. Despite this, our premiums have not increased (even slightly) each year.
At present, we pay around £40 per month.
I'd open an account somewhere and put £40 a month into it and if you need to pay a vet pay it from there. Sure it's a risk for the first few years but after a while you are likely to have a nice surplus in there. Vet bills that are covered by insurance rarely cost £40 a month which it why insurance companies make money.
Siscar said:
I'd open an account somewhere and put £40 a month into it and if you need to pay a vet pay it from there. Sure it's a risk for the first few years but after a while you are likely to have a nice surplus in there. Vet bills that are covered by insurance rarely cost £40 a month which it why insurance companies make money.
A very big risk indeed - an x-ray can be almost £200 with operations and aftercare running into the thousands so saving your £40 per month for even two years probably wouldn't even cover it.Martin_M said:
Siscar said:
I'd open an account somewhere and put £40 a month into it and if you need to pay a vet pay it from there. Sure it's a risk for the first few years but after a while you are likely to have a nice surplus in there. Vet bills that are covered by insurance rarely cost £40 a month which it why insurance companies make money.
A very big risk indeed - an x-ray can be almost £200 with operations and aftercare running into the thousands so saving your £40 per month for even two years probably wouldn't even cover it.Now it is a risk, and perhaps one for the more affluent only, but it's a valid option that not everyone thinks through for all their non essential insurance.
A PHer runs this site which compares the different types of pet insurance - worth a look.
Pet Insurance Comparison
Pet Insurance Comparison
We looked into insurance for our Jack Russell, decided to go the "save the premium and bank it" approach.
Without question every company we looked at wanted us to pay the first £75-00 to £100-00 or so, and after that there were limits to treatment. Some companies still wanted you to foot a percentage of the bill. Others limited the cost of treatment, then wouldn't cover the condition once their limits had been reached.
With so many possible exclusions and limits we felt it wasn't worth it.
Without question every company we looked at wanted us to pay the first £75-00 to £100-00 or so, and after that there were limits to treatment. Some companies still wanted you to foot a percentage of the bill. Others limited the cost of treatment, then wouldn't cover the condition once their limits had been reached.
With so many possible exclusions and limits we felt it wasn't worth it.
CaptainMorgan said:
Except as agent has said, you can tell your odds to a degree by what breed and health you have.
I suppose this is true to a extent. However, we spent over the odds for our shepherd from a well-respected breeder in Scotland and she still has mild hip dysplasia. My neighbour's insurance has paid out a small fortune after he dog was run over by a car - these things can and do happen but as has already been noted, it's a gamble isn't it.
So has the OP decided on an insurer?
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