Pet Insurance (Puppy)
Discussion
PetPlan.
Everyone hopes never to claim but if you do, you get lifetime cover and they're easy for vets to deal with. Our GSD developed a cyst on her eye at age 2. Caused by a grass seed or something similar that got caught and irritated it, the vet thought - nothing medical about it.
Premiums paid up to that point - about £10 a month, so maybe £500
Despite the fact we were most definitely quids in in terms of value for money, there's no way we could have put our hands on £3000 at that short notice, and to have to find it in a hurry - given the pressure that our pet might end up blind - would have been a massive stress.
All we had to do was fill in 2 claim forms and pay a small excess. Absolute no-brainer IMO.
Everyone hopes never to claim but if you do, you get lifetime cover and they're easy for vets to deal with. Our GSD developed a cyst on her eye at age 2. Caused by a grass seed or something similar that got caught and irritated it, the vet thought - nothing medical about it.
- 2 visits to our vet on 2 consecutive days.
- Visit to an eye specialist for consultation
- Surgery on her eye that afternoon to save her sight
- A week's worth of antibiotics, creams and drops
- Follow up consultation back at the specialist
- Follow up visit to our own vet
Premiums paid up to that point - about £10 a month, so maybe £500
Despite the fact we were most definitely quids in in terms of value for money, there's no way we could have put our hands on £3000 at that short notice, and to have to find it in a hurry - given the pressure that our pet might end up blind - would have been a massive stress.
All we had to do was fill in 2 claim forms and pay a small excess. Absolute no-brainer IMO.
I'm assuming the breeder has already provided your pup with some complimentary insurance cover, most good ones do (eithre kennel club of Pet plan) if not get your pup bookked in asap for a vet health ck (we do these free of charge) and your vet should be able to sort out 4 weeks free pet plan cover no obligation. This will give you a bit of time to have a good look around. However Pet plan is generally the easiest one to go for, though not the cheapest.
parapaul said:
PetPlan.
Everyone hopes never to claim but if you do, you get lifetime cover and they're easy for vets to deal with. Our GSD developed a cyst on her eye at age 2. Caused by a grass seed or something similar that got caught and irritated it, the vet thought - nothing medical about it.
Premiums paid up to that point - about £10 a month, so maybe £500
Despite the fact we were most definitely quids in in terms of value for money, there's no way we could have put our hands on £3000 at that short notice, and to have to find it in a hurry - given the pressure that our pet might end up blind - would have been a massive stress.
All we had to do was fill in 2 claim forms and pay a small excess. Absolute no-brainer IMO.
Petplan for me to. Had an x ray etc cost 400 pounds, petplan paid straight away no probs at all. They aren't cheap but offer life cover which in my opinion is best.Everyone hopes never to claim but if you do, you get lifetime cover and they're easy for vets to deal with. Our GSD developed a cyst on her eye at age 2. Caused by a grass seed or something similar that got caught and irritated it, the vet thought - nothing medical about it.
- 2 visits to our vet on 2 consecutive days.
- Visit to an eye specialist for consultation
- Surgery on her eye that afternoon to save her sight
- A week's worth of antibiotics, creams and drops
- Follow up consultation back at the specialist
- Follow up visit to our own vet
Premiums paid up to that point - about £10 a month, so maybe £500
Despite the fact we were most definitely quids in in terms of value for money, there's no way we could have put our hands on £3000 at that short notice, and to have to find it in a hurry - given the pressure that our pet might end up blind - would have been a massive stress.
All we had to do was fill in 2 claim forms and pay a small excess. Absolute no-brainer IMO.
Speaking with my dog behaviour hat on, Pet Plan are the best in terms of paying for behaviour work. They pay as much as it costs. Most others only go up to £250.00 or nothing at all.
So whilst they are probably the most expensive, they seem to consistently top out as the best to work with.
Nick
So whilst they are probably the most expensive, they seem to consistently top out as the best to work with.
Nick
Spend some time understanding the cover. IMO you want lifetime cover which means that the insurer will pay out for the same condition more than once.
We also learnt that £4,000 doesn't go very far, even for a young dog!
We're with Petplan and they were great. We couldn't change now as she has too many preexisting conditions.
We also learnt that £4,000 doesn't go very far, even for a young dog!
We're with Petplan and they were great. We couldn't change now as she has too many preexisting conditions.
Another vote for Pet Plan! They do two types of cover - get the 'for life' version as it will cover long-term conditions.
Most pet insurance will only cover a condition during a single policy year so conditions spanning the renewal anniversary or life-long problems can lead to you not being covered.
We've just discovered that one of ours has dodgy knees - Luxating Patella - that will need an op on both and she also has hip dysplasia which will likely result in arthritic issue in later life (she's 2 now). As we have the full life-time insurance she's covered. Without that the bills could be excruciating.
Most pet insurance will only cover a condition during a single policy year so conditions spanning the renewal anniversary or life-long problems can lead to you not being covered.
We've just discovered that one of ours has dodgy knees - Luxating Patella - that will need an op on both and she also has hip dysplasia which will likely result in arthritic issue in later life (she's 2 now). As we have the full life-time insurance she's covered. Without that the bills could be excruciating.
Pet Plan it is then.
4 levels of cover: -
Essential 12 month cover
Classic £4000 covered for life
Classic £7000 covered for life
Ultimate £12000 covered for life
Am I right in thinking as he gets older the premium goes up ?
Top level cover is almost £50 per month now........
Thanks for responses.
4 levels of cover: -
Essential 12 month cover
Classic £4000 covered for life
Classic £7000 covered for life
Ultimate £12000 covered for life
Am I right in thinking as he gets older the premium goes up ?
Top level cover is almost £50 per month now........
Thanks for responses.
We took £4k of cover with our Springer puppy, she had her first episode of illness in year one and we claimed back more than we paid in year on. In year two she had two or three recurrences of what turned out to be an auto immune condition and we romped through the £4k cover in around 3 months with emergency vet admissions, veterinary hospital stays (cheaper than our vets actually) and multiple joint and spinal taps. We were lucky that the veterinary hospital agreed to treat her after we ran out of cover at a capped amount as we couldn't commit to an open ended bill.
I wish I could go back and chose the higher amount but at the time I was concerned about the premium and thought that with a young dog we'd be fine...
We are stuck on £4k a year as Petplan won't increase the cover given the health issues that she's had.
It's a difficult call, in theory with a young dog you ought to be fine (although a friend of mine ended up with a big bill when her puppy ran over a cliff...)
I wish I could go back and chose the higher amount but at the time I was concerned about the premium and thought that with a young dog we'd be fine...
We are stuck on £4k a year as Petplan won't increase the cover given the health issues that she's had.
It's a difficult call, in theory with a young dog you ought to be fine (although a friend of mine ended up with a big bill when her puppy ran over a cliff...)
Grey Ghost said:
You are correct. My Goldie is over 14 now and costs me north of £80 per month. Worth every penny 
Is that with Pet Plan if you don't mind me asking ?50% over 10/15 years I could live with that.
I guess an extra £10 a month for almost double the cover isn't too bad.
Insurance is a nightmare - pay the most you can afford for the best cover you can find and then hope you never have to claim !
Coneyhurst Blue said:
Is that with Pet Plan if you don't mind me asking ?
50% over 10/15 years I could live with that.
I guess an extra £10 a month for almost double the cover isn't too bad.
Insurance is a nightmare - pay the most you can afford for the best cover you can find and then hope you never have to claim !
Another approach you may want to consider (if not already) is to have a set aside fund. We both work here, so figure we can cope with unexpected bills as they come in. Over a 20 year period we are still definitely quids in by a long way.50% over 10/15 years I could live with that.
I guess an extra £10 a month for almost double the cover isn't too bad.
Insurance is a nightmare - pay the most you can afford for the best cover you can find and then hope you never have to claim !
Nick
Coneyhurst Blue said:
Grey Ghost said:
You are correct. My Goldie is over 14 now and costs me north of £80 per month. Worth every penny
Is that with Pet Plan if you don't mind me asking ?50% over 10/15 years I could live with that.
I guess an extra £10 a month for almost double the cover isn't too bad.
Insurance is a nightmare - pay the most you can afford for the best cover you can find and then hope you never have to claim !
We used to have 3 Goldies and made a claim in excess of £7K a few years back for eye removal and ongoing maintenance of the other one on Charlie our eldest. Pet Plan never quibbled a penny even when we chose a vet who was not regular one to perform the operation.
The other thing to mention is that the excess on the policy increases each year the dog ages. In the case of Goldies this appears to happen when they turn 8. Currently the excess is £250 for Fred as he is 14 now.
We plan to take a break from dogs when Fred passes on but will only ever take out a policy with Pet Plan when we get another one
Oh yeah........puppy pics are obligatory on PH or we send the boys round
We know a number of vets both socially and a couple professionally. They all refuse to name a particular company but they all said that insurance during the puppy years and the old age years is a good idea. During mid-life then risks are lower and a set-aside fund is likely to be a better bet. HTH
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