Discussion
We're picking up a Springer pup at Easter and trying to get everything in place.
Insurance seems to be an even bigger minefield than car insurance. Accident, Emergency, Lifetime, Fixed Amount.....
Is there any general consensus on the best option.
At the moment we're tending towards lifetime, just in case, but there's a huge variety in prices from companies and a number of companies that seem fairly new to the market since we last had a dog a few years back. I'm assuming we'll be relatively safe with a lifetime policy from someone like Legal & General?
Insurance seems to be an even bigger minefield than car insurance. Accident, Emergency, Lifetime, Fixed Amount.....
Is there any general consensus on the best option.
At the moment we're tending towards lifetime, just in case, but there's a huge variety in prices from companies and a number of companies that seem fairly new to the market since we last had a dog a few years back. I'm assuming we'll be relatively safe with a lifetime policy from someone like Legal & General?
Im not an expert on pet insurance but I am an experienced Paraplanner and have a lot of experience at picking insurance for humans. When I was looking for insurance for my new cat I looked into it a lot before going with PetPlan as they seemed to know what they were doing and their claims history that I could find seemed reasonable. They were not the cheapest but then again they werent the most expensive.
The thing that put me off a lot of the others was that it almost appeared too cheap. For example Morethan were nearly half the price for the same level of cover. This looked too cheap to me so put me off.
The other thing I did was ask some other people what they recommended. The two most popular were petplan and Tescos.
Forgot to mention another important thing - check what Defaqto say about them. If they have 5 star ratings from them it is normally an indicator of a good service. It can be useful as an extra tool.
https://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/pet-insurance
The thing that put me off a lot of the others was that it almost appeared too cheap. For example Morethan were nearly half the price for the same level of cover. This looked too cheap to me so put me off.
The other thing I did was ask some other people what they recommended. The two most popular were petplan and Tescos.
Forgot to mention another important thing - check what Defaqto say about them. If they have 5 star ratings from them it is normally an indicator of a good service. It can be useful as an extra tool.
https://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/pet-insurance
Edited by richtea78 on Tuesday 8th April 17:39
jock mcsporran said:
Cheers, I'll check them out. I've seen PetPlan mentioned a lot but the prices are crazy.
Petplan have been doing it a very long time, I think they may even have been the first to do pet insurance. For all forms of protection insurance the worst thing you can do is chose it based on price. If you need the cover and a cheap one won't pay out then it's suddenly very expensive. I don't want to sound patronising but if went with you get what you pay forThat and the fact several people recommended them to me
That's fair enough but I'm not basing it just on price or I wouldn't be looking at lifetime cover. If only price I would get basic accident insurance at £4/month. However, PetPlan are twice as expensive. Are they twice as good?
That would make it more expensive to insure a puppy than our two cars and a motorbike combined.
That would make it more expensive to insure a puppy than our two cars and a motorbike combined.
Before I gave up bothering I hit two problems with pet insurance - the first was the list of things it didn't cover. An example was dental, I had a puppy who had a tooth that didn't grow as it should and needed removing, not covered. I had a couple of more things, also not covered. So do be careful to read what they will cover and what they won't.
The other issue is how long they will cover the dog for and at what sort of cost. It used to be that they would insure up to 10 (during which time our dogs had little wrong with them) but not during the last years when we needed them. Then there was a guarantee that they would do it if you'd stayed with them all the dog's life but the cost was silly.
Which is why we don't bother now, it's been cheaper for us not to but we can afford it if something expensive does happen.
The other issue is how long they will cover the dog for and at what sort of cost. It used to be that they would insure up to 10 (during which time our dogs had little wrong with them) but not during the last years when we needed them. Then there was a guarantee that they would do it if you'd stayed with them all the dog's life but the cost was silly.
Which is why we don't bother now, it's been cheaper for us not to but we can afford it if something expensive does happen.
My insurance is expensive £45 a month for a 4yr old Border COllie. However I know they are reliable and also covered chiropractor and massage therapy when my dog racked up large claims and with my previous dog they covered and paid for 3 separate conditions which my vet said most insurances would find a way of linking and therefore putting a maximum on. They paid out over 10k with my old boy including dermatology appointments. The only thing they refused was specialist dog food, but it very clearly stated that in the conditions.
They always paid in good time and I wouldn't change from them although I know can get cheaper elsewhere.
Unless of course they start to go downhill or change their policies.
They always paid in good time and I wouldn't change from them although I know can get cheaper elsewhere.
Unless of course they start to go downhill or change their policies.
Spiffing said:
My insurance is expensive £45 a month for a 4yr old Border COllie. However I know they are reliable and also covered chiropractor and massage therapy when my dog racked up large claims and with my previous dog they covered and paid for 3 separate conditions which my vet said most insurances would find a way of linking and therefore putting a maximum on. They paid out over 10k with my old boy including dermatology appointments. The only thing they refused was specialist dog food, but it very clearly stated that in the conditions.
They always paid in good time and I wouldn't change from them although I know can get cheaper elsewhere.
Unless of course they start to go downhill or change their policies.
It's not much of a recommendation if you don't put the company name! They always paid in good time and I wouldn't change from them although I know can get cheaper elsewhere.
Unless of course they start to go downhill or change their policies.
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