Dog insurance

[neilydun]

One of my dogs recently ate something which he should not have.
It made him extreamly ill, and we had quite a few scary moments, but eventually the vet found the problem, and removed it.
Ash is now making a great recovery, but I have a fairly sizeable bill from the vet (altough worth every penny!).
Does anyone have any recomendations for pet insurance ? or any to avoid ?
I have been looking at LV which looks pretty good, giving 5k of cover for around the £16 a month mark

 

[Cush]

I defaulted to NFU but read the small print in all policies. Get them covered as young as possible as preexisting conditions rarely covered. Some procedures can run in to many thousands with the things they can do for them now. Hope I’m not upsetting anyone but can’t understand why get a dog but not insure them. Our old girl is too old to be insured by NFU now, even for services when she passes.

 

[PaulyP]

One of my dogs recently ate something which he should not have.
It made him extreamly ill, and we had quite a few scary moments, but eventually the vet found the problem, and removed it.
Ash is now making a great recovery, but I have a fairly sizeable bill from the vet (altough worth every penny!).
Does anyone have any recomendations for pet insurance ? or any to avoid ?
I have been looking at LV which looks pretty good, giving 5k of cover for around the £16 a month mark

I’ve never had pet insurance in over 50 years of having dogs, I have two frenchies and going by the average cost of monthly fees at todays rates I have saved approx £50,000 in that time.
Main thing to remember is when you make a claim the insurance will look at your vets notes and any mention of the illness you claiming for they will say it’s a pre existing condition and will not pay out.
I must add that the vast majority of visits to the vets come in at under £200, which is probably what you will have as the excess.

 

[neilydun]

I’ve never had pet insurance in over 50 years of having dogs, I have two frenchies and going by the average cost of monthly fees at todays rates I have saved approx £50,000 in that time.
Main thing to remember is when you make a claim the insurance will look at your vets notes and any mention of the illness you claiming for they will say it’s a pre existing condition and will not pay out.

I pretty much agree. Ive had dogs for around 30 years, and never had a problem that could not be easily delt with.
This dog, however, is a bit different and I can see him getting himself into bother.
He has no pre exisiting conditions, other than he likes to eat any and everything !
I have had two quotes, and told both companies about the issue he has had recently.

 

[Cush]

All the above makes a lot of sense. If you have saved for the big expense over time or can afford it then not much point getting insurance and may have a nice big pot at the end. Unfortunately I could never see myself having the “rainy day fund for the pooch.

I guess it all depends on the disposable income available. If you can afford treatment, don’t bother. If you are on the breadline, get insurance. Can dogs be insured against damage they cause to others

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[neilydun]

All the above makes a lot of sense. If you have saved for the big expense over time or can afford it then not much point getting insurance and may have a nice big pot at the end. Unfortunately I could never see myself having the “rainy day fund for the pooch.

I guess it all depends on the disposable income available. If you can afford treatment, don’t bother. If you are on the breadline, get insurance. Can dogs be insured against damage they cause to others

Luckily, I do have the funds to cover pretty much all eventualities. But, I think its likely this dog will do similar again.
Yes, the cover I have looked at covers for damage the animal may cause to others and a lot of other things too.
Even down to missed holidays, if the dog requires treatment.

 

[Zigisla]

A vote for LV. I have 10K for £24. We’ve had our monies worth from just our last dog. His cancer treatment was v expensive but the insurance paid for it all minus just one excess. My current Lab is very young and very active and you need just one injury while retrieving and it will run into thousands.

 

[PaulyP]

Luckily, I do have the funds to cover pretty much all eventualities. But, I think its likely this dog will do similar again.
Yes, the cover I have looked at covers for damage the animal may cause to others and a lot of other things too.
Even down to missed holidays, if the dog requires treatment.

As you have said he might do similar again ! Will insurance use that as “pre existing” and not pay out !
Needs to be checked !

 

[Grianan]

Nala (5) is insured with Purely Pets - she’s actually at Vets today as been off food for 48 hours. Actually started eating again last night but taking her to get checked out just in case anything underlying. That consultation will not be covered of course as under excess.

Yogi (12) now effectively uninsurable. When he was 10 he had major ‘jumping a gate’ accident resulting in him destroying his cruciate ligament and all the muscles in a hind leg. It was first day of a new policy but because I had ensured continuity of cover they paid out in full for 2 ops and lots of meds. That was Petwise Insurance.

Both policies are part of The Insurance Factory in Kent. They both were 5 stars on Defaqto.

 

[dazandandrea]

We had pet plan for both our cockers.
Used it a few times and always paid up.
Not had it for last 4 years as they got older, price went skywards.
We just put the money that the insurance was costing into a separate account to use as and when.
Ps the vet we used seamed to have a different pricing policy for pets with or without insurance if you catch my drift.

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[Janine]

40 years ago, I had a spaniel who liked to eat socks. Usually they would come out the other end but on a couple of occasions, he had to have surgery.

After a couple of operations, the company cancelled the insurance policy.

Never bothered since.

 

[PaulyP]

We had pet plan for both our cockers.
Used it a few times and always paid up.
Not had it for last 4 years as they got older, price went skywards.
We just put the money that the insurance was costing into a separate account to use as and when.
Ps the vet we used seamed to have a different pricing policy for pets with or without insurance if you catch my drift.

First thing a vet usually asks is do you have insurance, if you say yes then they will charge more as it’s the insurance paying out not you !

 

[Odd-no-more]

Like many, I never had insurance, and over the years I will have saved a lot of money. However, when our dog had walking problems and was diagnosed with cruciate ligament failure in both back legs which cost £5,500, I thought it's time to get insurance. I know I have saved more than that over the years, but finding that amount unexpectedly was a shock, and that was before I retired. I did a lot of research and found John Lewis seems to be the best. They cover ongoing conditions, the insured amount renews every year, so far I've not had any claim refused. One of our dogs, now sadly no longer with us, had about £12,000 of cancer treatment. Even though she was only insured for £7,000 they paid all of it because it went over the renewal date, I just had to pay the excess. The downside is I'm now paying over £200 a month, but as we are now retired and finding a large amount suddenly would not be easy I'm keeping it going.

 

[Bognor Saint]

I wonder how many people have not insured their pets and then had to face an enormous bill that they had no funds to pay for.
My money goes to Pet Plan who have paid out large sums over the years and their claims process has been spot on.

 

[Grianan]

One thing I have noticed is that years ago insurance companies used to pay the vets direct. More recently with ponies and dogs we have to settle the bill and claim back. These bills have ranged from £2.5k to over £5k so a bit of a nerve wracking wait to see if they pay up.

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[neilydun]

As you have said he might do similar again ! Will insurance use that as “pre existing” and not pay out !
Needs to be checked !

I have told the potential insurers, and they say it would not count as pre existing

 

[Oldbob]

I did have direct line, but premiums were rocketing, now with pet plan, and are good.
I wouldn't have a dog without insurance, especially as I have a jack Russell, that seems to have his nose in any rabbit or rat hole.
My last one ended up with 42 stitches and a hip removed, £6500 later and all was fine. Lived 5 years after all that. I also have £10 million public liability on the insurance, so if he were to cause an accident then we are covered especially in today's make a claim culture.

 

[PrettyandFluffy]

Many Pets seem very good and paid up the same day we made the claim, on the one occasion we needed to use it.

 

[StephenW]

Our dog is insured and we’ve claimed twice (2 different companies) and in both cases the following year’s premium went up by roughly the amount we claimed .

 

[Bubba]

If the first question the vet asks is "Do you have insurance?"
They most likely have a dual pricing system going.

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[neilydun]

If the first question the vet asks is "Do you have insurance?"
They most likely have a dual pricing system going.

That was the case for me. I have no problem with it.

 

[rrowe]

As a retired vet I do have experience of pet insurance
1, We had to sign insurance forms to say that the fees charged were our normal fees
2, When treating animals we had to deal with the animal and the owner
3, Pet insurance did remove the extra worry of the costs and perhaps allowed us to do some extra tests or xrays to be more sure of the diagnosis

 

[Fatmrsgeorge]

One of my dogs recently ate something which he should not have.
It made him extreamly ill, and we had quite a few scary moments, but eventually the vet found the problem, and removed it.
Ash is now making a great recovery, but I have a fairly sizeable bill from the vet (altough worth every penny!).
Does anyone have any recomendations for pet insurance ? or any to avoid ?
I have been looking at LV which looks pretty good, giving 5k of cover for around the £16 a month mark

Petplan. Expensive but worth every penny. I took this out for our last dog one January, in March he did his cruciate ligament. Not one penny did we have to.pay up front. No paperwork - all done by the vet / petplan. No hidden costs. Premium.goes up with age of dog. Can't recommend them.highly enough.

 

[quentinsf]

The thing I always try to remember is that insurance companies exist only because they make money. Typically quite a lot of money. And that doesn't just mean that they take in more than they pay out; it means they are profitable even after doing that and paying for all their office rentals, employees' salaries, pensions, maternity leave etc.

Therefore, statistically, most customers lose out on insurance deals, and to quite a large degree.

So you will do much better avoiding all insurance (including things like extended warranties) wherever possible, if the thing you are insuring against is something you could theoretically afford (even if doing so might be painful). Everyone remembers the one time that the insurance paid out a large amount, and forgets all the small amounts they paid in all those different premiums over the decades.

A much better solution, in general, is to work out how much the insurance would cost you, and then pay that into a high interest savings account, so you'll feel much better when Fido does need an expensive operation!

However...
That's the rational financial argument, and I do appreciate that insurance is also about psychological comfort!

 

[whytey]

First thing a vet usually asks is do you have insurance, if you say yes then they will charge more as it’s the insurance paying out not you !

To be fair, I doubt they would have different fee scales for insured or not insured. In my experience, where it might matter is if treatment options are being considered - vet says it's probably best to do x but it's expensive so if you want to save money then we'll try something cheaper first. If you're insured then of course you'll go for the better option right away even if the cheaper might have worked.

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[Langtoftlad]

Can dogs be insured against damage they cause to others

Yes
The Dog's Trust - as a member, £25 per year [ just £12.50 for over 60's ] you get £1 million third party insurance cover...
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/support-us/companion-club/benefits

 

[Brummie64]

Many Pets seem very good and paid up the same day we made the claim, on the one occasion we needed to use it.

Many Pets seemed ok at first, but the premium for our 2 cockers went from £35/month to £42, which I accepted, but the following year they wanted £50, never made a claim, young dogs under 4yo. So I cancelled it and went with co-op for £38/month similar policy and limits, when that came up for renewal no increase.
I think it’s a bit like car insurance sometimes, you need to shop around.

 

[neilydun]

The thing I always try to remember is that insurance companies exist only because they make money. Typically quite a lot of money. And that doesn't just mean that they take in more than they pay out; it means they are profitable even after doing that and paying for all their office rentals, employees' salaries, pensions, maternity leave etc.

Therefore, statistically, most customers lose out on insurance deals, and to quite a large degree.

So you will do much better avoiding all insurance (including things like extended warranties) wherever possible, if the thing you are insuring against is something you could theoretically afford (even if doing so might be painful). Everyone remembers the one time that the insurance paid out a large amount, and forgets all the small amounts they paid in all those different premiums over the decades.

A much better solution, in general, is to work out how much the insurance would cost you, and then pay that into a high interest savings account, so you'll feel much better when Fido does need an expensive operation!

However...
That's the rational financial argument, and I do appreciate that insurance is also about psychological comfort!

In general, I agree.
I am not the type to take out extended warrenties etcs.
I have had quite a few dogs over the years, but this dog is different.
We have 4 dogs in the house at the moment, and this one is the only one I would consider insurance for.

 

[Pantouffle]

Expensive pedigree breeds can merit the expensive insurance policies as they can develop expensive diseases. We had large breed pedigrees for decades and would never have an uninsured one. We could have afforded to pay the vet fees without insurance but the investigation and treatment options with “cover for life” policies are much better. It takes the financial questions out of what can be an emotional time.
We now have our rescue lurcher with Tesco pet insurance who are the fastest no queries asked payers ever. Pet Plan we’re also really good in the past.
If you have the discipline, it may be worth the savings account option instead.

 

[Chris]

We insure ours via Direct line.

They have been really good and pay the vet direct.

Unfortunately our dog (a labrador) will eat anything and has cost thousands in vets bills in the 3 years he has been with us.

As a result he is now more expensive to insure than any of our cars

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