Pet Insurance - recommendations please

[Southdowners]

I'm looking for a different pet insurance company to the one I have at the moment which is Many Pets.

We are having difficulties with Many Pets - they don't appear to be able to provide the service for which we are paying. I have only ever made one claim for our dog. Two months after our claim was submited they haven't even started to look at it despite having received all the info they require from the vets. Today I waited over half an hour to speak to someone about it and the call handler admitted that she had no idea when my claim would be assessed. For this dismal service we have been paying £95 a month. Our claim is simple - just dental treatment by one vet - the procedure carried out in one treatment.

I hope not all insurers are the same and so would appreciate hearing from anyone who can recommend an insurer.

 

[MichaelT]

we are with kennel club, not had to claim but theyget good reviews

 

[Justus3]

Petplan used they for years the big problem with many pet insurance companies is they don't do pets but other part of the market. They then get in too deep in a market they know little about. Pet insurance business model is very different to other insurance markets.
Pets are the only thing they insure and know the market well. We've used them for all our dogs over the years and neither had an issue. inc some claims into the 1000's. Payout quickly and cover for life may not the the cheapest but both owners and vets know they don't mess about.

 

[Bobandfay]

Another recommendation for Petplan our dog had 2 growths removed last year £1600 ,pet plan paid up in full within 2 weeks of the operation.Not the cheapest but good service.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Self Insure

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[martin west dorset]

another satisfied pet plan cover customer, very quick paying out on claims, would not go with any other company.

 

[Southdowners]

Self Insure

Yes, I was thinking of that option. Our hound is 10.5 years old and we've never claimed for anything which is why I feel really let down by Many Pets (Bought by Many). How they can charge £95 a month and not be able to process a simple claim is beyond me.

Often the reviews on, say, Trustpilot are from people who have not actually had to make a claim, which makes their reviews less than helpful.

 

[tribalbrit]

Tesco.

 

[Langtoftlad]

My vet has a really good scheme - you pay into their Health Plan, £20/month and build up a credit balance to be used against any treatment costs.
This particular vet hates insurance companies & her services are priced accordingly ie reasonable

 

[Gellyneck]

Pet Plan for us. Not cheap given the number of claims we've had (recurring pancreatitis) but they provide an excellent service with settlement with a couple of weeks after submission of claim form.

My vet has a really good scheme - you pay into their Health Plan, £20/month and build up a credit balance to be used against any treatment costs.
This particular vet hates insurance companies & her services are priced accordingly ie reasonable

Asked our local vet if they had considered similar but they were concerned around management of the scheme and costs to ensure deposited funds were secure (practice failure, etc albeit they are always queued out!).

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[Durham's dad]

We use Tesco. Had some hefty claims last year and they paid up promptly and were good to deal with. Sadly lost our boy as he had an incurable condition but have gone back to Tesco for the new arrival.

 

[Shrimp]

Animal Friends. Not had to claim yet

 

[Langtoftlad]

Pet Plan for us. Not cheap given the number of claims we've had (recurring pancreatitis) but they provide an excellent service with settlement with a couple of weeks after submission of claim form.


Asked our local vet if they had considered similar but they were concerned around management of the scheme and costs to ensure deposited funds were secure (practice failure, etc albeit they are always queued out!).

Personally I think that's over thinking it.

I believe reluctance is more often to do with overall ownership of a surgery and the kickbacks offered by insurance companies...
More than half the veterinary practices are 'owned' by one of six companies.
My old vet practice was bought out by IVC Evidensia, who own 1200 vet practices - and immediately stopped the healthcare plan and started pushing petplan insurance.
Why?
Consultancy & treatment fees also increased.

Why might Nestle be a large minority shareholder in IVC?
What petfood brand does Nestle make, and what petfood does this surgery now sell?

Anyway I'm happy - he set up a new practice and I moved.
The previous practice, by all accounts, is struggling since the buyout - despite a shortage of vets in the area.

https://www.ft.com/content/9a825fe8-8ea5-4ef3-84b7-2529bfe5ffed
[hopefully not behind a paywall]

 

[Bognor Saint]

Can't fault pet plan. Huge payouts for last 2 dogs. Always settled and quickly.

 

[Aireworth]

Avoid any pet insurer that has the initials A and F in my experience

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[Coastal Cruiser.]

Our 2 jacks that are 15 years old are going to cost more than our motorhome insurace this year!!

Bit of a gamble as we have probably had about £4-5k from claims for her and about £2k for her brother over the years.
Although now we have to also pay a percentage of any claim also.

 

[Aireworth]

There are two basic types of pet insurance. Those that cover the life of the pet and don't exclude recurring conditions on yearly renewal - Pet Plan being the biggest of these but also Pet Protect, Agria and others. Expensive, even when the animal is young for some breeds. But if your dog has a recurrent skin condition which needs continual lifelong treatment, invaluable.
The cheaper sort - Tesco, More Than, etc etc are annual policies. Good for the broken leg or traffic accident and often settled quickly (depending - see above) But with those recurring conditions will usually be excluded on renewal - Which is why that are cheaper.
Best to be aware of what you're buying.

 

[Durham's dad]

Tesco is a life insurer. Don't be misled by ignorance!

 

[gus-lopez]

I used pet plan for my 2 dogs back in 2002. Brothers but one similar to a collie whilst other a jack Russell. £8 /month for both so £14,40 now with inflation so anything over £20 for 2 is a pisstake.

 

[Gina M]

The Vet told me to have either Tesco or Sainsburys pet insurance as he said they were quick to deal with, fast pay outs and didn't require a 5-page medical report for every claim. (This was 15 years ago when my dog was a puppy) I went with Sainsburys, and they were brilliant. During my dogs last year his meds were costing me over 200 a month. When he died Sainsburys refunded my last month's DD and stopped the others for me. They also sent me a really lovely personally signed condolence letter.

Gina.

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[Chris]

Our vet wanted something like £80 a month for about £12k cover.

My wife found a Direct Line policy for about £8500 cover for about £20 a month.

I can’t remember the exact figures but Direct Line are one of the very, very few insurers that I sort of trust.

 

[Aireworth]

Tesco is a life insurer. Don't be misled by ignorance!

Apologies. Didn't used to be.

 

[Realist]

Purely Pets.

Was with another insurance provider but changed as the premiums increased.

We have had a claim on the above policy and no issues at all paying out.

 

[Odd job]

I did a lot of research after getting a £5,500 bill before we had insurance. We chose John Lewis, they are not cheap but they have paid every claim without question. Our youngest dog had vomiting and was unable to even keep water down, this was on a Sunday, we found a vet that was open and visited twice the second time the dog was kept in and given fluids intravenously. The next day we had to take the dog to our own vet. Total bill just under £2,000. The claims (one from each vet) were paid within 2 days of the vets sending the paperwork to them.

 

[Landy Andy]

It’s surprising how much cheaper the treatment is when you say “he/she isn’t insured”. Often the first question is “do you have insurance “.

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[Gina M]

It’s surprising how much cheaper the treatment is when you say “he/she isn’t insured”. Often the first question is “do you have insurance “.

My Vet filled every single claim form in for me and scanned and emailed all the paperwork over to the insurance company. I always paid him then waited for the claim to be repaid to myself.

Gina.

 

[chrisgreen]

PDSA for our dog

 

[1967bowesj]

It’s surprising how much cheaper the treatment is when you say “he/she isn’t insured”. Often the first question is “do you have insurance “.

Our boy had a condition that we didn’t know about and had never heard of when we first got him, long story short the vet we are with was brilliant for us. Even though if you read all the reviews on farcebluck or googlies that same vet is rubbish. He asked if we had insurance, no we just got the dog! Kept the cost down for us and asks about the boy every time we in with the others, some vets are good and not all after the pound signs.

 

[PaulyP]

My vet has a really good scheme - you pay into their Health Plan, £20/month and build up a credit balance to be used against any treatment costs.
This particular vet hates insurance companies & her services are priced accordingly ie reasonable

That’s good, usually most vets will ask are you insured, and then price it upwards, I think pet insurance is just a big con and allows the vets to charge ridiculous prices. In 50 years of having dogs I’ve never had insurance, 95% of the vets bills are for things such as annual jabs which one of mine had today, maybe I’ve been lucky but instead of £50/100 a month paid out it stays in my bank for when it’s needed.

 

[Gina M]

That’s good, usually most vets will ask are you insured, and then price it upwards, I think pet insurance is just a big con and allows the vets to charge ridiculous prices. In 50 years of having dogs I’ve never had insurance, 95% of the vets bills are for things such as annual jabs which one of mine had today, maybe I’ve been lucky but instead of £50/100 a month paid out it stays in my bank for when it’s needed.

My Mum always told me to do what you do keep your money in the bank. My two dogs now are not insured. I couldn't cancel my Stanley's insurance. It certainly took more money off me than I claimed back but I was naive about it 15 years ago. I remember having a conversation with my friend about what if Stanley needed a 5 grand operation would you pay, and I said yes, I would go into debt for him and I would have done it in a heartbeat. He had to have a tumour removed from his stomach 5 years ago. I drew a thousand pounds out of the bank to pay for it my plan was pay the Vet then take my 2 nieces on a shopping spree with the change, all I had left after paying the Vets bill was enough to buy a chicken from Aldi, which Stanley ate most of anyway

Gina.

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