IN A DILEMMA! PET INSURANCE! :-)

[xxLouxx]

OK, 2 days until we collect our Ozzy boy!!

Anyway, I know he comes with one months free pet insurance however we have been advised to purchase ours now because any policy we take out in one month will not cover any conditions requiring treatment during our one month of free pet insurance...I understand that any policy taken out now will not cover Ozzy for the next 2 weeks.

So far the quotes I have are:

PET-INSURANCE = £9.92 for 'lifetime cover'- offer max of £4000 per MONTH with no limits on number of claims/conditions covered throughout the month/year but a max payout of £4000 per month. Excess £75. Spoke to advisor on phone. Also covers complimentary therapies. With a pup I wouldnt expect vet fees to come to £4000/month hopefully so thought this was pretty good.

Argos Platinum- £20.19 (£65 excess) £7000 per year 'crossbreed' no Aussie labradoodle or ;labradoodle' listed. Life time cover.

Sainsbury AXA - £16.17 up to £7,500 per condition per year - life

AVIVA GOLD - platinum £23.19 excess £75 up to £6,500 per year. lifetime.

Health Pets - £27.56 - £7,500 per condition. Lifetime £75 excess

John Lewis - £15.70 up to £10,000

Direct Line - £27.73 lifetime

Anyway, I wondered if any of you had good or bad experiences with the companies listed when claiming? Also, I really dont want to go overboard with monthly payments for a healthy, chipped, and neutered puppy! I feel that the cover by PET-INSURANCE would probably be adequate..

Think I am swaying between Pet-Insurance and Sainsbury.
Any opinions would be appreciated.
Best Wishes
Lou x

[Madeleine]

Hiya

Exciting time for you and you sound very well organised - your life is about to change !!! for the better of course.
You got me wondering about our insurance its with Pet Plan and we pay approx £53 for 2 doods both under 3 years old.
They are expensive but we have already claimed with Dixie and they paid up very quickly.
The Pet Insurance you were quoted does sound good - bit too good to be true? or am I being ripped off. Its confusing and I don't envy you trying to decide- it will be interesting to get other views and experiences.
The small print needs to be checked thoroughly.

Good luck

[Bid]

Definitely check the smallprint! I am with Petplan and their complementary therapy has restrictions on it that they don't mention - such as only 10 hydrotherapy swims when a lifetime condition such as hip dysplasia (which Daisy has) needs her to swim indefinitely.

Having said that, I have opted for pet plan again with Beamish because having heard a lot of horror stories about how insurance has increased on subsequent years, ours hasn't - I pay £49 a month for 3 dogs and have been claiming for Daisy for 2 on-going condiditons without the cost increasing. Also a lot of policies (Morethan is one) have a percentage fee as well as an excess but Pet plan hasn't.

It is worth remembering that it is very hard to switch policies. The companies are now checking back past history when you make a claim - yes even to previous vets! So that little tummy bug a year ago could become an "existing condition" when you change insurance companies . I'm told that they are even checking back to look at your dogs weight record if you claim for a joint problem

[michala]

our plan was to save each month but it takes a willpower of iron. I wondered how much to save per dog roughly? i know some treatments are cheaper if you are not insured but what would people recommend. I was thinking £10 per month per dog?? just so we had some put by for emergencies. We have never insured our pets and have been reasonably lucky thank goodness. BTW i know this option will not cover for liability but then my kids are not covered and are more likely to cause accidents than my dogs

[gilly g]

BTW i know this option will not cover for liability but then my kids are not covered and are more likely to cause accidents than my dogs

You might find you already have this under household insurance or even with your bank account depending on type of account and who you bank with.

[whirlwindmum]

I use NFU mutual. It goes down slightly each year ( for first 5 i think) if you don't claim. It now cost £18 per month with life time cover.

Must admit i was very lazy, my sister has a Boxer and she has done loads of claims and they paid out each time no arguments. Broken foot, testing for allergies ( he allergic to cut grass ) etc etc. Also her vet is expensive, she only ever pays first £50.
Heard so many stories of companies that don't pay out that i just followed my sister.

[xxLouxx]

Would prefer to go with pet plan but was quoted £35 per month for lifetime cover for a healthy, chipped, neutered pup

[poodledoodleted]

I pay £18 per month for Ted with PetPlan - I think it really does go on the price of the dog. However, that is because if your dog dies (I think only accidently) you can claim the money for a 'replacement'. He was only £650 so nothing compared to an Aussie.

Maybe if you don't want the 'replacement' money if anything would happy to Ozzy (Nothing will happen) - give a lower price? I think Liz could only get Lola insured for £1000 as she is a service dog and only Halifax would insure her, even though she cost more.

Unless you are looking at the premium petplan which is more expensive. They do the basic lifetime as well.

I chose Petplan as our other dog came to us from the breeder with it and we kept with it. She has had thousands and thousands of pounds worth of claims (4 leg ops, allergies, blood tests...) and it only went up to £30 p/m. They never had any problems paying out so I went with them with Ted.

[Nicky]

I am with argos platinum and we currently pay £15 a month, we have claimed before for his ear infection and they paid out within three weeks excess was £65 I think

[Doodledandy]

I have Halifax and pay about £12 per month for up to £6000 a year. I don't have cover specifically for continuous care, but think it comes under the £6000 pa provided this is not exceeded. However you need to read the small print,,,, our eight month old puppy has been diagnosed with Auto-immune Heamolytic Anaemia (sp), which is a rare life threatening condition and I dread the thought our insurance will not be sufficient

Good luck, i'm sure you will find the right cover for your pup

[Liz!]

Machala that's only £240 a year... if in the second year one of them needs an x ray it'll all be gone just like that.

Friends have a small dog that suddenly collapsed going up a kerb - yes, that small a jump! they found that 'spurs' had grown on the dog's spine and were digging in to the spinal cord. Not uncommon apparently. Big op, hydrotherapy etc etc etc and they are 4,000 worse off to date. GET INSURED. You just never know what's round the corner, it's the one insurance I do think is worth it.

[nutttymutts]

I personally would only use pet plan as the vets I use claim direct from them. They are more expensive but you do.get what you pay for.

On. Lighter note Ooooo how exciting for you all I would be so impatient and would be a nightmare

[xxLouxx]

I have been very impatient for weeks now! Hence why I just keep going out and buying more puppy items!! All 4 of us really can't wait until Sunday...

Finding this insurance very confusing...see my post re: lifetime cover with john lewis.. Liz who is your Lola ASD insured with (love the pic of her under the PC table )?

[Glenda]

Ours are with Sainsburys - I got a really good deal online. I pay £9.26 per month for Jessie, up to £7500 per condition for life. I pay more for Deano but he is 4 years older than Jessie (just over £12.00).

Hope this helps

[xxLouxx]

Hi Glenda
Looked at Sainsbury's and they are looking for £16.57 per month for the £7500 per condition for Ozzy. My husband phoned from work an hour ago and couldn't believe that I had STILL not chosen a pet insurance deal

Going to bed and will look again tomorrow... Reckon it will be between Sainsbury's and John Lewis.