# insurance???



## Thom (Jan 12, 2012)

hi every1 i am just seeking advice about what insurance you all use? as the companys i have looked at are quite pricey an it a limited 12months cover per condition! i would rather have no time limit if something was to happen. Thom.


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Cheaper policies tend to only offer 12 months per incident that is how they appear competative. My advice would be speak to your vets practice and see who they are happy to deal with direct otherwise you have to pay upfront then claim back. Also read the small print especially conditions for seeking vet advice and claiming. I once had a horse policy which required the company to be notified by recorded delivery letter sent on the day of the vets visit! With the stress of a sick animal that is probably the last thing on your mind. Lifetime cover for incidents is available from many insurers. I use NFU but they do all my insurance and therefore I get considerable loyalty bonus I can go to a local office and speak face to face (no foreign call centers!) and my vets deal direct.


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## rubenthedog (Jan 3, 2012)

My wife is a vet and recommends that you not only look at a lifetime policy but also the amount of cover. Even although companies offer lifelong cover it may be limited to a certain amount of money per condition. If your dog needs continuing treatment throughout its life, or requires an operation then the available funds through the policy may run out quickly.

Our lab is insured through directline on their lifetime policy. He has been pain medication for the last 3 years, which costs over £100 a month. (even with my wife's discount). After we paid the excess they have covered it all.

We're currently looking for cover for our new puppy. Although we got free 4 week insurance with pet plan, they are expensive so were doing the rounds on the insurance websites. Looks like healthy pets is the favourite so far with their gold or platinum insurance. Avila have also given us a decent quote.

Watch out for more than insurance, as well as the excess is £75, you'll also need to pay a percentage of the vets bill too which could be pricey.


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## Thom (Jan 12, 2012)

The best quote i got was PDSA £7000 per condition no time limit! £75 excess think im going to go with them although i will speak 2 my vet when hes has his needle he comes with 4 weeks free on petplan sowont need it straight away x


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## Laura(L)Izzie (Sep 9, 2011)

We have pet plan for both of them & we have the lifetime cover one, i'm sure if it came to one of our dogs being ill we'd be glad we paid a bit extra to ensure they would pay out & the payments wouldn't be limited.

I've heard of others using Argos, John Lewis (I think), so I don't know, just have a good look around x


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## Ali79 (Mar 30, 2011)

Hello - we are with Petplan also. Have a look at Vetsmedicover as that had good reviews by others on this forum. Definitely go for the lifetime cover though as our lovely Cavvie had heart trouble and it was costing more than £80 per month and we only had cover per condition for a year. Unfortunately she had to be put to sleep before the end of the first year as deteriorated very quickly but we would have had to find the £80 per month for medication instead of £20 or so for insurance. Good luck with your search


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

I'm with Vetsmedicover and it read as though your premium would nt go up and everybreed of dog was £19. Now I haven't renewed yet but when I came to insure Wilf it had gone up to £21 and on line now all dog breeds are quoted at £28. Quite a jump from the £19 last year if thats what I'm quoted this year I'll be switching x


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## francesjl (Mar 24, 2011)

Check out Argos - we have the platinum cover - for life not the year and pays up to £7000 per year - excess £65 and its costing just over £17 per month !


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## Thom (Jan 12, 2012)

i dont want one that only covers a condition for 12 months, pdsa offer £7000 per condition with no time limit. but deff going to look at the others you guys have said thanks xx


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

I have John Lewis and am paying £18 per month which offers continuing cover for any condition that arises. However, the excess is quite high at around £75-100.


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## mand123green (Dec 21, 2011)

I booked with Petplan at the end of Dec as lots of people recommended them, I have still not had any papers through (even though I had my confirmation email), have rang them three times last week and emailed two people my confirmation email and still don't have it sorted. I wasn't even covered when I rang to enquire about my policy documents, they had no record!!!!..... and you end up at a call centre in India... Petplan come highly recommended though and I'm sure this may be a one off! 

I'm going to see about NFU if Petplan don't call me back tomorrow, as there is a local branch and I quite like the idea of being able to go in to see them if need be!


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Where I live all the companies charge very high premiums, but I've just changed to Pets at Home. Their top policy, which is good lifetime cover is only £13 a month if you take a higher excess which I don't mind doing.


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

mand123green said:


> I booked with Petplan at the end of Dec as lots of people recommended them, I have still not had any papers through (even though I had my confirmation email), have rang them three times last week and emailed two people my confirmation email and still don't have it sorted. I wasn't even covered when I rang to enquire about my policy documents, they had no record!!!!..... and you end up at a call centre in India... Petplan come highly recommended though and I'm sure this may be a one off!
> 
> I'm going to see about NFU if Petplan don't call me back tomorrow, as there is a local branch and I quite like the idea of being able to go in to see them if need be!


Cannot recommend NFU highly enough had a horse with a ruptured tendon who then got laminitis and eventually had to be put down all vets fees covered no quibble paid out in excess of £4000!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I have always used Petplan. Never had a problem with them paying out and when I had a referral to a specialist vets they were happy to claim direct from Petplan. One thing to consider is pet insurance is slightly different to normal insurance in the sense that shopping around each year can often not be a good idea. As an example earlier last year Molly had a problem with pain in one of her legs - the vet thought it was just a pulled muscle and I could easily have accepted this and thought it was not a problem. 

In fact she does have a serious problem with her knees and is likely to need surgery at some point in the future. If I was to change insurance companies (which I won't!!) one of the first questions my vet would be asked in the event of a claim would be when she first showed a problem with her legs - this would be the event last year even though initially the vets did not think it was serious. If I had changed insurance companies this would not be covered as it would be pre-existing to the start of the policy with that company.

This can apply to any problem you have mentioned to your vets which they have noted on the records so could cover bad stomachs, itchiness or slight lameness even if they were deemed unimportant at the time of intially seeing your vet.


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## mand123green (Dec 21, 2011)

This is where I'm concerned about insurance and another reason I went for petplan initially as someone said that their premiums didn't go up much each year... Although with Petplan for £4k of annual cover it is still approx £21 / month I gathered that other cheaper premiums could soon reach that if they up their price in future years.. £7 was if I remember rightly something like £24 / month Pets medicover when I looked at Xmas was really expensive, think that was nearly £30 / month..

I hate insurance, it's always a risk  But, I am lazy and usually go with recommendations rather than doing all the research!

Sounds like you can get some good deals though if you are willing to put the time in to research!


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## lizzysmudge (Oct 24, 2011)

We have smudge on pet plan life cover, wanted to cover her for everything, because at this age you don't really know what the future holds. Also I heard an interview with Martin Lewis the money guy, who suggested a minimum third party cover of two million for a puppy, which I thought was very sensible, a lot only offer one million. Just thought if a puppy ran loose/ escaped the devastation they could do! Especially as I was talking to my daughter through her car window a few weeks ago, when I saw her in our village whilst walking smudge, the next thing I new smudge had chewed through her lead, fortunately, she was so pre occupied with her new found chewy  she hadn't run out into the road, but oh how things could have been different. Needless to say I now have a chain lead with leather!


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## Pollypiglet (Oct 22, 2011)

Just another point which I am sure you have considered is third party liability. Some house contents insurance will cover but check the ammount. In the current climate the cost if your pet causes an accident can be astronomical. I knew someone whos horses escaped caused a serious accident, as a result their marriage broke down and they lost their house!


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## leslie75 (Jan 30, 2012)

i tried pet insurance once but didn't really think it was worth it between the monthly premiums and having to wait for reimbursements. in my opinion the best solution for handling costly emergency vet bills is to have a rainy day fund set up for if/when you might need it. and if you don't at least the money is not wasted (but i suppose that's the risk you take with any insurance). i have used this in conjunction with a simple vet discount plan and i've been satisfied. the company i use is Pet Assure and i get a discount right up front as opposed to dealing with claim forms and reimbursement. i like them so far!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I am far happier having pet insurance and knowing I am covered financially if my dog gets ill. 

I have been unfortunate enough to have a dog who had back problems. He had several rounds of x-rays costing a few hundred pounds and then we got referred to a specialist where the cost was almost £200 just for the initial appointment. An MRI scan was £1000 and spinal surgery was £2500. Add the costs of regular reviews - reviews with the specialist were around £115 a time, as well as follow up appointments with my regular vet and physio treatment to help him and over a few years he cost over £8000 in veterinary bills. 

Having had seriously ill dogs I would far rather pay my insurance and not have the issue of ever claiming - unfortunately this has already been taken out of my hands with Molly as she is also likely to need surgery for her knee problem at some time in the future. Luckily with insurance in place I know I am able to make the right decisions for her without worrying about the finances.


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## Bodger (Oct 9, 2011)

I have John Lewis too. We did loads of research and found it all very confusing, we even considered not bothering and putting money away.


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## Greenleys19 (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi, both our dogs are with pet plan and I can't fault them at all. We have made two hefty claims already and received a no quibble pay out within 10days. Do read ALL the small print when looking at policies tho, some seem too good to be true & quite often they are!


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