Pet Insurance

[mad_mo]

I was forced under duress to by a Springer Spaniel puppy for my young daughter yesterday.

Question is, what pet insurance company has the best quotes. Tesco's so far are coming out the most expensive out of a couple Ive tried online.

Cheers....

[mad_mo]

Many thanks, It's due the 8 week jab now so I'll see what the local Vet's can offer. :PDT_Xtremez_28:

[monobrow]

grrrrrrr bloody puppies under duress..... know the feeling!

mind you at the moment, the eldest mini-mono wants a bird.

Our dog is insured by more than. Never really had to use it though so can't comment much on service.

Sorry!

[wgaf]

MM, have you got the pups pedigree, if you register it with the kennel club they will give you a certain time of free insurance, can't remember how long as both my dogs are getting on a bit now. Also most insurers will only insure your dog upto the age of 8, after this you're on your own. I now pay the vets 45 sheets a month to cover both mine who are both over the age of 8.

[True Blue Jack]

I've got mine (2 dogs and a cat) insured with Pet Plan. I had to make sure the cat was insured before he was 7 as they will not open a new policy, but will honour an existing policy, after that. The same probably applies to dogs (they're a lot younger than the cat so it wasn't an issue).

The advantage with Pet Plan is that, unlike many other insurers, they allowed me to maintain the policy while I was posted overseas.

Never yet had to make a claim so I can't comment on service.

[Major Geek]

I've got mine (2 dogs and a cat) insured with Pet Plan. ....
Never yet had to make a claim so I can't comment on service.

The other advantage is that they will pay claims for the life of the animal (and not 12 months like most insurers) if say for example they need medication for the rest of their life.

I have PetPlan and have claimed, it was straightforward. Had a rescue greyhound that developed a degenerative disease within 6 months of coming to live with us. Required MRI scan that was v expensive (£1000) and if we had not got insurance we would not have been able to pay it. Unfortunately we had to have her put to sleep but at least we knew there was nothing else that could have been done for her.
Currently have another claim in for another greyhound for removing glass from its paw. Another £300!

Pet insurance - do not be without it!

[gemarriott]

my son hhas direct line for his dog, saved him amint because the fecking thing is always ill.

If it were mine it would have gone to the korean reastaurnt years ago fecking horrible mutt.

[Vim_Fuego]

Tesco's works out at a fiver a month for our cat...doesn't seem too steep to me.

Thank fook we had our previous, flatter cat insured...I had a phonecall from the RSPCA telling me our cat had been hit by a car and they'd picked it up out of the road and dropped it off at medivet in Watford...I duly phoned the vets and the first question out of their lips was 'do you have insurance?'...When I answered yes it was a different kettle of fish...All of a sudden my cat had a fighting chance...they would see what they could do and I was to phone back some 5 hours later...5 hours later I was told the cat was dying and we should come in for a last pat etc....When I got there the cat was in a sh*t state...I asked to see the x-ray and it was apparent even to a luddite like me that the cat was in 2 pieces...the spine was completely detatched from the hip...We ordered the injection immediately, said goodbye and watched the eyes glaze over...

These *******s had kept it alive for a few more hours to make money...simple as that...The bill for a dead cat?? £685!! That was for 5 hours treatment and some x-rays...

I learnt one thing that day...Medivet are a bunch of unscrupulous b*stards ::/: :PDT_Xtremez_25:

[Scaley brat]

my son hhas direct line for his dog, saved him amint because the fecking thing is always ill.

If it were mine it would have gone to the korean reastaurnt years ago fecking horrible mutt.

I bet Mad collie will feel much better for that sentiment GEM :PDT_Xtremez_31:

[mad_mo]

Tesco's works out at a fiver a month for our cat...doesn't seem too steep to me.


Tesco's for the puppy was £14.98 where as Petplan was £12 per month.


I did hear some positives about Petplan last night and what with reading TBJ'S & Major Geeks posts on Petplan too, I think I'll go with them. :PDT_Xtremez_28:

[Dave-exfairy]

Had my old cat insured with Pet Plan. He kept developing cystitis and all the vets would do is give him anitibiotics, took him to another vets in town and they operated on him, he had to have it done twice in the space of 4 years. Thank god for pet insurance, the vets on finding out we had it dealt directly with the company, would recommend it to anyone.

[Hot Shoes]

Another one worth a look is E & L insurance @ www.eandl.co.uk. My tip is not to go for the cheapest cover whoever you choose, your bound to need it some time. Vets bills cost a fortune, my dog ate a huge stone and that cost £650 to have it removed and a friends dog has to have a knee op for circa £1000. The cheeapest cover for E & L only gives you £500 cover per visit, I expect they are all similar. Better still get a goldfish, they don't cost anything to flush down the toilet!!!!!!

[monobrow]

Better still get a goldfish, they don't cost anything to flush down the toilet!!!!!!

Off Topic

Me daughter (when trying to talk daddy into buying a bird) had a go at me about this.

We had a fish when she was about 3, It didn't last that long, but it died, and daddy's task was to get it out. Couldn't leave a dead fish floating in the bowl! So out came the net and into the toilet it went.

Fast forward almost another 3 years, she's having a pop at me! Went something along the lines of.....

"Daddy... You remember our fish?"
"Yeah"
"You killed it!"
"What???"
"It was sleeping at the top of the water, and you flushed it down the toilet!"
"But darling....."
"Can I have a bird now daddy" (with puppydog eyes and trying the whole cute routine)
"No you can't!"
"But you killed my fish!"
"No!"

Carries on for quite some time! Bloody cheek! And I didn't think she'd remember the bloody fish!

Off Topic

[Noodle]

I use E and L for my horses, they've been really good with them, I also use a company called exotic direct to cover my chinchilla, they even cover theft and death of my chinchilla, I think they do cats and dogs too.

[The Panther]

We use Marks & Sparks for are dog. They do a really good package and were best value for money. Give them a look, you really can't scrimp with pet insurance. Like many others have said vets bills can be massive and little dogs can always get themselves into lots of trouble.

[flash]

I've used pet plan for my dogs for over 15 years now, I'm paying about £20 a month for a 9 year old cocker spaniel and about £14 for a 6 year old black lab. It's fair to say that I've had my monies worth over the years.

My old black lab was a bit of a disaster, he was prone to eating weed killer, being hit with cars and laterly' hip dysplatia (excuse spelling) did for him. There was never a problem with pet plan setteling the bill, and during the weed killer incident, they were happy for the vets to bill them direct.

My current black lab has never been ill, and the spaniel has a re occuring eye condition (hence having to pay a bit more on the premium) but again no problems with pet plan.

I would highly recommend them.

[mad_mo]

We use Marks & Sparks for are dog. .

Tried a quote online and according to them, my postcode dont exist !!

I wont be trying them again...

[Humble Scribe]

Pet Plan works for my three Mogs paying about £15.00 per month. When they had to go to the vet, we paid the excess and the vet deals directly with them which made life simpler. The cost does go up slightly for the more mature pets though!

[Captain Slog]

I have my dog insured with More-Than - highly recommended, £8.99 a month, comparable, if not better than the others with regards to payments, service, etc.

[SORRY CJ]

Got Ellie and Alfie my cats insured with Direct Line 10 quid the pair. Not the cheapest but came up good with that bloke of the telly, you know the money dealing bloke Martin Lewis.

SCJ

[Mrs_Monobrow]

Our dog is insured by More Than and they are very good. We pay £9 a month (she is 5 yrs old) they cover you for the life of the treatment, however much it costs, theft, death even £3 million of liability cover. Will cover your dog past 8 yrs old with an existing policy but wont open a new policy past that age.

Although monobrow seems to think we have never claimed, he is very wrong! A couple of years back our dog went through a phantom pregnancy. She had blood tests, scans etc etc which come to a good couple of hundred overall. After the last appointment i asked my vet if this could be claimed and they said to try. I called More Than, they sent me the forms, i got them filled out by the vet and had my money back within 2 weeks. They are very quick and very helpful. They do deal with the vet directly as well.

[roverboy]

I would look at the small print instead of the price. As others have commented, some insurers are easier to deal with and get claims dealt iwth much quicker, dealing directly with the vets, but another thing to consider is that some insurers WILL NOT pay out for a recurring or subsequent injury to the same part of the body.

[Tashy_Man]

Off Topic

Me daughter (when trying to talk daddy into buying a bird) had a go at me about this.


Carries on for quite some time! Bloody cheek! And I didn't think she'd remember the bloody fish!

Off Topic

Mono....I get this in my house as well....must be a kid thing.....my advice to new parents would be NEVER get goldfish...only ever one outcome (toilet) and the kids never forget !!

Flush on.........:PDT_Xtremez_09:

[fat lazy techie]

Always gone with pet plan for my little $hit machines and they have been excellent to say the least. Our first dog was badly mauled by some retards lurcher, that they got from a rescue centre and decided to let it off the lead without a muzzle less than a week after taking it on. The vets bills were quite high but sorted within a week, and the cost of the ex pooch was paid out upon it untimely demise thanks to wounds inflicted. The third party claim against the retards mentioned earlier went smoothly as well, if not slightly drawn out.

Current insurance has paid for itself when oldest pooch needed major surgery on it's back. Bill in excess of £1000 paid directly to the vets.

If I had to recomend a pet insurer then it would have to be pet plan.

[Scaley brat]

I tried to insure our Jack Russel with Churchill.
They told me to get lost cos her feet wouldn't reach the pedals ! :PDT_Xtremez_26:

[Warwick Hunt]

We've got a yellow lab puppy, who's now 13 months and she's insured through Virgin, who are very good I must admit. Only pay £10 per month and the deal is fantastic. When we first had her KC registered at 8 weeks old, we were given 6 weeks free no-obligation insurance with the Kennel Club (who I think are underwritten by Pet Plan, but could be wrong), which the breeder squared away. Might be worth speaking to your springer's breeder to see what they can give you.

[Disillusioned]

Be careful going for the cheapest, especially with the likes of supermarkets and other non-insurance specialists. A lot of them will pay out for a claim on an illness but will exclude that illness when the renewals comes around and some will limit you to a fixed amount per year rather than a fixed amount per illness/incident. A lot of them won't insure past 8 years old either.

My two springers are insured with this lot and they've been very good when it comes to paying claims. Trust me, you will use your insurance a lot owning a springer. Accident prone isn't the word for it.

http://www.animalcareinsurance.co.uk/

[Joe_90]

My dog is with Pet plan and I have never had a problem with them. I paid a vets bill straight out on my credit card and had the cheque from pet plan back within a month so I didn't even have to pay any interest on it. Just remember as has been said here, make sure you get a policy that will pay out for the rest of the dogs life for treatment. I met a woman with a dog that had hayfever once, if she didn't have that sort of policy it would have cost her hundreds every single year for drugs for the poor thing.

[roverboy]

One of my cats has recently been diagnosed as diabetic and needs a twice daily injection of insulin. Whilst the needles and insulin don't exactly cost the earth, we haven't had a final bill for vet fees and I'm wondering if anybody knows what the likelyhood is of being able to claim for at least part of the treatment. The small print says they won't pay out for preventative treatment, but as the current injections are still bringing the bloodsugar level down, it's not yet preventative is it? I know they won't pay out for the rest of the cat's life, but I'm curious to see if they'll pay out for the treatment she's had so far.

[Disillusioned]

I think you could arugue that none of it would be preventative. Once your cat has been diagnosed as diabetic all treatment after that are corrective. I think preventative treatments are things like the annual booster jabs that dogs have against the likes of Parvo, not jabs that treat something once diagnosed. Best of luck with the insurance claim.