Help! Dog insurance

[Vixen G]

Hi again,

So just a question on what insurance people recommend!

From the comparison sites the best insurershave been Purely pets, Many pets ( brought by many) and co- op.

Any experience with any of these please?

Thanks

Vicky

 

[MurphysMinder]

I'm with Many pets. I had quite a hefty claim within first year and they settled for several thousand pounds quickly, they are still paying for monthly physio nearly 12 months on. I though my premium would go up at renewal but it actually went down 12p a month!

 

[Nettle123]

We have our cavalier insured with Many Pets. Not at al impressed with their claim handling. We have three claims being processed for repeat heart meds. Its been nine weeks and not a single one settled. We have been with Tesco in the past, they were great.

 

[blackcob]

Many Pets are currently taking 8-10 weeks to settle claims.

 

[MyBoyChe]

Following this thread as just got a new pup and looking for insurance. Have only ever used PetPlan but they are pricey. Is it really a case of you get what you pay for or are there any other good ones out there. Does anyone know if vets are happy to deal directly with any of the other contenders?

 

[JumpTheMoon1]

They all need investigating.From my experience they just hate to pay out.They always throw at you some small print to wriggle out of paying even on a first claim.
When they do pay out they hike up your monthly premium.
Read the terms and conditions carefully before signing up.

 

[SAujla]

Lifetime cover with Petplan, they are pricey but for the two claims I made they paid out on quickly and the process was minimal hassle.

 

[outdoor girl]

All my Petplan claims, of which there have been very many, have been settled within 2 weeks either directly to the vet or to my account. Yes, they may be expensive, but they have never questioned anything I've claimed for.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Many Pets here. Had one claim in 2020 and it was very easy and settled quickly.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Many Pets are currently taking 8-10 weeks to settle claims.

Is that new claims? I submit a continuing claim every 2 or 3 months and usually get payment within 24 hours, best ever was within 4 hours !

 

[blackcob]

New and continuation for us - it's causing me a lot of work!

 

[ElvisandTilly]

Many Pets have been brilliant for mine. I’ve moved all 3 now to Many Pets. Always paid out and direct to the vets so other than paying my excess I just leave the communication between vets and Many Pets.

 

[Nasicus]

Petplan were very good at paying out for the few claims we had between the dogs on Lifetime cover, however despite their 'we won't put your premium up for claiming' they sure did love to go nuts every renewal. It was like they knew they had us by the short and curlies as the issues wouldn't be covered if we didn't keep paying whatever crazy sum they were asking for.

Currently have a Max Benefit policy claim for the cat with Tesco, and they've been good so far with paying out.

 

[splashgirl45]

one with petplan, paid out direct to vet for cruciate ligament surgery, no problems but premiums are expensive and they went up the year after the claim.

the other 2 with many pets, thee premium for both is less than the petplan for one, but have not claimed yet so cant judge

 

[Widgeon]

That's interesting about CoOp - when I got quotes for our dog a few years back, CoOp were not the cheapest, but they were underwritten by Allianz (same as Petplan). I've just checked and they seem to have moved to a new underwriters now. Perhaps that's brought the prices down.

We've had good experiences with PetPlan; our dog was on the Lifetime policy until he was four, then we switched to annual as he hadn't developed any ongoing conditions. We've made a couple of claims, the biggest being £500, related to him eating things he shouldn't (erk) and they've paid out straight to the vets with no fuss at all. Premiums have gone up a bit but not too much; no more than I'd expect for any insurance company really. So overall I'd recommend PetPlan if you can afford them. But they are pricier than some so I realise they may not be an option for everyone.

 

[BallyJ]

We use Marks and Spencers - Can't recommend them enough, very straight forward for our very lame terrier

 

[Vixen G]

That's interesting about CoOp - when I got quotes for our dog a few years back, CoOp were not the cheapest, but they were underwritten by Allianz (same as Petplan). I've just checked and they seem to have moved to a new underwriters now. Perhaps that's brought the prices down.

We've had good experiences with PetPlan; our dog was on the Lifetime policy until he was four, then we switched to annual as he hadn't developed any ongoing conditions. We've made a couple of claims, the biggest being £500, related to him eating things he shouldn't (erk) and they've paid out straight to the vets with no fuss at all. Premiums have gone up a bit but not too much; no more than I'd expect for any insurance company really. So overall I'd recommend PetPlan if you can afford them. But they are pricier than some so I realise they may not be an option for everyone.

Yea maybe they've been the cheapest I've found on a lifetime for £16000 but can't find any reviews on how good or not they are.

 

[Jenko109]

Many Pets have been the easiest to deal with. Just upload a picture of the bill online or vets can claim direct. They have paid out over 4k for my whippet this year. Small claims have been paid within 24 hours. My larger claims took about 4 weeks.

 

[Morwenna]

I’ve just taken out lifetime coverage with PetPlan. My sister’s old dog was with them and maxed out his insurance many times (he had a lot of issues) and they were brilliant. For me, the extra money in premiums is well worth the peace of mind.

 

[Nettle123]

Many Pets have been the easiest to deal with. Just upload a picture of the bill online or vets can claim direct. They have paid out over 4k for my whippet this year. Small claims have been paid within 24 hours. My larger claims took about 4 weeks.

Our three outstanding claims have been done exactly this way with paid receipts attached. The claims total less than £300 added together. We received a standard email acknowledgement stating claims are taking over 6-8 weeks. Something has obviously changed as our first small claim was paid within hours. There are lots of complaints on their facebook page about the delays.

 

[BSL2]

I use Petplan for my two. Have had to claim several times over the years,. They are always helpful and pay. I do however pay a large amount of money for this service.

 

[Vixen G]

I use Petplan for my two. Have had to claim several times over the years,. They are always helpful and pay. I do however pay a large amount of money for this service.

Yes pet plan are good but I do find their premiums extortionate!

 

[Ratface]

I would choose Petplan if you can afford it. My old German Shepherd had arthritis in her sacroiliac area, and they paid out every claim without a murmer, and sent a lovely condolences card when she had to be pts.
I'm with Waggel for Kevin Kat's insurance, as can no longer afford Petplan.

 

[SilverLinings]

I used Tesco in the past and they were excellent to deal with, but after a few years I changed to Petplan as Tesco would only pay out for 12 months on an ongoing condition (I don't know if that is still the case), whereas Petplan would pay out for life as long as you didn't have a break in the insurance cover. I would choose Tesco in the future if they offered lifetime cover.

With my last two dogs I actually managed to make a 'profit' out of it as one was on drugs to mitigate against symptoms of cancer for nearly three years, and the other had arthritis and intermittent pancreatitis as well as gynae infections for the last couple of years of her life, and when younger had a nasty eye wound that led to an infection after being attacked by another dog (took ages to heal and was expensive to treat). I have found Petplan easy to deal with for the dogs, and quick to pay (last claimed over a year ago though). I mainly insured so I was covered for any kind of third party accident/problem but I couldn't insure for that separate to vets fees, but I did benefit from being able to claim on vet costs.

In contrast I don't rate Petplan Equine for horses, they have become more difficult to deal with over the last 2-3yrs, take ages to pay and are disorganised when dealing with claims and info from the vet. They used to be as good as the dog division of Petplan.

 

[Vixen G]

I would choose Petplan if you can afford it. My old German Shepherd had arthritis in her sacroiliac area, and they paid out every claim without a murmer, and sent a lovely condolences card when she had to be pts.
I'm with Waggel for Kevin Kat's insurance, as can no longer afford Petplan.

How have you found waggel? As they have given me a good price for the first year

 

[misst]

Animal Friends have been great for my terriers knee ops and on going medication. Quick claim settlement every time within days. No paperwork vet send bill which I have paid . They settle with days of receiving email claim from vet every time.
Just about to make what will be a huge claim for my girl so we'll see how that goes but no complaints so far.

 

[Vixen G]

I used Tesco in the past and they were excellent to deal with, but after a few years I changed to Petplan as Tesco would only pay out for 12 months on an ongoing condition (I don't know if that is still the case), whereas Petplan would pay out for life as long as you didn't have a break in the insurance cover. I would choose Tesco in the future if they offered lifetime cover.

With my last two dogs I actually managed to make a 'profit' out of it as one was on drugs to mitigate against symptoms of cancer for nearly three years, and the other had arthritis and intermittent pancreatitis as well as gynae infections for the last couple of years of her life, and when younger had a nasty eye wound that led to an infection after being attacked by another dog (took ages to heal and was expensive to treat). I have found Petplan easy to deal with for the dogs, and quick to pay (last claimed over a year ago though). I mainly insured so I was covered for any kind of third party accident/problem but I couldn't insure for that separate to vets fees, but I did benefit from being able to claim on vet costs.

In contrast I don't rate Petplan Equine for horses, they have become more difficult to deal with over the last 2-3yrs, take ages to pay and are disorganised when dealing with claims and info from the vet. They used to be as good as the dog division of Petplan.

I believe tesco do lifetime policies now but won't cover my dog as she's crossed with an American Bulldog

 

[Vixen G]

Animal Friends have been great for my terriers knee ops and on going medication. Quick claim settlement every time within days. No paperwork vet send bill which I have paid . They settle with days of receiving email claim from vet every time.
Just about to make what will be a huge claim for my girl so we'll see how that goes but no complaints so far.

Any updates on your claim? How is it going?

 

[misst]

It's just gone in (Friday). So if they run true to form they'll pay early next week - will update when they do.
It is not as big as I thought as my vet is so reasonable but still around 1600.00

 

[misst]

They paid up within the week minus the excess and about £50 for investigations that were not covered.