Insurance

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helbe

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Can anyone recommend an insurer for dogs? most seem to be a complete waste of time,such as no pay out after emergency treatment as they were not consulted, or may have had problem from birth so wouldnt help with operation fee.
 
I have 3 of mine with Animal Friends and my male Dobe needed a cruciate op last year, I rang them and they were excellent, and they payed the vet in about 10days, I also had complimentary cover so he got hydrotherapy as well.
 
I'm with the kennel club. No idea if they're any good as I've never made a claim.

I'm not sure any insurers will pay out on a pre existing condition.
 
I don't have insurance for my dogs but have in the past had trouble with horse insurance.

however, it does seem to be really beneficial to those who end up needing major surgery but as you say it's finding the right one.

As amymay says I don't think any will cover you for a pre-existing condition. But check with your vet to see if they do their own version of an extended health plan. It won't be insurance as such, but sometimes the savings on vaccination and flea/tick control can help offset any costs - and some like ours will also offer an accidental cover insurance once you're on their plan.
 
I'm with the NFU and find them excellent. have always paid out what ever.

Horses, Dogs and Land Rover all insured with them.

One dog has 3 ongoing claims and have never had a problem them paying out.

Have a claim in at the moment for both LR and 1 horse and again have found the very helpful.
 
I'm with Direct Line, and though they take a while to pay out, they have paid out with no problem. In the case of emergency you only have to contact them as soon as you reasonably can, so if at night emergency surgery is carried out no problem. However my premiums which started at £18 per month have now gone up to just over £50 per month. There is a lifetime limit per condition of £8,000 the excess is £80 and doesn't change as they get older.
I was shocked at how the premium has risen.
This is for a 7 year old lab, in the greater london area.
For another dog we may go down the line of insuring for the first two years to check there are no congenital problems with the joints and then cancel and put the money away. My friend is with Marks and Spencer and warns against them her premium for a golden retreiver about the age of mine is over £2,000 as a result of making a few claims!!
 
Tesco were best value for us and paid out without a murmur for £3000 cruciate operation, then various issues over the years for accidents/stitches/operations.
 
Petplan are considered the Gold Standard of insurers - nearly all vets will claim direct from them so you don't have to pay out up front. They appear expensive to start with tend not to have huge jumps on premiums as the dogs age even if you claim so, over a dogs lifetime probably work out good value IYSWIM
Axa were also very good but have closed to new customers. NFU are also good but if I remember correctly you have to have other insurance with them (car/house) before you can insure dogs?

The named/supermarket insurance policies can and do change underwriters which could mean a huge change in T&Cs, service and premiums at any renewal - but at that point you're stuck with them if you have had a claim as no insurer will cover pre existing conditions or anything that arises from them in future i.e. arthritis in a leg previously broken/operated on.

I'm the poster child :) of why (good) insurance should be considered seriously. When I got my well bred, health tested pedigree large puppy I had 3 cats and 2 small dogs, none of whom had been insured. I considered insuring him - PetPlan wanted £36 a month, E&L £4.50 (says it all really about the two companies) so I decided not to bother with it. After all, I'd never paid out more than £100-£150 on any other of the animals in one go in 20 years.

What a fool I was. That big dog lived 8 and a half years and his big vet bills were as follows - note that these don't include the routine costs like vaccs, the ear cleanings until I discovered the powder whose name I can't remember, castration, the xrays after he ran into a tree and knocked him self out and so on.

At 3 years old
3 x Cruciate Ligament repairs at RVC - he wrecked one op by jumping a stair gate so it had to be repeated £3300
Xrays to diagnose CL problems and after care at local vets £350

At 5 yo
Xrays x 2 a month apart when he was showing lameness on a front leg 2 weeks after taking a corner at speed on icy concrete - big crash! They were repeated as first xrays showed a worrying shadow and bone cancer was feared. £500 approx
Bone chip removal after MRI scan at RVC £2400

After that surgery he went to hydrotherapy anything between once and three times a week for the rest of his life, lets average it out at twice a week for 50 weeks a year for three years @ £17 per session £5100

At 8 yo

He had an epilas (sp?) on his gum that had been removed twice and the second time returned in weeks, A biopsy was concerning was he was referred to AHT for investigations. This included a MRI, blood tests etc £3500
They recommended removing half of his lower jaw to deal with the tumour there and found another tumour on his pituitary gland which would be a tricky op with a high risk of severe bleeding (50% success rate) and an estimate of £12 - 14k in costs for both ops plus 6 weeks at the AHT. I decided on palliative care for him at that point because I really couldn't bare the thought of putting a dog that age through such big ops with low success rates. The cost was an issue but my lovely OH offered to pay (even though I'm sure I heard him mutter about how you could buy a new car for that. He says he wouldn't say that :))

If he'd been insured on a lifetime policy with a decent insurer all except the hydrotherapy would have been covered. PetPlan would have paid £750 a year towards it plus the insurer would have paid, less the excess for his other 'oops' moments which were probably £2k plus over his lifetime (he was a klutz :) ) £36 a month seems like a bargain now...so my advice would be to pay for the best cover you can afford. I don't regret his costs, certainly the ortho ops and hydro were worth every penny as they kept him mobile, painfree and active to his dying day and I still miss him terribly over 2 years later.

As it happens I lost him 12 weeks later when his front leg shattered due to a bone tumour - which hadn't been there/shown on the MRI - such a horrible, fast, brutal disease so I was very glad his last weeks hadn't been spent having ops and in pain away from home. IYKWIM.
 
Bumping this to say never, ever Animal Friends. I have defended them in the past, they have a terrible reputation at work but have always paid out promptly for my dog's claims so I ignored the warnings and thought they were ok. They have now declined to cover my last three claims despite vet letters providing evidence and requesting reassessment. My premium has more than doubled.

Told them to shove off, got far more comprehensive lifetime cover with Petplan with only minimal exclusions for pre-existing conditions (some of which will even be lifted after a certain time period) for half the price.

Dog #2 is with Direct Line who are good, if slow to pay up (average 6-8 weeks). But take it from someone who deals with upwards of a dozen pet insurance claims a day, Petplan is the gold standard!
 
@Blackcob, totally agree with Direct Line being slow to pay! What puts me off Petplan though, I was told this when I got a quote, once the dog got to 8 you had to pay the excess plus the first 20% of the claim, I thought this was extortionate and actually cancels out them not putting the premiums up because of your dog's claims history. Also I have heard anecdotally that Petplan did increase someone's premiums through their personal claims history.
At this time, and it may change Directline does not increase the excess as the dog gets older which was a big consideration to me.
It is such a minefield because once you have claimed you would be unwise to move, however hard you research insurers can change the goalposts.
 
I am with Petplan, I have to pay first 75£ then 20% of the rest of the claim. First time I have claimed, they wanted the dogs history from the vet and you have to declare whatever its been treated for prior to taking out insurance. However, they paid out within a week, and I have an ongoing claim now, so will see if they continue to impress.

I did try to take out cheaper insurance but other companies wouldn't even quote once dog had reached 8!
 
Keep us posted as to what happens to your premium at the renewal, not that I could swap with this dog.
She has been kept in on a drip for stomach upset, had necrotic tissue removed from her pad under anaesthic, gets lame on her front leg very occasinally and is under the vet hospital for allergies!! Actually this sounds worse than it is and currently all is well!!
 
I am with Direct Line, and have their top cover for my terrier. Made a couple of claims, the biggest 2 years ago for operation for patella luxation. They paid out with no issues. However premiums have increased and I pay nearly £40 a month now. And also because of the way all health insurances work, a move away to a cheaper insurer wouldn't cover any more issues with the knee (vet advised arthritis is likely as she gets older) won't be covered as it will be as a result of a 'pre existing condition'.
If you can afford the risk of not having it, and maybe putting a little aside each month for unexpected bills, I probably would.
Of course also take into account age of dog, breed, pure or cross, and if it's worth while.
 
wren123 said:
What puts me off Petplan though, I was told this when I got a quote, once the dog got to 8 you had to pay the excess plus the first 20% of the claim
Click to expand...

This is almost standard now unfortunately for older animals - Animal Friends charge up to 35% + excess (and their excess is larger than most at £99).

Direct Line have increased my premium this year though I haven't claimed in the last two policy years. Unlike Animal Friends the premium is still reasonable though and that dog's pre-existing condition precludes switching (unilateral cruciate repair - I need cover in case the other one also needs surgery!) so I'm sticking with them for dog #2.

The benefit with Petplan is the things they cover that other insurers just won't touch - prescription food, dental work, behavioural medication and referral etc. Their complementary therapies list is also one of them most comprehensive.
 
We have our dog insured with kennel club and at four months old they paid out for life saving surgery which amounted to the best part of £6k, we had no problems claiming and they dealt directly with our specialist referral vets.
 
I am with direct line never had a claim and she is nearly 13 but would not risk going uninsured with the cost of medical treatment.
 
I just want third party insurance for mine. I already have the extended vet cover for my 4 and wanted this but no one seems to do it. Does anyone know of such a thing? It's a new requirement from the yard landlord.
 
Do you have a house contents policy, many of those give third party cover for pets. Failing that, I think Dogs Trust membership will give you third party for a dog.
 
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