Pet Insurance

[JES72]

Homer pet insurance renewal has popped through the letterbox this morning.
In basic terms £4,000 of cover for £64 per month. So time to have another look and an internet search.

So just a few questions...
Has pet insurance been worthwhile to you or is it a necessary evil?
Have you claimed successfully for big or small bills?
Do premiums go up after you've claimend?
Have you chosen the best possible cover or just cover the basics?
Have you made your own arrangements or savings?

Any views and opinions.

 

[HAH]

We have insurance with Agria, life cover with a small excess (£100?). Haven’t claimed yet, chose them after a fair bit of research as they seemed to be fairly no-fuss and I think our vet gave them a good (unaffiliated) report.

As for getting cover at all, we thought we’d go ‘bells & whistles’ for our first hound - but I know lots of people who have their own pot they pay into.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Pet plan paid a large amount for Doug from when he was 8 until he was 15. They did not like it often causes fuss and refused to pay. 3 times they tried to stop 3 times I fought and won. None of my the other pets have an illness like this. Most claims have been paid quickly.i just don't trust them I am very careful and record everything I say to them.i think like most insurance companies they try to find reasons not to pay.

 

[Charlie]

Petplan here, £7,000 cover for each dog, lifetime cover for any illness. Yearly around £640 for both dogs. I did claim for Charlie when he had his accident, £2000 they paid up no problem at all. Yes my premiums went up after the claim. It goes up by quite a bit yearly as Hattie is almost 11 years old. Most of my friends don't have pet insurance any more and pay into a separate savings accoun for any eventuality. I also have a friend that used the Dogs Trust third party insurance and just topped it up with the basic cover from an insurance company, it only costed her £100 per year. It's on their website which might be worth looking at @JES72

It's a bit like dog food, a mine field xx

 

[MaccieD]

When Juno was little I had a bells & whistle policy for her in France. Then we had the ED diagnosis, scans, x-rays, operation, hydrotherapy - the whole kit and kaboodle. Completed a claim form with the help of our vet going back to the first instance of limping, and our insurer rejected the claim. Not a euro or cent would they pay claiming ED was hereditary or congenital so specifically excluded. Needless to say I cancelled the insurance. Moving back to the UK of course there are only a couple of companies that will insure her - as long as we haven't had to consult the vet on anything ED related. So we just cover all vet bills as we go from our income/savings. Reviewing what we have paid in vet bills, even allowing for her colitis in May, which would probable have been excluded due to treatment for ED , our bills don't normally exceed the excess amount and certainly not the annual cost.

 

[Jennifer]

I'm considering the Dogs Trust third party insurance which Helen mentioned (@Charlie ) next time S&S insurance is up for renewal. At the moment I'm with More Than. I got their premier cover for the price of their standard as they had an offer on but made sure this would apply every year which they said it would. This year my premium was around £1400 which included multi pet discount and 10% voluntary excess. M When Murphy was 11 he had an op after which I decided I probably wouldn't put him through a major op again so as my insurance premium had gone up a lot because of the claim and his age I stopped the insurance. Murphy ended up on the most expensive tablets ever for his liver which I could have claimed for however even those wouldn't have exceeded the premium over 12 months. I liked the idea of the Dogs Trust third party insurance as the money is going to a good cause. I'm sure in the advert I saw it was only £25 a year but I may be wrong. I feel I need third party insurance for S&S just incase and can't find another pet insurance that just covers that. I looked into the Dog Trust insurance briefly and my only concern was on a money forum someone was discussing the fact Dog Trust only cover civil cases not criminal. Not sure when a civil case against a dog becomes a criminal case and if this applies to all pet insurance.

 

[Charlie]

Here's the link: x

Dogs Trust Membership | Dogs Trust

 

[Jennifer]

Thanks Helen (@Charlie ) I think it looks a good deal if all that's wanted is third party and let's face it whose going to looks after S&S if I drop dead Just need to look into the difference between a civil case and criminal and if all pet insurance only covers civil cases.

 

[MaccieD]

Just need to look into the difference between a civil case and criminal and if all pet insurance only covers civil cases.

I think you'll find the difference is 'criminal case' is being prosecuted for an offence by the police. For example keeping a Dangerous Dog. Probably no insurance covers criminal cases though. Civil of course is a member of the public suing you for damages/costs caused by your dog/s.

 

[Boogie]

Very worthwhile.

My Cavalier, Callum, had an £7000 operation on his eye and Tatze had a £2000 operation to remove a broken tooth. They paid up no problems. There’s no way we could save that sort of money.

I was with John Lewis and they were great, but they wanted to put it up to £60 a month so I have moved to LV - same cover (£10,000 lifetime) for £38 a month. We are lucky as she has no pre-existing conditions, she’s five years old.
.

 

[Jennifer]

Thanks Rosemary. Had a look at the Dog Trust insurance FAQ. They pay legal defence costs in a criminal court but not fines, compo or penalties if prosecuted.

 

[kateincornwall]

I have Tesco for Nelly and had it for Sam too . They paid up without a quibble for Sams surgery and basic biopsy of marginal tissue, but wouldn't pay for the more accurate immunohisto chemistry testing which gave a definite diagnosis because the said it wasn't absolutely necessary ( although it damned well was for us ) . They did pay up for Nelly when she had extensive Xrays but raised the premium a little, typical , but am sticking with them for now as she has an underlying health problem so a new company might balk at that , better the devil and all that !

 

[edzbird]

We choose not to insure, but to have sufficient funds to cover should an event arise. Touch wood, we've never had to have any costly treatment in our 12 years. I am, however, going to look at that Dogs Trust 3rd party insurance.

 

[Jacqui-S]

We were insure with Argos Platinum which was lifetime cover and fairly reasonable (I can't remember exact figures).
After she passed 5 years old there was a steep hike each year, and last year we took the decision not to renew.

We had an initial claim for orthopaedic consultation at 10 months or so and they paid this with no quibble. We never claimed for her anti-inflammatory tablets or anything else. Neither did we claim a year or so ago when she had surgery for her ripped ear, or when she had a biopsy on her leg. I think we have been a cheap date all considering.

We are fortunate in that we could pay out in an emergency without worrying. We can't now ever see hip surgery being an option. And I am not a believer in excessive treatments. I am a quality of life over quantity person.
We are happy now to just take anything on the chin that comes along, though have never really considered the 3rd party issues. Hmm.

 

[MaccieD]

It's worth checking your household insurance, not sure if it is under Contents or Buildings, as some do cover 3rd party damage caused by animals

 

[snowbunny]

We have added our dogs to our Contents insurance for third party liability. I think we pay something like €25 per dog per year for that, which isn't cheap - but insurance in general tends to be expensive in Andorra.

 

[Jennifer]

I was originally with with Tesco like Kate when S&S were pups and found them very good. Reasonable price and they paid out no problem for all the issues S&S had with their bladders. I only changed because I prefer to pay the premium in one lump sum rather than direct debit. Tesco will only do direct debit.

We can't now ever see hip surgery being an option. And I am not a believer in excessive treatments. I am a quality of life over quantity person.
We are happy now to just take anything on the chin that comes along, though have never really considered the 3rd party issues. Hmm.

I'm with Jac. Quality of life not quantity is the most important thing to me. I believe there comes a point when excessive treatment is not always in the best interest for the dog. Age, recovery and quality of life after treatment being the main factors.

 

[Shaz82]

I am in my 2nd year of Kennel Club insurance, basically because at my renewal time Maisy had a problem and I would have had to declare that with a new insurer and I was worried they would not cover for it if it reoccurred in the future. The cost was just over £400 a year and the excess is £160, so it is not worth claiming for most vet visits or treatment. I have claimed once for a procedure, there was no problem with that at all and it did not increase the premium.

 

[UncleBob]

Wow, the premiums really escalate quickly don't they. I'm leaning towards the Dog's Trust public liability and self-insuring the vet's fess. How are the rest of you finding your renewal quotes?

 

[Jacqui-S]

The same.
We had Argos Platinum too until we didn't renew it about 18 months ago.
A steep rise year on year.
Claimed only once for ortho vet consult and x-ray. Always paid for any meds and small things anyway.
We are lucky to be financially secure enough to find the money if we need it in an emergency.