Pet Insurance

[PenelopePitstop]

Hi everyone,

just wondering what your views are on pet insurance, i have a cat and was wondering wether to get her insured in case anything happens to her health wise?!?

do you guys insure your pets? if so do you have any recommendations of who to go with and who not to go with.

Cheers Pen xxx

 

[Klassy Klaws]

Hi Pen I would definatly recommend getting insurance my dog has had to have a few ops and without it I would of had to pay hundreds of pounds
I have her insured with Direct Line every time I claim there is no problem and they can pay the vet direct so you dont have to pay it first then claim it back,you do have an excess to pay but its not that much:biggrin: hth

 

[mobile nail tec]

i insure my cat, tesco are the insurance company, around £5 a month direct debit.

just be aware that some company do not cover their teeth, £95 i paid a vet to take 3 teeth out of the moggy.

had cover for about 5 years now and never used it.

had a dog, got put to sleep 3 years ago, he was insure as well, had lots of problems with him and only paid the excess.

 

[Fingertips ND]

tesco defo

 

[PenelopePitstop]

just tried tesco's £4.96 a month....Bargain!!!

cheers for that x

 

[River]

Wouldn't be without it !

I have 3 cats now and have always used Direct Line (5 years now) and never made a claim (touch wood !!) They always gave us the best price etc. and I was happy with them.

Then one our friend's Lab started having seizures and they had to take him for all sorts of tests totalling £2500 !

It was only then that they realised that not ALL pet insurance is the same. A lot of insurance companies will only pay a set limit a year, for instance £4000 per year, others will pay per incident, e.g. £2000 per incident.

If your pet needs to be on long term medication, a lot of insurance companies will only fund this for one year (within your limit) and after that you are on your own ! The key thing is however, if your pet is diagnosed with a long term illness which requires treatment and medication, no other insurance company will take that pet on, or if they do, they will charge you a fortune !! So, if you are stuck with a crappy insurance company, that's it.

So we changed to Marks & Spencer and haven't looked back. It sounds crazy, but they offer FAR MORE than Direct Line ever did. Have a look and see what you think.

http://www6.marksandspencer.com/pages/default.asp?PageId=home&Product=PI

It really is worth doing a thorough comparison between all the insurance companies and reading the small print. There is a really good web site that outlines all the things that you should look for and look out for in pet insurance.

I'll go have a hunt and post it for you.


River

 

[River]

Hi Pen,

Here it is.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1130761827,56015,



River

 

[bubbabinks]

We didnt have our cat insured and he broke his leg and it cost us £600 to have it fixed, doh!
Ever since then any cats we have had (sadly all passed away) were insured with directline only had to make one claim and they were brilliant.
Dont necessarily take the cheapest insurance go for what they offer.
Directline offer money towards things like missing pet posters. If you ever have to claim you fill in the most simpliest form and thats the last you hear from them cos they do the rest for you.

 

[nailsbydesign]

Make sure that whatever company you chose that they insure the pet for life....some of the cheaper ones might seem a bargain but once the pet developes a problem a lot do not cover them for that condition again when you renew your policy the following year. I was with Petplan for my dog and she developed her first major health problem at 10 weeks old and by the time she died at 3 years old her vets fee had topped £13,000. Petplan paid up each time we claimed for the full 3 years and as long as the problems she had related in some way to what her initial problem was, I only paid the £66 excess once in that insurance year, we had her insured for unlimitted vets fees.

 

[JackieMc]

Just make sure you know how much excess you'll need to pay for each claim.

I can second Marks & Spencer pet insurance, as far as I'm aware they are the only ones to offer 'no excess' - you just pay a small additional premium (and with my mum's dog it's only something like an extra £5.00 a year) - much better than having to pay the first £50 each time!

Jackie

 

[honey30]

hi pen,


i have my dog insured with direct line but only because i work there, they now no longer pay the vet direct and the xs is £60 for dogs, not too sure what it is for cats, but i would just echo what everyone else has said and get it insured.


xdeborahx

 

[MINKUS]

a definate pen.....tyson cost us a few thousand in his lifetime......i would for sure do petplan with another dog if we had one.....i have mont insured

amb xx

 

[Zuise.e]

Hi everyone,

just wondering what your views are on pet insurance, i have a cat and was wondering wether to get her insured in case anything happens to her health wise?!?

do you guys insure your pets? if so do you have any recommendations of who to go with and who not to go with.

Cheers Pen xxx

Yes defo - our cat was having probs eating and we discovered her back teeth were bad - the vets were concernced about taking them out becaue of the anaethetic and her age - but she was losing so much weight and the only other alternative was to have her put to sleep - well we couldn't do that so took the chance - after the op she rapidly went downhill and her heart gave out, she was dragging herself across the floor so we had to call the vet out in the middle of the night to put her to sleep. I know you will pay whatever it takes for your pets but best part a £1000 was a lot to find for the final bill.

Saying that, the cat I've got now who I took when her owner died isn't insured -I keep saying I'll do it and I will tommorrow now I've remembered. I think tesco and asda do a good deal.

 

[River]

Just make sure you know how much excess you'll need to pay for each claim.

I can second Marks & Spencer pet insurance, as far as I'm aware they are the only ones to offer 'no excess' - you just pay a small additional premium (and with my mum's dog it's only something like an extra £5.00 a year) - much better than having to pay the first £50 each time!

Jackie

This is what we've done. To have the £0 excess, it only worked out an additional £8 per year for each cat.

I really think they are good, but obviously you need to do your research and decide what's best for you.

But remember, like someone said previously, cheap doesn't necessarily mean they are good. Some companies have all sorts of weird clauses and conditions.


River

 

[joolz]

ive just found a good one, buddies pet insurance we got the leaflet from the vets yesterday the link is www.puppyquote.co.uk but its not just for dogs

 

[Lady H]

well thanks for starting this thread, I have just insured my puppy with marks and spencer!

 

[kerrie-anne]

I would def recommend petplan insurance. I worked as a vet nurse for 10 years and have seen loads of different insurance companies policies, you really need to be careful. Taking the descision to insure your pet is always a good idea and i think there is no point in going for the cheapest policy as they usually are not the best when it comes to long term conditions. Also make sure they cover your pet for the whole of their life and that they will pay out for ongoing treatment costs for the whole of the animals life, this is where a lot of people get caught out as alot of companies only cover for up to a ceratin amount or until the renewal date and if that pet was to become say diabetic the thats no use. Petplan are great and will also pay your vet direct, there excess isnt that much either. Paying the first £60 of a claim is very little in my opinion when you add up a life time of treatment. I have seen too many people upset when their pet has become seriously ill and there insurance has let them down and they have been left with a wopping big bill.

 

[HAILZTONES]

Hi there fellow geek,

You prompted me to take out pet insurance for my furry baby Tabs. It's something that I've been thinking about doing for years and never getting around to it. Tabitha (Tabs) is 5, I adopted her 2 years ago and love her to bits, she doesn't leave my side when I'm home, she follows me everywhere, even to the loo!!

I just had several quotes online and looked for one that covered dentistry. Couldn't find one. If the dentist needs to take out teeth during an emergency which is causing the cat pain, then you are covered, but not routine dentistry.

I insured her online with Lloyds at £4.60 per month. I looked into the best cover also and it seemed good cover at a good price.

Anyway good luck and thanks for posting your thread otherwise I may not have got around to insuring her!!

Hayley x

 

[JackieMc]

I would def recommend petplan insurance. I worked as a vet nurse for 10 years and have seen loads of different insurance companies policies, you really need to be careful. Taking the descision to insure your pet is always a good idea and i think there is no point in going for the cheapest policy as they usually are not the best when it comes to long term conditions. Also make sure they cover your pet for the whole of their life and that they will pay out for ongoing treatment costs for the whole of the animals life, this is where a lot of people get caught out as alot of companies only cover for up to a ceratin amount or until the renewal date and if that pet was to become say diabetic the thats no use. Petplan are great and will also pay your vet direct, there excess isnt that much either. Paying the first £60 of a claim is very little in my opinion when you add up a life time of treatment. I have seen too many people upset when their pet has become seriously ill and there insurance has let them down and they have been left with a wopping big bill.

Have to agree with the 'whole of life' thing - M&S do have this in case anyone was wondering, and they will pay the vet directly, as long as your vet is willing to accept this. Here's a link in case anyone wants to check out their cover.
http://www6.marksandspencer.com/pages/default.asp?PageId=home&Product=PI

Jackie
x

 

[Lady H]

my insurance is £10 a month with m&s but for the cover you get its well worth it in my opinion.