Question:
I'm looking at purchasing pet insurance for my dog. 9 month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I am at a total loss there are just so many to chose from. Any one out there with advice or can you recommend an insurance company. Thanks PF
Answers:
After looking around and checking through insurance policies we ended up insuring our dog with Marks & Spencer.
Policy is one of the best around IMHO and there's an option to pay a little more on your premium and reduce the excess to a zero excess.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Steve
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Take heed from our mistake, we never read the small print and when our Shar Pei started having fits our inurance did not want to know for the long term.... this.. our vet said was common.
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I use E & L, the premium includes pet registration - a plastic tag to go on your dog's collar that is printed with a telephone number and ID number. If your dog is found wandering, a finder/rescue agency/police can contact the reg. service and you will be advised of your dogs whereabouts.
Details
Answers:
Hi Fiona,
I know that this is not what you asked for, but I've read elsewhere on these boards that a lot of people self-insure.
i.e. They save a set amount each week/month that they would otherwise spend on pet insurance and if it is ever needed then they pay the bill from that. Not having any high maintenance pets at the moment, I don't know how workable it actually is.
Answers:
Hi Fiona,
I have 2 staffys () i spent quite a lot of time looking for insurance in order to get the best deal if there were any long term problems. I ended up using More Than for their insurance, They are now 5 years old & i haven`t had to claim yet so in theory i coulda saved myself about £1500, BUT my mother in law has a staffy b1tch & so far she has had to pay about £7000 on treatment due to various breakages & stuff so i`m glad mine are insurred just in case .
Also u need the public liability insurance which u get with insuring them.
Sk1n
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I know that when I shopped around 3 years ago for my pup, not many companies would pay out for a condition for life. I chose PetPlan for that reason and I pay about £18 a month. I know it's a lot but my dog is worth it and I know that god forbid, if anything happened, I'm covered.
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sk1n, thanks for the advice. Great picture. My littlun is quite a character. Im hoping when he is older to get an addition to the family. How do your 2 get on together. So far he get's on really well with other dogs but I know friends of mine with staffies have major probs with their dogs mixing with others. PF
Answers:
Hi Take alook at these
Not tried them myself but friend says they are good.
I would NOT recommend Pet Healthcare Services. Although they paid when our dog had treatment, as she is now old, they put the premuim up from £240 to £371 per annum+ £90 per claim. Tried to make excuses, but told them where they could stick there premium, and that was after 12 years as a loyal customer!! Now she is far too old to be insured by anyone with the exception of animals friends, they do take older dogs. Having said that we are risking it at the moment, may regret it but we shall see.
Be careful with insurance companies, when we started with Pet Healthcare services, premiums were reasonable but then started to go up and up as she got older, their statement orginally was your dog will ALWAYS be insured with us, yes but look what they flippin do, bung the premiums up so high, it does not become viable.
D
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Well most insurance is around £14-£21 a month, so why not just stick £20 a month into a savings account just for your dog, that way it will build up, and if your dog never has to visit the vet, then you have a tidy little sum which is yours. Giving it to an insurance company and all that money you lose if your dog never visits the vets...
My mum insured her German Shephard years ago, he never ever went to the vets, and we worked out we would have had a tidy bit saved if not gone with an insurance company.
If you think about it, not many dogs have to visit the vets often. In 6 months by paying in £20 a month in a savings account, you will save £120, how many dogs have to visit the vets every 6 months..
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so why not just stick £20 a month into a savings account just for your dog, that way it will build up, and if your dog never has to visit the vet, then you have a tidy little sum which is yours.
If you think about it, not many dogs have to visit the vets often. In 6 months by paying in £20 a month in a savings account, you will save £120, how many dogs have to visit the vets every 6 months..
This sounds fine in theory, but if a dog developes a condition needing long term treatment you could easily find yourself visiting the vets on a monthly basis and it costing a whole lot more than £20. Our dog has medication each month at a cost of £52, and visits the vet every 3 months for check ups. Luckily he is insured.
A lot of young dogs only see the vet once a year for their injections, but when they get older can develop problems, as we humans do, which need expensive treatment, and you are likely to find that you cannot obtain insurance for them at this time.
Answers:
E&L are the curse of any dog lovers forum, most people hate them as they may be cheap but they are a nightmare when you need to claim.
Best ones are Marks and Spencers and PetPlan, you need one that will continue to pay for the lifetime of the illness and not a set amount or increase in premiums the following year. I have 4 dogs and so put money aside but if I only had one then insurance is the best bet, esp for the first year or 2 of your dogs life as thats when any major joint problems can appear and they are the really expensive things to sort out
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When we bought ours we found Sainsbury's to be the best. £3.95 per cat, and not only were they cheapest, but also had the highest levels of cover in each category.
However they do not cover you for 'lifetime' illnesses which I realise is a risk. Took ours out about 1 year ago now so probably about time I reviewed it. We've already had to claim and they were very friendly, efficient and prompt at paying. I'd happily recommend them.
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I save money each month for my cat as she has a renal problem and is no longer covered for it.
However, I also insure her as she will be covered for everything else. I got my insurance thru Lloyds - and they have been very competitive and I've had no problem at all with claims.
If you want the 'full monty' in pet insurance you need to go for the policy that covers a condition for life - not just for one year or a certain amount of claim.
To put things in perspective about costs - my cat has to have regular blood tests every 3 months - that's £50 a time. She also has medication which was £16 per month but is now down to £8 as she's improved so much so she's on less. On top of this she had to have a renal diet - can't recall how much that was but it was prescription only (She's now back on normal food as she has improved so much).
But you can see how a chronic condition can add up. Not insuring at all can leave you with big bills if you have not saved enough - I understand the average broken leg plus surgery can be in excess of £500?
So it's possibly worth self insurance to a small extent and buying a cheaper policy that will cover for the unexpected accident and large bill.
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The vet I use (Medivet Enfield) have put together a spreadsheet showing the +/_ of each insurer and whether they recommend them or not. All my 4 cats are insured and I have definately had back more than I paid. Saying that I only have basic insurance with Tesco (which Medivet Enfield do not recommend) which does not cover for life time conditions.
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After much searching eventually plumped for Legal and General for my 2 dogs, if remember correctly, they are both insured for up to £6000 per condition and not time limited (unlike many policies that are limited to a maximum of one year payout per condition) for a little over £12 per dog.
For many years did the £20 into a savings account route, but this soon got used up when when one dog required an operation to remove what turned out to be a cyst, got of lightly considering what the vet diagnosed initially, hence after that fright have gone for pet insurance and a little peace of mind.
Answers:
the only advice i can give you is to avoid More Than. They'll take your money but don't want to pay out. Same as most Insurance companies I suppose.