I am in the same position at the moment and have been looking around for a while.
I am 90% sure that I am going to go with Pet Plan, I know I wanted life-time cover so looked at the companies that offer that and Pet Plan is coming on top at the moment.
When I took Bailey for her puppy check I asked the vet to recommend the best insurance company, and she said Pet Plan. She actually has her dog insured with M&S but said they have changed the wording in the policy now for people who take new policies out, so would recommend Pet Plan over M&S now, but said M&S are still really good.
We opted for Sainsbury's plan. It has £50 excess and cover for £6,500 Vetinary bills annually as well as lots of further cover. Seemed good value for just over £150. We didn't fully investigate but compared a few and this looked the best to us. Good luck.
We have got "more than" insurance. They are really quick on the paying out side of things (24 hour turnaround), really helpful too on the helpline (UK customer services).
Their policy has really good cover.
i still dont know who to go with myself although directline looks good and axa looks good also, the vets that we are with couldnt recommend as it they couldnt tell us which one but do look out for the ones that covers hips and that
I would have a very good look round and take your time (but not TOO much!) - do be careful and check the cover carefully. I think Sainsbury's cover is per condition not per year for example (I nearly changed to them for the cats this year and only found that out accidentally when checking the cover out with them over the phone)
Definitely definitely get lifetime cover. My poor little Neo has ongoing diarrhoea problems and it would be a real issue if it was not for the insurance cover (LLoyds - and excellent - but no longer doing lifetime cover sadly) at approximately £100 to £200 per month on average.
Another thing to check is whether they will pay for prescription diets - something I never thought to check. Thankfully Lloyds does ( as I said brilliant!) but my friend who is with I think Direct Line does not get hers covered - and at almost £50 per 10kg that is a significant cost. What they do is pay the difference between normal food and the prescription diet - something worth having if sadly your dog needs a prescription diet.
I would also suggest you try M & S who insure my cats - they were very good value but so good that they re-jigged their rates and the premiums went up by 150% - and they were STILL competitive! They are also very good payers - here is a salutary tale.
In brief (if you want the long version I'll supply it!) my kitten Tia was deliberately run over - 3 weeks after taking out the insurance cover - not only did they pay for all the treatment and complications they refunded the holiday that I had to cancel - and all told it came to over £3,000. Payment was made promptly and the kindness of the staff whilst I sat and sobbed all over them (down the phone!) was legendary.
So definitely get your doggy insured and make sure that it is lifetime cover just to be on the safe side.
To have my cat & dog insured with Tesco's has just come out at £20.89 a month with extra cover....Is that good?
T&C's
Period of Cover: This Policy operates on a monthly basis with some cover limits having a maximum applied per year. Premium & policy terms may change at the anniversary of the policy or before if alterations to the policy are made by you.
Veterinary Fees Cover: Each condition is covered for 12 months from its onset, up to a maximum of £2,500. The excess chosen is applicable once per condition. There is no cover for preventative or routine treatments, pregnancy, behavioural problems, most dental problems or for ´prescribed´ food.
Accidental Death: Reimbursement of the purchase price should your pet die as a result of an accidental injury.
Theft or Straying: Up to £500 towards advertising expenses. Reimbursement of the purchase price if your pet is not recovered within 45 days.
Boarding: Up to £500 towards boarding your pet if, unexpectedly, you have to go into hospital and stay for more than 4 consecutive days.
Holiday Cancellation & Curtailment: Up to £1,000 towards non-recoverable expenses should you have to cancel or cut short your holiday, either during or within 7 days of departure, due to your pet becoming lost or needing emergency life-saving treatment.
Third Party Liability: For dogs only. Cover for damage or injury your dog causes, for which you are legally responsible as the person in charge of the pet, up to £1,000,000. Excess £250 for property damage claims.
Pet Travel Cover: Extends the cover above for trips to countries included in the Government´s Pet Travel Scheme. Cover is for a maximum of 30 days per trip and 3 trips per 12 month period, and is only valid if all the criteria of the Pet Travel Scheme are followed. Choosing this cover gives you: Government´s Pet Travel Scheme. Cover is for a maximum of 30 days per trip and 3 trips per 12 month period, and is only valid if all the criteria of the Pet Travel Scheme are followed. Choosing this cover gives you:
Quarantine Costs - Reimbursement up to £1,500 should the microchip fail or if, due to an illness your pet has to go into quarantine.
Loss of Health Certificate - Reimbursement up to £250 towards the cost of a replacement pet ´passport´ should this be lost during your holiday.
Repeat Tick and Worming Treatment - should the original treatment need repeating due to the transport company delaying your return travel.
Emergency Expenses - Up to £300 towards accommodation, transportation or repatriation of you under certain specified circumstances.
I think that I would avoid this insurance - unless I am reading it wrong. It says that conditions are covered for a maximum of 1 year and to a maximum of £2,500 per condition. If I had had that Neo would not be covered and as I say he costs me on average about £100 + per month - last month for example he cost me £200 and that was excluding the jabs that you can't claim for.... Also Tia I would have been left with between £500 and £1000 to find in addition to the excess - I can't quite decide how much that accident cost - apart from too much and a desire to do the same to the perpetrator!
Also it does not cover prescription food and that would leave me with a £50 bill every 3 weeks or less...
M&S are charging me about £12 to £14 per cat per month, but I get lifetime cover so if Tia ever gets arthritis as a result of that accident it is covered. i think from what you have posted that she would not be with Tescos. Pet insurance is a calculated risk - if you get top insurance and don't need it, it is a huge waste of money - if you get limited insurance or no insurance and need it then you could literally be spending thousands...
I know one of my doggy friends for reasons that I cannot fathom because it was so obviously the wrong thing to do, decided to change from PetPlan which was costing her for 1 lab over £24 a month to Tesco which was going to cost her £7 per month. Only problem her lab has serious arthritis and of course as an ongoing condition Tesco excluded it! That error is costing her over £45 per month....
My advice to you would be to read the small print very carefully, decide what cover you want/need and then phone the insurance companies to check... where animal health is concerned a mistake can be very costly to the owner. You would not want to see your baby suffer and so you pay...
If you want to chat about this directly let me know and I will let you have my phone no. I know much time I have wasted looking for pet insurance but at the end of the day the research was well worth it, I am so pleased with the way that both companies have dealt with the claims made and would recommend them to anyone.
Toby is insured with Healthy pets (internet) I paid just under £100 for the year and that was with life time cover. Haven't had to claim yet so can't vouch for customer service yet. It is underwritten by Axa. Shop around.
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