we had 6 weeks free insurance cover with Zak with petplan which I activated immediately I got him home, really wish I hadn't because 3 weeks after he had anal gland infection which admittedly they paid out on but then he wasnt covered with my normal insurance company cause it was a pre excisting condition.
After 3 years of continual infections and a collosal amount of money (£0000 's and no insurance cover) I asked the vet to remove them. The last bill I paid was £1080 then two months after that the surgery to remove them was about £1600 luckily the vet let me pay him monthly
So the FREE insurance certainly wasn't FREE for me, I would never use it again so lesson learnt there
____________ Never look down on anybody unless your helping them up
I have tried pet insurance in the past but didn't really find it to be worth it unless your animal has serious medical conditions that require constant trips to the vet. Even then there are things they won't cover. Something like a veterinary discount plan might be more economical in the long run. My sister in the US uses Pet Assure and gets a discount right when she pays and costs only something like 10 USD per month. Might be worth checking out something similar in the UK.
I have tried pet insurance in the past but didn't really find it to be worth it unless your animal has serious medical conditions that require constant trips to the vet. Even then there are things they won't cover. Something like a veterinary discount plan might be more economical in the long run. My sister in the US uses Pet Assure and gets a discount right when she pays and costs only something like 10 USD per month. Might be worth checking out something similar in the UK.
I think there are a few things they wont cover BUT none of us can be 100% sure that the pups we pick are going to need minimal intervention throughout their lives.
Lots of us just pay for things like tummy upsets - as often its much less hassle than claiming BUT should (God forbid) your dog need major surgery, new hips, have an accident and be hit by a car - unless you are rich - you will regret not taking any cover out.
They also cover other things - like - some will cover kennell fees should you have to go in to hospital. Some will cover the cost of a holiday falling through because your dog is sick, will cover damage made to your house (carpets chewed, sofas eaten etc) and will also cover the cost of the damage to anyones car should, unfortunately, your dog get out and cause an accident. There are far more reasons TO insure than Not!
I know money is tight - but I'd rather go without food for myself to afford cover (even if it was minimal) than risk having one of the members of my family put to sleep because I can't cover a huge bill that may arise.
I'm with Direct Line, the first year I got a discount for new policy and paid £16 per month, next year £22, then £23 per month this year. We have the Advanced or LIfetime policy (whatever it is called).
I claimed £567 the first year and about £400 the second year but haven't seen major increases. They have not quibbled over claims at all.
Cover is £6000 per condition I think, one excess (£80) payable per condition.
The premium is reviewed each year for lifetime cover and usually goes up every year (with some companies it is more than others).
Lifetime cover means that a condition will be covered for the life of your dog (or until you have claimed your maximum limit). A 12 month policy will only cover a condition for the first 12 months of that condition. They will generally cover your dog into old age unless stated but some companies increase the excess or make you pay a percentage of the claim as the dog gets older.
If you don't have lifetime cover and your dog suffers from a long term condition eg diabetes, epilepsy, HD etc the treatment will only be covered for the first 12 months.
Once any ailment is added to your vet's records it becomes a pre-existing condition for any new policies so if you started a new policy for year 2 nothing on your vetinary record (whether claimed for or not) would be covered ever again (unless you can prove that it is absolutely not connected). Imagine that your puppy shows signs of hip problems at 6 months but there's nothing significant so you wait and see if anything develops. At 14 months you start a new policy with the same company because they are offering a substantial discount on new policies compared with the price for renewals. 2 months later your dog's hips have really deteriorated and he needs an operation. The insurance company won't pay out because it was a pre-existing condition.
It is vital that you choose the right policy to start with or it could end up worthless when you want to claim.
Also be aware that new policies also have a 14 day settling in period where you can't claim for anything other than accidents.
From what I have read I believe that if you do not purchase the lifetime cover you can only claim for any particular illness once. So if you make a claim for HD for example you will then be exempt from ever claiming for HD again.
I hope I am right in thinking this as this is why I have gone for lifetime...
I have lifetime cover up to �7k (there's a �4k one too) with Pet Plan. It's �29/mth with a �75 excess. We couldn't get it until he was 8 weeks old so we had him before we got the insurance. However, we did have 4 weeks free insurance from the Kennel Club via the breeder.
We chose them on the recommendation of a vet friend and also because they can pay the vet direct rather than you paying the vet and then claiming it back from the insurance company which just seems a bit too much hassle to me.
Good luck!
Ditto, we've had quite a few claims and they've been really good as well I recommend them.
The premium is reviewed each year for lifetime cover and usually goes up every year (with some companies it is more than others).
Lifetime cover means that a condition will be covered for the life of your dog (or until you have claimed your maximum limit). A 12 month policy will only cover a condition for the first 12 months of that condition. They will generally cover your dog into old age unless stated but some companies increase the excess or make you pay a percentage of the claim as the dog gets older.
If you don't have lifetime cover and your dog suffers from a long term condition eg diabetes, epilepsy, HD etc the treatment will only be covered for the first 12 months.
Once any ailment is added to your vet's records it becomes a pre-existing condition for any new policies so if you started a new policy for year 2 nothing on your vetinary record (whether claimed for or not) would be covered ever again (unless you can prove that it is absolutely not connected). Imagine that your puppy shows signs of hip problems at 6 months but there's nothing significant so you wait and see if anything develops. At 14 months you start a new policy with the same company because they are offering a substantial discount on new policies compared with the price for renewals. 2 months later your dog's hips have really deteriorated and he needs an operation. The insurance company won't pay out because it was a pre-existing condition.
It is vital that you choose the right policy to start with or it could end up worthless when you want to claim.
Also be aware that new policies also have a 14 day settling in period where you can't claim for anything other than accidents.
So surely it's a given for everyone to get a lifetimes cover, as something could crop up whenever?
Do most lab forum owners have life cover and have been the same policy for numerous years? Or have life cover but still review the cost each yeah to try and get it cheaper...?
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