Pet Insurance - Advice Please

[Bikertec]

Just a up date looking through the market for dog insurances seems rather confusing. what I am looking for is a policy for 2 Jack russels does anyone have any recommendations.

[rubydo1]

My advice is open a bank account for your dogs, pay a certain amount each month . Let's face it most bills are under £80 so you can't claim insurance anyway . I know loads that had pet insurance but have stopped it . Plus if the vets know you have insurance they offer tests left right and center .

Edited May 5, 2015 by rubydo1

[berlingo]

. Plus if the vets know you have insurance they offer tests left right and center .

 

Yet again a miss representation of what insurance is for.. Vets do not put prices up if they know you are insured and offer everyone the same access to treatment, however if you are unable/don't want to pay for blood test etc then that is up to the individual. Insured or not you still make your own descision. My dogs are insured with more than. m & s are good and also Tesco. The best are indeed Pet plan and if you can afford it then use them as they always pay out but are probably the mose expensive..

We have plenty of peoople who regularily go over their excess. and others who never do.

Insurance, weather for home, travel, cars or pets is "a waste of money" if you never need it but " best thing ever" if you do

Edited May 6, 2015 by berlingo

[ccit]

Insurance for dogs is quite confusing. Jack Russell Terriers are reputedly quite healthy and long lived dogs so you should find that premiums reflect this. I have my dogs covered by LV and here are some of the things that I looked for:

* Excess - some companies have it set at the first £80 but if you look around you can get it to £60.

* Term of cover - some policies will stop paying out for one condition after 12 months, others provide lifetime cover up to a certain amount - usually about £6,000 or £7,000. Clearly lifetime cover is best in the event of a chronic illness such as diabetes.

* Check if they cover things such as hydrotherapy and other alternative treatments which are prescribed by the vet.

* Kennelling in the event of the owner being taken ill.

* Third party cover - could be useful if the dog causes an accident.

 

When it comes to paying out there are two ways - owner pays the vet and reclaims the money from the insurance company or the vet is paid directly by them.

 

As mentioned above you can put money aside each month but you need to be very disciplined. However, the risk is that you may not have enough saved in the event of some illnesses. A friend of mine had her dog in a veterinary referral hospital last year for a serious illness and the bill came to a little over £2,000. It's a big decision so have a good look around and maybe use the comparison websites on the Internet.

[rubydo1]

. Plus if the vets know you have insurance they offer tests left right and center .

 

Yet again a miss representation of what insurance is for.. Vets do not put prices up if they know you are insured and offer everyone the same access to treatment, however if you are unable/don't want to pay for blood test etc then that is up to the individual. Insured or not you still make your own descision. My dogs are insured with more than. m & s are good and also Tesco. The best are indeed Pet plan and if you can afford it then use them as they always pay out but are probbly the mose expensive..

We have plenty of peoople who regularily go over their excess. and others who never do.

Insurane, weather for home, travel, cares or pets is "a waste of money" if you never need it but " best thing ever" if you do

 

 

I didn't say they put prices up ? I'm just going on past experience of being asked if I had insurance with some of the vets I've had .

Anyhow with a pet account if they are healthy you are quids in . If not you have money aside for vet bills . At least your not paying out dead money to insurance companies .

Just saying :-)

Edited May 5, 2015 by rubydo1

[*Peaches*]

I dont insure either, I have a bank account and a credit card if anything ever happens to mine. Luckily my vets knows me very well through the rescue piggies so if a major bill comes up, they let me pay in installments

[ccit]

Bikertec - I forgot to say that when you are doing your comparisons, be careful of policies that are very cheap. We came across some that have a high excess and (if I remember this correctly) a percentage of the bill minus this excess has to be made in the event of a claim. I seem to recall that it was something to do with the veterinary fee but not 100% sure as it is a few years ago.

 

Unfortunately the only way you can tackle this is to sit down and spend time looking at each one, bearing in mind what you want from the policy and what you can afford to pay. When we insured our pets it took me the best part of a weekend to sift through it all. Very confusing. However, if you can get the right policy it does give some peace of mind, especially if you don't have savings. Good quality, modern veterinary care, especially when a referral hospital is needed can be extremely expensive.

 

Irrespective of health insurance, dog owners ought to consider third party liability insurance such as the one provided by Dogs Trust for £25.

Edited May 5, 2015 by ccit

[Bikertec]

Thankyou for your advice I think when we have some spare time we go through what was recommended.

[jstarr]

Petplan is definitely the best - only charge excess for the first treatment ,not every time as some insurers do. They pay without quibbling and are always helpful .Our last dog needed medication which cost about £85 per month for the last three years of his life and the diagnostic tests to establish what his problem was came to £500 .We paid £50 excess at the beginning and that was all it ever cost us, Petplan paid for the rest.Brilliant - you get what you pay for!