Dog insurance

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Would someone recommend me a good provider please for a 4 year old choccy lab.

Thanks

Richard
 ianlaw 28 Dec 2016
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Pet plan or Kennel Club. We are with KC, loads of cover and deals directly with the vet.
 LastBoyScout 28 Dec 2016
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Avoid PetPals - turns out they don't actually cover anything = big bill
 Bimble 28 Dec 2016
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

I'm with Direct Line for the collie (pet, £30 a month) and Agria for the spaniel (working dog, £21 a month). Not had any issues with either with regard to paying out etc.
In reply to Bimble:

We are with PetPlan and they have been very good... our dog is a klutz and would have cost us thousands so far in vets bills and have paid out without quibble
 poppydog 29 Dec 2016
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Petplan here also. Not had to use it for my current dog, but did for the previous one and they seemed very good.
 ams558 29 Dec 2016
In reply to Bimble:

Does anyone know of a policy that covers a dog for public liability when the dog is at your place of work? I can't find any policies that cover the dog in your place of work.

Thanks,

Alex
 Bimble 29 Dec 2016
In reply to ams558:

How would the vets/insurers know where any injury takes place?
 Ridge 29 Dec 2016
In reply to Bimble:

> How would the vets/insurers know where any injury takes place?

Since the OP asked about public liability, presumably from the person injured by the dog, (or their lawyers)?
 SouthernSteve 29 Dec 2016
In reply to ams558:

Look at the Dog's Trust - their 3rd party liability insurance is quite unrestricted!
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/get-involved/membership/

 ams558 30 Dec 2016
In reply to SouthernSteve:

Thanks guys, much appreciated.
 timjones 30 Dec 2016
In reply to Bimble:

> I'm with Direct Line for the collie (pet, £30 a month) and Agria for the spaniel (working dog, £21 a month). Not had any issues with either with regard to paying out etc.

Blimey that's over £600 a year!

You'd need some seriously accident prone or unhealthy dogs to regularly spend that much at the vets.
1
ceri 30 Dec 2016
In reply to timjones:
You don't need to spend it regularly though. Last year Ellie dog spent £2.5k on an eye problem that took her to the referral ophthalmologist and £250 on removal and testing of a suspicious lump. Winston has spent several hundred pounds on investigation of his skin problems and is on meds that cost £70 a month plus has started immunotherapy at £200 a year. My oldest dog is on long term arthritis meds for which regular blood tests are recommended to check they are not buggering his kidneys...

If your dog needs a stitch up or other emergency treatment out of hours you could easily spend £600 in a weekend.
Post edited at 12:07
 timjones 30 Dec 2016
In reply to ceri:

> You don't need to spend it regularly though. Last year Ellie dog spent £2.5k on an eye problem that took her to the referral ophthalmologist and £250 on removal and testing of a suspicious lump. Winston has spent several hundred pounds on investigation of his skin problems and is on meds that cost £70 a month plus has started immunotherapy at £200 a year. My oldest dog is on long term arthritis meds for which regular blood tests are recommended to check they are not buggering his kidneys...

> If your dog needs a stitch up or other emergency treatment out of hours you could easily spend £600 in a weekend.

Ever considered the possibility that the knowledge that the insurance will pay allows vets to lean on the pen a little harder when they write the bill
2
ceri 30 Dec 2016
In reply to timjones:

In 6 months I'll be a vet and have worked in vet practices for years. I'd generally say from my experience insurance opens up a world of opportunities for pets to have treatment their owners might not otherwise afford, rather than making a specific treatment cost more. As an uninsured dog, I might opt to miss out old dog's blood tests and just assume his kidneys will be fine, and yes, Ellie would have done OK as a one eyed dog if she wasn't insured. Gold standard treatment costs more and these days we can do things that in the past we wouldn't even consider.
1
 timjones 30 Dec 2016
In reply to ceri:

> In 6 months I'll be a vet and have worked in vet practices for years. I'd generally say from my experience insurance opens up a world of opportunities for pets to have treatment their owners might not otherwise afford, rather than making a specific treatment cost more. As an uninsured dog, I might opt to miss out old dog's blood tests and just assume his kidneys will be fine, and yes, Ellie would have done OK as a one eyed dog if she wasn't insured. Gold standard treatment costs more and these days we can do things that in the past we wouldn't even consider.

It just seems a little expensive.

We've got the daughters pet dog plus 6 working farm dogs and I can only think of 1 year in well over 20 in which their total vets bills have exceeded £600.

I certainly wouldn't expect to get charged extra for "out of hours" service.
 Ridge 30 Dec 2016
In reply to timjones:

> I certainly wouldn't expect to get charged extra for "out of hours" service.

I suspect it depends on the vets. Ours is a rural practice, and I've never been charged more than £60 for stitching up my accident prone lurcher. (The vets little daughter was 'helping' when the hound had a piece of marram grass removed from his eye:

Daughter; "Don't give him the eye drops Daddy, it'll hurt him"
Mrs Ridge; "It doesn't hurt him, it makes him better"
Daughter; "It hurts when Daddy puts it in my eyes..."

I imagine a less 'pragmatic' vet could soon manage run up a big bill if his practice was entirely based on insurance jobs for pedigree pets.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

I used Purely Pets and they paid out on a £800 bill with no issues whatsoever. I paid £17pcm. The same cover with PetPlan and the KC was around £40pcm.

This was for a policy that had a "lifetime" cover for any illness.

 The Lemming 31 Dec 2016
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

When I had Ben, he was insured with Sainsbury's Pet Insurance.

Sainsbury's never once questioned a vet bill for normal ailments that a collie picks up through their active life.

And when Ben was diagnosed with aggressive Leukaemia resulting in a trip to Liverpool once or twice a month for the last six months of his life, Sainsbury's Pet Insurance never once quibbled over the vet bills that were in excess of £6,000.

Not too sure if we did the right think keeping Ben alive for so long but that's a different discussion.

As for Bailey, he's not insured, just yet. We're still smarting over the idea of insurance and what we would do if he got such a nasty illness. But if we did choose another insurance company, then it would most probably be with Sainsbury's again.
 Bimble 31 Dec 2016
In reply to timjones:

> Blimey that's over £600 a year!

> You'd need some seriously accident prone or unhealthy dogs to regularly spend that much at the vets.

The last bill for the collie was just shy of £3,000 (heart issue). She's also had other bills up to £1,800 (attacked by some chav scum's staffie). I'd much rather pay the insurance than those, especially as the spaniel works on shoots and all their associated hazards (barbed wire, running into pointy stuff, an idiot mistaking her for ground game....)
 Dave the Rave 01 Jan 2017
In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Hi
What cover have you got with PetPlan.
Is it 12 months or classic?
I don't understand with the 12 month one that conditions are covered for 12 months? If an accident happens on day 364 before the policy expires, are you still covered for 12 months treatment .
Thanks
 pencilled in 01 Jan 2017
In reply to The Lemming:
My mate works for a large pet insurer. His advice a few years back ( our dogs are 5 and 6 now) was to insure whilst pups, then save the premiums, them reinsure before the animals get to 7 or 8. So far so good with that.
Direct Line covers to an amount e.g. £5k or £10k of treatment, then stops paying out as I understand. I don't know what we're going to do yet, so interesting thread.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

We have classsic, which has worked out really well for us as our dog is now on epilepsy meds which are £700+ a year
 SouthernSteve 01 Jan 2017
In reply to pencilled in:

re: My mate works for a large pet insurer....

I cannot see how this would work. If your dog has any minor skin, gut or lameness problems before being reinsured at 7 or 8 there would likely be multiple exclusions and cover would be pretty slim. This is where limited cover for 12 months for one condition also causes problems. A small problem in year one might be less than or only just over the excess, but when the problems recurs a year later, perhaps being much more severe, there is no cover. Exclusions after a period or before the start of insurance cannot be avoided in pet insurance and this means that you are often stuck with your original choice of insurer or have to have no cover for pre-existing conditions should you decide to change, perhaps after a poor experience or a massive premium hike.
 timjones 01 Jan 2017
In reply to SouthernSteve:

> re: My mate works for a large pet insurer....

> I cannot see how this would work. If your dog has any minor skin, gut or lameness problems before being reinsured at 7 or 8 there would likely be multiple exclusions and cover would be pretty slim.

It seems that insurance is compensating for problems that responsible breeding should be dealing with

1
 jkarran 02 Jan 2017
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Petplan have been good for us. They spent so much putting my daft mutt back together I'm quids in for the rest of his life even if he never sees another vet again. Not the cheapest option but they pay out and they offer a range of policy options.
Jk
 Murderous_Crow 02 Jan 2017
In reply to jkarran:

I'd second this. I've paid a lot for my dog's insurance with Petplan, but considerably less than the fees generated over two separate surgeries, and an ongoing medical condition. They've paid out on each occasion quickly and without drama.

Luke
 Dave the Rave 02 Jan 2017
In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

> We have classsic, which has worked out really well for us as our dog is now on epilepsy meds which are £700+ a year

Thanks. Will go for that one.
 pencilled in 02 Jan 2017
In reply to SouthernSteve:
I get that, and it is a risk playing that game, but fortunately our dogs are cross breeds, healthy and a low risk for insurers. When we do start insuring again, I guess we'll have to hold that discussion as a family. Would you suggest otherwise?

I think my point is that whilst our dogs have been young, we've been lucky and we have ridden that luck. I suspect a lot of people do.

 pencilled in 02 Jan 2017
In reply to pencilled in:
I just got a quote online with Petplan. Both dogs are around £30-35 a month on the classic policy. Crikey that is a chunk.
 jkarran 03 Jan 2017
In reply to pencilled in:

> I just got a quote online with Petplan. Both dogs are around £30-35 a month on the classic policy. Crikey that is a chunk.

£400 per year give or take, £4k if you get 10 years with your dog. Lennie cost that in year one and a fair chunk again the year later. It's not cheap but I still have a much loved dog, I'd have to have had him put down or get into silly debt without insurance.
Jk

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