Hi all, Harvey's free 4-week KC insurance runs out soon and I'm looking at who to use for an annual policy. To give me a flavour of what choices my fellow lab owners go for would you mind posting who you use, what type of policy and what guided your choice? Thanks.
Re: Insurance I would have continued with the KC insurance - because I thought that if he had always been insured by them, there couldn't really ever be any argument about a pre-existing condition or anything like that. But there was a problem with my card (it expired and the payment didn't go through) then the KC were annoying when I tried to sort it out. So I shopped around and got the same cover from petplan for slightly cheaper (not much though). I took the maximum excess, and maximum yearly cover, and lifetime cover - because I really wanted in the event that something really expensive is needed, I'm not too bothered about paying for cheaper vet's bills. I honestly doubt it is worth it, and I'd be just as well off putting the premiums aside each month and saving for an emergency, but I keep it anyway - I guess I must value the peace of mind. Read the small print - there are all sorts of things to look out for. Premiums going up if you make a claim is one. Rachael had a tip about her plan - dogs need their teeth checked once a year by a vet or teeth are excluded etc.
Re: Insurance Just a quickie as I'm dashing out ti footy. Argos Platinum Seems to give good range of cover including lifetime coverage and was pretty competitive. A bit of an unusual choice really but fitted the bill. Like dogfood evefyone has their favorites. Paid out for us quickly and trouble free when we used it and not hiked their premiums up since diagnosing lilly's hip dysplasia- and thats us on our second renewal. Not sure if comparison websites help here. Good luck!
Re: Insurance Thanks Jacquie and Julie. The thing putting me off staying with KC is the 10% excess in addition to a fixed amount of £85 - I'd prefer a fixed amount only. Somebody else had mentioned Argos to me so I'll take a closer look at that one.
Re: Insurance I've got M&S pet insurance; the option that gives whole life cover ie the amount insured renews every year so if the dog has a chronic condition the money doesn't run out. Because I work her I also have public liability cover as a gundog member of the BASC. If you ever decide to work your dog, the PL cover under normal pet insurance doesn't extend to a working environment. So far I've had very good experience with M&S. My dog Lady has elbow dysplasia and she's had very expensive surgery to correct the problem all covered with no hassle by M&S. There are lots of similar policies out there so it's probably worth shopping around, but I'd recommend the whole life cover if you can do it. It's worth asking what the second year premium will be as well because the first year is always at a "come-and-buy-me" rate that goes up with a bump the second year onwards. The only proviso with M&S was I had to certify that Lady had never been trained as an attack dog. She was only 8 weeks old so we were pretty sure she hadn't been. ;D
Re: Insurance Just this week we decided to re-insure Hattie, I called PetPlan and got a 2 dog cover life time policy upto £7,000 vet bills each, any illness/condition etc. and all the trimmings for £42.00 per month and for taking the policy out that day I got the first two months free, which I thought was very good. I was with M&S but they were going up at a ridiculous rate and in the end was going to cost over £650 for them and not the same cover as PetPlan. Really thought long and hard about it but because Hattie is now 6 years old thought it best to have her covered and as Charlie is such a dim wit ..... : Insurance is a bit like dog food a complete minefield
Re: Insurance My two are at present with AXA who I've found very helpful and have paid out on claims within a couple of weeks, unfortunately they're no longer taking on new customers. I've had previous dogs with M&S who were brilliant, the only downside was I found that they began upping the premiums by a larger and larger amount every year as the dogs aged, until the amount was totally eye watering! I had my old rescue dog with Pet Protect, they were very good giving lifetime cover and the premiums stayed reasonable although they did put a percentage on when she reached 8. However she was on heart and arthritis meds for several years and even at 12 we were still on the winning side. Just.
Re: Insurance Make sure you start your new insurance company 2 weeks before your old one runs out! Fortunately I did so as my 14 week old Lab fractured his elbow and I was just in with the new insurance as they usually don't insure you for the first two weeks, so you need the buffer of the old insurance. I have used Pet Plan now for about 20 years and very pleased with it.
Re: Insurance I have mine insured with Tesco. I can't remember what it was called but I took out their premium policy. They were the best value for money for me with 2. You get free veterinary nurse helpline 24hrs. They also paid out very quickly when I had to claim much faster than I expected and faster than anybody else I've used. I might shop about this year only because they will only let you pay monthly I would rather pay the premium all at once. Jen
Re: Insurance We looked at a load of insurers in January concluded that Petplan and KC were good value and quite comprehensive.
Re: Insurance Thanks all for the feedback. [quote author=Stacia link=topic=3131.msg33330#msg33330 date=1383403024] Make sure you start your new insurance company 2 weeks before your old one runs out! Fortunately I did so as my 14 week old Lab fractured his elbow and I was just in with the new insurance as they usually don't insure you for the first two weeks, so you need the buffer of the old insurance. I have used Pet Plan now for about 20 years and very pleased with it. [/quote] Thanks Stacia. I wouldn't have thought of that. I've taken out the Argos Premium cover and as the KC insurance runs to the 14th the uninsured period should be minimal (if any).
