My black Labrador puppy Nelly is arriving in 2 weeks and I'm trying to decide on an insurance plan to go with. My beloved rescue dog died in August and it was then that we found out she wasn't covered for dying of an illness. Dixie passed away from a brain condition that stopped the use of her limbs and we had to put her to sleep. We were not covered at all! It was heart breaking losing her and even more difficult because of the stress of how much money we had to fork out. We don't want this happening again! Any full proof insurance companies that I can really trust? Also it seems forever ago since having a puppy and I've forgotten so much. What are my first steps I need to take vet wise when she arrives. How long should I wait before getting her final injections etc? I'm super excited but feel stressed all of a sudden that I haven't got everything sorted! Olivia x
Very exciting! Mine are insured through Vetsure, as recommended by my vet. Amy claim is paid directly to the practice, not reimbursed after initial payment, although when I used a vet in Scotland when Wispa was ill about three years ago I had to pay then claim back because that practice didn't use Vetsure. It was resolved very quickly, though. There are various threads about insurance on the forum - I think several people use Petplan and some puppies come with a month's free insurance from the breeders through Petplan. Take lots of photos of Nelly!
Where are you based, Olivia? Most members here are in the UK, but we also have others from around the world - the USA, Canada, Australia and beyond.
I use PetPlan - have been very happy with them. I have both my dogs on a lifetime cover (which means cover for any event doesn't end at the end of the year's insurance). This has been very helpful because my older dog needed treatment for ruptured cruciates, and it cost a lot over many months. I also found I was covered for a lot of the rehabilitation e.g. physio and hydro, which really did help. You might want to take out a policy before you get your puppy home, and ignore any periods of free insurance the puppy might come with - this means no condition can be a 'pre-existing' condition and excluded from your insurance (although some insurance policies exclude any problems that come to light in the first month so be aware of that).
Most vets recommend you let the puppy settle in for a couple of days before taking them for their first jab. Discuss with your vet what their vaccination schedule is, because it varies between practices. Some do two jabs, at 8 and 12 weeks, and others do three. If you don't have it already, I'd recommend getting a copy of the Happy Puppy Handbook, to refresh yourself on everything puppy!
I have used Pet Plan for over 30 years and have every confidence in them. Though now one of my Labradors is now ten years, the excess has gone up to £120 plus 20% of bill. They have always paid up and never quibbled.
I am with Direct Line and have found them to be fantastic. My girl had a lot of tummy issues when she was little and paid up for tests and medication as well as her being on a drip. She also had emergency surgery when she was 1 years old and never quibbled about any of it. We have lifetime cover and excess of £80 per claim. They haven't put any exclusions on for her tummy and that was 2 years ago. I think there's lots of good insurance companies out there, just make sure you read about exclusions once a problem is diagnosed.
Hi and welcome - exciting times for you! I'm with Petplan (vet recommendation as they get paid directly from Petplan and I just pay an £80 excess). I also have lifetime cover. My sister is with Kennel Club Insurance as she had her previous dog with them and I know she's happy with them - her previous dog had a lot of tests and treatment before he passed away (cancer) last year and she didn't have any issues with them. The Happy Puppy Handbook is excellent and is my bible - and this forum and its members have saved my sanity more than once since the arrival of my boy! Looking forward to seeing pictures of Nelly when she arrives
Very wise advice. I did have 6 weeks free cover from the breeder, but chose to overlap that by two weeks with Pet Plan as you cannot claim anything within the first two weeks of taking the policy out. My 14 week Lab broke his elbow and thankfully I was just into the insured part!
