Pet insurance

[shivvy]

Can anyone advise about how much (per month) seems reasonable to provide the best possible insurance cover for a dog?
I appreciate that it might depend on a number of different factors but if anyone has any info/experience of who to use and how much, it would be very useful.
Thanks
PS - It is for a puppy with no previous known conditions.

[masma]

We got our dog (a cross bread) when she was 18 months old. We started the insurance straight away and it was �4.75 per month - she's now almost 12 and the insurance has gone up to �20 per month. A dog owner friend of mine started putting the �5 a month into a seperate bank account for her dog and he now has �1500 in reserve. He (the dog) suffers with painful back legs and has to have regular medication and vet visits. Have a look at the insurance quotes on-line but if you think you can risk it I'd put the money away.

[shaneystar2]

Like masma our premiums went up yearly as Shaney got older . Also the excess went up.We had Pet Plan and to be fair they did pay the couple of claims we made.But on the other hand most of his visits to the vet came to just under the excess.So ,we ,still paid. Our premiums went up from around five pounds a month when we got him at 18 months and they were nearly twenty five pounds a month when he was 13.
For the huge bill at the end of his life we got very little back.
If we were to get another dog I would be inclined to have a piggy bank for it and put X amount away each month. It's all a gamble but insurance does bring peace of mind .Get plenty of quotes and make sure you are aware of exactly what they cover.
You have to factor in things like accidents ,ongoing medical conditions and sadly at the end that cost as well.
The more they things cover obviously the higher the premium.
They also take into account the breed,size of dog and the area you live in.

[888sally888]

Pickles is insured with Tesco - seemed the best value for money.

[LOZZER1]

be careful, because some insurance companys wont insure for ongoing problems, ie if your dog in later lif suffered with arthritis they would only pay out for a year...so my advice is check the small print...having said that iam with the post offie and have been for 3 years and never used it. i wouldnt just put the fiver away each month as advised by masma as surgery on a dog can cost you a lot more than �1500

[Lil'Lucy]

DO NOT go with a company called E&L - we had a total nightmare with them and our vet said that they are the ones that always fight there way out of claims.

We are with M&S now - but we had a letter from them recently saying that we were not allowed to use special emergency vets as they may not cover any fees! Thank god our vets still do their own emergency work!