# Best insurance for pups?



## Daisylady

Good evening all! 
My husband and I are getting our new pup this week after losing our two dogs sadly this year. 
Both pups get 4 week free insurance with the KC, but we want to get the best insurance that we can,not hte cheapest but the best for our money. 
We would like to get lifetime cover, unlimited claims should we need it. 
We are getting a miniature schnauzer and a King Charles Cavalier. 
We have looked at Vets Medicover which seems to be the best one. 
Does anyone have any experience with this insurance cover or any comments regarding it?
Many thanks in advance.


----------



## waller540

We use Pet Plan which does £12,000 maximum vet fees. I think their plans seemed to be the best we could find at the time.


----------



## Dally Banjo

Just make sure you have an operlap with any policy you take out most wont start for 14days congratulations on your new pups


----------



## AlbertRoss

Daisylady said:


> Good evening all!
> My husband and I are getting our new pup this week after losing our two dogs sadly this year.
> Both pups get 4 week free insurance with the KC, but we want to get the best insurance that we can,not hte cheapest but the best for our money.
> We would like to get lifetime cover, unlimited claims should we need it.
> We are getting a miniature schnauzer and a King Charles Cavalier.
> We have looked at Vets Medicover which seems to be the best one.
> Does anyone have any experience with this insurance cover or any comments regarding it?
> Many thanks in advance.


Hi and congrats on the puppy.

First, DON'T insure with the KC. They are dreadful. They've been featured in both the Sunday Times and Watchdog because of their appalling treatment of their customers. In fact I had such a bad experience with them that I researched pet insurance and set up a website which only features good, ethical insurers.

VetsMediCover appears to be fine. My only slight concern is that they tend to insist on paying the vet directly - which means you have to get your vet's agreement first. If not, claiming can be tricky.

Can I suggest that you look at the other companies on my site which give 'lifelong' cover. They'll provide basically the same cover as VMC but usually with additional cover, including replacement costs if you dog goes missing or has to be put down. (Yes, I know it doesn't bear thinking about but it sometimes happens)

Whatever you do - read the policy first before buying. Most companies will give a discount if you buy online. Overlap your free KC cover with whoever you go with by 2 weeks so that you are continually covered for illness (most insurers won't pay out for illness contracted in the first 2 weeks).

Hope that helps.

Al


----------



## Verity

Hi

I have my puppy insured with petplan. We have insured all our animals with them. One of my cats has had two serious operations and our previous border collie went through chemotherapy. They are not the cheapest insurer out there but they have been wonderful when we have needed them. They do lifelong and in my experience pay out promptly with no quibbles. I have also found them to be highly understanding when your pet is ill and knowledgable.

In addition they had an agreement with our cats bone specialist and he billed them direct.

Wish you luck. Do shop around. I have friends who have insured elsewhere, much cheaper (tesco was one I think) and lived to regret it.


----------



## missnaomi

I'm currently having a bit of an issue with Animal Friends over paying for our cats operation - they said they'd pay for it before he had it done but now they're trying to find every possible excuse to avoid paying the bill and whilst I am sure they will in the end, in the meantime, I have had to pay the vet - which somewhat defeats the point of insurance.

I know this is for a cat and you're insuring a pup - but our dogs are insured with them too - and if they don't get sorted out this week I'll be insuring all the pets with something else...

Naomi


----------



## AlbertRoss

missnaomi said:


> I'm currently having a bit of an issue with Animal Friends over paying for our cats operation - they said they'd pay for it before he had it done but now they're trying to find every possible excuse to avoid paying the bill and whilst I am sure they will in the end, in the meantime, I have had to pay the vet - which somewhat defeats the point of insurance.
> 
> I know this is for a cat and you're insuring a pup - but our dogs are insured with them too - and if they don't get sorted out this week I'll be insuring all the pets with something else...
> 
> Naomi


I don't think you will....

Whatever you have had treated with your cat will be excluded from any policy with any other company -so insuring elsewhere, whilst making a point to Animal Friends, is likely to cause you more aggravation than it does them. OTOH if you have animals that have never been treated by a vet - for _anything_ - then moving them might be a good idea.

AF tend to be slow to pay out but you should get your money.


----------



## Jazzy

AlbertRoss said:


> Hi and congrats on the puppy.
> 
> First, DON'T insure with the KC. They are dreadful. They've been featured in both the Sunday Times and Watchdog because of their appalling treatment of their customers. In fact I had such a bad experience with them that I researched pet insurance and set up a website which only features good, ethical insurers.
> 
> VetsMediCover appears to be fine. My only slight concern is that they tend to insist on paying the vet directly - which means you have to get your vet's agreement first. If not, claiming can be tricky.
> 
> Can I suggest that you look at the other companies on my site which give 'lifelong' cover. They'll provide basically the same cover as VMC but usually with additional cover, including replacement costs if you dog goes missing or has to be put down. (Yes, I know it doesn't bear thinking about but it sometimes happens)
> 
> Whatever you do - read the policy first before buying. Most companies will give a discount if you buy online. Overlap your free KC cover with whoever you go with by 2 weeks so that you are continually covered for illness (most insurers won't pay out for illness contracted in the first 2 weeks).
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 
> Al


I've just looked at your site and notice that Tesco insurance isn't there, does that mean that people have had problems with them paying out? It's just my two dogs are both insured with Tesco but I've never claimed but may consider swapping if they aren't good at paying out.

My sister has just bought a GSD pup and she's looking into what insurance to take out for him so I don't want to go recommending Tesco if they aren't meant to be any good.


----------



## missnaomi

AlbertRoss said:


> I don't think you will....
> 
> Whatever you have had treated with your cat will be excluded from any policy with any other company -so insuring elsewhere, whilst making a point to Animal Friends, is likely to cause you more aggravation than it does them. OTOH if you have animals that have never been treated by a vet - for _anything_ - then moving them might be a good idea.
> 
> AF tend to be slow to pay out but you should get your money.


Thanks for this info, have PM'd you.
Naomi


----------



## PatrickCampbell

You have to search in your area, research online and take help of insurance providers. It is a little bit risky to choose any pet insurance plan without doing any research. You should go online and try to find the contact details of leading insurance companies that provide insurance for your puppy.

Pet Insurance


----------



## AlbertRoss

Jazzy said:


> I've just looked at your site and notice that Tesco insurance isn't there, does that mean that people have had problems with them paying out? It's just my two dogs are both insured with Tesco but I've never claimed but may consider swapping if they aren't good at paying out.
> 
> My sister has just bought a GSD pup and she's looking into what insurance to take out for him so I don't want to go recommending Tesco if they aren't meant to be any good.


I removed Tesco because I had continual problems with them - mainly because they wanted to control what I said about them and I refuse to push company marketing messages that I believe may mislead. Feedback I've had from customers suggests that they are difficult to claim from but I have no details of the circumstances. There is often a grey area where people think they have cover that they actually don't and then get upset when a claim is refused. That's why I always tell people to read the policy before buying. If the company says 'we'll send you a policy after you've signed up' - walk away. I can only stand behind the companies on my site because I know that they are OK - and I have dropped companies before.


----------



## Daisylady

Hi everyone, 
Thank you for your replies. 
After extensive research we went with Pets at Home insurance the highest level of cover we could. We got a good deal and the insurance is comprehensive which is what we were after. 
So now we have our two little pups at home! They are keeping us on our toes, but we love it! 
Much love to all your four legged friends and thank you for all your replies. 
Kind regards 
x
:thumbup:


----------



## ChatterPuss

We use Petplan and when our pup was 7 months old he dislocated his shoulder (that went back in itself), but Petplan paid for pain relief and Xrays to check everything was Ok. We just paid the excess and Petplan and vets sorted out the rest. They dealt direct with the vets and then sent me a letter to confirm that they had settled the bill !


----------

