Hi

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a good pet insurance.

It must cover on going illnesses............as some dont!

I have had quotes from all the main companies, which are resonable. But would be intrested hear what people views are following claims etc from certain pet insurance policys.

Thanks in advance

Tea

Pet plan - fantastic-paid within 2 weeks no quibble had them for 5 months, 3 months free

mark/spencer i been happy with them pay out to my vet within two weeks, not a cheap policy but you get what you pay for.

Another vote for M&S...their premiums have gone up but I have made numerous claims totalling thousands of pounds and every penny has been paid without question.

I agree about m&s, my premiums have gone up again but they have never once refused to pay out (although I still havent submitted my chiropractor claim so we shall see !!)

Hi I have pets as friends,and my policy is ongoing.I have to stress that at the moment E & L are thier underwriters at present ,in July P A Fs will be doing thier own underwriting.I have been assured that the payout service will be a lot quicker.It took me 2 months to get my money after my Daxis op.But other than that they were so helpoful with the claim. hope this is of help to you.Gwen

I use Healthy Pets - have been very pleased with their customer service, reasonable price and speed at paying claims.

http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/

I use Argos, if you need it to cover ongoing then look at the Platinum cover (silver and gold only cover up to xx value for 12 months). My vet will claim from them directly (there's some they won't) and settlement has always been received within a couple of weeks. They even paid out in full for something that I wouldn't have if in their position.

My rottie (8 months at the time) was limping on her front leg, initially diagnosed as a sprain, lead walks and metacam prescribed for 2 weeks, if no better they would do precautionary (sp) Xrays. So 2 weeks later she went in - little minx didn't limp at the vets, but had been up until then. Anwyay decided to do the xrays, went in to pick her up later to be presented with a £700 bill. They hadn't checked whether we were insured and xrayed both legs - 9 in total (although they did only charge for 7). Diagnosis - growing pains.

Anyway to cut a long story short, the Argos policy states they will pay out for any reasonable treatments. I personally didn't think 9 xrays reasonable, but they coughed up without a quibble. Can't speak highly enough of them.

I WAS happy with M&S until their premiums doubled and the underwriters changed.

I've had to leave 2 dogs with them due to ongoing conditions but have changed the other 3 to AXA (the original M&S underwriters). Much cheaper and they pay up quickly.

Another vote for Petplan. One of our bitches ruptured her cruciate within a month of insuring her with them and had TPLO. The paid up within a couple of weeks and at that point I hadn't paid anything to them!!

One more vote for Pet Plan...... they can sometimes be a little slower than usual to pay out if they are busy with a lot of claims at one time but theyve never ever argued over giving me the full amount ive claimed for and every new illness is covered for life.
Im more than happy with them as my pet  insureres

petplan every time

I would of said PetPlan, though i have just had my renewal through and they have increased the monthly payments from £42p/m to £54p/m, saying its down to the area i live in and that vets fees have increased over the year. That is a huge increase for one dog. I am going to stay with them for now as they do cover unlimited vets fees and also if the dog has a condition they cover this for life.
If anyone can recommend another insurer who covers the same i would be interested in hearing about them.

Thank you every one for your replies.

I have gone with m and s, spoke to my vet who is also happy with them.

Thanks again to everyone.

T

M+S again - been brill with Leah...I was lucky as I got her insured before they hiked their prices, and the premiums haven't gone up either (though we will see following this recent incident - £5,000 for her spinal stroke, and I will keep her with them now)

the quote a few months later for 2 other hounds was much higher, and we will probably check round some other companies when we come to renew, but I have been very impressed with the swiftness of claims being paid (got cheque today for initial claim) and they dealt direct with the second vet which was so much easier...and the premium cover which we have has no excess to pay, and also pays towards burial/cremation (which luckily we didn't have to go into) but I don't know if any others do...

I got quotes from Direct Line and Petplan which were much more expensive.... 

If you insure on line with M&S at the moment there is a 20% discount which makes a huge savings for the first year
jane

I am with M&S renewal is £279 with £70 excess.,
I have just got a quote from Axa of £197 with £50 excess.
I thought I would get one from Halifax.I fell of the chair £ 654.

The discount is for new policies only. I did ring and query it when I had my renewal as it is such a difference and they reduced my premium
jane

On another forum when insurance was discussed it came to light that not all insurance companies will cover your dog if you show it or compete with it. It would pay you to check this out with your insurance companies. It would seem that if you are competing with your dog it is no longer considered for insurance purposes as being a family pet, but is viewed as a commercial commodity.

PetPlan and Healthy Pets here.  Two companies because Soli is with PetPlan and can't change now due to ongoing things, the other 3 are HP though.

Never had a problem with PP paying out - I've claimed for x-rays, an amputation and chiropractic treatment so far, just about to claim for sending samples to california for testing.

A distinct advantage with petplan is that my vet will claim direct from them - I've heard that a lot, quite often it's the only company they will claim direct from because of difficulties getting payments from other companies (so paying up front may be a necessity, before claiming back later).  I don't know if the vet will claim direct from healthy pets, and obviously I hope I never have to find out!

Im with M&S and my vet is always happy to claim directly

> I don't know if the vet will claim direct from healthy pets, and obviously I hope I never have to find out!

I'm with Healthy Pets and quite recently my lad had to be rushed to vets for emergency op and then within the same week to a Specialist Veterinary School where the estimated cost was just under £4000, luckily I have him on the Gold Plan, only about £6 per month.

The first op at the vets cost just over £500. I put the invoice in on the Friday, they got it on Monday, I had a cheque first class post on Tuesday.

The invoice from the Specialist vet School was sent direct to Healthy Pets as I just couldn't afford to pay it up front. They paid out within the week no problems. I have had 3 other small invoices for him with my vet and they have all be paid by return of post. Hope this reasures you.