Dog insurance

[SpyWriter]

Got 6 weeks free cover for new puppy with Kennel Club but not stopping with them as it's over �20 per month.

Found an online company called healthy-pets.co.uk but at about half the price of most other companies (just over �5 pm for gold cover) it sounds to good to be true.

Does anyone know anything about them or have advice of any other insurance company?

[r4zorb4ck]

Hi we had the same problem. We found a company called E&L. They are spot on give them a try

[denisegordon]

We've claimed a few times from Direct Line and had no problems. They dealt direct with the vet and didn't query anything.

[woofgang]

we are with Pet Plan, they aren't the cheapest but give excellent cover, it doesn't drop off with the age of the dog and are always calm and helpful when you need it.

[Eels]

Never heard of them, but all I could recommend is that where pet insurance is concerned, if it looks too good to be true, it probably IS too good to be true! So please read the small print meticulously.

E&L are widely reknowned for being extremely bad at paying out for claims and have a very poor reputation among vets, so beware! PetPlan are the original and some say the best, although expensive it's a case of getting what you pay for. I know a lot of people say that M&S do a very competitive no-excess policy, which is often a good bet.

[lankeela]

You'd be better to put �10 a month away in a bank account and use it for any major vet bills. Most vet bills are below the excess and you have to pay the lot. Check what you get for your money if you go with an insurance company - check the amount you have to pay (excess) check the age, the breed (some breeds are not covered by some companies), conditions (some conditions are not covered by some companies). whether claims are limited by time (e.g. one year) or amount or by any other conditions.

If you want third party insurance join the Dogs Trust and you get free third party insurance.

[clair3934]

My friend was with E&L they refused to pay out for her dog when it died she did eventually get her money as the the dog died of natural causes but she said never to go with them, I'm with sainsbury's www.sainsburysbank.co.uk or 0800 0565758 they pay out up to �6,500 per illness or injury and wont stop paying after 12 months and they don't worry about age either and they are cheeper than direct line who only insure for �2,500. give them a call for a quote. :-)

[scubadiver]

We have our two insured through E&L and have had to claim twice. Never had any problems getting the money- they have always been helpful to deal with. The only issue I have with them is that every year, they automatically add on around �12 to the premium as a year's membership to a national register for missing pets. Twice a year ( once for each dog)I have to phone them up and ask them to refund this as both our dogs are microchipped and we don't need to use their scheme.

A minor niggle, but I wonder how many people pay this without querying whether they actually need it.