Pet Insurance

[maggie01]

I have just renewed my pet insurance. I have a shih Tzu who is 4 yrs. I was told when she reaches 5yrs old you have to pay 10 percent of any vet bills plus your excess. Does anyone know if this is normal practice for all insurers

[Buenchico]

I very much doubt that it applies to all insurers. To check, I've just read through all the policy details for a random insurer (Tesco) and I can't see anything similar there:
http://www.tescobank.com/assets/sections/petins/pdf/tesco-pet-insurance-policy-summary.pdf?_=cachebuster20052017

[Baldric]

Used Tesco for a number of years with different dogs, never had any problems with then at all.

[Baldric]

^^^ them, not then, . . . . Good grief!

[maggie01]

I was with tesco but changed to legal and general

[woofgang]

T and C vary a lot between insurers and within that, sometimes it varies with breed too. If you are not happy shop around but keep in mind that almost always if you pay less then you get less cover in one way or another. The only pet insurers I would ever recommend are Pet Plan. they are not cheap, but the cover is good and the customer service in my experience is excellent.

[chanel5]

I have my dog with PetPlan and I am not aware of any rule like this with their policy. They do have a rule, though, that the policy is only valid provided the dog has a dental check every year.

[Islay]

One of my dogs is five and that is not on my More than policy

[maggie01]

I have just cancelled this legal and general. The chap asked why and I said about paying the 10percent of vet bills at 5 yrs old. Some I have checked are 9. Some don't say. He agreed 5 was a bit young especially for a small dog which tends to ok I've longer if you are lucky.

[maggie01]

Small dogs tend to live longer.

[woofgang]

not true chanel. i know this because I checked. If your dog does not have an annual dental check then the policy will not pay out for dental issues. If the dog does not have annual vaccinations, then the policy will not pay out on vaccinatable illnesses. I know this is a fact because I rang them and asked the question and was directed to the riight bit of my policy. My dogs hate the vets so much that they will wet themselves or void anal gland in the surgery. They are now 11 so I took the decision to avoid all routine checks and treatments. My vets understand and sympathise.

[RATTER15]

Way too expensive for our hounds £144.00 per month!!

[woofgang]

blimey... I pay 50 something a month for 2 dogs. Its true though. The lady we got our first wei from would have 7 to 9 dogs at a time and she said once you got beyond 2 dogs, the maths said you were better paying a fixed amount per dog into a savings account....mind you this was in the 80's when interest rates were better...she had worked in goverment as an economist and was red hot on money.

[ladybirder]

In my time I have taken on two old rescue dogs among many others, one 13 and the other 12 years old. The quotes for insuring them were horrific. Firstly the monthly rate and then the massive percentage of the cost of any treatment I would have to pay myself. So I have always borne the cost myself. The 13 year old cost me very little but the 12 year old has cost me a fortune. I was very pleased when someone on here pointed out that the PDSA will now treat one animal for free (but a donation graciously accepted), if the owner is a pensioner living in a Band A-D property.

[maggie01]

Ladybird ER. I too am eligible for pdsa but it's not that easy to get to . I went on a comparison site and my renewal cost with Tesco is over £100 more than a new policy. I just don't understand this insurance business

[chrissa1]

I was paying £49/month for Toby and had to pay the first £95 of any claim.

I made the decision to have my Toby put to sleep last week. Nothing to do with the insurance as I cancelled that some months ago. He’s such a miss. :-(

[Baldric]

So sorry to hear that Chrissa,

it's the last act of Love we can do for them, but it's never easy.

[ladybirder]

Maggie have you had a look to see if there are any private vets who take PDSA patients in your area? You get quite a few in some places that are not covered by a PDSA Hospital.

[maggie01]

Ladybirder. Not in my area. I had two shihtzus before who both suffered heart problems and were luckily with PDSA. This was before they changed it to one pedigree. Some weeks I was there twice a week and several times in the early hours. They were both hospitalised at some point. I am so so grateful to them . They do a brilliant job

[murraymints]

ah Chrissa..so sorry..but you did the right thing xx

[murraymints]

petplan asks for first £80 for every visit/treatment on top of the policy ..for cats...seems a contradiction in terms really..a visit and AB shot is less than that so why bother ?