could anyone give me information and advice as to whether it is worth taking out pet insurance for a new puppy which we hope to get fairly soon. There seems to me so many different companies out there how do you choose? are they a waste of money?
If anyone has recommendations I would be glad to hear. Please help

Welcome to the forum Lindsay.

In this day and age Pet Insurance is a must :-) If you don't have it to cover vets bills, then you should seriously consider it for 3rd party claims. There are many different policies available to suit all pockets, but before you purchase any, check with the breeder of your puppy. They may have started a insurance policy on your puppy already.

Leigh

Look for a pet insurance company that does not have limitations like 'max £x and/or one year'. These may be cheaper, but what if your dog has an illness that will involve several years. PetPlan and one other (don't know which company) offer a 'cover for life' which is a £4,000 max per illness PER YEAR and then reinstated at the beginning of the next year - you only pay the excess each year. May cost a little more, but I feel it's well worth it.

Make sure you read the fine print on how long they wil cover for.
Wendy

We have pet plan and as TH is on the mega package, I don't think that there is a maximum amount you can claim on one illness per year. We claimed back three times the premium we paid last year and they paid up no bother. Stinky is on the mongrel low excess plan, which is much cheaper, but there is a limit to the amount you can claim each year. It is 'cover for life'.

I have a friend who is a vet and she also recommended that they be insured for third party. If the dog runs into the road and causes an accident, you could be sued.

I won't repeat what the others have said..other than to say its a good idea!
I can hightly recommend Pet plan......they are so fair & I have never had any trouble with them. One year one of my hounds had five grands' worth of treatment & they kept paying up, no problems. I have 5 of my mob with PP (plus the horses!)& they also do a discount for multiples.
Do you thinkI will get commission for this PR???:)

Lindsay,
We have PetPlan insurance and so far they have been excellent - prompt payment and no quibbling.
I would recommend them to anyone.
Sally.

Hi, just to say that if any breeder doesn't offer you free insurance for the puppy for at least 6 weeks, I would avoid them. I think that a breeder who doesn't offer it may not be reputable. It costs the breederand the puppy buyer nothing, and I would think that ALL reptuable breeders offer it either with the KC, pet plan, DBA or DBI, there may well be others too.

Definitely get pet insurance! My pup needed put to a referral vet within 14 weeks - I had only paid one months insurance but the vet fees were over £200.00. Pet Plan and Pet Protect both cover for life. Also, there is an insurance company (don't know name) which I have now discovered after getting the docs with my micochip documents that even covers transport costs if you have a referral - and not many cover that! Wish I had known sooner! One visit to the vet can cost alot more than a year's insurance payments - don't leave it "till later" as if something happens, it won't be covered in the future!

Good luck. Shir

The reason that pet insurance is so much more important nowadays is that so much is possible. It is easy to run up bills for thousands of pounds on tests, drugs, operations that woudl have been impossible only a few years ago.

I took insurance out on my rescue cat when she had her first checkup at the Vets ten years ago. She had two major illnesses in the first year costing well over £1000, and we are still paying the insurance company back. Of course most people end up paying more for their insurance than they get back in claims, all insurance works on that basis. BUT do you want to find yourself making decision about your dog's welfare on the grounds of your finances - especially with a recession coming?

One thing to be aware of. I noticed that many companies are less generous as your pet gets older. I went for Saga (ouch! I know, I'm old enough to qualify!) because they just increase the excess, whereas many other companies were only paying two thirds of the claim once the dog was over 10. When you think that older dogs are the ones that tend to end up on medication or physiotherapy I felt that a third of a thousand or two was a bit of a risk!

You tend to get what you pay for, read the small print and chose the best you can afford.

Ruth>

DO take out insurance and get the best you can afford. After many years of having all my dogs insured I decided that it wasnt cost effective as I had too many dogs. I decided that if only one of them was ill it was cheaper to pay as you go.That year I lost one of my dogs to Addisons Disease, not only did I lose him but I had nearly £1000 to pay for unsuccesful treatment. Within a week of that happening my GWP bitch was ill with an e coli infection. This took a month of pain killing injections and anti emetic injections daily, x rays, consulations, pro biotics and after growing cultures, a super bug antibiotic (at a remendous cost!) After nearly losing her we ended up wih a bill for £750. If only I had been insured. ALL my dogs are now insured and will remain so.
Diane

who would you say are the best to insure your dogs with i have 2 boxer bitches,

I personally have had great experience with PetPlan, both for all the things they cover, and the cover for life, but also have had claims and all have been paid within 14 days of me sending them in.

Wendy

I've never insured my Pharaoh Hounds. In the 21 years I've had the breed
I've never had any major expense.

Pam

And as sods law will have it your probably will now!! VBG

I HOPE NOT (Grin)

I now use two different companies for my five dogs. I had all of them insured wih one company that went in to liquidation when General Insurance went under. I consequently had re in sure five dogs. Now they are spread over two companies the chances are if that happened I would only have three at the most to re insure.
Diane