Hi there, i am picking up my PUG puppy in september, are there any insurance companys that are great? or any to steer clear of? recommendations please!!!

Thanks in advance.

Vicky

I have a pug and she is insured with pet plan premium. It is quite pricey now 35 pounds a month but well worth it. I went with them because they cover on going conditions. Pugs are quite prone to eye injuries throughout there lives, and I was worried they would only pay out the once.
Ive so far claimed up to 5000 pounds worth of treatment (various conditions in unlucky pug) and had no problems getting the money back.
kate

Avoid any company connected with E and L.

I'm happy with AXA, good level of cover and premiums are reasonable (and so far the annual renewal increase has been low, and in one case actually went down). Have a look here http://www.axa.co.uk/insurance/pet

Petplan I have used them for years never had any problems always pay out they are not the cheepest but I do feel you get value for money

I have both my Pugs insured with Tesco. I have been with them for years. Always had no problems and there customer service is excellent.
I dont insure them for what they cost me as the insurance for two dogs with a combined price of over 3k would be a crazy amount of money to pay every month on insurance, it wouldnt bother me about getting there cost value back if they sadly died. I wouldnt bother about that. Just vet bills!!

Thank you for the quick responce! eeek! my German shepherd is insured with E &L insurance, i think maybe i'll change that when i get Puggy!!

my German shepherd is insured with E &L insurance
Definitely give that very careful consideration. :(

I'm a Petplan fan too!

When you have a dog ill, and worried sick, the last thing you want on your mind is the worry of cost.

All the vets I speak to say they are very good at paying up.

I'm another Petplan fan.

They have always paid up immediately with no questions asked.
Also, because they are known for paying promptly my vet is happy to wait for them to pay him directly. If you're insured with a smaller company or a company who is known for quibbling you normally have to pay up front.

Ditto, I have been with petplan since 1982. never a problem paying out. I now have five dogs insured with them, def not the cheapest, but, I feel they are one of the best.

> If you're insured with a smaller company or a company who is known for quibbling you normally have to pay up front. <IMG class=qButton title="Quote selected text" alt="Quote selected text" src="/images/mi_quote.gif">

This is exactly my point!  A workmate has just had to pay out £900 for emergency surgery, and her insurance company has still not paid up.  As she has now used her holiday money, she has no way of knowing if they are going to go away!

So you get what you pay for.  :-)

> If you're insured with a smaller company or a company who is known for quibbling you normally have to pay up front.

Can I just add on this, my previous vets would claim direct from the insurance company, though my current vets won't regardless of the insurance company. They will however claim direct if the bill is very large and the person has no way of paying for it direct at the time.
I know a lot of referral places will expect payment up front again regardless of who you are insured with. A friend of mine asked, even though her dog wasn't insured and they said they wouldn't claim direct from any insurance company even if she was insured.
So I do think it all comes down to the vets and actual referral centres as to what they do.

Petwise were reasonably good at paying up, though their premiums have been going up steadily. I just notified them my dog had died, and was rewarded for my honestly with a £300 bill for 'breaking the contract' so I have to pay the year's premium at once instead of monthly. Next time my dog dies I won't be telling them!! In any case the limit for pay outs is £1000, so OH has decided that for the new puppy we will be putting the equivalent of an average monthly premium into a separate account in case of need. I'm not 100% happy about this, but I see his point - we've paid in about 2K more than we've received over the past 8 years.

To be honest we were with Animal friends under written by E & L and they have been great for us and our DDB. Claims have always been speedy :) Maybe we lucked out

Don't know if you are talking about past but Animal friends is no longer underwritten by E&L, has not been for few years.
We are with Animal Friends and they have been great and have paid all claims including hydro therapy, which I believe many companies only pay up to certain amount of sessions/money...
Very reasonably priced and after claims totaling over £6000 in our first year, premium went up about £2 a month...

We insure with Tesco and anytime we have had to claim, they have been brilliant! You can ring them and speak to a real person who can answer your Q's.  If you have a vet in mind, have a chat with them - chances are they will recommend PetPlan but for my pup to be insured with them it would have cost me nearly £30 a month + the £100 excess fee. Sorry but too expensive for me - so I had a chat with my vet and in his experience, the next best was Sainsbury's and then Tesco. Also worth checking if your vet expects you to pay the bill first then You re-claim from the insurance company or whether they are happy to claim direct and you just pay the excess. Worth knowing this Before any problems!
Good luck with your new pup!

I'm with Pet plan covered for life and they have been great.

We are also with Animal Friends, they have been exceptionally good and quick at paying out, they are paying for Tango's arthritis and will pay for hydrotherapy too, no problems,highly recommend them.

Its always useful to try a pet insurance comparison site.