I know this has been done a lot and I have gone through the search button.. But I'd like to revisit it again.

The time is now coming up whereby the free insurance with the KC is almost nigh!! Their prices are crazy, as are PP!! Much as I like both companies.

I've gone onto the comparison websites and come up with nothing.

I'm looking for a policy which covers conditions for the life of the dog(not 12 months) and that is essentially it, with vet fee's at no less than £6k per condition(I know some op's can be around the £5k mark), 3rd pty liability should come within the package anyway.

I have found one with AXA, I do think lucky me?(They won't cover Bernese) for a Rottie at £32p/m, its the cheapest I can find with an excess of £75...

What do you think and anyone with any other ideas for me to try? Rotts normally come under the 'special' breeds too.

Have a look at animal friends. I am pretty sure thats where I am going unless someone can tell me what I have missed. Both gsd and fcr are the same price not sure if that would be the same for rottie but they are kind of similar to gsd I would have thought
Life time policy to a maximum of £40000 per condition max of £6000 per year per condition and chice of 69.00 or 99.00 excess comes out at £25 per month each

My gang are all insured through an insurance broker. They check a number of companies annually, so don't just deal with the one company. Found them helpful & they were very good at pushing the 1 claim i've made through.

[url=]www.vip4u.co.uk[/url]

Worth a phone call.

You may be lucky with AXA, and I thought I was for a couple of years, but both my Dobes premiums doubled this year despite only minor claims. My Sussex has had thousands claimed with them and hers only went up by £70 a year. I also have 2 Goldies insured with them. The old boy (11+) is now £60 a month but has got ongoing claims so I'll stick with them as I know he is going to get the premium back in claims for his medication.

So now I'm self insuring the eldest Dobe (nearly 9) and the youngest (6) is now with vetsmedicover (http://www.vetsmedicover.co.uk/home/) for £18 a month (have just looked at their website and it's gone up to £21 a month or £35 for select breeds).

Initially AXAs premiums went up very little at renewal but this years increases have been horrendous (my total insurance for 2010 was around £1300 a year, for 2011 it would be £2200 with AXA!). They also do a "good" price for new customers and at renewal it rockets, so beware.

>(have just looked at their website and it's gone up to £21 a month or £35 for select breeds).<br />

Rotties come under the select breeds for this insurance company.
I think tbh its trying to get through the first few years without any major hiccups..

I insured with AF  2 yrs ago. As both dogs were 8yrs and over, excess was £69 or £99 plus 35%. My bill for GDV last year was £1,300, out of this I had to pay £550. Also deducted was the cost of the tins of Hill's he had to have for one week.
Not sure if they even insure the Rotties. Some companies will not insure ANY large breed, but can 't remember whether they do without digging out the info
 

>What do you think and anyone with any other ideas for me to try?

Is it important for you that your vet will deal direct with the insurance company, so you don't have to pay first and then claim back of the insurance? If so, check what companies your vet will deal with.

Buster is no-longer insured, but when I first got him, I checked with the vet and there were some companies they refuse to deal direct with, due to problems with the insurance companies paying out. The vet said they are not allowed to reccomend an insurance company, but they did tell me the ones they will deal direct with (and the ones they wont)- I then went with Pet Plan - not the cheapest, but meant I did not have to pay up-front for claims & then claim back off the insurance.

Buster was costing £37 per month (2 years ago) through Pet Plan, that was for £6k per year, per condition, with life-time cover.

Unless the bill is going to be huge my vets won't claim direct with any insurance companies, I have to pay up front with all my bills and then claim back off the insurance company myself.

I did have a huge bill of about £5k, even then the specialist called the insurance company prior to doing anything to make sure that they would pay up otherwise i'd have to find the money from another means.

> I have to pay up front with all my bills and then claim back off the insurance company myself.

:(  so then it's just a case of finding a good priced insurance then.

Insurance seems to be rising for everything at the moment, i got a quote off NFU for my possible newbie and was surprised it was more than i'm currently paying them for my dog as he's 2 yrs older (same breed) so i expect a hike come renewal time for him, despite increases being pretty reasonable the last few years.

I'm with Animal Friends and have claimed up to the max per year for my girls accident few years ago.
Premium went up less than £3 per month the next year and about a £1 the next...

I think I pay about £28 per month for her and little less for the others, Life time cover.
No complaints and they have always paid reasonably quickly.
I think the excess is £60(if I remember right as not claimed anything for few years)
I did look in to different companies few months ago when insuring my pup but AFI came through as best deal and as I have no complaints went with them again :)

What is vetsmedicover like for paying up? I'm looking to switch my two from more th>n as they have messed me about over Eve's ear and wont pay up despite numerous faxes from my vet and whole health history :(

I don't know what vetsmedicover are like for paying up as I haven't had to make a claim yet.

Ok, thanx Pedlee. Think I might try them - it's a few pounds more expensive than Eve's but a few pounds less than Taff's! :-)

I had my Rottie X GSD covered with M&S that was lifetime cover and up to £7000 per year.  They always paid my vet direct and promptly on the couple of occasions I claimed, they also knew which 2 breeds she was.  Only once they didn't pay out and that was on a condition she had before the policy started, so that would be the same with all companies.
Her premium was £15.99 a month and that was a year ago.

> What is vetsmedicover like for paying up

I've heard some really good reports about them on a lurcher/greyhound forum. Haven't heard a single complaint yet. I think if you have a breed that are expensive to insure, or if you require a higher level of cover or lifetime cover then Vetsmedicover are extremely good value.

Personally my girls are with Healthy Pets as I only want minimum cover, 3rd party and £1000 vets bills for not very much money each month is the perfect compromise for me, they've always paid up very quickly with no quibbles.

Hi Sue, try [url=http://www.homebase-pet-insurance.co.uk[/url]Homebase[/url] - I have my youngest on their Platinum cover which was comparable to M&S when I bought it last October.

I would do a link but I've just changed my computer to a Mac and have yet to master 'copy'!!

Edited to say:  Ooh just solved rh click mouse problem - link added :)  Oh bu**er not quite!

I am with NFU Mutual - lifetime policy, £4000 per condition per year and £50 excess.  I have claimed a fair bit - cruciate twice on one of my Rotts and an ongoing immune condition with another dog - not a quibble from them and they pay direct to the vets.  Also cover for alternative treatments.  I pay around £17 - £20 for my Rotties and Akita but they kept this price for me for the last 5 years and still give me the low price when I add any new one's. 

> I would do a link but I've just changed my computer to a Mac and have yet to master 'copy'!!

Copy is easy - highlight what you want and press the Apple key +C
Rather like you would on a PC using Ctrl + c .... but use what's called the Apple key - looks like a cloverleaf or a square with circles at each corner, instead or Ctrl. Does the same job.

I recently took out some policies wih AF and first experience is good. We had a bill of £800.They deducted £99 excess. It was an Out of hours problem but all they deducted was £15 admission charge (?) and£1 blood bank donation. Also paid out very quickly and straight into my bank account.

I've just gone with AF as its a lot cheaper and has the cover I wanted - wasn't sure about using them as in the past i've heard they were useless about paying out, however now hearing that they have got better i'm going to give them a go..

> Apple key

Thanks MsT - I need a tutorial!

Hi Sue, I and quite a few friends use AF, they have been very good at paying out promptly on many occasions. A few points I would flag up though is that they require claims to be made within a short period (check your paperwork) and that you must notify them of any treatment that will exceed a certain amount before going ahead.

I think AF used to be underwritten by a different company and  they were not very good then.
If you are insuring more than 1 dog, they do multidog discount as well :) (10% which is not massive but every penny counts)

ive just insured my pup with tesco

Pretty sure I am going with Af, However they do state in their small print that dogs over 8 will incurr a 35% extra excess. Have decided to leave my older cat with more than, she is 7,but changing whispa to AF and I hsve discussed anything they might exclude which was helpful

I've decided not to insure Kai anymore and if the worst happens the bank of daddy dearest will have to come into effect ;-)