We are looking to get a pup in the next month or so and have been looking into insurance.  My last 2 dogs had insurance for a number of years (staffy until she was around 8 and my rott until he was around 3) but it became very poor value for money as the premiums shot up, the restrictions increased and the excess increased to the point it was more effective to put money aside and self insure.  So this was what we did for the last 5 or so years and had 3rd party through the dogs trust.

Anyway, I'm hating not having dogs in the house and through one of those sliding doors moments when everything just falls into place due to opportune meetings I have connected with a breeder who will hopefully let us have one of her pups but I am shocked at what is on offer insurance wise.  Many insurance companies are offering 12 months for the price of 9 for the 1st year but still looking for £80+pcm which will go up in year 2 when all 12 months are paid for.  Nearly £1000 a year for insurance for a pup with no pre-existing health conditions is very steep in my opinion.  Supermarkets used to provide decent cover at a good price but this doesn't seem to be the case now.  The kennel club insurance used to be very expensive but now has great levels of cover for less than the one that used to be cheaper.

I want to insure for at least the first 2 years to see if there are any unexpected health issues that arise and to cover any puppy madness that they hopefully grow out of.  I would be really grateful to hear who you all use, who pays out quickly with the least hassle and also any negative experiences.  I am happy to pay a bit more for hassle free cover.  Thanks

I'd go with KC or Petplan whichever works out best for your address, for the reasons you say, first two years should cover accident prone puppyhood or any likely long term health issues..

I'm with animal friends, which was £183.60 for the whole year (poodle pup, no previous conditions).  Lifetime cover, £4000 per condition, £99 excess.

I've always had insurance for both cats and dogs.currently have 5 insured. 2 dogs with animal friends  their 6k policy lifetime .as I would only have life time policies. Af can be a pain and I can't move due to pre existing conditions and their senior policy is has some strange t and c ones I am not happy wit and am queries . But they do give u 6k per condition per year whereas as most give u just  one amount to cover all conditions per year. I have the other 3 insured by pet plan who I would recommend  overall. I also feel it's better to have a company that specialises  in pet insuramce rather than one who does allsorts as it's been know for them to pull out. Www.Vip4u.co.uk brokers who only look at pet insurance are very helpful and worth a chat as well. Whoever u go with do watch theur small print there is some very tricky wording out there

Depends on the breed. Some are classed as high risk and will alwyas be expensive unless you go for yearly cover and only a few grand limit. I was told to look at scottish pet insurance which did come down a little less than others but was still expensive so now none of mine are insured and i have a xredit card if needs be

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I will look into the suggestions.  Suejaw its another rott

Have just looked at Scottish pets which is underwritten by Allianz and is pretty cheap for up to £5Kpa cover.  The only downside is their list of select breeds of which a rott is one and they only cover them up to 5 years old but not a major issue if the dog is healthy.

Have been with the K.C for 12 years, no problems but have a high risk breed & premiums did become expensive.

My healthy dogs have actually had more problems as they aged atm it's mainly allergies which was a surprise.   the investigations and treatments have cost hundreds.one mrI was 1500 pounds on its own  . I also have found from past experince that a sum insured of 6k is more like what I need . My premiums are high bit without the insuramce I would be paying off the bills for many years to come.so has actually been better dor.me to stay insured although I appreciate it depends in your budget

> My premiums are high bit without the insuramce I would be paying off the bills for many years to come.so has actually been better dor.me to stay insured although I appreciate it depends in your budget

The same here, can afford the monthly premiums but not necessarily the larger bills, especially in recent months. For dogs with ongoing problems it's given me peace of mind that I can continue to do the best for them

That was always my view too but when the premiums for a pup start at £1kpa and will go up each year, unless i have a sick or clumsy dog i am fairly sure i will revert back to putting money away and always keepinģ a credit card handy.

> That was always my view too but when the premiums for a pup start at £1kpa

WOW, our premiums didn't get that high until they were around 10/11, & for our surviving hound we claimed in the region of £3,000 in his first two years. Thankfully. hopefully the majority of dogs will never have the amount of problems we've had & even if I'd put aside the monthly payments I doubt it would have covered costs. Good luck.

Rotts are high risk to insuranxe companies. I couodnt find anything 10 months ago for an 8 week old puo for less than £50 a month for any decent cover. So lifetime and a decent amiunt of cover

> I'm with animal friends

Good Luck! Some insurers are notorious for not wanting to pay out.

I'm with co-op, have used healthy pets before, they're both very reasonable and both have paid out by return of post with no quibbles. It definitely depends what level of cover you want though, my breeds are very healthy and hardy, they have only been to the vets for the odd accident. Considering breed stats, absence of any hereditary illnesses and my own moral stance that not everything that can be done should be done, I am happy with a relatively low level of cover, I'm pretty confident it will cover anything I would need.

I am looking for a high level of cover for the first couple of years to see if the dog is particularly accident prone or any ill health emerges so looks like it might be petplan or KC insurance as they are seeming to be better value than some of the companies that used to provide high cover for a lowish price.

Using Morethan and been really happy with them... Both cats and dog insured and I get discount for multi pets

Kc tend to do a low first year then premiums go up quite a bit .

Been with Animal Friends for a number of years now.  Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole duck taped onto another bargepole now!  Absolutely moronic incompetents who will do whatever they can to get out of paying, including "not receiving" information that was sent (repeatedly) in the same envelope as the claim forms that they magically received!

Plus, when you reach the stage of the percentage excess, they include whatever you pay in the claim - so if the cover is £2k per year, you have a £2k claim and you pay your £99 + 35% of that, they will pay the remaining £1235 and then that's your £2k cover gone for the year.  Other companies have been baffled by this approach.

Oh and, if you neglect to tell them about anything new within 90 days, it goes down as pre-existing - I've been caught out by that a couple of times.  Paige's gammy leg is not covered because it looked to be a sprain, so rest and NSAIDs and no claim - it flared again a year later and oh look, no cover.  They do like their exclusions.  Remy had an exclusion on all growths, cysts and tumours because he had a number of fatty lumps - so his lymphoma, which was completely unrelated, was not covered.

I have two with Petplan, a couple with Aviva, one remaining with AF because of pre-existing stuff but she'll most likely be uninsured at renewal this year.  It's probably not worth it with the excess to pay now, it'll be cheaper for me to just pay for the meds myself.  I'm just waiting on the renewal price to see for certain.

Has anyone got experience of Tesco's lifetime policies?  I was doing quotes this morning as I have a few still uninsured, I've heard good things and the price even at the highest level was brilliant.

Tesco have been great with my dog. He won't be insured at the next renewal as the premium will be super extortionate. I dropped the cover to a yearly one this year and anything else I'd claimed for on the previous lifetime policy was still covered up to the full 7.5k (thank god as as I recently managed to accidentally give him another corneal ulcer with a wayward throw of a toy ) not the new policy limit of 3k. Also you only pay one excess for each condition; you don't have to pay it again each year if the condition is ongoing.

My vet accepts direct payment and there is no percentage to pay. The only thing that I don't like is a new thing they have started for new policies or on renewal. They have list of specialists (about 20 nationwide I think) and these are the only ones you can you unless you pay £200 to use another of your choice! No oncologists are on there and I'm sure there are other specialist areas missing too. It's a bit odd.

I will be taking up their accident and injury policy at renewal for a blanket cost of £6.50 per month. Just in case....

Other than that they have been excellent.

It's not just tesco that are doing this with referrals.it's more than and a couple of others with the same underwriter. Imo it's highly impractical to restrict like this plus some of the well known really good referral.vets arnt being included .to me I would.want the best that my vet recommends not that of the insurance .I know vets arnt happy with what they are doing as they feel it's not best for their clients either

Aviva outpriced them in the end anyway, I'll skip them.  Restricting who people can use is just silly - it should be what's in the dog's best interests, not who the insurers prefer.

Exactly nikita .

Have always used Direct Line.  Have made many claims, some of them for thousands - they have all been paid up, no quibbling.  Very happy with their service.

I don't, for the hounds, but my late brother in law, who did tons of research into such things, used More Than.

When we were down to just two, I took some quotes but fast came to the conclusion that insurance was pointless.   Previously with our numbers, it wasn't viable and we had a vet who, if we hit a bad patch, let us stage pay.   Not so now, but we are currently in a better position financially.   The quotes I received were just ridiculous, especially when one is certainly not a 'known risk'.   And the final decision was based on the excess.   Of course that's set on just above the 'basic' vet bill meaning you pay the vet and the monthly premium.   Insurance companies are not there for us - they are there for themselves.

with mine I couldn't afford not to insure and actually after all the years of dog owning I have had paid out in claims far in excess of what I could have afforded without insurance. I have found generally younger dogs, accidents being the exception, have been fine its as they get around 4 + that my problems have started. Current premium £100pm each  dogs then £30 for the other with far less claims and then there is the cats   but without I would be paying £80 per month and that's only one dog the other is on around £36 per month for ongoing meds. so the extra is worth it to cover anything else that turns up. For me after 40 years of dog ownership its definitely something I couldn't do without. I also have one that is often on the same list as rotts a gsd
As for being in it for them selves , no they are not charities they are businesses and generally expect to make profit. maybe too much for our liking.  premiums are based on genral  claims experience and actuarial calculations