I was going to go with M&S as they offer great cover, are very reasonably priced and offer a no-excess option.  I know that they are underwritten by an insurance company therefore don't have any say in whether or not a claim is accepted or declined.  I've heard stories about Asda a few years back where their underwriter pulled the plug on a lot of claims as they were "paying too much out"   This has made me rethink and I am now toying between the idea of paying nearly £20 per month with PetPlan or PetWise or going with a maximum benefit insurer which will cost well under a tenner (its to do with postcode and we live in a good area for this)   The MB offers £5k per illness/injury for the lifetime of the dog (once the sum has been reached then that illness is no longer covered).  It also offers third party cover etc.  Our other dogs had some health problems but after thinking about it no wear near 5 thousand pounds worth per illness over their lifetimes!   What are your thoughts?

i ve not had any problems with m/s i was one of the 1st to take out their insurance for 5 dogs 3 1/2 years ago,they have alawys paid out.on all calms,
just tranferred, 3 dog to a 0 excess with out any problems too.
over the year,s i have that my money worth out of insurances for the dog and will say that m/s is one of the best one over the years.

I used to be with Pet Plan for my previous dog, but puppy is with M+S. All I can say is that I put in a claim 10 days before Christmas and I was paid out early this week. They cover up to £7k per year per illness and also include complimentary medicine.

Can't fault them yet, but I hope that I don't have to put in too many claims.

Im in the same predicament at the moment, trying to find another insurance co. With pet plan, but premiums are getting higher and higher every year and ive not had any claims with them so far "touch wood"

Hi, I am looking into the whole insurance thing at the moment for my puppy.

Having looked at the M&S one - they say they don't cover for a dog used for breeding? Now I am doubtful that I would breed her but you never know. Does anyone else know about this?

Most insurance companies will not cover you for breeding bitches. I don't know of any that will so can't help there really.

I have looked carefully into the policies (M&S, Direct Line, and tescos) and M&S was the only one that stated it did not cover Bitches used for breeding - the other 2 stated it didn't cover for costs involved in the breeding/whelping.

I took it to mean that direct line and tesco would cover everything else apart from direct whelp problems and M&S wouldn't cover a dog at all that was used for breeding?

Have almost made mind up to Tescos as Direct line has a 12month limit on each illness.

What insurance have others picked and why?

Hi i'm with Petplan, i pay £29.50 a month, it's the supreme cover, if she gets ill i have to pay £80.00 excess then petplan pay the rest, there's no clauses in her policy so sickeness is unlimited.  They have been paying my claims since August last year and i can honestly say they've paid every penny of my vets fees, which are just over £4000,00 at the moment and it's still not finished but the price is really that high because she is seeing a specialist.  So i will say they are expensive monthly, but if you want an insurance what pays out Petplan is excellent.  Plus when we got referred to the specialist they would only treat your dog if you were with pet plan, can't remember the other insurance, so it's definitely worth checking with your vets who they think is the best insurance policy.

Warm regards Susan

DL offer 2 types of policy, the advanced policy covers for life.  I pay £31.00 per month for the advanced policy for 2 elderly GSD's.  One had spinal surgery a year ago and they paid out £3500.00.   I prefer a company that underwrites their own policies as opposed to an insurance mediator.  More Than are very good too but tend to increase the premiums considerably as the dog gets older.

i use pet pals

Thanks for all the replies!  No one got Maximum Benefit?  Thats what I'm interested in finding out about cos I've researched insurance til its come out of my ears and M&S is the one I'd go for if not a M/B one

>No one got Maximum Benefit?

What do you mean about max benefit, they will all have maximum benefit although the amounts may differ or is it a specific type of insurance?

Does anyone know if m & s have on going insurance incase of long term illness?, as i am thinking of swapping from petplan, mine has almost doubled this year. I hate it when insurance companies put your policy up without letting you know, they did it with my car insurance last year and i didn't notice it had doubled for ages as i don't check my bank details as often as i should.

PetPlan send a letter each year telling you what the premium is :) I've never known ANY insurance company tell me that their premium has gone up :D :D The best thing is to read the letter when it comes and then decide if you want to continue it :D

Daisy

M&S will cover an illness (up to £7,000 per year if memory serves) for the lifetime of the pet as long as you renew the policy annually and ensure that premiums are paid up to date.

>What do you mean about max benefit

A maximum benefit policy means that the insurer will pay out a limited amount per condition regardless of the duration of the condition. For example, the insurer might set the limit for diabetes treatment at £5,000. Once this amount has been paid out by the insurance company they will cease to pay for treatment despite the fact that the dog will require treatment for life. Hope that's clear as I don't think I've explained it very well :rolleyes: :D

"A maximum benefit policy means that the insurer will pay out a limited amount per condition regardless of the duration of the condition. For example, the insurer might set the limit for diabetes treatment at £5,000. Once this amount has been paid out by the insurance company they will cease to pay for treatment despite the fact that the dog will require treatment for life."

Thats exactly right :)

In short "Lifetime" plans have a maximum benefit set per year, whereas "Maximum Benefit" plans have a set sum per illness/injury over the 'lifetime' of the dog.  So, as stated above, when that sum is reached the injury/illness is no longer covered.  Generally all other 'cover' is offered on the MB plans (inc. 3rd party protection, holiday cancellation, emergency boarding fees etc).

The difference in the two price wise is that MB is about half of what the others cost   What I'm thinking about is the fact that we may get our little girl a companion in about a years time but there is just no way I could afford to pay approx. £20 per month times 2.  However, I am definately wanting to get her insured asap and of course want good cover for her.  I just don't know what to do

>M&S will cover an illness (up to £7,000 per year if memory serves) for the lifetime of the pet as long as you renew the policy annually and ensure that premiums are paid up to date.

So are you saying that for an ongoing condition M & S could pay out £21,000 in 3 years?  They couldn't afford to do that; there must be clauses that will protect them. 

Just read their T & C's,  on one section it says £7000.00 for vet fees per policy per period of insurance, on another section, it says maximum benefit £7000.00 vets fees and on another it says any new policy will be issued for a period of 12 months, how does this fit with renewals?  It's not very clear, typical of Axa  :rolleyes:

"So are you saying that for an ongoing condition M & S could pay out £21,000 in 3 years?"

This is exactly why I'm looking at other options   Underwriters  as you stated ain't gonna want to pay out £7k per year if they can help it!  The T&C's are worded in such a way that its uncertain as to what cover you're getting anyway :rolleyes:  Am still stuck as to what the blazers to do for the best cos I simply cannot afford to insure 2 dogs at £20+ each (if we do get our little girl a companion in the future that is)

I've had our little girl microchipped, registered her for life with Petback, am going to get her tatooed but I just need to work out the insurance side.  A coupla weeks ago I was certain I'd made my mind up too :rolleyes:

It appears to me that the T & C's state £7000.00 for vet's fees, per policy per period of insurance.  (Period of insurance is the time for which they provide cover as set out in the policy schedule and for which they have accepted the premium). BTW It doesn't say per year in the T & C under this clause.

The maximum benefit you can claim is £7000.00 for vet's fees which is the most they will pay out under this section of the policy.  It doesn't say anything about renewals when referring to the maximum benefit, not does it say £7000.00 per condition. 

To me, this appears to say, you are covered up to £7000.00 per period of insurance and up to the maximum benefit of £7000.00.  So in effect you are getting £7000.00 per year for vet's fees providing you don't claim.  :rolleyes:

So, to summarise M&S is a Maximum Benefit scheme too - sneaky :rolleyes:

Yeah M&S do lifetime cover and its 6/7k a year :)

I calculated how much it would cost me to insure our little girl with them and for 0-4yrs its approx. £11/month, 5-8yrs approx. £14/month then 9+yrs £21.  I think the increase for a dog over 9 is disgraceful and thats at today's prices! :rolleyes:

Why do you think it is so disgraceful having an increse in the policy as the dog gets older?
If you think, m&s have a no excess policy (up untill 8 years old) now a dog will probably need more treatment with age and so more claims, so why shouldn't they up their prices?

I am with m&S and have had a fantastic response so far, I was only with them a month when blade had to have an op (he had eaten 2 socks and got a blockage) and his overall claim after all treatment including follow ups was £1800. They paid this direct to the vets with no complications (I have the no excess option)

Em

"Why do you think it is so disgraceful having an increse in the policy as the dog gets older?"

I don't and I completetly understand why they do it - generally the older a dog is the more likely it is to develop a long term illness/have an injury.  What I do think is disgraceful is the amount by which it increases - its double that of a dog aged 0-4!!

I've just found out whilst researching new companies for insurance, if you have a bitch its cheaper to insure her than a dog, did you all know that, I did not. The old saying comes to mind " you learn something new every day"

I understand what you mean, I had just misread your post! :rolleyes:Sorry !

My girl age three and a half is insured at the moment with Pet Plan and premiuims have just gone up to just under £20 a month, now I think thats expensive, especially when I have not claimed anything at all since the policiy was continued from the breeders 6wks free insurance cover. Why can't the insurance co's not give a discount scheme, something like your cars no claims bonus, for each year that you dont have a claim. This would encourage you to stay with the same comapny. I do like the cover Pet Plan give and you really need to read the small print in other companies schedules as they have some clauses worded to look like a good deal, but are not.