I used to use Petplan but need to budget so does anyone know of any good offers out there at the moment? I need ongoing cover not the 12 month ones.
thankyou

I am with Animal Friends Insurance (AFI) and find them very reasonable.  Their underwriters used to be E & L but thanfully they have just changed to Red Sands. 

They do not penalise you on your breed of dog which is good as I have 4 Rotts which can be costly to get insurance.  They have a selection of different levels of cover depending on what you can afford, if you want life cover then you need to start on gold standard.

I have just put a claim in with them and I sent the forms off 1st class on a Tuesday they would have received them Wednesday and I received a letter back from them on the Monday saying my claim would be covered and payment was received into my bank account the next day.  I don't think that is bad for any insurance company, 1 week!

Wow!
We are looking at insurance and I have just checked what the AFI charge would be: the top cover for us costs 26 which is the best price I have seen so far...

I can also say since being with them my insurance policies have only ever gone up £1 a year.  Not like previous companies that I have been with.

I am looking into insurance aswell, M&S quoted me over £500.  Nearly fell off the chair my boy is only £190 with them.  Leos both aswell, Direct Line were good but not covered for life......  Will have to look into the AFI.   As we now have three Leos to cover..
Yvonne

HI i have just taken one out with tesco it was very reasonable for standard policy which i wanted,they do another policy which may suit you.

I use More-Than and they have been brilliant. Pay up straight away no probs. I'm more than happy, Ooops sorry for the pun!!!

> I use More-Than and they have been brilliant. Pay up straight away no probs. I'm more than happy, Ooops sorry for the pun!!!

mum and dad use this two for there girls and they kept up tios insurance when he moved in with us. tios a little over £20 a month for full term cover (bullmastiff with a cruciate problem). paid out for specialist to do surgery etc no bother

Petwise have been great at sending out forms and paying up promptly. Both Ellie & George have claimed this year so it will be interesting to see what the premiums do next year....

Like JED I am with AFI,I had to make a claim when thier underwriters were E&L,and it took ages to get a pay out.I hope I will never have to make a claim again,but its good to hear that JEDS claim went through so smoothly.AFI customer services team are vey helpful as well .

We have 2 Danes with Directline for £36 a month, with a £100 excess.

m/s 70excess

Healthy Pets is good lifetime cover for ongoing conditions with the amount insured limit renewed each year (not running out).

Also no hikes in premiums on renewal, though we never claimed until this year, so interesting to see what the renewal would be.

> I use More-Than and they have been brilliant. Pay up straight away no probs. I'm more than happy, Ooops sorry for the pun!!!

Me too, they've paid us about £4000 in claims & have always been reasonably quick, have noticed premiums have gone up by £4 this year though!

I'm with M&S and they have been brilliant.  £50 excess have, 1 wsd, 1 sprollie and 1 BC insured and its about £36 per month.  They pay up really quickly and are happy to pay direct to the vet as well.

Since being with AFI I have only made 2 claims the first one being when the underwriters were E&L and I was not impressed took a while to get any money back and the second is with them having Red Sands as the underwriters and you deal with AFI direct not like before you had to deal with E&L and like I said earlier it was sorted with in a week.  I hope they keep this service up and we don't see mega rises in the premiums. 

thanks all have now signed up with healthy pets after checking all these out couldnt believe it £70 odd per year compared to £150-£300 with the others! what a bargain lets hope you dont get what you pay for!! Only £50 excess!

Try VIP pet insurance - I use them and have found them to be very good, they're a brokerage.  http://www.vip4u.co.uk

Good Insurers?  There isn't one.  However, I'm with AXA and they've been OK, paid out on a claim pretty quickly with no arguments.  BUT, premium went up £10 per month this year.  What's next??  It's his age, his breed, my age, my breed, postcode.  Bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  It's rollocks :(

CG

Healthy Pets are AXA underwrirtten like many.

Tried them but i would have to have gold cover as i need more vet fees to cover the larger breed.  Too expensive back to the search.
Yvonne

Mine are with M&S and Axa
Both competetively priced and decent policies and just used M&S for first time and paid up within the week

forgot to say when I was looking around again no company could beat the yearly amount each year with m&s which is £7000.

The quote i got from them for my new pup was £500.00....  compared to my boy that is more than double.  M&S have always been good but their prices have rocketed.  Still looking....

must depend on postcodes and past illnesses perhaps as one of mine was with argos since we got him- paid approx £14 a month then this renewel it rocketed to £40 something  a month- phoned axa (who used to underwrite M&S) and got it back to £14 !!!!!!
None of my 4 cost over £14 a month to insure

We went with AFI, £26 per month, covers illnesses for £6000 per year.
Having had a dog whose AF treatments topped £10 000 when we stopped counting, we now want a cover that will cover per year basis...
Best price we could find was with AFI so that you very much for the tip.

just renewed with M&S premium cover for the sum of 17 quid for the 4 year old dog and 15 quid for the 20 month old girl \o/ after the discount we get for the wife working for them cost about the same as any other premium cover but seems to cover bit more and becouse its M&S i know they wont be a problem if we have to claim

Hi,i use Buddies costs me £6 a month for my GSD there are 3 cover levels bronze silver and gold  he is on silver at the moment but going to put him on gold it does depend on postcode as my daughter pays a little bit more than me.they also cover for long term illness which is good worth checking it out http://www.buddies.co.uk/

I've just looked at buddies and it was £60 PER MONTH for the silver plan for my boxer!!!!  I also live in the North and this tends to be cheaper.
I'm with Tesco and they have been great so far - paid the vet direct and I pay £14 per month for him with a £60 excess.  It covers £4000 per condition but I think that if he had something that was going to be ongoing and cost more e.g. chemotherapy then I probably wouldn't want to put him through that anyway.
A lot will depend on what breed you have so one poilcy that might be good value for one breed might not be as good for another breed.

i use Buddies costs me £6 a month for my GSD

I just got a quick quote from Buddies for my 1Yr GSD...........£36.43

I'm with M&S and they have been brilliant.  £50 excess have, 1 wsd, 1 sprollie and 1 BC insured and its about £36 per month.  They pay up really quickly and are happy to pay direct to the vet as well.
Crumbs is that there new premium cover or the chearper one? I've just recieved my renewal for 1 collie x, 1 springer and 1 goldie and its about £70 a month for all 3. They range from 4-6 years so they aren't old. I've got the £70 excess too. I do think they offer good cover although they seem to have introduced more get out clauses of things they won't pay for for example, they used to pay £200 for prescription food  now they will only pay £200 for food used to diagnose an illness not treat an illness. How often do you use for for diagnosis other than allergies?! Hydrotherapy is only for after surgery, not for arthritis or mobility problems.

both my girls insured with sainsburys £12 month for chinese crested and £15 for my akita. Claimed £2000 for cc broken leg and id only had her a few days. i would recommend them they pay up to £6500 and it continues not just for a year.

> I just got a quick quote from Buddies for my 1Yr GSD...........£36.43 <IMG alt=eek src="/images/eek.gif">

yeah came out the same for my 6yr old gsd :-O

i was with more than for 5 years but last year it went up £6 a month and this year another £8 increase which took it up to £29 a month, i havnt moved/claimed/changed dog or anything, dog is only 5! so i changed to the tescos premium which is half the price. slightly less cover but i hope sufficient.

I've just had my renewal for Esme (with AXA) and is has GONE DOWN this year from £16 a month to £14, so I'm well impressed. Was with M&S but the prices went up and up. AXA does ongoing cover. I have claimed and they were very efficient.

Just taken new policy out with M&S, both pups on the premium cover for life version, comes to just under £16 for both of them where I was previously quoted at least £21 for similar policies with other providers.  Bargain.

Just beware, it will change quite significantly next year, mine have been with m and s for 3 years and it has gone up each year.

I haven't bought any pet insurance for many years but it has just occured to me that I never just take a quote on car insurance or breakdown cover.  I always phone up and ask if that is the best price they can offer me, so and so is quoting £x etc.  Has anyone every tried this with pet insurance now that the premiums are becoming so significant?

I use Healthy pets and its brilliant only £26 for four Mini Schnauzers and thats the gold package http://www.healthy-pets.co.uk/comparepremium.htm

Wow no way could I insure all of mine!

That is one 11yr old, 1 nearly 9, one 5, one nearly 2, and a 10 week old pup.

Bronze,     Silver,        Gold,
£657.56    £1,134.93   £1,346.40    Annual Premium
£54.80      £94.58       £112.20      Monthly Premium

Just the 10 week pup:

£96.58      £166.69    £197.76     Annual Premium
£8.05        £13.89     £16.48       Monthly Premium

The level of cover is:

Bronze          Silver         Gold  
£1,000          £3,000       £5,000          Vet's Fees
£50              £50            £50              Vet Fees Excess
Yes              Yes            Yes              Cover for ongoing conditions** 
No                No            £500             Accidental Damage
not covered   £250          £750            Death from Illness*
not covered   £250          £750            Death from Accident
not covered   £250          £750            Advertising & Reward
not covered   £250          £750            Theft or Straying
£1,000,000    £1,000,000 £1,000,000   Third Party Liability & Legal Expenses Dogs Only
not covered   £250          £1000           Boarding Kennel Fees
not covered   £250          £2,000          Holiday Cancellation
Yes              Yes            Yes              Veterinary Helpline
Yes              Yes            Yes              Bereavement Counselling Helpline
Yes              Yes            Yes              Pet Legal Helpline
Yes              Yes            Yes              Pet Minders Helpline
Yes              Yes            Yes              Pay Vet Direct
30 days        30 days       12 months    Overseas Travel