I have read previous posts about price increases , but is there anything i should be looking for with insurance companies ?
Such as , do some companies pay the vet direct whereas with others you claim it back ?
Do some have no excess ?
What have you found good / bad ?

I've only used 2 companies (direct line and m&s) and both gave the choice of them paying vet or paying me but my vet has recently imposed rules that all treatment must be paid at the time of each visit even if it is ongoing treatment.  This for me defeats the purpose of insurance as I am still paying for everything upfront even though I can claim some of it back.  So my point is that it is how your vet operates that will determine how you can utilise the terms of your insurance. HTH

I agree it does defeat the purpose somewhat, as the point of having insurace is to pay the bills that you cannot afford to pay, thankfully when the bill is big alot of vets will claim direct which is a godsend as these days bills can be in the thousands, one thing I have found to be annoying if the vet claims direct the insurance form is sent off by the vet immediately, however if I pay the bill the vet then seems to take a couple of months before sending off the claims form, after all he has had is money grrrrhhhhh, and this is dispite me keep phoning to ask if they have sent the form off yet!!!

http://www.vip4u.co.uk/

The above are a specialist broker that can advise on your individual needs.

Petplan are beloved of vets and if your dog is insured with them most are happy to bill them direct.

My advice to people looking for pet insurance is to go of recommendation,I  know  about a few as I run a rescue  and always ask people who their dog is insured with and if they are ok Ive heard some very sad stories of people thinking they were well covered when in fact they were not.
Always ask for "Life Cover" which means if you have to claim on something this year for instance Ears then that will be covered again next year and so on as long as you keep up your payments.
The ones that have always come out on top in my personal survey are Petplan,Morethan and Saga (over 50s)  I am with Saga and they are brilliant.
I think regarding the Vet fees its up to the Vet my Vet will bill me at the end of treatment and wait for the Insurance payment but some will not,I think it depends if the company are good at settling.
I had a surprise when Nell was a pup she dug a great hole in the hall carpet I asked the home insurance if it was covered that is Saga and they said if I had the  premium cover which was about £8 a year more they would have replaced my hall stairs and lounge carpet as it was all the same but I didnt have  pet cover in my policy, they suggested I try the pet insurance (also Saga) and they did cover it,just the hall and stairs but that was great I wouldnt have known that.
Its best to read your policy and see what is covered but I belive you get what you pay for.
Another example this time "Morethan" We took in a 7 year old Labrador in our rescue sadly his owner had died,after a few days I noticed the dog was poorly so we took him to the vets,he had cancer....I noticed in his paperwork that he was infact insured but wondered wether he would still be covered as his owner had sadly died.
Morethan suggested I contact the executor of the will and ask for a letter giving persmission for the insurance to change over to the rescue,this they did and they paid out his bills which made it easier to find a home for him.

Thanks for your replies . I want to get insurance right first time rather than trying to swap later !