Pet insurance problems

[rosietjourno]

Hi everyone,

I'm a journalist investigating problems people have had with pet insurance - particularly when insurers won't pay out - and was just wondering whether anyone on here had experienced this?

Would love to hear from anyone based in the UK who has had either a great or a really bad experience, as well as your views on whether buying pet insurance is worth it.

If anyone is also willing to be named and photographed with their dog(s) for a national newspaper article on this topic please contact me. I don't think I'm allowed to post my email on here but message me and I will be in touch!

Thanks so much in advance,

Rosie

 

[gypsysmum2]

I have had experience of an uninsured dog that cost me £4,000 in vet fees to diagnose and treat a lameness. I then managed to insure her at age 9 with an exclusion clause on the affected leg. She went on to develop several conditions which were all covered by her insurance and would have cost me over £6,000 if I had been able to afford it.

I insured my next dog from day one. She cost the insurance company over £6,000 (the maximum for that policy) as she developed Addisons Disease when she was 2 years old.

My only criticism is that it is hard, for the inexperienced, to sift through the maze and find a proper lifetime policy that renews every year. There needs to be much clearer wording to describe such a policy. I know how to spot a policy that will have a maximum benefit and, so, run out of cover once it is reached. Many people do not know how to spot these policies.

My current dog has a lifetime policy.

It is such a relief, when our dogs are sick, to be able to answer "yes" to any treatment offered by the vet! Alternative treatments like hydrotherapy and acupuncture are also covered by many policies.