Which Pet Insurance Do You Use?

[Wotho]

The following were 5 of the 'Top 10 Pet Insurers' - Do you use any of these, or a different organisation? - Would you recommend?

Thank you

Direct Line

Sainsburys

Bought By Many Pet Insurance - (this sounded particularly interesting)!

Animal Friends

More Than

 

[JoanneF]

Its only anecdotal but i have heard people have had problems with Animal Friends.

Whatever insurance you choose, I recommend getting lifetime cover. That means that if your dog gets a lifelong condition such as diabetes or a heart condition, the cover won't stop at the end of the insurance year. Then go for the highest cover you can reasonably afford. If your dog needs treatment including scans and anaesthetics you might be shocked at how quickly you could reach several thousand pounds. 

 

[Wotho]

Hello Joanne,

Good advice, makes excellent sense.  

Interesting too re: 'Animal Friends'!

Grateful thanks

 

[gypsysmum2]

I always get a quote from Pet Plan and then try and beat it with similar cover. Pet Plan have the best reputation of all but they are almost always the most expensive. At the moment I am with John Lewis.

I have heard of problems with MoreThan about paying out when the time comes. A couple I know were battling cancer themselves when their dog was diagnosed with it. Phew! They were insured. MoreThan made life very difficult for them by querying every claim. I would not use them now.

Two of my old dogs were with Asda. Apart from me signing up to a policy that was not a lifetime cover policy (and I knew I should only get a lifetime policy) they were excellent. Of course it ran out in the end but that was my fault for not checking and checking again. The reason I used them, initially, was because they took on my old Lurcher when she was nine years old. She had loads of claims. Then my Whippet had Addisons disease (think diabetes type problem) and they covered all her tests and treatment until the cover ran out.

 

[Wotho]

Hello gypsysmum2,  Thank you for sharing this experience and suggestions.

Appreciated

 

[arealhuman]

We went with Sainsbury's as we shop with them a bit, and the policy gives 2x Nectar points.  Price wise, they were just a bit less than Petplan.  I've also heard that Animal Friends can be problematic when it comes to claim time, and can back that up with a friend going through a claim with them now.

 

[Wotho]

Hello arealhuman,

Interesting that Sainsburys was on that Top 10 List.  And you too have heard Animal Friends are a little less than ideal!

Appreciate this, Thank you

 

[Peegee]

wouldnt touch Animal Friends!  We found them very competitive price wise but then did all they could to not pay out.  Only when we pursued through complaints system did they finally agree to pay us.  We then found out that others had had similar problems. We're now with Pet Plan, most expensive but came with good recommendations from friends.  Have yet to make a claim, so time will tell.  But I'm hoping it's true that you get what you pay for.  

 

[Expodog]

We're using Tesco at the moment and have a current claim with them relating to our boys sinus problems. Not cheap, especially for an older dog. So far so good: our vet says they're generally very good in terms of claim handling and settlement. I also own a horse and have had terrible issues with Petplan in the past. Their cover is good and the price competitive compared to other insurers for similar cover but they argued every point again and again when I had a claim. Total nightmare and I would never recommend them to anyone as a result. (They may be different with dogs however ... ). 

 

[gypsysmum2]

Another one to leave alone is E&L. Not sure if they are still trading or if they have morphed into Animal Friends but they have a terrible reputation.

 

[Peegee]

Our vet thinks that E&L have morphed into Animal Friends and said that as E&L they had a bad reputation.  So in my experience a change in name did not improve their service!

 

[Wotho]

Grateful thanks to Peegee, Expodog and gypsysmum2, for your sharing your insurance experience.  Very interesting regarding Animal Friends and E&L.  Quite a few people seem to share a lower regard for them.

Appreciate this,

Thank you