pet insurance for a Sharpei

Can anyone advice me on pet insurance, its for my bf sister she has a Sharpei and is finding it hard to get him insured.

Unfortunately there have been in the past, and may be even now, some very poor Shar Pei puppies bred and sold, who suffer all sorts of health problems and I would think the insurance companies are very wary. However if you have bought from a breeder who registers their pups with the Kennel Club you will be offered insurance to follow on from the free insurance you get when you register the puppy in your own name. I would advise you to do this at least for the first couple of years.

How old is he Nichola? The only one our vet reccommends is petplan as it's the only company he deals with direct: he's had problems in the past with other insurances not coughing up so now owners with any insurance other than petplan have to pay the fees upfront then claim them back from their insurances. I know he's not alone on this and many vets in the country will only deal direct with petplan now.

Another thing to be aware of is a lot of insurances do not offer lifelong cover they will treat an illness for 12 months then your on your own My own personal choice will allways be petplan.

Not sure about your breed but Dibley was £5 per month more expensive to insure than most other breeds as he's a Great Dane.

Thanks for that he is only 10 weeks old i think she is going with morethan pet insurance. If you have anymore information on this i would be grateful.

Hi Nicohla I have no personal experience with More Than though I'm sure someone on here will have and be along soon. I don't think they do lifelong policies though which means if your pup got an ongoing condition : epilepsy, ectzma etc you would only be covered for 12 months after that you would have to pay for treatment yourself. Something to consider?

If she sends off the KC registration she will get 6 weeks free insurance which will give her a chance to take a proper look at different companies, not sure I would consider More Than you need one that will continue insurance for life no matter how often a particular problem is paid out on.

We are with More Than with Star but I dont think it is as good a policy as M&S which we are with for Finn

This is from their site

MORE TH>N Pet Insurance offers some of the widest ranging cover and support available:

• Up to £7,000 ongoing vets fees cover for each and every new injury and illness - cover includes consultations, x-rays, surgery and medication. What's more, your pet is covered for as long as they need the treatment, as long as they remain insured with MORE TH>N - many policies limit cover to just the first 12 months of treatment
• Cover includes alternative therapies such as acupuncture and homeopathy
• Up to £600 towards advertising and a reward if your pet goes missing
• Up to £600 in boarding fees for your pet if you are hospitalised for more than 4 days
• Up to £600 towards the purchase price of your pet if they go missing, are stolen or fatally hurt in an accident
• Up to £600 towards the purchase price of your pet if you lose them through illness before they reach 11 years old
• Up to £2 million liability insurance if your dog causes an accident or damages someone's property
• Up to £1,250 pet holiday cover towards the cost of emergency veterinary treatment abroad
• Access to a free Serious Illness and Bereavement counselling line
• One year's free Petback Protect membership with the Missing Pet Bureau, offering practical help if your pet is stolen or goes missing
• 95% of claims processed the same day we receive the claim form

A lot of insurance policies refuse to pay out on the same condition twice so it is worth asking about.

I only trust Petplan through past experiences with other companies. My policy has no cap on it therefore if it takes more than say £7000 to treat an illness they will pay out however much it takes, whereas the other companies often have a maximum amount they will stick ridgedly too: even if they claim it's a lifelong policy!. I wanted a reliable lifelong policy which is why I went with petplan.

Good luck with finding the right policy for you I got a solicitor to choose mine: it's a minefield!!

Thanks eveyone for your help and advice ive passed on all the info you have given me, as far as im aware she does have 2 weeks cover left with the kennel club so i think she will be going along with Morethan after that, but if you have anymore info on this im sure she will be grateful. thanks again everyone.

Personally I would stick with the KC insurance for at least the first year, it seems that if your pup is going to put you to large amounts of vets fees it is in the first year so if it was me I would not go with More Than, at least not for the first year.