Pet Insurance - Cover level? Help!

Hi all,

Just thought I would get your thoughts on Pet insurance and the level of cover that I would typically need for my 2 year old whippet.

I am new to buying pet insurance so obviously I am a bit hesitant in signing up to any old insurance company. I see a lot of people here recommend a lifelong pet insurance which is fair enough but am I really going to need £7,500 worth of cover for a dog in the early years of its life? Could i just go for mid range insurance plan for a few years then change over to a more comprehensive plan later on?

I only say this because I am on a tight budget and cant afford to pay £25+ a month on a high cover "per year" policy. If I wont be claiming it feels like i would be wasting a large sum of money.....

I have looked around a bit and found Healthy Pet pet insurance to pretty good value for money. To put Jake on Healthy pets life long silver plan would cost £7 a month for £5,000 of cover and a £75 excess. Thats pretty good right?

From what I have read, Healthy pets seem to be highly regarded by vets and consumer groups. Has anyone heard anything to contradict this or had experience with them directly?

I know Healthy pets are underwritten by amtrust which is part of axa.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Ems

I have known dog owners that have never really had to make a claim. On the other hand I also know of a few poorly dogs that have needed a lot of medical attention.

Essentially dog insurance is a bit of gamble! If your worried and on a budget then go for the mid ranged plan. £5000 in my opinion should be more then enough. Having some insurance is certainly better then having none at all.

I am with Healthy pets and have had no cause to complain. Actually as pet insurance companies go they are pretty good.

Hope that helps!

AFter my experiences with my last dog I have been looking for info on pet insurance too, and it is confusing - to me anyway!

My old dog literally cost me thousands. He was ill from a puppy with various things, needed twice daily injections for several years of his life, and towards the end, when he had liver problems, I was paying over £400 PER MONTH for various treatments, so £7500 would soon have been reached had he lived longer.

Needless to say the Visa took a hammering towards the end and I am still paying that off.

I am picking up a new pup at the end of this week, and I will wonder about insurance, but have been told that some have a limit on the amount they pay out each year.

Someone on here did suggest starting a saving account and putting a regular amount in there (say the amount you would pay for insurance) and keep it just for vets bills only, which, the more I think about it, seems the best idea.

I thought about doing that too and actually setup a bank account to do it.

I later decided against it tho and took the easy route of taking out pet insurance. The policy offered was pretty good and covered some helpful extras like kennel fees etc.

Up to you really, both could be viable options

We have Kay insured on for £7500 with Healthy pets dog insurance. Can go for lower if your on a budget. A pet owners club recommended us to them, been good so far.

Awwwww that is really sad

Thanks for the advise, Healthy pets seems to be a good option for pet insurance for us. If we don't find anything else better within the week then I think were sign up to them.

Will continue to shop around for now.

Thanks again