Lifelong Cover

Hiya, I was wondering if you could give me some advice regarding pet insurance?

In a couple of weeks I will be picking up my little cockerpoo pup and have been thinking of getting insurance for him.

My previous dog - a mongrel, lab cross kind of dog, was ill from the day I picked him up from the RSPCA, and ended up costing me a fortune in vets bills for all his various ailments. Of course, sod's law being what it is, I had never considered taking out insurance for him!

Just in case I am unlucky enough to get a similar situation with my new pup, I was going to get insurance, but wonder if it is best to look for one that gives lifelong cover - I know a lot of them seem to stop paying out at aged 10-11yrs.

I would appreciate any info on this, thanks

I would never advise anyone not to take out cover - you can read my post I am just going to do in a moment. Our 3 year old is on lifetime cover although I think I will change him as I am thoroughly disgusted with the company he is with - have just taken our eldest away. Our middle girl is with the ordinary yearly renewal with Sainsburys, I took her away from the insurance company our boy is with 2 years ago. The original company we were with went out of the small animal business [we had been with them for years + years] and our insurance was taken over by another big company which was the worst thing that could ever have happened.

If I were doing it again starting from scratch I would go with PetPlan and yes lifetime cover is the best.

Our old lad was insured all his life , 15 years , and to be honest , it was wasted money
when I think of the 1000's of pounds we paid the insurers over the years , for them to end up paying us back a couple of hundred for a few pills towards the end of Buds life , it makes me mad (dont get me wrong , I begrudge my dogs nothing , I did however resent paying through the nose for next to nothing in return)

so with the three dogs we have now we decided to put money away every month into an account set up for any vets bills that may come our way ... you have to be strict with yourself, every month the money must go in , and you cant see it as money you can 'borrow' from either

Interesting suggestion Mese, but I don't know if I am financially strongwilled enough to do that - I would inevitably end up dipping into it for something!

VB, thanks for recommending PetPlan, it was one of the ones I was seriously considering so it's good to read of someone's experiences with them.

I have all mine insured with Petplan life cover and thank goodness. Last August Jenna used up her annual amount in one go so now have to wait untll June to be able to claim again for her. She has an on going condition and they have never refused payment.

Firstly "lifetime cover " is not related to the number of yrs your dog lives, what it means is , if you have a claim that is existing , continues, over a period of yrs, the policy will cover said condition, for as long as the "limit" (money) lasts........ its important to remember even lifetime cover will have a monetary limit.

A 12 mthly cover will only cover your dogs condition for that 12 mths, when your premium needs renewal, they will then exclude said condition from your policy.

What ever the type of policy you take out, they (insurers) will increase the premium yearly, and when the dog reaches the age of 8, most will hike the premium up extensively.

There are many companies out there, make sure you read the small print , do your research, if in doubt about the type of cover you are taking out, phone the company and ask what the cover entitles you to.

Sorry if I am misunderstanding your post Sue, but do you mean that there is an annual limit you can claim for an illness, after which a claim is not allowed?

EDIT - thanks Jackbox, we posted at the same time I think and you have just answered my query

yes, even with lifetime cover there is a limit to the amount they will pay out.

For instance, my boy has lifetime cover, we made a claim, last yr that added up to between £3000 and £4000 , cant remember the exact amount... the lifetime cover on his policy is £4000..so that means for that condition , if we ever need to claim again, we will only be allowed to go up to whats left on that claim.

It also means that when I renewed the policy this yr, it went up, and we are not excluded for any more claims on his eye.. but there is a limit we can claim.

That was an extreme case, but hope it make sit clear for you.

It does thanks, and it does make me wonder whether it is worth taking out a policy. I thought the insurance would cover all expenses but obviously not!

Maybe I should try and be sensible with my cash and set up a savings account instead for any bills.

Thanks for all the info, it has given me plenty to think about

As Jackbox explained you choose a limit of cover and when this is reached in a year then you cannot claim anymore until the cover is renewed and it starts again. The condition you have claimed for is not excluded on renewal. I am now waiting to see how much the premium will go up by Unfortunately the cover is for a year and not per condition so this one large claim has meant I cannot claim for her ongoing thyroid problem until June when my cover is renewed.