[caracroft]

Hi everyone

We have recently got a new Dogue de Bordeaux puppy, she is 13 weeks old and the free pet insurance is due to run out.  Because she is a large breed we need to get good insurance and its coming up pretty expensive.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good companies that actually pay out on claims?
The Kennel club insurance is coming up at £111.80 per month for £10000 cover with huge excesses! 

Im worried about cheaper insurances though - I have had a couple of quotes from comparison websites which are around the £35-£40 per month mark, but wonder why they are so much cheaper?

Any advice or suggestions would be great

Cara 

[shygirl]

we had petplan for our pup as he hurt himself 2 days before his free insurance ran out and we werent sure if he needed xrays. he was fine but petplan have a good reputation. the phone rep was a bit forceful though when we phoned for a quote. must be on commission.
my gsd had E&L for 10 years but never made a claim.

[doganjo]

I've insured my three younger ones with Morethan - aged 10 years, 8 years, and 5 months. Best I saw on the market and had good reports from a lot of friends.  Haven't insured my old girl (13) as they wanted the same for her as the other three together

[caracroft]

Thank you - I will get quotes from them and see how i go 

[shygirl]

ahh we met the "morethan" dog at that big dog show at windsor ages ago - what was it called the Wag and Bone show?. remember him? 

[caracroft]

Aaaaahhhhh!!   That was Lucky I think wasnt it?   

[shygirl]

ahh yes, i couldnt remember - "lucky" alias "benson" lol, that was a long while ago.

[Calvadnack]

Direct line have been very easy to deal with the claims for the various operations my flatcoat has needed.  The vets also found them good when sending in the forms.

[caracroft]

Thank you Calvadnack  - got online quote from Directline and they dont seem to do lifetime policies so will give them a call after the bank holidays to check

My vet recommends Petplan but you never know if they are getting commission for that?

I have had a  quote from Morethan which is £83.65 for £12000 cover and will ring them after the BHs to ask a few more questions

Thanks again to everyone

[fsmnutter]

Theoretically, us vets shouldn't recommend anyone as that's sales and not in our remit. Some practices i believe have links with certain insurers. What i recommend to my clients is to make sure you go for lifetime cover, so as not to end up paying for many years of treatment for eg. diabetes, epilepsy, arthritis. Petplan are very good because they are huge, so deal with a lot of claims and thus are efficient. But do look at a number of companies, compare the amounts of cover for the price as this is likely to be the main difference between different companies.
have fun with the little one anyway!

[Ideation]

£1000 a year?

Mental!

[Cactus Jack]

As the chances are that for the first good few years you won't make a claim, why not open a separate savings account and put £500 a year in it. If all goes well at the far end of the dogs life you should have a good amount put away for treatments and if everything is fine you will have a nice little nest egg. Just my thoughts....

[Mammyshaz]

With the problems that Dogue De Bordeaux can have with skin, eyes, joints etc go for the best cover you can afford and phone the insurance companies making sure they cove inherited conditions and congenital problems.

I like pet plan but get a reduction. I know some people who have had great help from the kennel club insurance too. If your vet practice has recommended one it may be that they have a good relationship with the company and don't have many issues when their clients try to claim, question them about the different insurances they use.

They can be a breed which requires substantial veterinary treatment in a lifetime, oh but soooooo cute 

[caracroft]

Cactus Jack - we have considered the whole savings thing but worry if something happens when we have only put so much away!!   

Petplan seems to come up again and again so will call tomorrow to check the congenital and hereditary issues and possibly go with them.

Thanks for all your input, it helps to have other peoples thoughts

[Rosemary]

Depends on your circumstances and whether you'd be able to shell out £5k for two cruciate ligament repairs within 12 months (what happened to our collie).

We now self insure - we put away in a savings account what we were paying for insurance.

Three of our 5 pets are quite old and on regular meds but they aren't that expensive so we just meet the cost as part of our household bills.

I think pet insurance is a bit of a racket - and I'm pretty sure it's pushed up the cost of pet care because it's OK the insurance will take care of it.