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Pet insurance?

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11
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in Pets #1
Our pet insurance is up for renewal tomorrow, problem is she will be eight in a couple of weeks and it looks like no one will insure an eight year old dog. So if I renew today will I be covered for the year and also, some of the quotes ask if I want life time cover i.e. cover for long term illness, If I take the life time cover and she's eight and gets ill - will she be covered for the future?
Any recommendations for insurance appreciated.

Thanks

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    MarellaKMarellaK Posts: 5,783
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    #2
    Stick with your current insurers is my advice. You won't get a good deal from any other company as your pet will soon be 8.

    If you already have the covered for life option then you just renew this and you will be covered. I am with Petplan and they start increasing the premiums and excess in cats from the age of 10 upwards (actually, it may be 8, I would need to check). My Tabitha was nearly 16 when she underwent extensive cancer treatment last year, amounting to thousands of pounds. She was covered but I needed to pay the first £120 plus 20% of the remaining bill so I ended up with a bill of over £1000 (but that also included cremation and return of ashes). It still worked out a lot cheaper for me, obviously, than if she wasn't insured - but older pets do cost more to insure and you get less benefits, sadly.

    Stick with your current insurer but prepare to pay quite a bit more for your premiums. I always advise to choose the life option because older pets are more likely to have chronic or recurring conditions. To clarify, the life option will cover your pet as long as you renew it every year!
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    statenislandstatenisland Posts: 635
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    #3
    Ive been looking into this recently and I think it pays to shop around. If you do and then tell your current company they may make an offer to try and retain your custom :)
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    MarellaKMarellaK Posts: 5,783
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    #4
    When an animal is young it's easy to shop around and get good deals. An older pet is not a good risk for insurance companies and some insurance companies might be glad to be free of an aging pet on their books.

    When my Petplan premiums went up significantly a few years ago, when Tabitha was getting older, I did contact Petplan and they did reduce the premiums but they gave me less benefits - I could only claim £5000/year rather than £10000 and they took away some of the 'extras' such as advertising and rewards if she went missing..

    It depends on what level of cover people are happy with and whether a 'good deal' is worth the stress of not being completely covered should the worse happen. My vet tells me that some insurance companies try very hard to wriggle out of paying up and, for me, I'd rather have security and peace of mind than quibble about a few extra pounds of premiums each month.
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    clm2071clm2071 Posts: 6,645
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    #5
    I use Animal Friends insurance, they are 100% ethical and donate their profits to animal charities around the world (far better than going to line the pockets of the fat cats!), they accept older animals and have excellent levels of cover.

    Might be worth a shot
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