[Garlic]

Hi all, I have had my pooch insured throuh Protect Your Bubble for the last 2 years. I recieved my renewal today and they have decided to increase my premium (I have not made a claim in the 2 years since I took out the policy) and as well as having an excess, they have added 'co-insurance' which means that in the event of a claim I pay the excess plus 15% of the remaining balance.

I have never heard of this before and needless to say I will not be renewing! Be sure to check your renewal reminders!

So now I'm looking at other quotes and I'm a little confused at the difference between maximum benefit and life cover.

I am also confused at the policies that claim to be life cover but say they pay out a maximum of £2k per year.

Any ideas on how to choose a decent policy please?

[Muze]

Personally I'd always go for lifetime cover.... if your pet needs ongoing treatment for a specific condition, you can claim throughout its lifetime.

£2k a year is not much, at least £5k or £7k is better IMO.
This mean that if you make a claim in one policy year, they will only pay out £2k towards it, that may not even cover one serious accident!

If you're a dog owner, you really need to think out Third Party Liability too, should you get sued if your dog hurts someone.

[Garlic]

Thanks Muze, i now have my pooch insured with John Lewis.

£25 per month for lifetime cover (max. £12,000 per year) with a £60 excess.

It also includes 3rd party liability cover.

[StressMonkey]

John Lewis sounds Good! Will look at them when I renew

But with my last insurer (Pet Plan IIRC) They ended up wanting me to pay the first 20% plus an excess of £100 for a premium of £36 a month I'd need a bill of £600 to make it worth while.

That was just for one dog!

Got two of the dogs and the cat insured for about £10 more than PP wanted for one for comparable cover (lifetime illness & accident, public liability, death & loss). No one will insure Murphy - he's 15 and has Cushings. But I have been saving money for him since he was a puppy, and my departed cats were kittens. So far I still have money in that account!!

[Garlic]

Crikey that is a bit steep! I spent ages searching various insurers but John lewis was by far the best value for a German Shepherd.

It worked out about £5 a month cheapest going through gocompare than directly through John Lewis.

[Pixie Queen]

I had a hissy fit with pet insurance after I was told NO from Buddies AGAIN .

I have two dogs and I have insured them with Buddies for the last 8 years. Every time I tried to make a claim they ****ed me. My dog gets ill - they get treated - I pay- I claim. Buddies pay out shyte. I don't see the point now.

The premium went up to almost 80 pounds a month for the two of them. I was told that more % excess cos they were over a certain age.... . I now have a little account at the post office just for pets. I put 50 quid in a month as I think that is a reasonable amount over a year for the pair of them if we have any mega vet bills.

I tried to claim 3 times over the years and each time Buddies insurance told me NO.

I went with Buddies as at the time their sales made me think that I would be helping animal charities and helping people who were skint to get their pets treatment via PDSA. I don't believe this sales shyte now

[dollymarie]

I pay £12.50 a month to direct line for my two kittens. The excess is £70.

Am very glad I have insurance because one of them got sick recently, and the bill came to just short of £600! Considering i've only been paying for 6 months now it's been worth every penny.