Need to get pet insurance for my lovely hound

Sleuthy

Hello,

I need to take out pet insurance for my dog and there doesn't seem to be very much choice, or indeed information, out there. Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Sleuthy

beertons

We're with Allianz. Have never used it so far, the excess is 250, so unless the pooch goes for major surgery, I doubt I'll use it.

Nody

I think Allianz is the one I've seen recommended the most but they are not the cheapest one.

boomerang

Only Allianz.

Mark Tapley

I had a claim with Allianz and it was payed promptly.

tk123

Never had any issues with Allianz and we've claimed over 9k for one of the dogs(!) :eek: The policy went up €1 after a €2500 claim. Our vet does direct claim with them too so you just have to pay the excess (ours is €100) and the vet claims the rest.

volchitsa

How much cover is reasonable and how much should you expect to pay then?
I'm seeing (on Internet) around 40 /month as the lowest price range but that doesn't seem to cover illnesses - but we have a crossbreed so maybe she'll be less prone to illness than some purebreeds?
Tbh it seems expensive as I'm assuming it won't cover the ordinary stuff like vaccines and spaying?

Cherry Blossom

Ask yourself this: If your pet has an accident and needs a €5000 operation what will happen if you don't have insurance. I have 5 pets and there is no way I could afoard insurance for all 5. So I pay an amount into my emergency vet bills account instead. Now that I'm not at work I pay a lot less into it than when I was, but there is a very healthy amount there now that exceeds the limit of what insurance would pay out for a single illness.

Volchista €40 per month is almost €500 per year, I thought really good insurance for a cross bred pup was no more than €300.

tk123

volchitsa wrote: »

How much cover is reasonable and how much should you expect to pay then?
I'm seeing (on Internet) around 40 /month as the lowest price range but that doesn't seem to cover illnesses - but we have a crossbreed so maybe she'll be less prone to illness than some purebreeds?
Tbh it seems expensive as I'm assuming it won't cover the ordinary stuff like vaccines and spaying?

Lucy's was €230 last year so just under €20 a month. That's with a €100 excess. She's poked holes in both eyes and cut her paw pretty badly - had to be taken in for an operation etc etc so breed doesn't always come into it. Nor does raw feeding which is a popular myth lol.
Stuff like spaying and vaccinations aren't covered under any policy.

Really it comes down to how much you can afford to pay/get your hands on in an emergency - you local vet will probably let you pay in instalments but bigger hospitals may expect you to either have insurance or pay up front. When Bailey was in for all his jaw stuff there was a FB campaign with some girl trying to raise money to pay for her dog's surgery at the same place because she had to pay up front before they'd operate.
I would have needed €1500 the first time and €2000 the second time based on their estimates...

cocker5

My Cocker (11 Years old) is insured with allianz and has been since 8 weeks. I have claimed a good few times for different bloods etc, xrays etc his is a pure breed and it costs me €350 per year (i think) - its cheap in comparison to what treatment could cost me... they have been excellent when paying out and now my vet has a direct payment with them so even better we just pay the access 30% now he is over 7... he had a loads of tests a few years ago costing over €300 - at the time is cost me €85 excess.. you pay for what you get, i know a good few people who didn't get insurance and have deeply regretted it - better to be safe than sorry in my view.

Pet insurance doesn't include vaccinations, spaying etc

volchitsa

Ok thanks for the info, I'll look again, those were just from an Internet comparison site, so I'll see if Allianz covers us here, (it should do, they exist for other insurance policies)
Actually 20 /month is ok, but at 40 /month I was thinking of just paying in something similar, maybe 50 per month, into an account so we'd have something to start us off at least if we needed it. Actually I might do that anyway, even for costs like spaying and vaccines that we know are coming up in advance.

Dubl07

volchitsa wrote: »

Ok thanks for the info, I'll look again, those were just from an Internet comparison site, so I'll see if Allianz covers us here, (it should do, they exist for other insurance policies)
Actually 20 /month is ok, but at 40 /month I was thinking of just paying in something similar, maybe 50 per month, into an account so we'd have something to start us off at least if we needed it. Actually I might do that anyway, even for costs like spaying and vaccines that we know are coming up in advance.

Stop dithering and get the dog insured pronto would be my advice. I insured my dog on the very day I got her as a couple of friends had waited a bit and problems came to light in the very early days. As soon as an issue is deemed pre-existing you're up the creek. I've been lucky so far and haven't needed to claim but it's peace of mind. (We're with Allianz.)

Cortina_MK_IV

Got my Retriever covered this year for €199 with Blue Insurance Premium Plus plan. 123.ie jacked it up this year after no claims.