Dog Insurance Advice Wanted

Malice

My dog's pet insurance is up for renewal soon. Last year we went with Allianz and they are looking for €277 to renew the policy. Curiously I see that a new policy with the same details will cost €233. I tried ringing Allianz earlier today but got nowhere. I see that Tesco are doing pet insurance and will offer what looks like the same policy as Allianz for €147. The vet has said that they should be fine. Has anyone here dealt with Tesco for pet insurance? Does anyone have any other recommendations for pet insurance?

andreac

Just be aware, if you switch companies, any conditions or illnesses your dog has already had or suffered from will not be covered on the new policy as it's classed as a pre-existing condition.

Malice

andreac wrote: »

Just be aware, if you switch companies, any conditions or illnesses your dog has already had or suffered from will not be covered on the new policy as it's classed as a pre-existing condition.

Thanks for the reminder. I should have mentioned that I noticed that written on another post yesterday. He's a year and a bit old and goes to the vet regularly so there shouldn't be any existing illnesses or conditions present. I will keep that in mind in future.

aisher

I have a cross breed dog and I have the Value Pet Insurance with Tesco - only costs me €68 for the year. I mainly got it to cover any accident my dog might have and indemnity in case she caused damage or bit someone. Tesco also provide a free phone to a Vet practice that you can ring to get advice for free. I renewed again with Tesco this year.

andreac

Malice wrote: »

Thanks for the reminder. I should have mentioned that I noticed that written on another post yesterday. He's a year and a bit old and goes to the vet regularly so there shouldn't be any existing illnesses or conditions present. I will keep that in mind in future.

Its not if they are present, its if he EVER suffered from them. Say for instance he had an eye infection or skin issue before. That wont be covered on your new policy as he suffered with that issue on the last policy.

kakee

There are dog insurance companies listed here http://www.dogsireland.com/pet_insurance_ireland.html

I havent used any of them myself but they might be good.

BillyMitchel

try petinsure.ie

I got a great deal from them recently.

andreac

What breed of dog do you have? Most companies will insure all breeds. There are one or two that dont insure a few breeds but those breeds are very rare and not sure if ive even seen any in Ireland..

BillyMitchel

andreac wrote: »

What breed of dog do you have? Most companies will insure all breeds. There are one or two that dont insure a few breeds but those breeds are very rare and not sure if ive even seen any in Ireland..

I've tried everywhere and PetInsure weren't even to sure if they could and even now they wont pay out for certain things. I'd say it would be one of the rare breeds. I sent you a PM.

Inexile

Also make sure you get a 'life' policy. Some of policies, particularly the cheaper ones, will only cover an illness for the year and when you go to renew it the following year they either wont give you any cover for the illness or you pay a heavy loading.

Im with Allianz and while they are not cheap I have never had any problem claiming from them. Well except once when they discovered one of my claims related to a pre-existing condition that I hadnt even considered.

Shivers26

I'm with petinsure.ie and I only had to claim from them once but sadly the dog had died despite the treatment. They paid out with no hassle. He had a pre-existing condition but the illness that caused his death was unrelated.

Assassins Creed

Have had no problems with petinsure.ie. In the last year and a half, i've claimed twice. One of the claims was a lot, there was no increase in premium at renewal time. I had no problem getting the money back. Ive rang them a couple of times and always found them helpfull. Unless they mess me around in the future, i'll be stayin with them.

boomerang

I'm a student nurse and will never recommend them to anybody.

I think part of the problem stemmed from the fact that I transferred my insurance over to them when my dog was seven. Also it was a relatively big claim of €970. (800 of that was for emergency surgery at Gilabbey in Cork on a Sunday night and she had to be put to sleep on the operating table.) Maybe they were suspicious of me, taking out the policy when my dog was practically a senior. But I took out the policy in good faith and my dog had no pre-existing conditions. She'd been insured all her life with Allianz, who always paid out promptly, dealt with the vet directly and were always a pleasure to speak to on the phone.

All I can say is, if you are with Petinsure, make sure you have a paper trail of all your dog's veterinary treatments. Even if you have changed vets once our twice, Petinsure will insist on having all veterinary records, or they won't proceed with your claim. And whatever else you do, be sure and keep your dog's vaccinations all up to date. If there is any gap in your dog's vaccination history - and this is before you ever join up with Petinsure - they will use it as a stalling tactic in the event that you make a claim.

Cowboys, Ted.