Puppy insurance

As mentioned earlier in the shopping list post, one of the things I believe is very important to have for your new puppy is pet insurance. I am able to provide 4 weeks free cover with Petplan for those that want it, but after that, you're on your own !

When choosing pet insurance be very careful about the type of policy.  They fall into 3 categories :

1. Time limited policies. Cover is provided up to a maximum amount per condition. There is a 12 month limit on how long you can claim for each condition. After 12 months the condition claimed for will be excluded from the policy

2. Maximum benefit. Cover is provided up to a maximum amount per condition (eg £3000) but there is no time limit. Once you have claimed the maximum amount, the condition will be excluded from the policy

3. Lifetime policies. Cover is provided up to a set amount of vet fees each year which is renewed at the start of each policy year. As long as you continue to renew the policy without a break in cover, there is no time limit on how long you can claim for each illness or injury.

Types 1 and 2 really need to be avoided.  What you want is policies of the third type - that will pay out for a injury or illness for life and where the amount of vet fees claimable is renewed each year.

Petplan has policies that fall into the type 3 category, they are the biggest pet insurer in the UK and offer excellent coverage on their premium lifetime policies BUT they are very expensive.  I personally use Axa pet insurance. Axa underwrite a lot of the other store pet insurance policies that are out there.  I had a quick look at the main categories to compare the policies and price for Jess :

- Vet fees (renewed each year) - Axa (£7,000), Petplan budget (£4,000), Petplan premium (£12,000)
- Complementary treatments - Axa (£250), Petplan budget (£750), Petplan premium (£750)
- Third party liability - Axa (£2m per event), Petplan budget (£1m), Petplan premium (£3m)
- Emergency boarding - Axa (£750), Petplan budget (£250), Petplan premium (£1,000)
- Advertising costs - Axa (£1,000), Petplan budget (£250), Petplan premium (£1,000)
- Overseas quarantine - Axa (£2,000), Petplan budget (£1,500), Petplan premium (£1,500)
- Excess (per condition) - Axa (£50), Petplan budget (£90), Petplan premium (£90)


In my opinion, the two most important items are veterinary fees and excess.  Now the cost :

Axa (£11.15 per month)
Petplan budget (£25.70 month)
Petplan premium (£36.23 month)

So to get better coverage than the Axa policy (but a higher excess) it will cost you an extra £300 per year !

Important : I am not qualified to give insurance advice, nor am I suggesting the Axa is the only alternative to Petplan. It's simply my personal experience/opinion and should be used as a general illustration. Please do your own research into Insurance before making your decision - just make sure what type of policy it is and exactly what you are getting :)

ps - I have made a couple of claims with Axa and have had no issue with getting money back - they have been very prompt and my premium even came down the second year after making claims in the first ! I will certainly be using Axa to ensure our new puppy. A years worth of premium with Axa costs £131 - this is the cost of a single out of hours consultation !