Pet Insurance

[Vader's mum]

We want to get insurance for our boy so I thought I would put out the feelers and see who everyone went with and why?

I'm not sure what I want I figure go for the best incase of anything dastic.

Thanks in advance :D

[OSoSwift]

I have Petplan.

Haven't had any huge claims but all have gone through quite easily.

Petplan cover for conditions up to the maximum you have each year. Some only pay out to the maximum for a particular condition and then don't pay out any more for that condition over the rest of your dogs life.

I have gone for budget cover which is $9000 I think??? It meant that I could cover snake bite or broken bones but still have a premium that was not too expensive.

I do not get cover for routine things as for me that is just a part of dog ownership so I wear the cost of that. I wanted cover for the bigger disasters that could occur (and after having 5 snakes close to the house in the last couple of weeks I am happy I have it) I pay the first $100 of the first claim for each condition.

[newfsie]

Medibank private ( I get 10% discount for being a member myself).........I have premium cover, but I pay the first $500.00 per year. So that means I pay for the regular stuff. I pay $52.00/per month for my two newfs and one Border cross Golden, with none having pre-existing conditions.

Our new rescue newf is uninsured, because he is old and has just too many pre-existing medical issues

[OSoSwift]

due to being the only Pet Insurer that has a true "Covered for Life'' policy. This means that for any ongoing, chronic or re-occurring conditions, Petplan will continue to pay claims on that condition for the rest of the animals life, rather than just until the maximum benefit has been paid, as do all other pet insurers in Australia.

Found this on their website. They can also cover incase your pet is lost stolen and other things depending on the level of cover you choose.

Mine are $415 dollars each a year, so not the cheapest but the cover options I wanted.

[Mollie10]

I just insured Ziggy with Medibank Private because he'll be 5 next month, and apparently after 5 you can't insure. We're on the silver plan which covers injury and illness, but not day to day stuff (I pay for that already!)

[shelby-001]

We're with medibank pvt. We took gold paw option as the extra $9.50 per month per dog got you $165 of routine care, which you are guaranteed to claim as you get those things done regardless and gave us an extra $3000 per year per dog. So we were actually in front $51 each year however we havent made a claim yet so we'll see how that goes. It looks great on paper.

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

I used to have Darcy covered with Petplan. They were crap and didn't want to cover anything (because when he hurt himself apparently it was my fault) so I cancelled the policy. Figured I was better off with savings and an emergency credit card.

[ravenau1]

We are looking into this at the moment.

LMBC what sort of injuries did they not pay for?

[lanabanana]

Medibank private ( I get 10% discount for being a member myself).........I have premium cover, but I pay the first $500.00 per year. So that means I pay for the regular stuff. I pay $52.00/per month for my two newfs and one Border cross Golden, with none having pre-existing conditions.

Our new rescue newf is uninsured, because he is old and has just too many pre-existing medical issues

That seems a really good price per month.

To the OP, thanks for starting this thread, I don't have pet insurance and whenever I have looked I have only seemed able to find options that will cost me $50 for each dog per month which I thought was a bit pricey to be honest. I am crap at googling and stuff though so it's not surprising.

Price really shouldn't come into it for your furkids but I just found $100 a month quite ridick. Lucikly we can cover a bill to a few grand and we have a fantastic vet who allows us to run an account, but we have been talking about this for the last couple of weeks so I will be watchign the responses with much interest.

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

We are looking into this at the moment.

LMBC what sort of injuries did they not pay for?

Darcy had a small cut/bite mark on his leg that got infected. He had xrays and antibiotics etc and they wouldn't cover it. I was living with OH's parents at the time and the bite was caused by one of their dogs. So it was determined that since it happened at home, amongst dogs that live together, it was apparently our fault and they wouldn't cover it.

To some extent they are right but I found out that they don't actually cover anything if they can claim it is caused by a person, so in other words if Darcy were in a fight with any other dog it would be considered the owners fault and we would be expected to get compensation from them. If he got hit by a car it would be my fault because he wasn't contained.

So basically any injury that can be attributed to human error is not covered. So pretty much everything, is not covered. So I figured it was a waste of money. I was paying $42 per month.

[lanabanana]

We are looking into this at the moment.

LMBC what sort of injuries did they not pay for?

Darcy had a small cut/bite mark on his leg that got infected. He had xrays and antibiotics etc and they wouldn't cover it. I was living with OH's parents at the time and the bite was caused by one of their dogs. So it was determined that since it happened at home, amongst dogs that live together, it was apparently our fault and they wouldn't cover it.

To some extent they are right but I found out that they don't actually cover anything if they can claim it is caused by a person, so in other words if Darcy were in a fight with any other dog it would be considered the owners fault and we would be expected to get compensation from them. If he got hit by a car it would be my fault because he wasn't contained.

So basically any injury that can be attributed to human error is not covered. So pretty much everything, is not covered. So I figured it was a waste of money. I was paying $42 per month.

Wow, that seems a bit silly!

[Dju]

We are looking into this at the moment.

LMBC what sort of injuries did they not pay for?

Darcy had a small cut/bite mark on his leg that got infected. He had xrays and antibiotics etc and they wouldn't cover it. I was living with OH's parents at the time and the bite was caused by one of their dogs. So it was determined that since it happened at home, amongst dogs that live together, it was apparently our fault and they wouldn't cover it.

To some extent they are right but I found out that they don't actually cover anything if they can claim it is caused by a person, so in other words if Darcy were in a fight with any other dog it would be considered the owners fault and we would be expected to get compensation from them. If he got hit by a car it would be my fault because he wasn't contained.

So basically any injury that can be attributed to human error is not covered. So pretty much everything, is not covered. So I figured it was a waste of money. I was paying $42 per month.

Wow, that seems a bit silly!

I was actually thinking of getting pet insurance for my new puppy, thank Dog for this thread or I might have actually gotten Petplan I want to be covered for everything!

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

Yep, and I had it from the time he was about 10 weeks old, to the time he was 2. What a huge waste of money.

[lanabanana]

Yep, and I had it from the time he was about 10 weeks old, to the time he was 2. What a huge waste of money.

Yea! That's what I think about...what if nothing ever happens or if it does you arent covered and youve forked out thusands over the years...that would rip my knickers big time

[ravenau1]

We are looking into this at the moment.

LMBC what sort of injuries did they not pay for?

Darcy had a small cut/bite mark on his leg that got infected. He had xrays and antibiotics etc and they wouldn't cover it. I was living with OH's parents at the time and the bite was caused by one of their dogs. So it was determined that since it happened at home, amongst dogs that live together, it was apparently our fault and they wouldn't cover it.

To some extent they are right but I found out that they don't actually cover anything if they can claim it is caused by a person, so in other words if Darcy were in a fight with any other dog it would be considered the owners fault and we would be expected to get compensation from them. If he got hit by a car it would be my fault because he wasn't contained.

So basically any injury that can be attributed to human error is not covered. So pretty much everything, is not covered. So I figured it was a waste of money. I was paying $42 per month.

Wow, that's rough! Thanks. I would never have considered that accidents wouldn't be covered.

[Dju]

Yep, and I had it from the time he was about 10 weeks old, to the time he was 2. What a huge waste of money.

Yea! That's what I think about...what if nothing ever happens or if it does you arent covered and youve forked out thusands over the years...that would rip my knickers big time

I figured that keeping a piggybank and depositing $30 into it yourself would be more effective than taking out insurance (in most cases). Especially if you've got a hardy breed that doesn't usually have many illnesses to worry about. For, say, a CKCS, insurance would probably be worth getting insurance knowing how many severe illnesses are reportedly associated with the breed, but for a cattle dog or something like that.. Best off with a piggybank.

[Vader's mum]

Glad to hear everyones point of view I have some great info now, oh the decisions I will talk it over with OH but it's good to know the finer details of it all. Cant believe you werent covered just another reason why insurance companies rip you off!

Lucky me Im on the hunt for insurance for everything! yuck....

[cointreau]

We are looking into this at the moment.

LMBC what sort of injuries did they not pay for?

Darcy had a small cut/bite mark on his leg that got infected. He had xrays and antibiotics etc and they wouldn't cover it. I was living with OH's parents at the time and the bite was caused by one of their dogs. So it was determined that since it happened at home, amongst dogs that live together, it was apparently our fault and they wouldn't cover it.

To some extent they are right but I found out that they don't actually cover anything if they can claim it is caused by a person, so in other words if Darcy were in a fight with any other dog it would be considered the owners fault and we would be expected to get compensation from them. If he got hit by a car it would be my fault because he wasn't contained.

So basically any injury that can be attributed to human error is not covered. So pretty much everything, is not covered. So I figured it was a waste of money. I was paying $42 per month.

Wow, that's rough! Thanks. I would never have considered that accidents wouldn't be covered.

I've had Petplan for Sparkles and my cat for years and claimed for accidents and never had a claim rejected. I don't have any problems with Petplan and went to them when the previous company I was with AFS PetMed put numerous exclusions on the policy for Sparkles all the exclusions were claims I had made for my previous Dane this was a new policy and they wouldn't remove the exclusions.

[OSoSwift]

I have claimed an accident with Petplan and had no issues what so ever. Rommi required around 3 vets visits along with GA's and different courses of AB's, there was never a question about it????

Lewis has had a claim for illness and all so far is good there as well. Only just gone in, they have asked for some additional info but that is it. It is a bit of a twisty one as well.

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

I never had to claim anything for illness, after they made it impossible to claim the first time I gave up. I have heard other people say they make it difficult to claim things, but it sounds like I might have just been unlucky.