All the things I wish I knew before I got my first ever puppy!
1. GET IT ASAP
A lot of reputable breeders nowadays sell their puppies with a 5 week free Kennel Club insurance (assuming the puppy is KC registered of course!), this policy is underwritten by Agria, and when I got it with Cooper I thought- Perfect no need to worry about his insurance for 5 weeks! WRONG.
If you read the small print on most pet insurance policies, there is a 2 week period after your policy starts where you can't claim. So for me, Cooper was uninsured for 2 weeks, even though I had technically taken out the insurance with no gap in-between. To be fair to the insurers I can see the logic to some extent, it stops people taking out a £600 policy in hindsight to cover an emergency £3k operation. On the other hand though 2 weeks is a long time, and if it is a genuine emergency, it seems a bit unfair that on the 13th day of your policy you wouldn't be covered for your dog breaking a leg- something that you would never be able to predict!
2. DON'T LIE
Okay for most people this isn't an issue, but if your pet has had something wrong with it in the past or you've worked out that if you change one detail the price goes down...it's just not worth it. Like car insurance providers, it seems that nowadays it's a lot easier for insurance companies to check up on the health history of your dog. I've seen a few people on various forums now who have, to put it diplomatically- bent the truth, in their application, and as a result their insurers have refused to pay out.
3. GET LIFETIME COVER
Pet insurance is a bit like human's health insurance, if you have a pre existing health condition when you take out the policy- they're not going to cover it! To get round this, most decent insurance companies offer a 'lifetime cover', it costs around 30-40% more than a regular policy HOWEVER, if say your dog developed diabetes, as long as you stay with that provider, they will cover the condition.
4. CONSIDER THE EXCESS CAREFULLY
Think you've found a cracking deal? Check the excess!
A lot of providers are now offering low monthly/yearly prices, but on the condition that as well as say £100 excess, you also contribute 20% of any claim. As someone who normally sets my excess on car insurance at the highest level possible to reduce my premium I did consider taking the lower premium, however, doing the maths- albeit hypothetical...
I pay just over £600 a year for Cooper's insurance and I have a £99 excess. If, god forbid, he needed a major operation, say for eating something he shouldn't, and that surgery cost £2000, I'd be footing £400 + £99 excess towards the surgery, so another £499 on top of the £600 odd I've already paid- all for the sake of saving £20ish a year- for me it really isn't worth it!
5. WHAT LEVEL OF COVER?
This is very much personal preference and dependant on your breed of dog and if they are known to have health issues. Knowing how pricey vet's are nowadays I opted for the highest cover I could find- £15,000 a year. Golden Retrievers, as a larger breed, are prone to several health issues including hip displaysia, bloating and arthritis...not to mention the fact that they are dustbins and will eat anything and everything!
Do some research into your breed, obviously it's not a sure guarantee that your dog will or won't be healthy, but it could give you an idea of worst case scenario. Also have a look into the prices that your local vet charges, £2000 may seem like a lot of cover for a year, but it's crazy how quickly vet prices add up!
7. READ THE SMALL PRINT
This was the advice my vet gave me and it's so true. Unlike car insurance where to some extent, you can go blindly into a policy and you can be pretty sure that you'll get the normal cover, pet insurance is sneaky as anything!
When I was asking about insurance, a lot of people recommended a lifetime policy where the price will stay the same for the whole life of your dog. I thought- wow, that sounds great! And when I got it quoted, it was only £20 more a month than a normal policy which would go up with both the age of the dog/inflation.
Then came the catch. You only get £20,000 cover over the LIFETIME of the policy. Bearing in the mind the average lifespan of a dog is 10-13 years...some breeds more 14-16 years, that means it works out at maximum £2,000 cover a year. I mean it's a gamble essentially, I knew knowing my luck if I took it out that Cooper would probably go through the £20k like a rich kid on their parents credit card, but if I didn't get it, he'd be the picture of health!
My main worry with the above policy was, going back to the issue of lifetime cover, if you burn through that £20k and then go to take out a policy with a different insurer, my understanding is either 1) You're going to have a MASSIVE premium for them to cover all the issues that lead to your dog going through £20k of treatment or they just flat out won't cover you for it!
7. RING THEM UP
Test them basically. If it's a nightmare getting through to someone as a potential new customer, getting through to someone as an existing customer is going to be even worse. See how helpful they are, if they treat you badly from the start the chances are they're not going to get much better!
8. READ UP ON THE REVIEWS
The internet can be a great thing sometimes, especially when it comes to reading actual reviews, instead of just trusting the list of 5* reviews on a companies website!
The main things to look out for are problems with claiming or them trying to get out of paying- Although remember to take some with a pinch of salt, anyone who's ever been on tripadvisor will know that some people will complain just for the sake of complaining, and what might have been only a small issue, will be blown up into WW3!
9. ASK FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Like reading up on the reviews, asking friends and family who have dogs is good way of getting recommendations and advice on companies and whether they have been good for them.
10. PLAY THE LONG GAME
When you're looking round at prices, don't be too tempted with introductory offers, ideally if you take out a lifetime policy you're going to want to stick with that insurance company- especially if your dog is ill.
When you're looking for quotes, search for quotes for a dog that is 1, 2, 3, 4 years old etc so you can get an idea of how much your premium is probably going to go up every year. It's all well and good having the cheapest quote for year 1, but if that company has the most expensive quote for every age group that initial saving isn't really worthwhile!
