Would you be happy to give more info as to why they wouldn't pay? Just thought probably a number of worried people now if they are with either KC or E&L.

I was with KC for my previous dog - to a degree I regretted not shopping around once the freebie was coming to an end, simply because its damn expensive. But I had no problems claiming at all - he had auto immune disease from 2 years old and medication was almost 2k a year, initial tests & scans cost about 3k by the time he died before his 6th birthday we were approaching the 10k limit.

So my experience of KC insurance was expensive but good with claims

Even if you have not made a claim, if anything has gone on your dogs records then it can still be classed as pre-existing. Some Insurance companies also tend to "group" illnesses even for the most simple things. Examples my Mal stuck his head under a pile of leaves and snow ploughed them up, he must have got something in his eye that caused an infection. Straight forward, course of antibiotic eye drops problem solved. When I changed to Petplan, they put on an Exclusion of "eye disorders" full stop.
I can appearently get it lifted but my vet needs to write in an confirm the nature of the incident and then apparently they will "consider" removing it but it isnt a guarantee. So you will need to be careful. Also I have noticed that when you make a first claim companies also ask to see a full veterinary record with the first claim. Also I believe Insurance companies share information too. If you think the clicking or rather your vet does, may be a sign of a possible ongoing problems then all I can advise is check the free policy and see if you take out a proper policy with them will it be treated as a continuation of the exisiting free one? Or will it be classed as a brand new policy. If its a brand new policy then you may be scuppered for claiming anyway. If however the free policy has expired anyway (I think I may have read in your post?) then you may not be able to get a continuation either.

Whatever happens you need to get a life time or life long cover whoever you are with. These give you an amount to spend on vet bills per year, there is various policies with various total yearly amounts, obviously the higher the cover the higher the premium. With a life long or life time policy though, it doesnt matter how many claims you have had the previous year (even if you went to the whole yearly amount) as long as you renew you will have the full amount re-instated the following year. This way if your dog developes an ongoing illness, has an accident or injury that in later years causes a complication, or he gets an illness or problem that re-occurs he will always be covered.

Some that sometimes look cheaper, have limited cover. It may seem like a good yearly amount for vet bills, but they only cover an illness,injury or accident for 12 months from diagnosis or date it happened. So unlike the lifetime/lifelong once that 12 months is up you cant claim anymore. Also dont forget Insurance companies tend if they can to Group or Blanket conditions as well.

The other main type of Insurance is an amount per illness or Injury or accident. This is a monetary amount, and there isnt a time limit but, once you have used that amount per Injury/illness you cant continue to claim.
£6000 oer illness or injury sounds a lot maybe, but bare in mind a scan can cost easily £1500, if the dog on top of that needed a hip replacement thats roughtly £6000. So especially with things like orthopeadics and neurology the diagnostics soon make short work of £6000 especially if an operation or surgery is needed too. Also dont forget the old problem or illnesses being grouped and many policies what the dog has got more then one of is classed as one. ie Hips for example.

A good way is to speak to your vet. Ask if they claim direct. if they do then you only have to pay the excess they claim the rest. Also ask them who they accept direct payment from, and get claims from these people. If the vet will claim direct from these companies then its a good indication that they pay out OK.

Remember too that you will likely not be covered for the first 14days of a new policy. Some will insure from day one for accident but none usually for Illness. Also if you get an illness occuring in those 14 days often it will then be exempt too from that policy or that type of illness will be.

When you get your policy read all through the T&Cs you usually have 10/14 days to cancell if its not what you thought. Many people find that they end up not being covered and/or have problems because they havent done their research when they took out the policy in the first place.

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thanks SDH, we are covered now for £7,000 per year with Argos Platinum, she sorted it all out, I know someone on here that has had £14,000 for each hip seperate on here through them , weve only ever had the pet at vets for injections..my girlfriend said she wasnt very impressed with them so we dont think we will be taking her there, my sister goes to big pet hospital/vets.. we probably go there

I did think about what you just said about continuation but it will prolly be a new claim, they contacted us to say it ran out or was runnnig out and would we like to take out claim etc..she spoke to them, was only last week, then few days with no insurance then we got insured on saturday

Glad you are sorted now.

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Show dogs (believe it or not) are regarded as 'working' dogs by some insurers. They don't insure working dogs.

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Things you should know before insuring your pet can be found at Important Facts about Pet Insurance. I can also try and answer questions about Pet Insurance via PM. I am not an insurance broker.

E&L - only heard of ONE person who ever successfully claimed. Heard from lots (and lots) of people whose claim was refused.

KC - underwritten by Agria. Been on Watchdog and featured in Sunday Times for sharp practises. In my case - puppy insured with them for about 2 months had heart problem and died. I had claims for treatment from my vet and a cardiac specialist (to whom we were referred). EACH claim for the same condition was treated separately and an excess applied. The cost of the puppy was due to be paid to us - but they deducted the rest of the year's premium (e.g. 10 months premiums) under the excuse that the premium was annual and they had passed it on to a finance company to collect. We, therefore, had an agreement to pay the finance company for the whole year. The finance company - well, that would be owned by Agria! Note - this wasn't clear on their documentation when we signed up.

A total payout due of around £1800 was reduced by about £600. I'm not alone in this - lots of people report the same experience.

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Things you should know before insuring your pet can be found at Important Facts about Pet Insurance. I can also try and answer questions about Pet Insurance via PM. I am not an insurance broker.

I agree with not mentioning it to the vet until you are insured. Once its pre existing you either wont get it covered or it will be horiffically expensive. Also if you get the dogs notes faxed to a new vet that may also mean you aren't covered. Not sure who is in the UK but just a warning that LLoyds and Halifax are now stopping their pet insurance so anyone with them will have probelms if their pets have pre existing conditions.
I know this is a little add on but another problem I've found at work with insurance companies is with dental work. If your pet needs dental work doing - which can be really expensive - insurance companies are unlikely to cover you unless you can prove that you have taken good care of your pets teeth. As far as I can tell this means regularly buying toothpaste for it from your vet. Also some have been playing a game saying they cover your pet for life without saying that it is for the life of your pet but not each condition for life.
I really don't trust insurance compaines but then have seen owners forking out a fortune and it being paid up by good compaines. Its just luck whether you are wasting your money on them or not as some pets are hardly ever ill and some get really expensive problems. Personally I think everyone is better putting money away each week towards costs but as money is tight many (including myself) dont. Good luck

Most insurance companies cover dental accidents. Only a couple cover dental treatment that isn't caused by accidents. For those companies you need a dental check with your vet once a year. The comparison tables on my website will show you who does and who doesn't cover.

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Things you should know before insuring your pet can be found at Important Facts about Pet Insurance. I can also try and answer questions about Pet Insurance via PM. I am not an insurance broker.

Vets medicover are one company that have dental on there policy but as said above you have to have at least yearly checks, but this can be done when u get a yearly booster? Just tell the vets you want a dental check aswell

It's normal practice for a vet to give your dog a once over if you are having yearly boosters - and that will include teeth. There is a growing tendency, however, for people to leave it longer - especially for those boosters that really only need giving every 2-3 years.

Two points: 1. Dental checks MUST be given every year if your insurance covers non-accidental dental and 2. If your pet goes down with something that can be vaccinated against and you haven't done it within the guidelines laid down by the vaccine manufacturer then your insurance won't pay.

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Things you should know before insuring your pet can be found at Important Facts about Pet Insurance. I can also try and answer questions about Pet Insurance via PM. I am not an insurance broker.