My wife and I are looking at pet insurance for our Nova even though we feel we did our research and found a good breeder. We still like the peace of mind if something horrible did come up whether a condition berner's are genetically predisposed toward or an accident that could end up costing thousands of dollars.

Just looking for any advice you have on this topic. Obviously the plan would cost more because of the breed compared to others and we're ok with that.

Any companies you have had good/bad experiences with?

Specifics to look out for in a plan?

We're more looking for illness and accident insurance to cover big ticket items. We're willing to pay all the routine care/tests out of pocket.

Thanks for your insights and thoughts in advance!

It's the best thing you can do I use vpi. and yogi hurt his paw and we had to take him to the er. and they charged 240 just to walk in the door and then xrays and meds we got it all back but 50 dollars. and the bill was about 480. it pays for fles meds heartgaurd and one yearly. and god forbid he needs a hip they will pay 2000. of it. i think it worth 30 a month.

we use allianz pet insurance (living in ireland). they have covered 1 operation so far and will be covering another 2 next month... not a problem with them refusing to pay, and they are fast and helpful for only €260 per year

I would get pet insurance if i could do it over, even if it was for a couple of years.

Storm is 7 months and was just diagnosed with elbow dysplasia. he has to have surgery this week on both of his elbows at a cost of 5000 bucks. then there is going to be monthly shots that he has to have and constant meds.

His breeder was good, but it is somewhere in the genetics whether it was in the great, great grandparents or parents.

this is just one of the many things that could crop up in the first few months of life. believe me at 7 months you are so attached that you have to try and help.

get insurance for a couple of years at least

I would definitely recommend getting pet insurance. If nothing else it gives you piece of mind. Big Berners can mean really big vet bills.

We decided on VPI because I got a discount on it through my work. They covered most of the usual stuff, like spaying and meds, but they didn't cover my puppy's cherry eye surgery. They considered the cherry eye surgery cosmetic, which made me livid.

Because of this I'm going to look into another insurance company this year. Any recommendations out there?

I was just checking into pet insurance when I saw these post. I understand that VIP doesn't cover hip or elbow dysplasia so it wouldn't help in these instances but I do think it might be good for getting some of the routine stuff done or for really big emergencies. I will be getting a berner puppy soon and am still trying to decide on which insurance to go.

Hi
I use NFU (national farmers union).
The only people i would stay away from is E and L.In my experience they are rubbish at paying out and always argue.
Karen

Thanks,
I'll have to research that one. Haven't heard of it. What types of things have you used it for. Routine visits or other things?
Katie

Hi, I've also heard that E and L are an insurance company to avoid as they often don't pay out for things. Both our vet and breeder warned us not to take out a policy with them.

We're with More Than Pet Insurance and have had to make a few claims for both our Berners. We've never had any problem with them paying out and they've been very quick at settling. Some of the vets bills for our two dogs have been pretty horrendous (last one was over £800!) and without insurance we'd have been really struggling to pay them.

Hi, and thanks for the info. It's not so much the little stuff but the big expenses that I am thinking the insurance would be good for. Haven't heard of yours either. I have been noticing that some of the insurances don't pay for some of what could be berner issues. ie hip or elbow dysplasia. I quess I really have to decide what I want covered and that kind of determines the monthly premium.
katie