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For some time, the owners of Bullyonline have been customers of E & L Insurance and have indeed recommended them and endorsed them through this site and others. We are aware that a number of our readers have taken out Pet Insurance and indeed caravan insurance with E & L. We have become increasingly concerned by the negative feedback coming from our readers and indeed disappointed by the level of service and general attitude of the staff at E & L, and even more concerned by the way they conduct business. Today, we have taken the step of initiating a complaint to the Insurance Ombudsman regarding the addition of un-requested services paid for and withdrawn from bank accounts without authorization. This is aside from the disgusting and diabolical treatment we have received following the death of our beloved Oscar. I will publish the full story as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we invite all our readers to write in with the complaints previously aired on our forum and we promise to publish all letters, good or bad.
 

It has long been a bone of contention (no pun intended) that there is little continuity between the various insurance companies in all walks of life. It appears to be more so in the pet insurance world. In my own experience, when we first became involved with dogs after a break of many years, insurance was the watch word. TV programs, breeders, vets, welfares and charities were all pushing to sell it. True, breeders sometimes get discounts and/or good deals by encouraging new owners to join a certain plan, and no doubt the vets are raking it in too. Fine, if you can make a pound why not. But, the problem comes when people are being encouraged to join a plan that is more than double that of other plans. The insurance companies will counter this statement by claiming that their plan offers more, whether it be the amount of veterinary cover, reward money, travelling expenses to specialists, boarding your pet due to personal illness........ the list is endless. Unfortunately though, as we have found to our cost, expensive is not always good. We have found that where a company offers more, it usually manages to negate it in the small print. There is no easy answer to choosing a company but there is a hard one. Take a look at the points below.

• Vets won't accept direct payments from some companies. Usually because the company is a slow or difficult payer.

• As above, you have to pay the vet and claim reimbursement. Fine, until the insurance company argues with you about the treatment given by the vet. Personally, I can see why this happens. We have been the victim of two unscrupulous vets.

• Some policies offer differing amounts of veterinary cover depending on which level of policy you take. The variants are 1) So much cover per year, 2) So much cover per illness per year. 3) So much cover per illness. We came across one, who refused to pay for treatment because the illness stretched over two years on the policy. The dog was ill  for 5 months. Because we spanned the renewal date, they took it as a separate year. We eventually won that one, but had to pay double excess.

• The cruciate ligament problem. Oh yes, we have had this one too. Oscar damaged his left cruciate needing an operation. This was an illness, not an injury. Not only did the insurance company refuse to insure his leg, from that point on, they refused to insure either hind leg. This not only encompassed cruciate problems, but accident injury such as being hit by a car, growths, cuts. insect bites. SURELY, WHEN A COMPANY AGREES TO TAKE A DOG ON AND INSURE HIM, THEY SHOULD TAKE HIM FOR LIFE.

These are just a few of the myriad of pitfalls when purchasing pet insurance. We should ask ourselves how much cover we really need, and then read the fine print very carefully. Until recently, we have been paying £17.50 for Oscar and £16.80 for Eric per month to separate companies. The reason for this was continuity for Oscar following his operation. The company that insured Eric (originally at £11 per month) bought the other company. Put their own prices up to match and then wrote to us (and hundreds more) saying that from now on we won't insure your dog for xxxxxxx! We now pay a combined fee of £8.32 per month, for the same cover. A drop of approx £26 per month. How, by shopping around. Below is a table of the costs, for one Bullmastiff with various companies. Where there is more than one quote, they are for different levels of cover from the same company.

There are many other items included in the policies of each one, we are only covering the basics. All prices are monthly, discounts may be obtained by paying annually. Prices quoted to me by phone on 20-Feb-2002 for 3 month old Bullmastiff dog with no previous illness.

DISCLAIMER: Bullyonline is not responsible for the accuracy of these quotations. They are provided merely as a link to the Insurance Companies. Please verify the terms and conditions with the Inurance companies directly.

I would be very interested to here about insurance costs in other companies, particularly the United States. I would like to develop this and other planned pages with health related articles, and am reliant on feedback from others. Please help.