In reply to Ian Archer:
Disclaimer: Not a vet.
Pet insurance is generally expensive, the more you pay the more you get.
Stuff that's useful to have:
- cover < £5000
- said cover is not ringfenced for specific things, e.g. £500 for blood work, £1000 for imaging, £3000 for surgery etc
- lifetime illness/congenital disease cover, e.g. my dog has a chronic form of meningitis. Expensive initial diagnosis and treatment within the first year was covered. If she relapses now I just pay the excess. Some companies will not pay out in subsequent years for chronic illness.
- reasonable excess. This will vary due to personal circumstances, but the greater the excess the cheaper the premium.
If your dog is over 5 years old, I would consider opening him/her a bank account where you send a monthly "premium" to be called upon in times of need. The premiums, exclusions and excess tend to jump after this and you might find you're better off (but it is a risk if your dog is accident prone in the first few years).
Hope that helps!