Pet insurance??

So now that we've gotten our dog over I was starting to think about possibly getting some pet insurance for her but since it is not something that is very common in the States I don't really know much about it and was looking for any suggestions/ tips on getting a policy.  She is 10 next month and thankfully has never had any health problems.  What should I be looking for in a policy, what do they typically cover, I know she is older so I expect to pay more but "about" what should I be looking at as far as costs?  Do they cover "everything" or just accidents etc?  Of course any thoughts/ ideas will be helpful to get us in the right direction.

Thanks

You might have issues finding someone to cover her. I was told by my vet that most companies refuse to issue a new policy on a dog who's 8yo+, so I made sure to get my 7yo dog covered (and now that he's turned 9, his policy price has doubled, even though I haven't changed any coverage options or made a claim ).

FWIW I (now) spend about £65/mo covering my 9yo dog and 6yo cat. My policy (through DirectLine) covers up to £6,000 per illness/injury/disease (no time limit), with a deductible (called excess here) of £70-80. It does not cover preventative, non-essential, or routine treatments, anything for pregnancy/birth/tooth/gums, any food, or more than 12 sessions of hydro/physiotherapy. There's also coverage for accidental death, theft, etc, but I really hope I don't need those.

There's more information about their policy/coverage here (http://www.directline.com/pdf/pet/P1014_1211_WEB_PDF.pdf).

I haven't yet made a claim, so I don't know how they handle that, but I will be filing a claim for long-term care/diagnosis/etc for my cat's weird skin condition.

I can't speak to the entire pet insurance thing and what's available, but I can tell you what my experience was for my dog. We got him insured when he was a puppy. It was £10/month from Tesco. It didn't cover one-off things like an ear infection or shots, but it did cover things related to ongoing conditions (as long as not pre-existing) which was incredibly useful when his paw got infected and he needed xrays, a surgery, bandage changes, etc. Well worth the money as it saved us from having to pay for about £1000 worth of vet bills. They would have covered up to £2400, I believe.

I'm sure there are much more comprehensive plans than what we had, since we could only afford the cheapest one, but it is insurance so by nature it's going to be pretty fiddly. 

You might have issues finding someone to cover her. I was told by my vet that most companies refuse to issue a new policy on a dog who's 8yo+,

This was my experience exactly.  My dog was 11 when we moved and I did find coverage, but it was outrageously expensive (compared to what I was paying in America).  Compare the Market now does pet insurance and you can even get a free meerkat toy if you book thru them

Most pet insurance companies will not cover check-ups, vaccinations or any preventative care.  No heartworm treatment, no lungworm treatment, etc.  NOT's example is exactly the sort of thing they will cover and IME, it needed to be over a certain amount to be able to claim.  They usually also have something that will cover the costs of printing up posters if your pet goes missing and sometimes will pay for the reward you may offer for the safe return of a missing animal.