Pet Insurance - Read and learn

viktory

An important lesson in why everyone should have pet insurance.

I got my dog, Ruby about 11 months ago. On the advice of the vet I had her insured, it costs me roughly £25 a month, so it is not small beer. However, today Ruby had to have an operation and the cost is a staggering £1,200. I paid the excess of £100 and my vet and insurance company will sort out the balance. If I had not had the insurance, I would have had real problems in finding this money.

For those that argue that they save money for vets bills, I can tell you that in the 11 months I have had the insurance I have only paid roughly £275 - so nowhere near enough to cover this bill.

My dog is on the mend and I have real peace of mind with the insurance - every pet owner should have insurance, it should be mandatory.

jackomdj

So glad Ruby is on the mend.

We did not get our dog insured for years....when we eventually did he had a stroke 3 months later & has been on tablets every day which cost more after excess than the insurance costs. He now also has arthritus tablets & has had various operation over the years.

Over & above having insurance I think having cover which pays out for the sme problem in following years is VERY important.

Nicky

chris_n_tj

I always have insureance for any any pets we have. We use Pet Plan and have for the past 15 year with firstly our Cat and now our Bichon. I think anyone considering a pet should factor in pet insurance. MY boy has a life long condition now so we use our insurance to pay the bills, of course we would find the money if we had no insurance, but this way it takes the worry away.
Chris n TJ

linni

I'm glad we took out pet insurance when we got our dog, we've had to claim for several things already, only small things but they do add up to quite a lot. Our pet insurance is with HSBC and they have been really good so far.

welshmoneylover

I got insurance and I also double insure myself by putting a small amount aside each week into a savings account marked DOG FUND. Not all vets will accept an insurance policy, they like payment up front. So just be aware of this little policy that is taking place.

Debt_Free_Chick

No thank you. I had £10k in savings when I got my dog over 5 years ago and I still have £10k.

Insurance should not be mandatory. The means to pay, should be, however.

captainprincess

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

No thank you. I had £10k in savings when I got my dog over 5 years ago and I still have £10k.

Insurance should not be mandatory. The means to pay, should be, however.

Completely agree, my dog is insured because I wouldn't be able to come up with a large sum of money to pay for treatment/surgery.
I work at a vets and the amount of people who can't afford treatment is ridiculous, you find out they don't have insurance which is fine but they have no means of paying!
If you can't afford a to treat your pet when is it unwell don't have one!

trudij

Or our particular favourites... "money no object - whatever it takes, the cost isnt important"..... easy to say when you have no intention of paying !!!!!

My old dog is insured for accidents and illness only - hes 9 years old,and I took the gamble that not much other than accidents (he is the most accident prone dog in history!) or illness that he will come up with... we got hit with hip x-rays,but that was fine (and was less than we were expecting!) - as is the cartrophen injections that we are trying to see if they help at all - but our other dog (who is a lot younger!) is insured for everything.

If you are going to have animals, I completely agree that you should be able to pay - or be willing to sort things out that you dont drag payments out for years.(you wouldnt believe the payment "plans" some clients expect vets to accept....)

geri1965_2

It's all very well saying you should have the means to pay and yes, in a perfect world you would.

However, people's personal circumstances can change and suddenly they can't afford to carry on paying the premiums for their pets, as they have to make cutbacks.

Many older people have pets because they are lonely. If they can't afford insurance, should they not have a pet?

Thankfully in this country we have the RSPCA, PDSA and other charities who will help out.

74jax

My two dogs are insured with Halifax, £11 a month. Poor Tibi aged 9 months has been through the mill, almost 5k he's still no better but thank God for Pet Insurance, because I do not have that money spare!

Fire_Fox

geri1965 wrote: »

It's all very well saying you should have the means to pay and yes, in a perfect world you would.

However, people's personal circumstances can change and suddenly they can't afford to carry on paying the premiums for their pets, as they have to make cutbacks.

Many older people have pets because they are lonely. If they can't afford insurance, should they not have a pet?

Thankfully in this country we have the RSPCA, PDSA and other charities who will help out.

There has been a discussion before about the difference between being eligible for PDSA help and entitled to PDSA help which is not a bottomless pit of cash. If you know you cannot afford a pet then IMO it is irresponsible to adopt a new one, that is not the same as people's circumstances changing. Those on a low income who are lonely or have mental health problems could take in a long term foster which means the charity will pay for veterinary care.