Worth getting pet insurance for Shih Tzu ?????

Sezzler

Hey All,

Im new to money saving so sorry if this thread is repeated elswhere (did a search)

Anyways, my family has just got a ShihTzu puppy. We've taken her to the vets for her microchip and first puppy jabs.

Whilst there the vet said that may pet insurance policies are very expensive and will normally pay out once a year. He said it was better to just put money away every month. He also mentioned various other horror stories involving insurance companies

Having never owned a dog before I was wondering If I should get pet insurance ??? If so can anyone recommend a good company to go with??


Many Thanks :j

MistysKisses

my experience, never had insurance for my animals but took it out for 2 dogs and 2 cats last yr paid 3 months and then my vet said one of the dogs needed a dental and a couple of extractions, they wouldnt pay and i was advised to check ALL small print before going with another company. In the end i decided to pay a certain amount a week to the vets by S/O and that will go onto our account so that if they ever need any thing there will be already money on the account to cover it and if not then they know they will get it, if they want a little extra each week/month til its paid up thats fine too

Magicboo

It really does come down to luck, my sister & I have a dog each from the same litter. Hers had £3k of operations etc..before it was 2, has had about £3k of work since (she is 8 now) and is literally right now have an emergency operation to have her spayed as she has endiometritis (sorry about the spelling!). My dog has had about 3 sets of stiches (so hardly worth claiming after the excess) before she was 1 (due to manic running about and not seeing barbed wire fences!) but, touch wood, since then she has been fine. Putting the money away in an account sounds like a good idea as long as a)the dog doesn't need anything costing mega bucks done to it and b)you have the will power not to touch it!
PS-they are black labs, in case that makes a difference and the operation was due to the dog banging her head and causing eye problems.

Sezzler

Thanks for the reply's, i was worried that in the future that she made need some expensive treatments..

I no the ShihTzu can have some breathing problems later in life, just dont want to get stung by massive insurance premiums if i there are only certain things I can claim for!!

WOW £3000, better make sure i start saving now.

MistysKisses

mine goes standing order each friday straight to the vets and they put it onto our account when they recieve it also they have always allowed us to pay weekly, so i know even if there isnt enough in the account to cover it they will still treat them, i suppose it all depends on your vet too

threemuttleys

sorry, im a firm believer in having pet insurance.

I have three dogs, and it costs £46 a month to cover them all (advanced cover)

I also have a small savings pot for them to cover worming/flea treatments and the like. But in all honesty, what if your dog ended up needing drugs for the remainder of its life, could you afford it? A good friend of mine has Chows, both have serious medical conditions, requiring regular blood works, loads of different drugs, plus regular check ups. Could you afford that? I know I couldnt

Sid_Wolf

Unless you have immediate access to a grand (or more if needed) without getting into debt (credit card, loan, overdraft etc) then get pet insurance.

My 2 are insured with direct line, £25 a month for the both of them, never needed it yet but i dont have the cash to pay out in an emergency

Kinski

I'm just about to make my first claim for my sheltie who has kidney disease, at the moment it's only about the £500 mark but it is likely to go up. My sister had a staffie who died of cancer it cost thousands for treatment and without insurance she would have been well and truly stuffed, her dog had to have an mri scan and that alone cost over £1000. A friend had to have her lab pup operated on ( his legs ) and it cost her about £5000. I would be worried about paying into an account at your vet as you wouldn't be able to use that money if you had to go to a specialist at a hospital or to another vet, personally for me it's not worth the worry of not having insurance.

blue_monkey_2

I am with Virgin Money - a little known policy that seems to appear nowhere on cpomparison sites, but they have illness and accident extra so it pays 6k, per condition, for life.

My cat has diabetes and so her premium is high but I call up, ask for a form, fill it in, give it to the vet (who charge me £5 for 2 claims) and a few weeks later I have a cheque in my hand. They are very good and pay out right away. I pay £28 a month for my 2 staffies.

When I had my first staff a month she sniffed a grass seed up her nose. Total cost to wash it out was around £350. So unless you have access to funds such as this as and when you need it, Insurance is definately the way forward. I was with Pet Plan for that as we got it free and I did not get myself sorted to get a different policy with someone else (PP shafted me for double 'excess' I might add) and I thought they were very expensive at £24 a month for the basic policy with hardly any benefits, for just the one dog.

herbily

I'm a huge fan of pet insurance, particularly if your dog is ill and they can't work out what it is - tests can get expensive! I had a dog with cancer, insurance paid out over 3k in treatment, and there's no way I could have afforded that myself. I never want to be in a position where I have to let a dog be put to sleep because I can't afford the treatment.:(

For what it's worth, I'm with More Than - it pays up to 7k for any one condition, with an initial excess of 70 quid. It doesn't cover dental treatment, most policies don't, but to date they've always paid up promptly for claims.

There_Goes_Trouble

I'm another fan of insurance.

I know a lot of people who say it's better to put the money into an account, but it can take years to build up a decent pot of money and your dog could need treatment tomorrow! My old dog cost an absolute fortune in vets bills almost from day one with colitis, a ruptured cruciate ligament, elbow displaysia, arthritis and stomach ulcers. All of it was covered although obviously I paid the premiums and excess. I quite literally claimed thousands over the years, and it's money I could not have afforded to pay otherwise.

Of course you could pay your premiums and never make a claim, but that's the gamble of any insurance isn't it? Personally I won't gamble with my pet's health, at least with insurance I know that I am paying 'x' amount each month, I have enough aside for the excess and everything else is covered. For me that gives me peace of mind.

I'm actually now waiting for a cheque to come through for around £400 for my current dog's pancreatitis, which could now flare up at any time and cost a similar amount each time. If that turns out to be 2 or 3 times a year (hopefully not!!) then I know I can afford her treatment.

You do have to do some research into different policies though, some are just not worth the paper they're written on and some have exclusions hidden away in the small print.