Insurance dilemma! Knowing vet costs would help.

murphydog999

Thanks everyone for the overwhelming concensus of opinion.

screamer

Don't think twice about NOT getting insurance. It covers against all eventualities. I mean we insure our buildings and contents, we insure our cars, why not insure our pets?

My kitty is insured through argos. I have £7000 worth of cover and it costs me just £5 a month (she's just a normal moggie, nothing special about her as far as insurance purposes go. I got top notch insurance because who knows what's going to happen in the future, right?)

butler_helen

Another example of a common injury is a cat losing it's tale- boots lost his in an accident and it was over £1400 by the time he recovered- all for the bargain price of £12 a month with Petplan, it's still only £15 per month even after such a big claim. I don't have that money and would have faced a loan or the Pts option:(

charlie792

Id personally say insurance is worth it, Id never be able to live with myself knowing I couldnt afford to treat an animal...

My OH's folks dog has cost a small fortune in vets bills - when she was younger her spleen ruptured and was the best part of £4k bill, she's had a few minor operations for lumps removed and then last year she snapped the tendons in her knee - big operation and had to go see a specialist 40 miles away and then had to have 6 weeks of hydrotherapy - the cost was ridiculous. Thank god for insurance

Mice_Elf

I think it's one of those things that if you don't have it, you'd need it & if you did have it, you'd never need it(!)

I've got 4 cats, 3 are 15 years old & 1 is 13. Only one of them (the same one!) has ever needed veterinary treatment apart from the usual injections, worm & flea stuff that aren't covered by insurance anyway.

This one cat (Jamie) has been run over, fracturing his leg, which needed to be re-broken and set correctly as he went missing for 2 weeks before he was found & brought home. He has also tried to eat a bee & got stung in his tongue & then the tumour in his leg requiring amputation.

The latter is the only one for which we claimed on insurance & we saved around £800. However, had we been paying into an insurance fund for all 4 of them for 15-odd years, we would have paid far more than the £800 saved.


My mum's dog, on the other hand, has been the first that she insured and she is extremely glad she did, as he's had problems since he was 2, requiring all sorts of medical treatment, skin scrapes, blood tests, special food, medication & ongoing treatment. Mum has claimed back over £9,000 worth from the dog's insurance company. His issues didn't appear until he was 2, so from 10 weeks when Mum bought him, to 2 years old, he was fine. He's now 9.

Get a few quotes, compare them & if you can afford it, get insurance. If you don't go via that route, set up a DD into a savings account so that if anything should happen or be needed, you have a pot of money upon which you can call.

suki1964

tankgirl1 wrote: »

Most vets and vet nurse have their pets insured, as noted earlier, most vets are GP's and if anything serious were to happen they couldn't afford referral.. (No vets are not well paid! Vet nurses even less well paid!)

So I would advice a decent for life insurance policy every time

Not having a personal pop here - but where are these figures??

Is that "most" as in the UK or "most" you know personally?

Like I say - not a personal pop - just wondering where these "most" come from

suki1964

murphydog999 wrote: »

I've got a 3 1/2 year old cat, who currently is in good health. Reading everyone's posts about problems with insurance companies not paying out and exclusions, and excesses, and rising costs, my dilemma is insurance, or illness fund.

The problem is I don't have a clue what vets fees are like if she was to have an accident, with x-ray costs etc or maybe need an operation. I realise this is a very wide subject but it would be helpful to have some examples.

Can anyone assist please?

How long is a piece of string??

Its an impossible question to answer.

Heres my take. When I lived in London and seeing a vet cost 30 quid to open the door - then I required insurance

Now I live in NI and attend a farm vet, I cant justify paying insurance

Thats not saying that my lad doesnt see the vet any less - Im always in there, but costs are far far cheaper and Im not told I need expensive tests every time the dog is sick for diagnoses

We are a family of savers, we have savings and we have credit cards that are cleared monthly to fall back on if need be

If you are natural savers then it may be the better option for you

stormCat99

I have no problem with the theory behind 'self insuring', but I honestly can't see how it can apply to cat and dog insurance.

We've had our two cats insured since we first had them. They have been very healthy (thankfully) and have so far only required one overnight stay and antibiotic injection (after a particularly nasty cat fight), and another overnight stay and small operation (FLUTD).

Can't remember exact figures, but these totalled around £700 ish. We're now paying on average £8 per month per cat for insurance (although it was around £4 when we started), so it would take over 87 months before we've paid out the same amount (that's not even taking into account the fact that the premiums were previously £4 and have only gradually increased), which is over 7 years.

I would be amazed if over the next 10 years we don't require any further treatments no matter how minor, so really, it's a no-brainer to get the insurance. It's such a small monthly payment, yet even if you have to claim once, it's like to cost into the hundreds or even quite possibly thousands. No amount of self-insurance can realistically compensate for this

jm2k

murphydog999 wrote: »

I've got a 3 1/2 year old cat, who currently is in good health. Reading everyone's posts about problems with insurance companies not paying out and exclusions, and excesses, and rising costs, my dilemma is insurance, or illness fund.
The problem is I don't have a clue what vets fees are like if she was to have an accident, with x-ray costs etc or maybe need an operation. I realise this is a very wide subject but it would be helpful to have some examples.
Can anyone assist please?

OK, if it is just one or two cats (or dogs) then YES i would insure!

i was paying less than £5 per month with Kwik-fit (not just cars) for my lil cat. sadly he died in a RTA last year and they paid out nearly £100 death benefit as i stated this is what i paid for him (i dontated to the rescue when i had him). for this minimal amount, paid monthly, you really do have peace of mind for emergency, long-term, chronic or any sudden vet's expenses.
An average vet consultation is £22 (varies from £19-£26!). Your policy excess should be £50-75. so any routine check-up, initial appointments are not claimed via the insurance, but if these turn into nasty illness, if you have a broken leg or anything else, it is covered.
Look for:
* policies that pay the VET DIRECT (some make you pay the vet then claim it back) or ask the vet would they honour the insurance claim, for you to pay them when it pays out instead of trying to find £xxx amount suddenly (defeats the object of having insurance).
* renewel exclusions - some policies will not cover long-term illnesses at policy renewel, especially if changing to a new insurance company!
* what the vet fees limit is per year or per illness. Aim for at least £5000.
* age restrictions on the policy when your pet gets 8+ as some wont insure. if its a renewal, then they usually accept.
* excess charges, no more than £50 is ideal, £75 at a push.

try going via cashback sites for money back when you start the policy (but always get direct quotes too as cashback sites not always the cheapest!).

for the sake of just a few quid a month, its worth every penny for peace of mind.
anything else, please let me know and i'll try help

pcal

we insure both our cats with tesco and its only£6 a month for the two them, oh was with them with his old cat and never hhad any problems