Want your opinions

Miss_Poohs

Hi everyone

Just want to run this past you and hear your opinions.

We have dogs - 2 of them.

They are both insured and have been since puppyhood.

Obviously as the dogs have gotten older there have been various claims over the years.

The dogs are now in their senior years 8 and 10.

Obviously the premiums have risen over the years to the extent we are in the region of £80 a month to cover them both.

On top of this we pay a monthly fee to the vet members club which covers us for annual boosters, flea and worm treatment and 10% discount on goods bought.

This brings the grand total each month to over £100 for the dogs health care :eek:

Now - bearing in mind the dogs ages - do you think it's worth keeping it all going or is it a bit OTT?

Tixy

I keep going with mine - I'm not 100% sure its financially worth while but I've decided to stick with it.

My dog is over 10 and not only is the excess high but I now also have to pay 20% of any vets bills that are above the excess.

But I've stuck with it for 2 reasons, 1 because if I get into expensive territory (xrays / operations etc) I would struggle to afford the hundreds, potentially thousands in fees and could not bring myself to have to have my dog pts just because I couldn't afford the care and 2) for the 3rd party liability etc - whilst I think its very remote I'm ever going to need it I'm glad to know its there if I do.

That just my opinion of my circumstances though - not a suggestion that you do the same.

In terms of the cost of your vets members club - is that working out financially viable? I don't think my dog boosters and flea & worm treatment cost £120 a year.

rising_from_the_ashes

Might be worth asking on the pets board.

My own personal opinion - if you can afford to cover the cost of treatment that may run into many £000s then cancel it.

If you can't afford a bill of many £000s then you need the insurance.

Unfortunately there have been many sad stories of people who've had to have their beloved pets pts as they can't afford treatment.

The only time I would even consider cancelling pet insurance is when the pet gets to an age where extensive / traumatic treatment would not be fair on them and, only then, if I was in a position to afford any ongoing treatment myself (eg medication for arthritis other age related illnesses or other current condition).

Miss_Poohs

Yes tixy we're the same now - high excess and 20% of the bill payable.

I went with the vet club mainly because I have 2 of everthing to pay for, boosters, wormers and flea treatment.

Also one of our dogs has lots of allergies and is on a low allergen diet and it's expensive, thats where my 10% discount comes in handy. I've tried him on a cheaper diet but he ends up ill every time, so I'm stuck with it.

wyebird

I have two 12 year old dogs and last year moved to animal friends insurance for £9.83 a month per dog.
There are restrictions on ongoing condition limits but I thought it was a good compromise, something to cover in case of a broken leg or something similar emergency.

[Deleted User]

it can pay to shop around if you dont have ins as vets charges can and do varey widely
as an example last year we were charged £30 to cut 4 dew claws on our dog
a year later different vet 30 min consultation,1 injection and 2 courses of tablets for £22 massive difference,and no we have never had insurance,if a dog of mine was 10 years old and seriously ill i`d have it pts,harsh but real

Miss_Poohs

We tend to use the same vet all the time and have done for years, but yes I agree vet fees do seem to vary somewhat.

I've had a look at the animal friends website and it is a good bit cheaper than who I'm currently with.

I'd like to be able to afford vet care if my furry friends needed it but like you say - there comes a point where sometimes you have to accept defeat for the animals sake.

rhoda

I never had pet insurance for my dog; I didn't go for expensive treatment at the end but that wasn't because I didn't have insurance but because I didn't think it was fair to put the dog through what would have been really awful treatment - chemo - for maybe 6 months extra life.

An alternative to the insurance option is putting the £100 per month into a deposit account for the dogs. Then if you need it, and hopefully you won't, it is there and if not it can go towards any future pets.

FireWyrm

At the end of the day, it's all about quality of life for the animal. It's a sad and distressing fact that our furry friends do not live as long as we would like. Most middle to large breeds of dog don't live much past 12 to 14 years, but the smaller types can go to 20 at a push. Cats often live between 15 and 18 years, but my experience of animals is that they live life 110% until the day they cannot...that's the day you say goodbye and fulfill your final duty to your friend. Whilst insurance is generally considered a must these days, I can't help thinking that much like in America, the cost if insurance is driving the cost of care and it's a vicious circle. I might consider a few hundred pounds to fix a broken leg, but aggressive chemotherapy to extend life a few more months? No. In that case, it's time to ask yourself who's being treated...the animal, or your conscience/need to keep them around.

chappers

Miss_Poohs wrote: »

Yes tixy we're the same now - high excess and 20% of the bill payable.

I went with the vet club mainly because I have 2 of everthing to pay for, boosters, wormers and flea treatment.

Also one of our dogs has lots of allergies and is on a low allergen diet and it's expensive, thats where my 10% discount comes in handy. I've tried him on a cheaper diet but he ends up ill every time, so I'm stuck with it.

What food is your dog on I get our dogs food(hills sensitive skin) from medicanimal through quidco. It is about £15 a bag cheaper than from either the vets or local pet shop, I also get 10% cashback from quidco and a 10% discount from medicanimal if I buy two bags at a time. It only takes two days to arrive too.

Tixy

The problem with the idea of putting money aside to cover bills instead of having insurance is that it won't help you if hfave a third party liability problem (dog bites someone, dog runs into the road and causes a car accident etc).

I am not aware of any cheap insurance policies that cover this type of item but not vets bills etc - but I'd like to see it compulsary. Or to bring back compulsory dog licences and the cost of those to include that type of cover.