Dog Insurance rant

meames_2

Just got my renewal for dog insurance through RSPCA. £38 per month!!! It is more than my car!! It was always expensive. Over the past 6 years it has jumped from £15 a month until last year it was £28. I justified it because 20% went to the RSPCA.

I made a claim about 4 years ago for about £450 and last year I got a claim form for what I thought was going to be a lump removal, changed to possible kidney failure, and changed to a dose of milk thistle, so no need to claim in the end.

Because he is old, very few will insure him but i'm going to give it go. £38, my jaw was on the floor.

krlyr

I have to say, £38 for an elderly dog that has had previous claims/conditions (the latter may not have been claimed for but they may have taken it into consideration) doesn't sound too bad to me. One of my dogs costs me bout £30 a month currently and he's only middle age. I know some people have premiums that have risen into 3 figures as the dog has gotten older - but still found it worthwhile to have that protection for their dog.
If the claim you made wasn't something reoccuring and you don't think you will struggle to afford anything relating to kidney problems (as they'll probably be excluded), shop around, but do consider the benefits of sticking with your current policy and not having any worries about pre-existing conditions too. Check out the excesses due for other companies too - often they will charge a % of the claim on top of the set excess for older dogs.

gettingready

I am paying £48 per month for my 6 yo German Shepherd and would never be without insurance.

I am pretty sure it will jump to over £100 at the October reneval too.

Fire_Fox

It's more because you are far more likely to make an expensive ongoing claim on your pet insurance than your car insurance.

marmitepotato

£38 is cheap.

meames_2

Thanks for all you replies, It increased by £10 a month since last year, It is shooting up the list of most expensive outgoings. It is certainly a little different from the headline prices by certain companies, "insure your pet from as little as £8 a month".

I will continue to have insurance, I think I am still annoyed that the op to remove 3 lumps at christmas that didn't happen at would be charged as 3 different excesses seperatly if they turned to be different types of lumps. Also the RSPCAs lack of interest when I reported possible animal mistreatment.

I love my dog though

marmitepotato

Lovely dog. The last year of my boxers life her monthly insurance was £113 a month.....that's why I think £38 is cheap!

queline

I received the renewal for my 11 year old Black Labrador Retriever the other day - £57.57 per month increased from £37.00 for the last year, that is £690. 84 for the year, with LV. I phoned to query why the large increase and was given all sorts of waffle, such as number of claims for labs, increase in vets fees, where I live, more claims on pet insurance than car insurance blah blah blah, but did not mention it's because of his age, which I thought would be the first point. He then asked for the information again to do another quote and surprise surprise it came out exactly the same. Since then I have been doing all sorts of comparisons and getting other quotes and can't find any really cheaper quotes for the same sort of cover, in fact a lot of them are more, or have bigger excess with a % of vets fees to pay on top.

A company that came up in my many searches, VIP, phoned me and I spoke to a very helpful, un pushy lady (makes a change) and she suggested having accident only cover which would also cover for third party claims. Yes there will inevitably be arthritis to deal with (currently my dog is very healthy) and she said she had a lab herself and the cost of treatment for arthritis was minimal. Accident only cover would be £69.00 for the year. She also said this is a fairly new company. So I would recommend giving them a try as although the full cover actually came out only about £1 less they may well be good for people who have younger pets to insure. I havent made any decision what to do yet. Fellow pet owner friends have said dont bother insuring at all as its all a rip off, just put the money away every month instead but of course that wont help if something happens in the near future.

So yes, I agree, £38.00 is cheap!

krlyr

Queline, you can get 3rd party liability cover by joining the Dogs Trust. Believe it's £20-25 a year, and covers any dog in your household (might be a maximum but think it's around 6 or so dogs). As a bonus, you get unlimited, 24 hour access to a veterinary advice phoneline - no substitute for a real vet but may help you decide whether an issue needs an emergency vet trip or if it can wait until the morning for example
http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/giving/membership/default.aspx#.UEhfbKP3tes

queline

Thank you for that, krlyr, I was already aware of that actually but what I perhaps didnt make clear was that this £69 accident only cover would also cover my dog if he had any accidents himself, such as cut paw, broken leg etc, what it doesnt cover is illness such as arthritis, cancer etc

Fire_Fox

queline wrote: »

Thank you for that, krlyr, I was already aware of that actually but what I perhaps didnt make clear was that this £69 accident only cover would also cover my dog if he had any accidents himself, such as cut paw, broken leg etc, what it doesnt cover is illness such as arthritis, cancer etc

Diabetes can cost hundreds or thousands a year. An accident can cost hundreds or thousands but it's generally a one off. Personally I see it like home insurance - the chances of your home burning down or being burgled and losing everything may be small, but financially crippling if you are one of the unlucky ones.