Is rabbit insurance a waste of money?

ripplyuk

I was doing a bit of reading last night about common illnesses/injuries in rabbits and it says they are prone to dental problems, gut stasis and broken bones. All sound expensive. I'm just wondering how common these problems really are. One person had written that 'every rabbit will get a broken leg during their lifetime', the costs of which seem to vary between £500 - £3500! I'm hoping this isn't true.

This got me worried enough to look at insurance, mainly the PetPlan policy but it seems to exclude dental work. Also, the limit is £2000. I'm wondering if it is worth it. Is it even realistically possible to fix a broken leg/spine on a rabbit? I think mine might die from stress with all that treatment/surgery. I also know they are good at hiding illness and sometimes once they show symptoms it is too late.

I could probably find the money for most treatments but there's no way I could pay £1000's.

gsymoo

I have a bunny who is 7. She's very active and has never had a broken leg! Several of my friends have rabbits, again no broke limbs, so I dont know why someone would of put that. To be honest alot of dental issues are either genetic or through poor diet.

izzy65

Hi I have my dog insured but not the rabbit, I would think it would depend on the breed as if it's one of the giant breed I might consider it , one of ours had a ulcer inside his mouth and the vet cleaned it out and gave him a jag but he just gave up, saying that he was 12 years old and we don't think he realised he was a rabbit because he wasn't keen on veg and wouldn't walk on the grass the best house rabbit ever.

krlyr

I had 5 bunnies, and not one broken leg! Think it's an odd statement to make, I'd be concerned about how she's housing her rabbits if it's the norm for them to break a leg!

My rabbits weren't insured, and several of them had dental issues (the reason I ended up with most of them!). However, vet bills for small animals generally aren't half as bad as with dogs (especially big dogs, like I own now). The most expensive bill was probably a couple of hundred pounds, for a combined neuter and front tooth removal (better for bun to get them both over and done with at the same time).

Rabbits don't generally fare well with things like anaesthetics, so vets will try to avoid it if possible. Even my buns with overgrown molars, my vets were able to do 'maintenance' type work to file the teeth down with the rabbit only lightly sedated, to minimise the times they had to go under a GA. Plus I overhauled their diets and they were on a high roughage diet (so lots of hay, grasses, leafy vegetables - very limited amount of pellets or soft vegetables like carrot) which helped with natural wear of the teeth.

Aside from dental issues, my rabbits had little other problems. A couple of episodes of gut stasis - the most expensive bit of this issue is likely to be a timing thing, if it happens in the middle of the night then bun really needs treatment ASAP so that could incur an emergency vet fee of £100-150 or so, and possibly an overnight stay or two. However, a good diet, minimal stress and so on should reduce the chances of GI stasis.

Vaccinations - not mega expensive, especially if you can find a vaccination clinic or a vet with good deals (e.g. a 'vaccs for life' scheme can be money saving - you pay a one-off fee, e.g. £99, and as long as you return to them each year you get all your repeat vaccinations free) and should keep the rabbit clear of myximatosis or VHD. They don't need regular flea treatment or worming like dogs because their outside exposure is generally limited to your garden. Diet is cheap enough - a good quality pellet food, plenty of hay (very cheap to buy from a farm shop if you have space for a small bale), some veg (not loads, and it doesn't have to be fancy - a bag of curly kale, the tops of carrots if you find somewhere that leaves the tops on, you can even pick dandelion leaves for them if you know they're going to be pesticide/treatment free.

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/rabbitcare.asp is a good starting place to read up on all aspects of rabbit care.

If you'd like a rabbit (or two) but think the cost would be an issue, maybe explore other options - you may find a local rescue that would appreciate a fosterer and would cover costs. If you don't think you could handle giving the rabbits to new homes after you've gotten attached, you could enquire about being a long-term foster home for poorly or elderly buns - again, rescues may cover costs just to know that bun is living out the remainder of their life in a loving home.

ripplyuk

Thanks for all the advice. I've already got a rabbit and he's 18 months old now. The only vet bills I've had were for routine check ups, vaccinations and his neutering when he was younger. The costs for these were no problem, I just panicked when I read about vet bills of £1000's. It sounds more likely to be in the £100's which I could find the money for without taking out insurance.

Obviously some of the stuff I''ve read online isn't really accurate. They don't all break legs or incur massive vet bills. Worryingly, I read that some people don't allow them any freedom to exercise in case they injure themselves running around!

rising_from_the_ashes

ripplyuk wrote: »

I'm wondering if it is worth it. Is it even realistically possible to fix a broken leg/spine on a rabbit? I think mine might die from stress with all that treatment/surgery. I also know they are good at hiding illness and sometimes once they show symptoms it is too late.

I think you've actually answered your own question!

I think with insurance it's very easy for some to forget that just because something can be done, doesn't always mean that it should be done - if your pet is prone to stress or you'd not consider it fair to do x or y treatments, then I'd say putting money aside to cover the everyday stuff or having a basic policy would seem the way to go

RuthnJasper

I work in a vet practice. I've never seen a rabbit with a broken limb, but I have seen a few accidental poisoning and illness cases. The biggest bill I've seen was @£579. Pet insurance isn't essential, but it does give you some peace of mind. Personally I think it is money well spent, even if you don't need to make a claim.


Also, don't forget that the scare-mongering stories are a marketing tactic of sorts, aimed at frightening you into buying a policy.


I hope you have many happy years with your lovely rabbit - he's very lucky to have a home with such a caring and responsible friend. x

ripplyuk

Thanks RuthnJasper, that's very kind.

A bill of around £600, I think I'd just use an interest free credit card to cover whatever I couldn't pay immediately. Though, as rising from the ashes says, I would have to way up how successful any treatment is likely to be and the amount of stress it would cause him. But I would hope the vet would be able to advise me on that if the situation ever occurred. He seems very happy and healthy at the minute

rising_from_the_ashes

ripplyuk wrote: »

A bill of around £600, I think I'd just use an interest free credit card to cover whatever I couldn't pay immediately.

I have several accounts for the pets - 1 which covers their everyday health stuff such as boosters, wormers, flea stuff etc and have recently set up a new one just for their vet treatment (long story re insurers ... was with Axa before) and am putting money into it weekly - along with cashback monies etc - it adds up fairly quickly

sulphate

Whether or not insurance is worth it for you is dependent on how often your rabbits get sick, the same as any pet really.

We have 2 rabbits, one of which hasn't been to the vet apart from vaccinations etc since we got him 18 months ago, the other is often sick with everything under the sun (stasis, genetic dental issues, liver problems, e cunicili). We pay insurance for both. For the latter bunny petplan have paid more than £1000 out in the last year alone and we've paid less than £200 in premiums in that time.

Never had a broken leg though.

DUTR

ripplyuk wrote: »

I was doing a bit of reading last night about common illnesses/injuries in rabbits and it says they are prone to dental problems, gut stasis and broken bones. All sound expensive. I'm just wondering how common these problems really are. One person had written that 'every rabbit will get a broken leg during their lifetime', the costs of which seem to vary between £500 - £3500! I'm hoping this isn't true.

This got me worried enough to look at insurance, mainly the PetPlan policy but it seems to exclude dental work. Also, the limit is £2000. I'm wondering if it is worth it. Is it even realistically possible to fix a broken leg/spine on a rabbit? I think mine might die from stress with all that treatment/surgery. I also know they are good at hiding illness and sometimes once they show symptoms it is too late.

I could probably find the money for most treatments but there's no way I could pay £1000's.

I'd be hopping mad at those premiums