Is pet insurance worth it?

oliviarose

Hello

I have a dog, min-pin, and it is my first puppy. I never had a dog as a child.

I wondered whether or not it is worth getting pet insurance or simply saving the monthly premium in a separate savings account instead. Has anyone done this and is it likely to cover the costs?

Official MoneySavingExpert Insert April 16:

Hi, our Cheap Pet Insurance guide may help

GwylimT

Personally I would have a good level of cover for at least the first year, this is often when any medical problems are indentified, so if pup has any the problem is covered by insurance.

If a good healthy first year you then need to weigh up the pros and cons of both.

With our dog we were unsure, so we kept the insurance but started putting away x amount so we had a buffer if we cancelled. He ended up needing knee replacement surgery and he needed a bone straightening, thankfully we still had insurance as the bill was almost £4k. He is going to need another knee replacement soon which will be covered by insurance. So far we have paid around £1200 in premiums. Our total claim amount since insuring him has been £5k. So for us its a nobrainer.

Our cat cost our insurance company £800 when she was eleven months old as she fell awkwardly (so much for landing on their feet) and broke her left back leg, at that point we had paid around £90 in premiums.

Person_one

If you get a bill for thousands before you've got that much saved in the 'vet pot', how will you pay it?

I don't insure my dogs. Of the two I have now, one has possibly cost me more in vet bills than I would have paid in premiums, the other has cost me nothing.

I don't insure because I think the insurance companies get their pound of flesh one way or another. If you make a claim, you will find that 'pre-existing conditions' are not covered in new policies. If you get one of the more expensive lifetime policies you will see your premiums rocket after a claim.

The most important thing is to be 100% certain that if your dog needs treatment, that finances are not the deciding factor in whether they receive it or what treatment is chosen. I had a credit card with a £10,000 limit as a backup while I saved.

GwylimT

Person_one wrote: »

I don't insure because I think the insurance companies get their pound of flesh one way or another. If you make a claim, you will find that 'pre-existing conditions' are not covered in new policies. If you get one of the more expensive lifetime policies you will see your premiums rocket after a claim.

.

Our policy premium went up by 0p after our £4k claim. If you want premiums to rocket, choose a company that does that, if not, choose a company that doesn't.

suki1964

For a young pure breed, yes most definitely

Min pins are susceptible to diabetes Indeed I was with the owner of one yesterday who told me that his wee fella had diabetes from a very young age,had developed cateracts because of that, and it had cost £6k for the op to remove them. On top of that he would have the insulin to pay for long term but luckily the insurance covered the whole lot. His dog was only five and so has many more years ahead and lots more vet bills to come

My own lad is no longer insured, since he was three. Now he's old and blind and deaf I'm in and out the vets weekly, but thankfully we can afford the bills and budget for them every month

Person_one

GwylimT wrote: »

Our policy premium went up by 0p after our £4k claim. If you want premiums to rocket, choose a company that does that, if not, choose a company that doesn't.

Increasing premiums following claims is how insurance works surely? It's a key part of the business model, I wasn't aware that any made promises or claims not to. Maybe you'll see the increase later?

HappyMJ

oliviarose wrote: »

Hello

I have a dog, min-pin, and it is my first puppy. I never had a dog as a child.

I wondered whether or not it is worth getting pet insurance or simply saving the monthly premium in a separate savings account instead. Has anyone done this and is it likely to cover the costs?

The insurance company is in business to make a profit so on "average" your savings will cover the cost of the vet fees and you'll have some left over (the profit margin)....but that's assuming you make an average number of claims over the lifetime of the dog. Claim more than average and having insurance would be better and if you never claim then you get to keep your savings at the end.

It's a gamble. You pay insurance premiums to fix the costs. You don't have to pay for pet insurance but then your costs will then be variable.

I personally do not have insurance as I can afford to pay a claim. Petplan Essential would pay up to £3,000 per condition in vet fees for 12 months and that is how much money I have set aside for vet bills. That money is in a regular saver account earning 6% interest and pays me back £15 per month. I could insure that money by buying an Essential policy which would cost £15 per month but I would rather keep it.

The Ultimate insurance would cost £37 per month and I don't feel that would be worth it.

TBagpuss

A key issue is whether you could afford it is there was an emergency r if your pet turned out to have long term problems.
With my last cat, I chose not to insure him. In his last couple of years he developed thyroid problems, which meant daily medication (with each teblet costing abut £1.20) plus vet visits everey three months for blood and urine tests. Over all he probably cost me an average of about £70 a month, for the last 2 years or so of his life. He had been very healthys until that point only ever paid for routine vaccination set. So over his lifetime, I'm sure I paid less than if I had had insurance, but the final few years were expensive - and could have been a lot more. Fortunately I was in a position to afford his treatment, so that didn't enter into my considerations when discussing options woth the vet.

I do have insurance for the current cats - partly because I think that medical options for animals are much broader than they used to be; for instance hip replacements, cancer treatment etc which can be very expensive.


I'd suggest having insurance initially, as Suki says, a lot of things can presetn fairly early on, plus it does give you peace of mind.

Start to put some savings away. At the point where you'd be in a position to pay £5K or so if you had to, you can reconsider.

sheramber

Petplan do not increase your premium because you have claimed. They do increase the premiums as a business decision for increased costs such as general vet fees , increase in price of drugs, increase is staff costs etc.

However, if you have two dogs of the same breed and age and one has been the subject of a claim and the other not you will pay the same premium for both. The one with the claim will not have a higher premium.

Other companies consider if you have claimed you should pay a higher premium.

I expect of you have claimed you will think Petplan have the better model, but if you haven't claimed you will think it is fair that those who claim pay more.

Overall, the total income from premiums has to cover the outgoings and leave a profit for the shareholders.

Those who don't claim more than they pay in premiums subsidise those who do.

It all depends on what gives you peace of mind.

Are you in a position to pay out for vet fees , either a large lump sum or a regular amount for ongoing treatment?
or would you rather pay a regular amount to an insurance company to cover such fees?
Or face not being able to provide the treatment your dog needs.

My 11 year old dog has had minimum vet costs over the years. However, I continue to pay insurance for him in the knowledge that for just over £20 per month I have £7500 of cover per year.

My other dog needed a cruciate repair costing £2500 in the second year of her insurance cover. Again, at £20+ per month for insurance ( despite that claim) it will take quite a few years to cover the amount paid out and in the meantime i will still be covered for any further claims up to £7500 per year.

badamsgirl

I have two young cats and one of our boys recently broke his leg in a random accident and had to have a big operation. Had i not had insurance (petplan) i would of been looking at a bill of £2500, which would of been very difficult to find at the drop of a hat. You can't predict the unexpected so i personally think it's better to have insurance cover, unless you already have a large lump sum put away that you can access to pay for any vet emergencies.

gabriel1980

Definitely get pet insurance and go for Pet Plan without a doubt. Pet Plan pay your bill for you and then you pay the excess. Other insurance companies make you pay the full amount and then reimburse you.


I wouldn't go without insurance. A vet bill can easily run into the thousands so GET INSURED!