Should I get insurance?

justry4n

Hi all,

I've been reading plenty of online forums and talking to lots of other dog owners on the walks regarding pet insurance, and is it worth it?

A lot have said not to bother because from their experiences the insurance companies never paid out anyway and just to put the money I would pay for the insurance in a separate savings account just in case anything does go wrong.

What do you think, insurance or savings?

Any past experiences would be useful.

Ry4n

bmthmark

I'm in the same situation. Friends of mine don't bother and say just save the amount you would normally pay in insurance.

However I spoke to my vet and asked them what was the most common their customers used that had success payments. They gave me a few names and I got quotes from each and selected based on reviews.

I have a 14 month old cocker spaniel who is crazy, so I thought it would be wise for me to pay £20 a month insurance.

sheramber

I have never hd any problem getting a payout for a valid claim.

You need to read the policy document carefully so you know exactly what you are covered for. Most complaints about not paying out are because the claim does not meet the policy conditions. Very often it is because a condition arose before the animal was insured so it not covered. It is better to take insurance as soon as possible and before anything arises- whether vet treatment was required or not.


Putting away money is fine if you don't need to use it until you have saved up a considerable sum.

Could you find few thousand for a vet bill until then? Borrow money, credit card, savings etc?

My dog incurred three thousand pounds in vet fees due to a torn ligament a year after we got her. I was glad my insurance paid up, no questions asked.

A compromise could be take out an insurance policy but also put away money in a separate account( an be ruthless about not using it). Once you have what you consider a suitable sum then stop the policy but continue to save. I did that with one elderly dog who would not have coped with any drastic treatment so I felt I could cover anything he needed.

But remember , one large bill could empty that account and then you have nothing. Or the costs of an ongoing disease like diabetes can can significant.

If you do insure make sure you have lifelong cover so that there is ongoing cover for anything and not a 12 month limit on any condition.

Kim_13

You might find this article of interest, if you haven't seen it already: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cut-pet-insurance-costs

Worth looking into the companies that your vet will deal with directly, if any. A family friend had insurance and still ended up having to find about £1,000 and then claim it back via the insurance.

krlyr

I have two 11 year old, large breed dogs. I worked out the other week that I have paid premiums of around the £4200 over the last 7 years, that's to cover the both of them.

For my boy, I haven't claimed a single penny. So money going in but the only benefit I've reaped is the reassurance that if something did happen to him, cost of diagnosis/treatment wouldn't have to be a deciding factor (in most cases).

For my girl, I've claimed for the diagnosis and an on-going, life-long medical condition, the diagnosis and treatment of a muscular injury, and the diagnosis and treatment of a ruptured cruciate ligament, which required fairly expensive surgery (with a likelihood of the other leg requiring it in the future as often it can happen bilaterally). I worked out out to be around £7500 claimed - and I will keep claiming at least around £350 a year for her on-going condition. I've never had a claim refused, or even quibbled on, but you do need to choose the insurer carefully as some have better reputations for paying out than others.

So between the pair of them, I'm still £3300 "up" from my investment, with a chance of another £3500 surgery on the horizon for my girl. But the way I see it, even if I hadn't claimed anything, it's like any insurance policy - you're paying for the peace of mind, rather than necessarily expecting to get a payout out of it.

I am considering "self-insuring" in the future but there are a few factors that will go into that decision. I'd be more likely to do it
a) I had the dog from a puppy so knew there were no past injuries or poor diet/exercise/etc. in critical puppy stages
b) if my dog had come from a breeder who does health tests and has shown good health in the lineage of the puppy so less likely to inherit congenital issues
c) the breed wasn't prone to expensive health issues (e.g. many large breeds are prone to cruciate ligament ruptures or hip dysplasia - both usually cost thousands to treat), and also probably more likely to self-insure a smaller dog as general costs will be lower - e.g. larger dog costs more in anaesthetic
d) I had a large savings pot already established - I'm thinking minimum £3000 - and was able to keep contributing to this pot (as one large bill could easily wipe the lot out)
e) I had a good limit on my credit card for emergencies/to pay the bill upfront - even if I had to then transfer to 0% card to make payments over a period of time if my savings weren't adequate

There are probably more factors I'll think of when I start considering it more seriously too....for now, with my current dogs and current financials, I prefer the security of having dog insurance.

GwylimT

If we hadn't insured our two we would have spent around £9k on vet treatment, however as we are we have spent £1,600 on insurance.

WaywardDriver

Regardless of whether you take out health insurance, make sure you have public liability insurance of at least £1 million either by taking out a separate policy or joining the Dogs Trust.

sheramber

GwylimT wrote: »

If we hadn't insured our two we would have spent around £9k on vet treatment, however as we are we have spent £1,600 on insurance.

That is the nature of the beast,

Those who do not claim subsidise those who do.

I am also in the position of having claimed £3000 for one dog and paying less than £300 per year in premiums so I have a few years premiums in hand and have the peace of mind of being covered for any future claims.

The other dog also cost about £300 a year but I have never claimed for him. Costs were below the excess. But again , I have the peace of mind of cover if needed and am prepared to pay £300 for that.

Nebulous2

We are on our first dog and insured with petplan, because we got a short period free when we bought him. He is 5 years old, has (had) been extremely healthy and I often wondered if we should have bothered.

Then this summer he developed what turned out to be an abscess behind his eye. It was difficult to diagnose and ended up costing over £3000 for diagnosis and treatment.

Petplan were great. The vets handled the claims for us. I only had to fill out a short form with a few details. I paid the bills as they arose and the money was refunded into my account in less than two weeks each time.

PhilStation

Get insurance, its a small price to pay to ensure that you can afford the care such a faithful companion deserves.

bugslet

I'm a no insurance person!

Going backwards:

Lola the Giant schnauzer - 18 months . I did actually pay for a year when she was a pup, mostly because she was such a goofball that I envisaged chaos somewhere. I haven't gone into a second year. So far allwell and good.

Heidi 8 year old spitz, no problems so far

Ruby ten year old schnauzer, no problems.

In the now dead realm.

Tilly 16 years old bitzer, about 6 months before she died, developed mast cell tumours, two operations and meds, circa 1k.

Poppy - rescue spitz - walking disaster zone healthwise, but still under 2k in the five years I had her. Biggest costs were twice rushing her to spend a day in an oxygen tent, she had a collapsed trachea ( along with dodgy skin, dodgy teeth, dodgy heart, but she was such a smiley little sweetheart)

Stella - mini schnauzer, died age 13+. She was the only really expensive dog. Major surgery to remove a tumour age 9,, circa 2k, then she developed Cushings, under £3.5 k in total

Skip - spitz, under £500, died of haemangio sarcoma, nothing they could do.

Bugs, 13 years old spitz, died of a stroke. He had epilepsy, blood test once a year and tablets - 2k ish???

Billy 16 year old Papillon - ill one day, dead the next, cost diddly squat

Prince Border Collie died age 17 under 1k, kidney disease, but went in about three days.

Nermal papillon, died age 10, ill one day, dead the next, cost diddly squat.

Peri papillon, diddly squat, died age 14



I possibly have been very lucky and that luck will run out one day:o.

If anything goes wrong, I'm in the fortunate position that I can and will pay. On the other hand, I'm not the kind of person that when a dog gets older, will do anything to keep them alive.