Opinions - pet insurance

Enigma50

My dog is 13 this year. He has been insured since a pup. He has a couple of pre existing conditions. One was a bout of Pancreatitis 4 yrs ago. My problem is his renewal has landed in the post and they now want £90.80pm 😦. I can’t afford that! I thought £56 pm was bad enough for the current insurance year! I’ve only claimed £1500 approx in his life time!

Now I have to make the horrible decision to cancel his insurance 😪. I know he’s a senior pooch now and if something serious were to happen I don’t think I’d put him through an operation at his age etc. I’ve spoken to a few people who have said cancel it if the worst happens you will have to have him pts due to his age and I think I agree but would like more thoughts from people please.

[Deleted User]

If you can't afford it don't pay.

I have insurance now for my cats but had 2 cats when I was younger and they were never insured. As one got older I just paid the vet bills, some in full others split curtesy of the vet.

bugslett

I've never insured any of my dogs and always been on the winning side so to speak.

I also feel that once they get to around 10, I wouldn't put them through anything serious, by the time they get to 13, then anything that would involve serious surgery or chemo/heavy drug usage, I wouldn't put them through it.

I'd just put that previous premium into some savings that you can access easily and if he needs something, hopefully you will have a nice little bit put away.

KxMx

I totally get the premium is now unaffordable for you. I can understand you cancelling that. Maybe take a figure like £75 (halfway between old and new premiums) and put that into savings.

My late cat's insurer paid out approx 3k over 2 months. This was not for a major operation or chemo but to diagnose small cell lymphoma. Her symptoms were weight loss and vomiting only, local Vet tried and failed. The insurance meant we could see a Specialist Vet who was able to diagnose, and pick up a secondary bladder infection.

She only lived a week post diagnosis and I'd already decided against chemo before the end came.

Without the insurance I would not have been able to take her to the specialist. This means I probably wouldn't have known it was cancer, medication trial (which was local Vets last offer) probably wouldn't have bought her any more time and made the undiagnosed infection worse. And when the end came I wouldn't have been prepared for it.

Big bills don't necessarily come from putting them through unnecessary operations or treatment. Apart from a few temporary meds and some anti biotics 90% of the payout was for tests under Specialist input which were absolutely necessary.

bugslett

KxMx wrote: »

My late cat's insurer paid out approx 3k over 2 months. This was not for a major operation or chemo but to diagnose small cell lymphoma. Her symptoms were weight loss and vomiting only, local Vet tried and failed. The insurance meant we could see a Specialist Vet who was able to diagnose, and pick up a secondary bladder infection.

.

Good point. I had an 11 year old dog that needed an MRI scan at circa 3k just before Xmas. Unfortunately she declined so much that it narrowed down the cause to her symptoms and became clear that treatment IMO would have been too aggressive for her. It's a difficult call to make as every situation is unique and I do veer to not being to invasive even on investigation.

There is no wrong or right, just doing the best you can.

sheramber

It is a personal decision only you can make.

Elderly dogs can develop treatable conditions but that treatment can come at a cost.

One of mine developed a condition that was controlled by medication but that medication cost at least £100 per month.

You need to be prepared to accept the consequences of whatever you decide and not look back and say 'I wish'.

With one of mine I stopped his expensive insurance but took out a new policy with another company. They did not cover any previous conditions but without insurance I would be paying for that anyway.

But it meant that I was covered for any new condition that arose, after the initial exclusion period at the beginning, for a manageable premium.

gettingready

I have cancelled my dog's insurance 2.5 years ago when due to a house move it jumped from £280 per MONTH (I was still paying that) to £20 per MONTH.

That was purely due to house move, half way through insurance year - I have cancelled.

Zara was almost 10yo at the time and I knew that if anything serious happened, i would not be putting her thorough any surgeries or aggressive treatments.

Her Vet bills over the almost 10 years were about 40k in total (yup) all paid for by insurance - she had double hip replacement, double cruciate surgeries, spine issues and a lot of other issues that were very expensive so it was worth having the insurance when she was younger. Putting money away (equivalent to insurance premiums) would never ever cover that.

She will be 13 in August and since i cancelled the insurance - yes we have been to the vets few times, some meadication was expensive (Apoquel for example or Atopica or her incontinence meds - all via prescripton from Animed ) but still nowhere near the rice i would be paying for insurance with the hike they served me.

gettingready

buenavides1 wrote: »

They are healthy due to the pet vitamins and supplements that my vet have recommended.

I wish pet's health was due to just that.

You need to consider breed specific issues, hereditary conditions, accidents etc etc etc.