Pet Insurance, Old Dog - £130 PCM

sheramber

 Only you can decide but remember just because  you can doesn't mean you should. 

Nebulous2

It’s a lottery. Only you can tell what is best for you. At 8 years old, it’s just going up to £65 a month with a £115 excess and I’m considering stopping ours. 

He has been very healthy, with one serious scare which was misdiagnosed. £3000 in diagnostic tests and then £60 worth of antibiotics fixed it. I’ll possibly put £60 a month in a bank account instead. 

Anamox

Are you confident that your policy also doesn't require you to pay a percentage of vet bills? It's sadly becoming a thing that dogs over 8 require you to pay your excess, premium and 25% of any treatment. At another age it goes up to something crazy like 50% paid by you... essentially, they don't want you to insure your dog with them at that point.

From a vet family I can tell you that most vets don't really recommend treatment or diagnosis for potentially serious things at that age unless they're driven by targets and commercial minded. If you put your £130 away, that's already you saved for a full blood works the first time he gets sick which will almost always be the first step... full blood works will likely tell you a) if he's very sick or b) he may have something easily identifiable. If he goes to the vets at 6 months after you stopped paying, you've saved enough for full blood works, several consultations, full urinalysis and several rounds of medication. If your dog is placed on end of life comfort care then you won't be spending more than £130 a month on pain killers and calming meds.

To help you could also try and move to a much cheaper vet like Easipetcare if you have one near you... you could even get a £75 "senior wellness check" done before you cancel the insurance which includes full blood and urine analysis and a consultation. They'll check for diabetes, liver, kidney and dental issues as well as thyroid issues... these are all the things that are likely to go wrong with an elderly dog and if you get that all checked out and get the all clear then it's a bit of peace of mind to stop paying insurance. If you do that and he's a diabetic dog with an overactive thyroid then you know his care will cost more than £130/month and the insurance is a better option to keep.
 

Startfreshstart

Thanks so much for the responses, I actually don't know if I have to pay more excess now - I will check. The cover limit is 12 months, so I suppose the max I can claim is 12 months meds anyway. 

Startfreshstart

I have found a quote with Bought by Many for half price. I was worried because of skin conditions, but they say anything 2 years or older will be included again - he's not been to the VETS for 2 years. Now that seems better