Pet Insurance

Spivved1987

I currently have pet insurance with Pet Plan (came with pup from breeder and I just extended to get it off my plate for a few months). I know from previous experience that it will balloon massively if I just 'inertia renew'.

Anyway, my question is a more general one. I would prefer to self-insure ie put the premium into a savings account. Obviously I take the hit if my dog has a problem before the fund has built up much, but I'll live with that. Three grand or whatever for a hip replacement I can live with, but I can't take the catastrophic cost of third party injury. Third Party cover comes as standard with these pet insurance policies, although I should imagine that they very rarely need to pay out. So what I want to know is if there is any insurer who will provide Third Party only cover. Obviously this only makes sense for me if the premium reflects the very small likelihood of being triggered. It's no good if it shaves a fiver a month of what I am currently paying.  

elsien

Dog’s trust do third party insurance. There will be others.
However I think you’re underestimating some of the costs of treatment.
Mine cost me the best part of a grand just for two nights in the out of hours hospitals on a drip and blood tests without anything major being done. 

Many people do self insure, but be realistic about what you might need. Cruciate ligament for example could be 5-7K just for the one side. 

Spivved1987

Thanks for that input - very useful. My only experience of doggie medical costs was about 10 years ago, when my dog had to have a calcified tumour removed from his bladder. Total cost was about £600 including overnight stay. Worked well, too - got another 4 years of life for my friend.

Another option rather than Third Party cover would be to take a bigger excess - say £2,000 - but again only in exchange for a vastly reduced premium.

Still, I donate regularly to Dogs Trust so maybe I'll make them my first port of call when shopping around. The problem with the insurance market is that if you are an individual rather than a big company it is hard to get away from 'standard' policies.

greensalad

I agree you're underestimating. My cat had mid-level insurance and the out of pocket payments that I made (and then reclaimed back from the insurers) in just two months far outweighed what I'd paid over the course of a year. All he had was an eye infection and then a wound on his neck. No overnights or anything. No drips or blood tests. Veterinary care is very expensive and adds up quickly when you have to go back for a checkup following an issue (like I did with the eye infection, it took 3 visits and 3 weeks of medication to fix).

lcc86

My parents just got third party for their elderly dog as they wouldn't put him through anything major now, it was very cheap but I can't recall the company. However if your dog is young (particularly it's a pup) i would just get the full cover. You may never need it but vet fees can get so expensive and if you have a young dog who gets a serious injury or something you can easily be forking out 10k.

elsien

Dogs trust is free third party insurance if you’re a member. Not checked out the level of cover though. 

Skint_yet_Again

Our pup is now 3 years old. In that time we have claimed over £800 for hip xrays, thankfully no major problems showed up,  over £1200 after emergency vet hospital admission after eating raisins (poisionous) that someone left on the floor for squirrels/birds & 2 days/1 night on a drip, around £1800 for haemorrhagic Gastroenteritis 2 nights/3 days in vets. We have also had other treatment which we have not claimed for as it has been less than the £100 excess, being stung in the mouth by a bee, anal glands checked & expressed, water infection, cut on paw, eye infection. We could not have managed without insurance & have a lifetime policy for our dog. However we are now stuck with the same insurer as all these things are now “pre-existing” conditions and would not be covered. 

Hopefully your dog will live a long and healthy life but the pet insurance has been essential for us. 

[Deleted User]

Just remember also that changing insurer doesn't always mean cost effective, they often won't cover older pets or exclude conditions that the pet has had that the existing insurer may cover.

Spivved1987

Fair points all. I think it also seems quite common for a new policy to exclude claims for the first 6 months of cover. Maybe I'll just try to negotiate a higher excess with existing insurer in exchange for a lower monthly premium.

elsien

New policies generally exclude claims for the first 14 days of cover. I’m not sure where you’ve had 6 months from. 

KxMx

Big bills don't only come from major procedures. 

Took 3k just to diagnose my late cats illness last year (I was insured) and another poster on the pets board recently ended up with a 4k bill after (uninsured) dog needed emergency vet after an accident, treatment ended up much more expensive than original estimate.