Self insuring your pet via savings. Anyone do this? How do you find it?

peter021072

I self insure, since all insurance companies have to take in more than they pay out on average to stay in business, it's just that we might need to pay far more than the average if unlucky. 

A problem I've found with self insuring is that it makes you more likely to ask the vet how much the treatment will cost, or question the cost which can make me feel awful and lead to some acrimony. Because my vet said they will charge for this and that without stating any figure, they feel they've done their bit on the financial side and don't need to quote, and feel insulted when I say it's much more than expected. Of course from their POV, extra complications can arise which makes it difficult to quote, so this means putting a lot of faith in the vet that the treatment were necessary and sufficient quality and we are not being overcharged.  

I've recently asked around for some quotes for a particular job, and some are quoting a fraction of the price my regular vet is, however this means moving my pet to an unfamiliar vet who might find it more difficult to perform an examination or treatment.

With insurance, these questions and worries are technically transferred to the insurer, but of course they can just up the premium, and unless the insurers are scrutinising vets closely the premiums can escalate, which might explain why vets bills seem to be escalating. 

The Covid issue has made it more difficult, since we have to wait outside whilst they are performing examinations, so I'm not there to calm my pet down. 

Mrs_Z

We've had cats for 20 years.  The first 3 (moggies) we never insured as we were both working and could afford the vet bills. Cat 1 did run up some bills, but nothing major.  She had couple of operations in her lifetime, but they were minor.  Cat 2 was expensive as she developed hyperthyroidism and we chose to purchase the tables via the vet (rather than on line) - her medical bills were about £60 per month for the pills alone, then blood tests and visits on top, etc and this went on for 4 years.  I didnt mind the cost, that medication bought us extra 4 years with her.  Cat 3 also developed hyperthyroidsm but at an older age.  She also had a high blood pressure and arthritis. Again, we were just grateful that we had an extra couple of years of her with us with the medication, worth every penny.
We have now insured our current cats - mainly because they were indoor cats only in their previous home and with us they have access to garden and whilst our garden is cat secure, it's not catproof and there is a possibility that they could get out on the road (and I've been watching SuperVet a lot...!) and they would not have any roadsense.  We're paying just short of £48 a month for the 2 of them. I might go down the self insure route in future.  Difficult one to decide as I'm not earning at the moment - whether to stick to the known fixed cost.

lordmountararat

I have a hybrid system whereby I have cheap insurance from Asda, mainly to cover third party claims, with a high excess. This costs around £16 a month for a four year old crossbreed spayed !!!!!!. I also have a special fund of £5K which I add to occasionally in case of emergencies.

Just re-read this. Why on earth do the mods blank out the correct word for a female dog?

MovingForwards

@lordmountararat it's the site, theres quite a few words which get changed, can be quite funny in the DIY section talking about stopC when discussing turning the water off.

If you're only using your insurance for liability claims, why not go with the dogs trust as that's only about £20 a year.