Pet insurance

coconutcurls

I know this question has been probably asked a million times before...

So is pet insurance a huge scam or a totally valid thing to do? What is your opinion / experience?

Better to save money every month or pay the insurance and have peace of mind?

Vet bills are so expensive especially in cases of operations, I can't see how to save thousands of pounds in a short term. We never know when an accident will happen. 

The ones recommend are always ManyPets or PetPlan. My local vet recommended PetPlan and gave me a code for a 4 week free cover, so a month from now I will have to make up my mind about what to do next for my puppy.

What do you do for your pets?

elsien

It’s not a scam. You don’t call house or car insurance a scam if you don’t need to claim, do you?
I insure till they hit a certain age/state of health where I’m not going to put them through anything big anyway.. It’s like any insurance- you may need it or you may not. 
I’ve claimed very little for my current dog so I’ve paid in a lot more than I’ve paid out. My last dog was the opposite. Swings and roundabouts.
If you are putting money aside every month, the theory is that then covers what you need if you need it. 

The middle ground is just to cover for third party.
My personal view is I’d rather have the cover than not be able to afford many thousands if something expensive happens. There isn’t a right or wrong, as long as people are fully aware of how expensive some treatments/procedures can be. 

coconutcurls

elsien said:

It’s not a scam. You don’t call house or car insurance a scam if you don’t need to claim, do you?
I insure till they hit a certain age/state of health where I’m not going to put them through anything big anyway.. It’s like any insurance- you may need it or you may not. 
I’ve claimed very little for my current dog so I’ve paid in a lot more than I’ve paid out. My last dog was the opposite. Swings and roundabouts.
If you are putting money aside every month, the theory is that then covers what you need if you need it. 

The middle ground is just to cover for third party.
My personal view is I’d rather have the cover than not be able to afford many thousands if something expensive happens. There isn’t a right or wrong, as long as people are fully aware of how expensive some treatments/procedures can be. 

Thank you and yes I agree with you. But there are people out there who perhaps had bad experience with insurance companies and call it a scam etc. It will be my first time and I would rather have peace of mind. What company you use if you don't mind me asking?

Katiehound

Whatever you do always have 3rd party insurance- being a member of Dogs Trust will give you that (and support a charity too)

Just this week checked up with the 3 local vets. A consultation is: £35, £39 or £40 so that's an idea of how prices are in a low waged area (and how they have gone up)

As I have said before I don't insure my dogs. They are non-pedigree ex-racers aged 10 & 15. I would have forked out a huge amount of premiums for nowt- but that's rather the luck of the draw.

coconutcurls

Katiehound said:

Whatever you do always have 3rd party insurance- being a member of Dogs Trust will give you that (and support a charity too)

Just this week checked up with the 3 local vets. A consultation is: £35, £39 or £40 so that's an idea of how prices are in a low waged area (and how they have gone up)

As I have said before I don't insure my dogs. They are non-pedigree ex-racers aged 10 & 15. I would have forked out a huge amount of premiums for nowt- but that's rather the luck of the draw.

Hi, could you please explain 3rd party insurance? You mean paying an insurance company and insurance from a charity like Dogs Trust? My puppy's breed is prone to health issues so i will have to pay just in case. 

elsien

I use Petplan. They are more expensive but they cover dental, don’t hoik up the price because of the claims history and seem to be fair in their decisions.
I had one claim rejected but with more evidence from my vet they paid out.

Third party basically means if your dog escapes and causes an accident, for example. It excludes health cover. 

sheramber

Third party insurance is if your dog damages someone- e.g knocks them over or bites them, attacks another dog and it needs vet treatment- or someone else's property e.g runs into the road and is hit by car causing damage to the car.

You could be liable to pay out in such cases and third party cover could cover the bills if what occurred is covered by the policy.

Pet insurance normally covers this as part of the package.

Vets recommend Petplan because they are an established company who only deal with pet insurance. 

they are very clear in what they cover so vets know what will be covered and what will not.

I don't know if they still do but Petplan used to provide training to a practice vet nurse as to what was claimable.

Those who claim it is scam have usually not read their policy and assumed what cover they have, so they claim for something that is not covered such as a pre existing condition.

Or, they have made a claim and find their premium escalates the next year, Most companies increase premiums after a claimas the risk of further claims is now higher.

Cheap cover is cheap for a reason.

Petplan do not raise premiums if you claim. They do , however, raise premiums due to increasing costs as all insurances companies do.

Whatever you decide to do make sure you have adequate cover- £4000 does not go far when it comes to vet fees,

coconutcurls

sheramber said:

Third party insurance is if your dog damages someone- e.g knocks them over or bites them, attacks another dog and it needs vet treatment- or someone else's property e.g runs into the road and is hit by car causing damage to the car.

You could be liable to pay out in such cases and third party cover could cover the bills if what occurred is covered by the policy.

Pet insurance normally covers this as part of the package.

Vets recommend Petplan because they are an established company who only deal with pet insurance. 

they are very clear in what they cover so vets know what will be covered and what will not.

I don't know if they still do but Petplan used to provide training to a practice vet nurse as to what was claimable.

Those who claim it is scam have usually not read their policy and assumed what cover they have, so they claim for something that is not covered such as a pre existing condition.

Or, they have made a claim and find their premium escalates the next year, Most companies increase premiums after a claimas the risk of further claims is now higher.

Cheap cover is cheap for a reason.

Petplan do not raise premiums if you claim. They do , however, raise premiums due to increasing costs as all insurances companies do.

Whatever you decide to do make sure you have adequate cover- £4000 does not go far when it comes to vet fees,

Thanks. I am looking at 15K cover

Vegastare

If you value your pet and can afford insurance it is a no brainer...I have heard the thought of putting £50 a month away in saving account instead of buying insurance - but in reality £600 a year sounds ok but 4 years down the line an operation and ongoing care could cost a lot more than you have put aside.

Pet plan is mentioned - there are others I use Animal Friends and have had no problem with claims - on thing to remember with claims the yearly premium can increase as does all insurance ( mine increase was not excessive) and when they reach about 9 years the excess increase also.  Just make sure as someone else said to use a dedicated pet insurers like Animal Friends Pet plan Bought by Many and Agria seems to be pretty solid.

elsien

coconutcurls said:

sheramber said:

Third party insurance is if your dog damages someone- e.g knocks them over or bites them, attacks another dog and it needs vet treatment- or someone else's property e.g runs into the road and is hit by car causing damage to the car.

You could be liable to pay out in such cases and third party cover could cover the bills if what occurred is covered by the policy.

Pet insurance normally covers this as part of the package.

Vets recommend Petplan because they are an established company who only deal with pet insurance. 

they are very clear in what they cover so vets know what will be covered and what will not.

I don't know if they still do but Petplan used to provide training to a practice vet nurse as to what was claimable.

Those who claim it is scam have usually not read their policy and assumed what cover they have, so they claim for something that is not covered such as a pre existing condition.

Or, they have made a claim and find their premium escalates the next year, Most companies increase premiums after a claimas the risk of further claims is now higher.

Cheap cover is cheap for a reason.

Petplan do not raise premiums if you claim. They do , however, raise premiums due to increasing costs as all insurances companies do.

Whatever you decide to do make sure you have adequate cover- £4000 does not go far when it comes to vet fees,

Thanks. I am looking at 15K cover

7K has always done for me. Might be different if you had a breed prone to cruciate ligament issues, for example 

coconutcurls

elsien said:

coconutcurls said:

sheramber said:

Third party insurance is if your dog damages someone- e.g knocks them over or bites them, attacks another dog and it needs vet treatment- or someone else's property e.g runs into the road and is hit by car causing damage to the car.

You could be liable to pay out in such cases and third party cover could cover the bills if what occurred is covered by the policy.

Pet insurance normally covers this as part of the package.

Vets recommend Petplan because they are an established company who only deal with pet insurance. 

they are very clear in what they cover so vets know what will be covered and what will not.

I don't know if they still do but Petplan used to provide training to a practice vet nurse as to what was claimable.

Those who claim it is scam have usually not read their policy and assumed what cover they have, so they claim for something that is not covered such as a pre existing condition.

Or, they have made a claim and find their premium escalates the next year, Most companies increase premiums after a claimas the risk of further claims is now higher.

Cheap cover is cheap for a reason.

Petplan do not raise premiums if you claim. They do , however, raise premiums due to increasing costs as all insurances companies do.

Whatever you decide to do make sure you have adequate cover- £4000 does not go far when it comes to vet fees,

Thanks. I am looking at 15K cover

7K has always done for me. Might be different if you had a breed prone to cruciate ligament issues, for example 

Yes. Dachshund. Heard they might require a lot of treatments and it could ammount to a fair price