Should I get pet insurance?

Abbafan1972

We have just adopted a Beagle from a shelter and we have got 5 weeks free insurance with Agria. I have got the option to continue with policy, but am not sure whether I should really. 

We have had cats before and never had insurance before. Luckily we never had any major vet bills with them, the biggest expense really was when they had to be euthanised unfortunately. 

What are your thoughts on this and how does it work? Do I pay the bill and then claim it back afterwards? I understand that there’s certain things I can’t claim for and pre-existing problems. 

Is there anything I should be looking for please? 

I understand there was an episode of Rip off Britain about pet insurance broadcast on Monday that I will watch. 

Thanks. 

FlorayG

Non-compulsory insurance is a gamble- they gamble that you will never claim and you gamble that you will have a vet bill for thousands that they will pay.
Example; I don't insure my horses. One of them I had 26 years and vet bills in that whole time were less than £2,000. I have another horse I have had 6 years and already spend £5k on - probably still less than insurance would have cost over 72 months. Maybe one day I will have  £10,000 vet bill for a horse, well I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I had a month free insurance with PetPlan with a kitten, I actually did have a small claim, you just email them the vet bill and they pay you back. If it's a large bill maybe they pay direct, I don't know
Of course, you do have a beagle and they will eat ANYTHING I know I had one once

DullGreyGuy

Abbafan1972 said:

We have just adopted a Beagle from a shelter and we have got 5 weeks free insurance with Agria. I have got the option to continue with policy, but am not sure whether I should really. 

We have had cats before and never had insurance before. Luckily we never had any major vet bills with them, the biggest expense really was when they had to be euthanised unfortunately. 

What are your thoughts on this and how does it work? Do I pay the bill and then claim it back afterwards? I understand that there’s certain things I can’t claim for and pre-existing problems. 

Is there anything I should be looking for please? 

I understand there was an episode of Rip off Britain about pet insurance broadcast on Monday that I will watch. 

How it works depends on the insurer and vet. The best case the insurer settles directly with the vet so you are never out of pocket, the middle is you pay and they reimburse you, the worst is you pay and they then decline the claim. 

There are levels of pet insurance which different insurers refer to with different names, each assumes you renew with the same company:

• Most basic - will pay up to £5,000 with 12 months of the diagnosis for a specific condition
• Medium - will pay up to £5,000 within the life of the pet for a specific condition
• Premium - will pay up to £5,000 each and every year for a specific condition

For an injury there probably isn't too much difference between them but if they were to develop diabetes, arthritis or other chronic conditions there are clear benefits as you go up the tiers. 

Health insurance is also the same if you buy for a dog or yourself, most won't cover pre-existing conditions and so if your pet does get a chronic condition you are then effectively stuck with that insurer unless you are happy for it not to be covered by your next. 

Like all insurance, claiming will mean your renewal will go up, so whilst the Premium as described above is great it kind of falls apart if the renewals become so much that you cannot afford it. There are companies like PetPlan that dont consider claims experience in their pricing but naturally as a consequence they are notably more expensive for pets that have never claimed. 

Ignoring mandatory insurance, it tends to come down to your risk appetite and "what would you do if the worst happened?". For me Mobile insurance isn't worth it because I can afford to go out and buy a new phone tomorrow if needs be. Home insurance is worth it because I couldn't afford to replace all my possessions and rebuild my home. Premium -v- maximum payout also is much better with Home -v- Mobile. Pet fits somewhere between the two... some would want to spend thousands on cancer treatment others would go straight to euthanasia, the former probably has more need for insurance than the later. 

elsien

It’s like any insurance. You may or may not need it and until you do you don’t know what it will cost you. 

Cost of treatment is increasing though so if you’re planning to self cover be aware it could run into thousands. A few years ago, I paid nearly a grand for an overnight stay at an out of hours vet Hospital just for tests and monitoring of hypersalivation, cruciate ligament is going to run into many thousands
On the other end, you might pay out your money every year and never claim a thing. 

I pay for the insurance because I prefer that to having to find money for a huge bill (or at the moment, costly monthly injections) if it were needed. But if you do self insure you may well need more than a hundred quid a month, realistically speaking,  if something goes wrong. 

Things to consider what lifetime cover actually means because it differs between insurers. The more comprehensive cover will obviously be more expensive, Petplan being the obvious front runner in that respect. On the other hand, pet plan don’t hoik up the premium if you make a claim but some other insurers do. 

So do you have a maximum cover limit every year and once that limit is reached for that condition your insurance does not cover it again?
Or does it reset every year so they will pay out a certain amount each year for each condition and then the following year it starts again?

Do you want dental conditions to be covered?

Just as examples of things to consider. 

You do need to read the terms and conditions quite carefully because there’s not necessarily a lot of consistency. 

sheramber

Do you have thr resource to pay a parge vet bill should it arise?  Savings, credit card ?

Many people self insure by putting money away for any vet bills. That is okay once you have built up a fund but if you get a large bill in six months you may not have saved enough.

Do you want peace of mond that if necessary you have the back up of insurance to pat  a bill.

If you do insure, read the policy dpcument carefully to know what you are covered for. Most disputes are because people assumed thye were coverd for something that they were not.

Lifetime cover with reinstated vet fees each  year is the top cover, but the most expensive.

Consider the amount of cover you take out. £4000 doesn't go far at teh vets these days.

Check the excess you pay on any claim. This usually increses when pets get older and a co pay, as well as the standard excess is payable.

Agria and Petplan do not increase premiums if you claim. You do have increases in premiums due to rising costs as do all policies.

Be aware that often the first year premium is often discounted so second year premiums cost a lot more.

I have one dog where I claimed back than I paid over the years.

One where I broke even after 10 years. Had one claim in the second year but it took 10 years for my premiums to paid to equal that claim.

One dog where I had no claims in his 14 years.

Cariboudle

I have insurance for my dogs but did not insure my cat.

I got my cat 15 years ago and just put a tenner a month into a little websaver account.  It was a gamble because at the start of her life that wouldn't have amounted to much so if she'd had an accident or illness I'd have been out of pocket.  But, because she was healthy most of her life that fund just grew and was fine for any major issues towards the end of her life (she did get ill and need treatment which worked for a while till it didn't and we said goodbye - still hurts!).  The end of her life treatments wiped out the entire 15 year savings, and then some, so that gives you an idea of the kind of costs involved in treatments for ailing cats.

I learned my lesson and insured my dogs.  I pay £35 for one and £45 for the other (one is much older than the other) but if one of them breaks their leg it could be £4,000 for vet bills.  There's no way I'd get there with putting a tenner a month aside for a few years.  My older dog is now £45 per month and I am claiming over £80 per month for his ongoing monthly medications for arthritis.  I have no doubt my premiums will go up next year but I expect it will still be worth having the insurance.

Vet fees are not cheap.  It might be worth researching the costs of treatments in your area and make your decision from there.

Also keep in mind, the longer you leave it the more likely your pet will develop an existing issue - insurance will not cover this and so you'll still be stuck paying out for that issue as well as your insurance premiums. 

FlorayG

Another thought - if you can afford say £100 a month, put that into a savings account for the dog. If you never have a claim, when he dies age 17 - 18 you will have a nice little nest egg or never have to worry about the potential bills for your next dog. If you have to claim in the near future, put the bill on a credit card and pay off £100 a month.
It's all dependant on what you can afford and how much risk you are prepared to take; also bear in mind an insured animal will be offered masses of treatments that an uninsured one won't, and often the outcome is the same. An insured animal might be offered complex treatments for a badly smashed leg where an uninsured one will be offered amputation; sometimes the latter is less suffering for the animal and the treatment might not take anyway, leaving you with amputation in the end and a huge bill for the treatment that didn't work ( worst case scenario I know, but to be considered)

Slinky

I'd only ever go with the highest level of cover with PetPlan (£12K annually). Our previous cat had a lung lobe removed last year after suddenly falling ill, in the space of a week the bills ran up to £9.5K. We had to pay the excess plus 20% as she was over 10 years old, but the fact the majority of the bill was covered by the insurance meant we weren't put in the difficult decision regarding whether we could afford to pay for her treatment. We paid the excess and 20% on a card, the vets claimed the balance from PetPlan. Odd bits we paid directly and claimed were reimbursed within a week. The premium only increased a couple of pounds at renewal, and the condition continued to be covered. Sadly about a year later she fell ill again and we decided against further treatment. We were so fortunate to have that extra year with her.

Our new cat is insured with PetPlan. Not all insurance give cover for ongoing conditions or only increase because of age, not claim history. PetPlan may seem a little bit more expensive than other companies, but in our opinion is well worth it.

ETA PetPlan covered most of the cost of her euthansia which we did not expect.

sheramber

Both Petplan and Agria do not increase your premium if you make a claim. Other companies do.

As  a consequence theri premiums are higher and you do get annual increses due to rising costs, which all companies do.

It depends on what you are comfortable with.  

You may pay for insurance cover you do not use, but you have peace of mind knowing you have that back up.

You may put money away each month  but not have enough saved up when a large bill comes.

You could compromise and take lower cover but also put money away to cover what insurance doesn't.

Consider the level of cover you take out. £4000 does not go far at the vets these days.

Read the policy document ( not the summary) thoroughly  so you know exactly what you are covered for.

Most disputes are because people assume what cover they have, particularly preexisting conditions, which are anything you have consulted your vet about, whether or not treatment was given. It will be noted in the vet notes which is what the insurance company check.

35har1old

Abbafan1972 said:

We have just adopted a Beagle from a shelter and we have got 5 weeks free insurance with Agria. I have got the option to continue with policy, but am not sure whether I should really. 

We have had cats before and never had insurance before. Luckily we never had any major vet bills with them, the biggest expense really was when they had to be euthanised unfortunately. 

What are your thoughts on this and how does it work? Do I pay the bill and then claim it back afterwards? I understand that there’s certain things I can’t claim for and pre-existing problems. 

Is there anything I should be looking for please? 

I understand there was an episode of Rip off Britain about pet insurance broadcast on Monday that I will watch. 

Thanks. 

Agria excess can be £105 + 10% deducted from claim. If you are unlucky and you require treatment near policy anniversary and it continues into the new policy year you will have to pay the excess again
I think you can alter the percentage to reduce the premium.
Higher cover for less compared to Petplan though no percentage deduction from claim.
Emergency vet costs could be £400 then usally a visit to own vet the next day with further costs 

Then there's the Pets health club currently £20.99 a month and now there's + plus version at £29.99 but this club is meant to save you money on the general care of your pet

35har1old

FlorayG said:

Another thought - if you can afford say £100 a month, put that into a savings account for the dog. If you never have a claim, when he dies age 17 - 18 you will have a nice little nest egg or never have to worry about the potential bills for your next dog. If you have to claim in the near future, put the bill on a credit card and pay off £100 a month.
It's all dependant on what you can afford and how much risk you are prepared to take; also bear in mind an insured animal will be offered masses of treatments that an uninsured one won't, and often the outcome is the same. An insured animal might be offered complex treatments for a badly smashed leg where an uninsured one will be offered amputation; sometimes the latter is less suffering for the animal and the treatment might not take anyway, leaving you with amputation in the end and a huge bill for the treatment that didn't work ( worst case scenario I know, but to be considered)

Life expectancy has dropped a Beagle may live 12 to 15 years
Golden retrievers used to live to 16 now it can be as low as 10