Cost of pet insurance

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Cost of pet insurance
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cir3ngirl

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 4846
Location: Cirencester

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 13 8:26 pm Post subject:
Set up a bank account and pay money in monthly you then have a fund to use to pay for any treatment

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 8:23 am Post subject:

Its whole life cover I think Id look at, because if we just insure for a years cover, whilst this will sort a broken leg or op, it will not cover chronic illness such as diabetes or thyroid (such as our older dog has).
On the other hand, Im also thinking just to put money away regularly just in case.

Alison - have you ever had to actually use your insurance? Ive heard stories of suddenly being told that your not covered for whatever or they'll only cover you so much.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 8:26 am Post subject:
I also need to consider this, we've got new kitties coming home on monday hopefully. Am currently thinking that putting a few quid a month by in a separate 'pot' in the bank account might be the way forwards

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 8:55 am Post subject:

Our dog is insured via Direct Line as they covered her before we got her. The policy has paid out a couple of times and even the simplest treatments can cost a huge amount (a simple scan cost �1000).

You also get third party cover for your pet if they cause injury or damage (your house insurance may already provide this).

We do sometimes feel vets take into account your pet insurance when recommending treatment but just be firm and ask them why they are recommending the treatment, is it really necessary etc, etc.

I don't think many policies are whole of life, they tend to go up to a limit, e.g. 11 years. Worth checking between policies.

if the dog is working then many companies will not insure through normal pet insurance. You may get a better deal if you're with BASC or one of the other countryside organisations.

As for not insuring and saving money, if you only have a single pet that is more risky but if you have several then you'll be offsetting the risk.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 12:59 pm Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

I haven't, but only because she is 10 months old. Going on the last dog we did need it.

Nell Merionwen

Joined: 02 Jun 2008
Posts: 16300
Location: Beautiful Derbyshire

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 1:24 pm Post subject:
Just realised that the sainsburys insurance was up for renewal and now costs �13 pcm. So I have just changed to co-op for �11 pcm.

Spruengli

Joined: 12 Jul 2006
Posts: 537
Location: Dorking(ish)

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 1:26 pm Post subject:
I don't know if small animal insurance is similar to horse insurance, but beware any clause that says in effect 'once you claim for something we won't let you claim for it again' e.g. a claim for treatment for arthritis means ANY arthritic conditions are excluded forever (and the premium doesn't go down...)

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 13 3:23 pm Post subject:
when i looked into it a policy that would cover everything for life was about �30 a month for a thorough bred saluki.the fee was based on show dog line risks not proper line risks and seemed unlikely to be a good investment ,so far i aint spent about a grand . with a kc cocker it may be a good investment to get a full policy

snowy747

Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Posts: 8

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 13 3:32 pm Post subject:

I would not own a dog without it. Claimed nearly �5k with Axa for our Jr X who has primary lens luxation. Premiums were �9.30 a month and we had her at a year old and had paid 10 premiums........

Scottie had Cushings disease, her premiums were �26 a month and her meds �200 a month plus she had regular blood tests at hundreds of pounds.

Gotta save a whole ton a month to build up a fund of your own to cover those sort of costs!!

Ali

pollyanna

Joined: 03 Nov 2012
Posts: 221

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 13 4:19 pm Post subject:
My OH and I are retired farmers and we have a practical, unsentimental attitude to our dogs. We would never contemplate starting on treatment that was going to cost over �1000 however much we loved our dogs. Hence no insurance. And as it happens all our dogs, over many years have lived long, healthy lives and insurance would have been a total waste of money. As it would have been for our cats.

Katieowl

Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 4317
Location: West Wales

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 13 5:09 pm Post subject:
More Than are generally considered to be good value for money amongst dog owners that I know on line. I've just switched to them for a pair of older dogs, from Tesco who came in with an extortionate renewal quote. More Than nearly halved it. Kate

snowy747

Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Posts: 8

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 13 8:09 pm Post subject:
Insurance enables you to make choices, I wouldn't put my dog down because of lens lux at age 2. It enabled us to have the micro surgery she needed to retain some vision in each eye. Ali

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 13 8:48 am Post subject:

I suspect insurance is not worth the cost but what about pet health plans? I use a pet health plan for my cats which provides a monthly cost but then covers annual health checks, worming, flea treatments, innoculations, boosters etc and sends me reminders when I need to do the worming and frontline stuff. I know there will be a premium they charge for that but I get the impression it's not excessive as, unlike insurance, the costs are predictable. On the other hand I have honestly no idea if I am overpaying.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 13 11:14 am Post subject:
If you have peace of mind, and your finances can stand it, you are not over paying. That's not to say it couldn't be cheaper elsewhere, but that might not be the point.

mark

Joined: 14 Jul 2005
Posts: 2191
Location: Leeds

Posted: Wed Oct 09, 13 12:19 pm Post subject:

The problem with insurance is that is you get vet treatment for your pet sensibly - you will be subsidising
1) the people and vets who overtreat
2) the management of the policy
3) the shareholders / underwriters

If your lifestyle is hand to mouth you don't really have any choice. You need insurance to cover risk!

But if you decide not to have pet insurance , handset insurance, appliance insurance etc etc
and you pay the equivalent in to a savings account which you don't touch very quickly you can acquire enough of a pool to meet eventualities. There is often a risk when you first start doing this - but you can mitigate that if you think ahead and start paying in before you get your pet. IN effect you become your own insurer.

You make some money on interest and the money that would go to the overtreaters, the managers and the underwriters is yours .

And the "policy" still covers you pet when they get old if the insurance company goes out of business, closes down your scheme or al the other risks that attach to insurance these days.

You can even pool with friends if you can't build up a big enough fund to cover yourself but you need to know they share your outlook on when to claim and treat!

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