# Pet Insurance is it worth it?



## wakk44

I have just received my renewal for the hounds from Sainsburys and the premiums have increased substantially.

They want £25 p/m for the 6 year old dog(previously £15)and £15p/m(previously £13) for the 2 year old.

I have always believed in keeping them insured after forking out nearly £1000 for exploratory tests on our last dog,only to be told there was no hope and just keep him comfortable.

Is it really worth paying out nearly £500 p/a for our two when the likliehood is that any vet's bill would be less than that,I am inclined to think not at the moment as both mutts are fit and well.


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## Zebedee

Hi Steve

The big question is, "What about when they get old, or if they run into some barbed wire at full speed?".

I shall watch this thread with interest since I have been thinking the same as you for some time.

Over the period of the dog's life you pay out an awful lot of dosh - which would probably cover almost any treatment in their old age.

Injuries in the meantime are a calculated risk.

No real suggestions or advice I'm afraid. I'm open to those myself.

Dave


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## inkey-2008

Depends on the dog.
We have never had it just paid the regular vets bills and a few other vists in 14 years.
My sisters dog knows all the vets and the nurses as she seems to spend most of her life there.

Andy


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## javea

I am a retired commercial insurance broker and must admit that I did not insure my dogs. Nearly 2 years ago our older dog had an operation at the Royal Veterinary College, treatment was absolutely fantastic, as good as, if not better than I would have had in a private hospital.

Bill came to around £1,600 which came as a bit of a shock but when I got down to looking at it in detail that was less than the premiums would have been for the 2 dogs over the period that we had them.

One of the problems is that the less expensive schemes have lots of exclusions and will only pay for that particular treatment, not ongoing costs. The more expensive ones have much wider cover but at a much greater cost. There is also the question of the excess which applies to each claim.

All in all, I personally don't bother with cover, just mentally tot up the premiums that I have not paid when I go to the vets and justify to myself why I self insure.

Each to his own really, I imagine lots of other people will respond to the effect that insurance has been a good buy for them.


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## greenasthegrass

I have never insured my two due to fact it is £50 each usually so I may have been lucky but so far oldest one (around 9 or 10ish) has cost me £1000 and youngest (nearly 5) nothing.

So I put away £50 a month in a separate savings account nice tidy little sum in there at mo just in case.

Its like any insurance you takes your risk but its part of my job to advise on what is best budget wise and have seen some right prices for pet insurance.

You just have to be disciplined in putting it away every month. There is always the chance your vet would take instalments as well which mine would just in case worse should happen.

Just an opinion

Greenie


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## JackieP

A question I too have asked myself many times over the years. 

We only took out pet insurance when we began travelling in Europe. But 4 years at £350/year has been a lot of money. And, with a new dog to add to the equation we're really going to have to give it some thought.

I know insurance is one of those things that you pay and hope you never have to claim but still..... sheesh.

The other factor to consider if you're travelling in Europe is the vet's bills as far cheaper than they are at home. Last year we got the dog's rabies booster, annual boosters, some eye ointment and a dog wash and trim for 70 euros. I would think the bill at home for that would be £200+.

Good thread wakk44 - will be watching it with interest.


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## iconnor

Personally I do insure my dog and in 4 years I have made two claims both related to a cauliflower ear. It would have been cheaper to have paid the Vet's bill rather than the premiums. However I do have a policy that the insurer cannot refuse to re-new and covers any problem with continuing/continuous treatment if required. It was this that made my mind up for me.

Iain


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## DTPCHEMICALS

In 35 years we have had a minimum of three dogs, currently we have five.
Never had insurance. Never had a large vets bill.


I pay insurance on6 vehicles, average over the last 24 years is four.
Never needed to make a claim until last year.
Vehicle insurance is a legal requirement thats why we have it.

Home insurance for 35 years. Never a claim

Insurance companies survive on the following principle.

They take our money and hope we never make a claim.

Do you have personal health insurance.
If not why have it for a dog.

dave p


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## carolgavin

Yes it is worth it!
We have just put in a claim for nearly £500 and thats just for a cut paw!!!!! Floyd needed an operation with a general anaesthetic to debride and sew up the cut, plus antibiotics dressings and pain killers. Several visits to redress wound then stitches out. 
I pay £17 a month with NFU.


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## Rosbotham

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> Do you have personal health insurance.
> If not why have it for a dog.


Forgive me, but have they introduced a doggy NHS that I wasn't aware of? Not exactly a fair comparison.

Only thing I'd say on the subject is that I've found pet insurance to be just about _the_ most negotiable thing on this earth. Get some quotes from elsewhere, and barter. Only a mug pays the price they originally quote.

Paul


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## DTPCHEMICALS

Paul ,
Cheap insurance usually has lots of small print.
Example. 
We purchased a rather expensive item in Italy.
It was well and truly wrapped in a box of poly beads. It was then placed in a suitcase with lots of cushioning clothes around it.
The case was dropped by a baggage handler from the door of the aeroplane, we actually saw it happen.
Naturally we made a claim on our insurance only for it to be rejected.
Reason.
Para 146 section 24 subsection 3 read as follows.
Any item which can be damaged or broken is not covered by this policy.
Our daughter is a commercial insurance broker and some companies would not be touched with a barge pole
Dave p


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## overthemoon

Our experience with insurance for our Westie carried a £50.00 excess and as a pup all his treatments seemed to be just under this figure so we were paying anyway and cancelled his insurance when he was 2 years old. If your pet had a bad accident or needed operations etc,[ god forbid not] then dos'nt the PDSA carry out treatments etc for a reasonable donation?.


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## madeleine53

Indeed, there is no NHS for pets - wish there was!
We have always insured our dogs with the NFU and have more than had our moneys worth. For example, one of ours which died a couple of years ago now developed a horrible condition akin to MS in humans. Of course, this was extremely hard to diagnose - the MRI alone was £1200. It was initially though to be an orthopoedic problem and 'fixable'. Other, specialist treatment racked up another couple of grand. NFU paid without fuss and also paid his full puchase cost (he was a showdog). 
One of our present pair has cost about £1000 every year of his six years! Not any ongoing thing or anything majorly serious. eg, abdominal pain requiring exploratory surgery - nothing found. Swollen testicles and general illness requiring ultrasound etc. Prostatitis. Bitten by out of control dog on a walk - ours was on a lead. Our other one (touch wood) has cost us nothing except usual vaccs. It's not like motor insurance which relies in general on one being a careful driver. You just can't tell if your pet is going to be a moneypit or not. I might add that between these incidents the 'moneypit' is in fine fettle.

I think the liability section of the policy is crucial. Any pet can injure a human or livestock or cause an accident even though we like to think we have them under excellent control. In these litigious times such cover is essential. 

The point of insurance is that it is covering 'risk' where one is unable or unwilling to cover that risk oneself. Personally, I think putting £50 quid a month into the bank is not enough unless you don't mind your pet being put to sleep because the cost of surgery or whatever is too high. Or you don't mind forking out a fortune if your dog worries stock (no, they are never 'just playing' as I hear so often living in a rural area) or causes an accident.

Sure, some will never need to claim but as I said the risk is covered.

BTW, I don't work in insurance but in the NHS.


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## Rosbotham

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> Paul ,
> Cheap insurance usually has lots of small print.
> Dave p


Your missing my point Dave. Let's say you've got insurance with provider X. They give you a renewal quote. You then go to provider Y and get a quote from them, which is lower. What you then do is go back to X and say "listen, Y has quoted me £xx/month less than you, do you want my business or not". 90%+ chance they'll drop their quote...perhaps not to the level of Y, but there's a heck of a lot of fat built into the renewal quotes because most people blindly accept them.

Of course, if the cover provided by Y is broadly the same as X, that strengthens your negotiating position but even if it isn't, there's still scope along the lines of "yes well I realise the benefit is slightly less, but you're wanting to charge me a heck of a lot more, can we not meet somewhere in the middle?".

As a guide, I cut our pet insurance premium by 35% this year...absolutely no change to the level of cover - that's a completely separate issue to the haggling point.

Can't understand why folk go through the process for household and motor insurance, but don't do so for pet insurance...

Paul


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## greenasthegrass

Good for you Madeleine - £50 a month fine for me thanks. 8O 

Obviously would just have them put down if it got too expensive! yeh right.

Public Liability oh yes lets insure it for everyone to claim.

Greenie


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## patp

Having forked out over £4,000 last year for Gypsy then yes I do think it is worth it! The bill could have been much higher but we were very careful about what we agreed to. It was just an injury with no blood or anything but needed an arthroscopy and an MRI to diagnose that it was a torn ligament in the shoulder joint. Bone cancer was a possibility so I needed a diagnosis and would do the same again.

Gypsy is now insured (though not the affected shoulder) and cat too. Yes it is expensive but what price peace of mind?

The cat has just had a bladder problem. Each time I went to the vet's it was over £70. It is not over yet as these things have a habit of recurring. He has struvites in his bladder and in male cats they can easily get blocked and it is life threatening.

The thing about it was that as soon as I saw the blood in his urine I panicked and then I breathed a huge sigh of relief because the thought of the insurance came to mind.

It is just peace of mind after all. Also, as has been said, think of the third party liability if the dog (or cat) were to cause an accident.

Do bear in mind that neutered cross breeds command the lowest premiums of all.


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## wakk44

Thanks for all the replies,some interesting views both for and against.It is a calculated risk of course whether you take out pet insurance or not.

I find the reply from javea03730 very illuminating being a retired commercial insurance broker who does not believe in pet insurance.

I think with premiums of nearly £500 p/a it is too much and I intend to take Greenie's advice and put that amount into a separate account for any emergencies.

I have only had one claim for the dogs which was for an injured claw and the bill came to £130,as the excess was £100 I didn't get much benefit.

If the dogs needed expensive treatment then of course I would have to pay for it but I think I am better off putting £500 p/a into a separate ''doggie'' account.


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## CPW2007

We have had 3 German Shepherds since 1989. The first one we bought in Germany at 12 weeks old. Followed some very good advice from the German vet who I registered the dog with regarding care and nutrition and the dog passed away aged 14, a few years ago. We had our 2nd Shepherd from Dogs Trust aged approx 3 yrs, she sadly passed on in Jan 2009 aged 12, having suffered a stroke and an enlarged spleen. We now have our 3rd Shepherd from Leicester Animal Aid, aged approx 3-4 yrs and is also in good health.

My point is this; our 1st Shepherd needed daily doses of Metacam in his latter days plus other vaccine costs etc. Our total cost was less than had we taken out insurance on him over a 14 year period (3 of those years were in Germany)!!

Our 2nd Shepherd required a couple of operations, including a couple of X rays and also a scale and polish on her teeth, plus normal vaccinations during her life. Again the cost worked out less than an annual insurance cost x 12!!

We have looked at insurance for our 3rd Shepherd just to see if the cover is cost effective and for all the reasons already mentioned, we do not think it is worth paying out the high monthly payments for something that may never happen or for any medical costs that we can pay anyway (now I’ve gone and said that!!).

However we do put a little aside every month as a precaution, but nowhere near as much as some of the premiums that are worth their salt require!!

Regards

Chris


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## patp

It is like any insurance really you can always gamble that it will not happen.
We insure our houses against theft and fire and flood. Do we say each year that it wasn't worth it?


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## locovan

My dog is covered on our House Insurance for any third party liability.

But vet bills I don't believe in insurance. Mainly because of the rule of the first £50.00 that you have to pay anyway.
I have had dogs for years and never have had them Insured. I have always coped with the bills as and when I needed to.


The worrying thing is that Vets have become more sophisticated and use things like MRI scans etc etc so we are getting in the realms of Private Hospitals so everything is getting dearer.
I think Greenie has the right idea and just putting some money in a separate account is a great idea.

Insurance only covers you for a year with an older dog if they need constant medication --or that's what happened to a neighbor so he ended up having to pay anyway.


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## SpeedyDux

Madeleine wrote "You just can't tell if your pet is going to be a moneypit or not." 

Having spent over £500 on vet bills to treat a sick Budgerigar, I think she may have a point!


SD


PS In the case of dogs there is perhaps a correlation between inbred "pedigrees" and "moneypits", in my limited but sad experience. Next time we will get a proper robust Heinz 57 varieties mutt. Well, maybe.


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## wakk44

*The Law Of The Sod Strikes*

After deciding not to renew the pet insurance for both our hounds recently I have been hit with a large vets bill 

Ky starting limping on his front paw whilst we were in Cornwall in July,we took him to our vets on our return and they initially diagnosed a cracked claw which would grow out naturally.

After a couple of weeks he was getting worse and the paw swelled up so we took him back to the vet who found he had a tumour which needed to be removed,which they did.

They did a biopsy on the removed mass which was inconclusive(cost me another 50 quid to be told nothing)so they decided to remove the toe,which meant a second operation :x .

I know folks will say that I should have kept the insurance on but it's just typical of sods law,the good news is that he is recovering well and just starting to walk normally


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## DTPCHEMICALS

Thats the law of risk.
All the years that you paid premiums and never a claim

Out of interest I have added all of our 12 dogs ages and is as follows.
Seven dogs total ages at demise 78 years one died of heart failure at the age of 5
The current living five ages add up to 44 years. Two of whom were 13 yesterday.

Thats a total of 122 years of doggy life.
Other than one old girl who had extensive tests just to reveal that she was dying of old age and cost £300 the only other bills have been less than £50 which is I believe average exess for insurance policies.
Had we paid insurance at an average of £10 per dog per month for this period we would have spent £14640.
Makes my eyes water.

Dave p


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## Caggsie

I too had our then 4 dogs insured. 

One died at 5 mths due to heart problem. The insurers paid for both treatment and cost of the dog.

Another one that we bred had to have 2 abdominal operations due to eating, a pop sock and later a full show rope lead with metal hole for lead to slip through. She was eventually put down due to a very aggressive nature, which I put down to the two ops which she had to have at a very young age.

The two oldies, were both insured until they decided to double the premiums on the oldest of the two. In temper I cancelled both, I hadn't made a claim for either at this point but the oldest was 8. 

As sod law always seems to rear it's head at this point, the younger of the 2, 18mths later, got cancer. The treatment was costly and she lasted 6 mths before having to be put down.

The oldie is still with us and until recently costs us nothing other than the odd ear ointment as she has two cauliflower ears cost us £350 for pyrometra. 

When they were insureed we had little in the bank to cover potential big bills so felt it was worth it. Now we had some money in the bank and can afford to pay as it comes.

We were with M& S, they were excellent where claims were concerned and never questioned the vet when a claim was put in.

If I had new dogs in the future, I would maybe have them insured for the first couple of yearsnuntil you find out whether they are a money pit and certainly would go to M & S again.

Karen


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## Invicta

What really P****s me off is the 30% 'Vets' contribution now that I have to loose from any claim due to so many vets charging exorbitant fees.

Coco's vet is a single practice with no huge overheads but saying that there is no diminution in the service he offers. Many of the bulldog breeders in Kent come to him due to his skills and excellent outcomes in caesarean sections (necessary due to the inbreeding of these dogs) for much reduced fees compared with other vets. Other groups that have used his services due to his skills and the lower charges compared with other vets include Labrador Rescue and a local Cats' Society.

Coco has the all too common arthritis present in both hips (Labrador). His medication bill for a month is now £139. He has always been insured. I would not keep a dog without insurance as like humans no one knows what is around the corner health wise and there is no NHS for animals. Of course the premiums have risen over the years, currently now £54 per month but I still value the 'peace of mind' his insurance gives me.


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## patp

As Invicta says it is all about peace of mind.


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## peribro

Pet insurance is the same as any other insurance - you want to protect yourself against an unacceptably high financial outlay that you may be called upon to meet if the worst happens. At the same time, you know that the insurers and brokers are in it to make a profit so if all else was equal, then you are probably paying more in premiums than you would if you took a chance. However most people don't want to take a chance on paying to rebuild their house if it burns down or replacing their car if they write it off. On the other hand, a lot of people are happy to turn down breakdown cover on the washing machine or similar. I think it comes down to your willingness / ability to bear the cost of paying to replace / repair / vet /hospital etc in the event of a claim.


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## patnles

Rosbotham said:


> DTPCHEMICALS said:
> 
> 
> 
> Paul ,
> Cheap insurance usually has lots of small print.
> Dave p
> 
> 
> 
> Your missing my point Dave. Let's say you've got insurance with provider X. They give you a renewal quote. You then go to provider Y and get a quote from them, which is lower. What you then do is go back to X and say "listen, Y has quoted me £xx/month less than you, do you want my business or not". 90%+ chance they'll drop their quote...perhaps not to the level of Y, but there's a heck of a lot of fat built into the renewal quotes because most people blindly accept them.
> 
> Of course, if the cover provided by Y is broadly the same as X, that strengthens your negotiating position but even if it isn't, there's still scope along the lines of "yes well I realise the benefit is slightly less, but you're wanting to charge me a heck of a lot more, can we not meet somewhere in the middle?".
> 
> As a guide, I cut our pet insurance premium by 35% this year...absolutely no change to the level of cover - that's a completely separate issue to the haggling point.
> 
> Can't understand why folk go through the process for household and motor insurance, but don't do so for pet insurance...
> 
> Paul
Click to expand...

Pet insurance is slightly different from other insurance policies in that you would not get cover from another insurance company for existing conditions or any previous illnesses that re-occured. Your existing policy would cover these conditions if you have a lifetime policy. You could only get a like for like quote if you've never made a claim, so changing insurance companies is often not an option.



locovan said:


> Insurance only covers you for a year with an older dog if they need constant medication --or that's what happened to a neighbor so he ended up having to pay anyway.


That depends on the policy Mavis. If you have a lifetime policy, which is by far the best cover, you will be able to claim up to the maximum insured, per condition per year. Izzy, our new pup is insured for £7000 per condition, per year. It seems alot, but if she happens to have hip dysplasia it would just about cover the cost of a single hip replacement. If both hips needed doing the ops would need to be strategically arranged around the policy period.
Lesley


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## Richard_M

I've had dogs all my life. We currently have three Airedales, aged 10, 8 and 8.

The 10 year old has never been to the vets, ever (apart from normal jabs when she was younger and these stopped at age 5). One of the others has only ever been once (torn claw, cost less than £50 to remove). The last has been maybe 7-8 times (hay fever type problems with his ears and eyes) over the year, cost maybe £300?

Total: £350. If we had insured them we would have paid something like 3 x £50 x 12 per year, so £1,800pa.

Over the last 7 or so years, that is £12,600!!!!!!

Really, don't insure your dog, it is just a waste of money. Put the £50 in a saving account and save £6,000 over ten years!

Finally, I often read about people saying 'my dog cost me £X,000 in treatment costs' Well, it is common practise for vet to charge extra and suggest you have every possible test going just because you ARE insured and that is why insured owners often do end up with very large bills.

PS: I run the UK's largest Airedale Terrier and rehoming club. I have had years of experience with hundreds of dogs. Yes, a small number will cost a lot of money but most will not: the first rule of insurance is that they take in more than they pay out!


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## 747

You have all made the mistake of taking out an annual renewable policy. You should have taken out a "for the life of the animal" policy when they were youngsters. I am told that Tesco and Sainsbury do cheaper ones.

We have 6 dogs and always insured them for the first year of their life, then we do not bother. We have had various vets bills due to the Whippets and their hunting instincts. If we were insured, the cost would now be astronomical.

Like greenie, we put a bit to one side every month and have a good vet who does not rip us off (and there are plenty of those about)


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## adonisito

We insured him last year, but didn't bother this year, I'm sure for loads of people insurance has been cost effective, but we call Bramble the "self healing dog", cut paws, limps etc. seem to disappear swiftly. So, for us, No, would seem the answer.. and by the way he goes everywhere all the time.


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## mags52

Tesco's policy is good and cheap. I changed to them when we got our second dog and pay the same for both as we did for one dog with PetPlan. Second dog, miniature poodle, had to have a £1300 operation. We were relieved to only have to pay the £70 excess.
Tesco or whoever their policy is managed by was quick, efficient and pleasant.
Another thing to take into account is the risk that your dog might cause an accident e.g. by running into the road. These things do happen and third party liability can be massive.


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## 747

If every pet owner in the country cancelled their insurance policies then 2 things would happen:

Vets would charge less for treatment. The first question most of them ask is "Is your pet insured". When you say yes, watch their eyes and you will see £ signs appear.

Secondly, it would halt the spread of the big Vet chain. Independant Vets are being swallowed up by large veterinary companies who control the area and hike up their fees and tell you that your pet needs expensive unnecessary treatment. They are just like supermarkets but without the bargains.


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## MEES

Daughter and I both have neutered Dalmations.
Ours 'male' has only has vaccinations etc and has not cost us anything (apart from us spending 7 months in Europe this year when we messed up his passport :roll:
hers (female) is not what I call 'the full shilling'. If a child she would have learning difficulties and hyperactivity :? 
She visits the vet every two month or so with the bill just below the excess (£70).
I am considering suggesting we both pay the monthly insurance fee in to a bank account and use to fund treatmnet.
Our Gp always seems to say 'wait and see' for strains sprains cuts etc. Vets seem to launch staight in to expensive treatment


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## jontan

I read the first few of these posts and decided not to insure my 9 month old working cocker spaniel..... 

Then two things changed my mind... 

1) Her racing through the woods and over the fissured limestone pavement on our New Years Day walk, disappearing and finally making her return 10 mins later from the opposite direction. My friends asked...do you have her insured ? 

2) That night Sainsbury's had a brilliant offer and the annual cost for her £ 128 including £2500 of foreign cover. 

Will make a decision next year whether to continue with insurance or not...perhaps she will have quietened down a little by then.


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## JLO

Hiya

this is something I have been re-considering, I had Zak insured with Direct Line, made two claims and suddenly his premiums went up to 45 pound per month, the excess went up to 100 pound per claim and I can now no longer claim for the condition I originally claimed for (perianal tumours). Ispoke to my vet (who is local and independent) he said "I think you are better of putting the money in a back account specifically for the dog" I have just had a vet bill for another lump to be removed and it has cost 250 pound, I worked out that if I had carried on with the insurance the bill would have been 436 for premiums, plus 100 for the excess, so would have cost me 536 all told. Then got a letter from More Than offering insurance for 6.80 per month, haven't read all the exclusions but I bet they are many and varied.

Jacqui


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## WildThingsKev

We have our collie terrier cross, another "Bramble", covered with AXA through the caravan club. Annual renewal was the same as last year at £95.09 despite claims for a cats claw through the cornea and an adder bite. No changes to excess or exclusions either.

Since he tears off into the undergrowth everywhere we go I think I'll keep paying!

Kev


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## Vennwood

javea said:


> I am a retired commercial insurance broker and must admit that I did not insure my dogs. Nearly 2 years ago our older dog had an operation at the Royal Veterinary College, treatment was absolutely fantastic, as good as, if not better than I would have had in a private hospital.
> 
> Bill came to around £1,600 which came as a bit of a shock but when I got down to looking at it in detail that was less than the premiums would have been for the 2 dogs over the period that we had them.
> 
> One of the problems is that the less expensive schemes have lots of exclusions and will only pay for that particular treatment, not ongoing costs. The more expensive ones have much wider cover but at a much greater cost. There is also the question of the excess which applies to each claim.
> 
> All in all, I personally don't bother with cover, just mentally tot up the premiums that I have not paid when I go to the vets and justify to myself why I self insure.
> 
> Each to his own really, I imagine lots of other people will respond to the effect that insurance has been a good buy for them.


Here Here.

Over past 30 years we have had 3 dogs

First two we didn't bother with insurance and maybe we were lucky but only had to pay out just over £300 for the second dog.

Third dog (now we had a passport for him) we took out insurance and paid up for 6 years. Sadly he caught an illness, had an operation (well documented on here) and sadly we lost him. We submitted our claim to insurance company (CClub) and it was rejected. We battled with them for over 9 months and finally we were offered £700, leaving us £2300 out of pocket. I had good reason to believe at the outset that if we had said to the Vet that we didn't have insurance cover our bills would have been substantially less than they were.

We won't bother again with insurance for the dog.


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## karlb

i have three dogs the youngest is in my avatar, last at the vets for her injections,at that time i took the older two to get them registered with the vets,the vet would only register the dogs after they had seen them (fair enough).if the dogs had insurance the fee was 50 pounds, i didnt/dont have insurance so this service was free!!

if your dog is insured the vet WILL charge more.

regards karlb


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## chasper

We have just had a renewal notice from the Caravan Club regarding our Jack Russell its gone from £95 to 172.22! We shall not be renewing with them.


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## Sprinta

I've always insured the dogs, and always will, it's a small amount to pay per month for a member of the family.

The last vet bill was for our Staffie who was sent for scans and treatment for a brain tumour, those bills came to over £4k !!!

What i would check is the amount of cover you are paying for and how reputable the company is. We were insured with L&E (I think that's the name, 2 letters and they also do camera cover) and they were absolutely useless processing the claim, I had to practically sue them to get the money back. Fortunately my sister and her partner are solicitors and barrister respectively and their letters come cheap :wink:


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## Jezport

8 years ago I stopped my own health insurance. The idea was that if I needed anything the NHS couldnt do when and how I wanted I would just pay myself.

Well I have just paid for an operation for my glaucoma and an still thousands of pounds better off. 

I know that pet insurance is slightly different as the NHS wont help them, however if you examine the risks Vs the costs you can decide if you want to take on the roll of insurer yourself.


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## gaz44

Sprinta said:


> I've always insured the dogs, and always will, it's a small amount to pay per month for a member of the family.
> 
> The last vet bill was for our Staffie who was sent for scans and treatment for a brain tumour, those bills came to over £4k !!!
> 
> What i would check is the amount of cover you are paying for and how reputable the company is. We were insured with L&E (I think that's the name, 2 letters and they also do camera cover) and they were absolutely useless processing the claim, I had to practically sue them to get the money back. Fortunately my sister and her partner are solicitors and barrister respectively and their letters come cheap :wink:


E & L are an awful company to deal with, some vets wont treat animals insured with them as they know they are rubbish at paying out.

Ours are with this one www.vetsmedicover.co.uk if all you want is vet fees & public liabilty this great, £18 per dog cover is for life , any breed and it doesnt matter where you live its just one price, they cover cats too.

They have been thoroughly checked out by www.vip4u.co.uk so if you have any queries just ask these guys, they are extremely helpful.


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## chasper

Our 2 year old Jack Russell injured one of her back legs recently, it was a torn tendon. We are insured through the Caravan Club pet insurance which was £95 for the year, (though i'm sure it will go up next year) anyway i have just received payment minus the £50 excess it came to £199.41. We shall be insuring again next year.


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