I've currently got Lady covered under PetPlan but the renewal premium is now £582 per annum and doesn't cover her main problem of ED anyway, or the first £110 of any claim. I'm seriously considering just putting £100 per month into a savings account instead. I realise the obvious stuff about big bills but just wondered how many of you out there self insure already. She's already got public liability insurance as a working dog through another source.
I have no option, since there is no such thing as insurance for vet bills in Andorra. I'm someone who would unquestioningly buy pet insurance given the opportunity, but not having it does make me step back and think about it a bit more. If you can afford any big bills should they arise short-term, I'd definitely consider the savings account idea, especially with the ED exclusion.
My dog developed an auto immune problem when he was 6. Pet plan paid for this serious on going chronic health problems drugs and physio/hydrotherapy for the next 8 years. They didn't like it and tried at various points in his life to get out of paying . Each time I won and they had to pay. His drugs and therapy could cost over 400 a month and that was just maintainance he could sometimes have a crisis l couldn't of paid any of this without his insurance and so would have either pts or he would have had a poorer quality of life. I have all my pets insured iy seems a waste until you really need it. Doug really needed it.
A friend reduced her Pet Plan cover, from life cover to one that would give her £3,000 (not sure if this is for each year). A few days ago, her dog ruptured a disc and it is going to cost £5,000 plus! She regrets changing the policy now.
No. My Callum was insured and needed an op (on an eye ulcer) which cost the company £7,000. No way would I have saved up that amount. His insurance paid up all except the £100 excess. ...
It's something we have been thinking about too. We are with Pet Plan and our insurance for both dogs went up from £530 to £639 this year. That's without any medical issues with either of them. A huge increase and all because Hattie is 9 years old and next year it will change again because she will be 10. That was in the small print. Not really sure what to do.
I'd say if you could cover a massive bill, even if a bit difficult, then it could be a logical decision not to have insurance and save the money. I think it makes more sense to do this for the whole of the dog's life than just as the dog gets older. The reason the premiums go up when a dog gets older is because there is a higher risk of something going wrong and the insurance needing to pay out. And the shorter time you have to save, the less your savings are likely to cover the cost. Of course, the up side is if nothing goes wrong, you get the savings. Both my dogs are insured with really quite expensive whole life cover - for Charlie, this makes perfect sense because all existing conditions are still covered. For Betsy, it makes less sense but having faced the bills I did with Charlie, and the insurance paid out, I feel happier having the cover.
What you buy when you buy a year's insurance is the removal of risk for that year - it's not a saving plan where you can expect any money back, and it's not the NHS (where we all pay in regardless of our risk profile). So you have got something for your money - you didn't take the risk all those years when the insurance company took the risk you paid them to take. It turns out you were lucky, and the insurance company didn't have to pay out. They still took the risk they might have to, and you have to pay for that.
I know and I do totally get that, I think if you haven't made a claim, your dog reaches a ripe old age of whatever you should get some sort of discount. Just because your dog is older doesn't necessarily mean they are going to become ill enough to make an insurance claim. Many people like you have had to make claims for very young dogs/puppies it's not always older dogs, that's all my point is. I really hope I never have to make a claim and that my dogs remain fit and healthy. I think we will continue to insure only because we feel emotionally trapped into it. My car insurance for a women of my age is far cheaper now because I am not considered a risk and of course I get a no claims bonus for never having made a claim. Just my thoughts As far as the NHS goes we don't have a choice, we do have a choice with all other insurance policies.
I don't think £639 for 2 dogs is too bad really! It works out about £27 per month for each dog which is about what we pay for Stanley. I got a quote from pet plan and it was about £35 a month for their minimum cover, God knows why it was so high!
We have never insured our dogs - I ensure there is enough stashed away should we need it. I realise it is a big gamble, but it's paid off so far, touch wood. I also understand it is simply not an option for everyone.
It's not always sensible to do this. With Charlie, the insurance has paid out so much, and because I had whole life cover, all existing conditions are covered for him for life, it would be madness to cancel his insurance. I could find the money for just about anything that happened but it would not be sensible to cancel that insurance now in favour of saving the premiums. With Betsy, she has the same insurance as Charlie. If she suffers no joint problems and so on for the first few years, it might be sensible to switch to a lower cost insurance, but I'll wait and see about that. I think I would always insure a pedigree dog with whole of life insurance, take a high excess, and wait to see if a risk of joint problems emerges. If not, I'd consider down grading the insurance. Even then, there is still a risk a problem emerges a bit later.
All of my friends have stopped insuring their dogs and put the money away or have never insured in the first place. I, like Sue have cross breeds and a rescue so why is the insurance still as expensive as for pedigree dogs apart from the age risk?
The most likely answer is because the insurance companies don't think they are a lower risk, and probably have much better data than anyone else.
We have insurance for Homer but never made a claim. Behaviour issues are not covered and that so far has been our biggest bill. next time I might not cover but open a saving account but put in more than premiums would be.
If I'd started insurance, yes I don't think I'd be stopping it, particularly in a case like Chocolate Charlie's where you have made massive claims - it would feel insane to cancel. I hope the rest of your premiums never come in handy and lovely Charlie stays well from hereon in - it's what we all wish for, insured or not.
Many thanks. I think on balance I'll keep the insurance going, but as Julie says, I'll see what effect on premium increasing the excess will have. As Lady's ED isn't covered anyway I think for me the sensible option will be to have a sinking fund running alongside for when the inevitable elbow problems start to arise eg I already pay for annual Cartrophen but I can see the need for that increasing as her "weak" elbow is already a bit creaky.
