Hi All, I was wondering what everyone’s thoughts were on getting pet insurance? Is it really worth it? If yes does anyone have any recommendations of ones they have had good experiances with? A somewhat related question is, we are planning on getting an embark testing for our lab mix. Should we get the health screen as well? Someone mentioned to me that the health screen info would have to be shared with insurance companies and they may deny reimbursement for issues that were discovered through this testing. Does anyone know if this is the case? Thanks!
It probably depends on a few factors: How old your dog is and what your finances are like. If you have sufficient finances to pay for absolutely anything that you might need, then you probably don't need pet insurance. If your dog is elderly, you might find the monthly premiums cost more than what you'd be prepared to put an elderly dog through in the hope of overcoming a serious health condition. But for the majority of people, especially people with younger dogs, pet insurance is definitely worthwhile. As for the Embark question, I don't know that one. You will need to ask Embark directly what their privacy policy is and whether they share the information with insurance companies. You would need to be consenting to that when you sign up for the test so it will be in writing somewhere... And I doubt it's the case, otherwise no one is going to want to do their testing!
Thanks! I’ll reach out to Embark and ask. Our pup is about 14 weeks (we adopted from shelter so don’t really know exactly). Financially we could handle an expensive cost but my wife and I are saving for a house currently so obviously that wouldn’t be ideal
Personally, I use a comprehensive for-life policy for the first 2 years of a dog's life - because it is cheaper then and due to the risk of any genetic or congenital conditions making themselves known by then. After that, I use a cheaper annual policy just because the for-life one becomes incredibly expensive.... When my dogs reach 10-12yo I stop the insurance because I wouldn't put them through expensive and traumatic treatment at that age (surgery) anyway, insurance costs get so high due to the age of the dog, and I'm happy to pay for meds they need instead at this time. That's worked for us and our dogs... But I do always toy with the idea of opening a bank account just for the dogs and putting aside some money each month instead of paying it to the insurance company.
Absolutely yes. My lab had cancer at 18 months. He has had surgery and chemo. Costs to date around £12000 of which we have probably paid around £800. If you are in the UK look at Pet’s Emporium. We have Lifetime Silver which cost around £24 the first year and the policy renewed every month(never heard of that before and only realised when I thought we were over the £6000 limit pa. It was £6000 per month) They have a few limits for very high specialist fees. My premium went up to £34 this year which was less than I thought and Toby is covered for the cancer if it comes back.
I will have a look... Meg has insurance and new quote from Kennel Club is £64 a month up £12 a month. She is 6 and we have never had a claim. I know they have to increase but at this price I am not sure it’s worth it.
I have always found the Kennel Club to be expensive. The downside to changing insurers is they will not cover anything Meg has previously been to the vet for. They ask for full medical history from your vet before paying out. Pets Emporium have been fantastic though and pay out through the vet very quickly.
I would say yes, I insure both of mine. We had to claim within the first 6 months of having Alma. One appointment costing nearly £2000 (CT scan) and all we had to pay was the £100 excess charge. We are with Petplan and they have been amazing, I paid £410 for the year for Alma, we have the mid range cover for life. Our boy Murphy costs a little more due to being male...I have no idea why that is! I think its gives me peace of mind and with ours it's already paid for itself with what we needed for Alma.
Dogs always love to chew whatever they manage to take in their mouth, so there many situations when they swallow something harmful, and without the help of the vet you won't be able to save the dog. This is why having an insurance is very important. To be able to choose a good insurance company, you can check these Pet insurance reviews, and see which one will be the best for you.
We never had it with my last 2 labs and I'm debating it now with puppy. When I think of 30 or more a month (some have been) and it increases, if I save it, would it be better. I guess with cancer it would be but when my dog swallowed a sock at 6, it cost 1000 plus xray and they gave me an extra day for free since I wanted to take him home early which was nice (more separation issues, not money) My other dog had arthritis at 10 and was on one med but it was only 10.00 a month at Walmart and vet bills were low hundreds. Pet insurance would not have helped me much since I would have put out much more before I put in claim. I could pay 2000 before I put in a claim for 1000...it's so hard. I guess you never know but years ago, I was told it was a scam and didn't cover much but maybe now it is better.
Tough call. We did it for 2 years and never made a claim. Thought $600 per year was a drain. Biggest concerns are stomach blockage, busted leg, torn ligaments, cancer. Frankly, if he was diagnosed with cancer I'd put him down, regardless of age. If you got the money and it eases your mind then do it.
I would recommend for anyone with one or two dogs to insure them. We have 10 so it's not feasible, but we do have the resources to cover vet bills, and a very reasonable vet which helps!!
Firstly thank you for the warm welcome from everyone, it feels like Sonny is home with us already We are all very excited and I know the next four weeks are going to drag along I have read all the advice in this thread about pet insurance and it has been very helpful and helped us decide which company we would go for, however we are stuck on one big question. Is it worth actually taking out insurance? When we spoke to my sister in law who has two dogs she said that her vet bills are not very high, my dad said the same thing. Living where we do in London, the cheapest
Insurance is much like gambling. The house always wins. if you have enough money to pay cash for emergency care (insurance doesn't cover regular checkups) I would set aside the money I would have spent on insurance premiums, for possible emergency use in the future.
I would say again that if I only had 1 or 2 dogs I definitely would. A bill for £5k for a nasty break, or random illness is quite feasible. If you have 'spare' funds. Also bear in mind that if your pup develops an ongoing issue, you won't be able to insure for that issue in the future.
