Hey Folks, This is a query, especially for those in the UK - I was just wondering if it's worth insuring your dog? Till now, I've just paid any vet bills myself, but Betty is getting a bit older now (almost 7 years) and I can envisage more trips to the vet in the future. Any tips/pointers on insurance would be very much appreciated. I don't even know what kind of issues pet insurance would cover to be honest - help!!
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? It wasn't worth it for my Gavin, I never claimed once for him in 15 years. It was very much worth it for Callum - I claimed, and received, a total of £10,000 over his 15 year lifetime. I pretty much broke even with Boogie over his 19 years. So, yes, I always insure as you never know.
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? Hi, I had pet insurance for my lab but every time I took her to the vets I ended up paying the first £50, then the cost went up every year. My brother uses a vet that has a Pet Healthcare Plan, its not an insurance. It is provided by the vet, I'm not sure how they fund it. You basically get free consultations, free wormer and annual booster. All meds are free, as are in house testing, ie bloods, x-rays. I took out the plan for my dog, there are exclusions as she had problems before I took it on. It costs £198 a year. I can't believe the value it has given me and my dog, she has numerous health issues and I don't know how I could have kept her going without this. Alas don't think it is available nationwide, but may be worth investigating.
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? Don't you want your dog insured for claims against her/you? I have used my insurance only once for vet bills but it's really to do with insurance for if she causes damage to others, if she runs in front of a car and causes an accident for example. Obviously this is hopefully never going to happen! I also thought dogs were required to have insurance to participate in some activities.
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? Ps worth reading carefully about the lifetime vs other kind because it has a bearing on long term things like hip displasia.
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? In my opinion it's definitely worth it! I was going to just put money into a savings account each month, but with what Penny has had to have done so far I wouldn't have had enough money saved up in time - she's 18 months old and we've probably claimed close to £1500 already just on getting her hip dysplasia diagnosed followed by four sessions of physiotherapy! I also keep a credit card with a £3500 limit on it just in case something crops up that for one reason or another can't be claimed on insurance. Handy for things vaccinations and when we paid for her Spey recently which aren't covered by insurance. Definitley read the small print before taking out any policy and weigh up the pros and cons of lifetime vs annual cover. I have lifetime cover and so glad I do because we had to claim in the first year of the policy for her hip dysplasia it means that she will remain covered for life for this condition. If I had an annual policy she wouldn't be covered for it once the policy renewed, and because she's only 18 months old at the moment that could have caused real problems!!
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? Ive paid for Toby and Alfie for 71/2 years. Never had a claim for Alfie but twice in 6 months I had to claim for Toby and injuring the same paw. But in the last month Ive had 2 claims for Toby, once for a bladder infection and the 2nd while investigating the bladder problem noticing he as swallowed 2 golf balls and a tennis ball. Those 2 claims have totalled over £3000 which is far more than Ive paid in 71/2 years insurance. So unless you have funds spare for those unexpected vet bills pet insurance is a god send.
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? I think it's like any insurance - when you need to claim, you get what you paid for. Worthwhile in my opinion though based on experience.
Re: Pet insurance - worth it? I'm definitely in favour of pet insurance for younger dogs. However, although I had insurance for my (sadly passed) older dog, when i read the small print so many things were excluded due to age. Always read the small print!
