My second topic, this is getting habit forming!!!!! I have two weeks remaining on one months freebie insurance via the breeder, for Latte, and my question is what do all of you guys do out there. 1 Do nothing and take the hit if something goes wrong, 2 Continue with the existing policy at about £40 per month, the excess is an eye watering £100 3 Lower the excess and move up to about £60 per month 4 Still do nothing but create a separate account with the bank at say £40 per month for the vet bills. I am sure this has been covered on this fantastic site but all thoughts would be welcome. Ron and his keeper Latte x :-\
Re: Insurance? I never insure my dogs. I ensure that I have enough 'put by' that should an animal need Healthcare I can cover it Animal insurance is a business, they have to ensure that they will make a profit or they will not survive. Premiums escalate as animals age and the risk of something going wrong with them rises. I like to know that ultimately i will decide on my dogs treatment. I'm pleased to you and Latte have the whose in charge thing sort out
Re: Insurance? We haven't insured either, just making sure we have enough put by to take a hit if we need to. It may turn out to be the wrong decision, but hey ho.... we'll let you know! Pongo the puppy and his slave (Rosie)
Re: Insurance? I insured Sam when he was a puppy and his free four weeks insurence ran out . However , I am wavering , I have never made a claim and yet the premiums have gone up twice now, just a bit scared in case its tempting providence :
Re: Insurance? I insure mine. have never made a claim. even so the premium went up. mine is with pet plan. yours seems a touch high for one dog. i have covered for life £7k in a year option. who has yours been with? if it's pet plan i'm now scared about what the premiums will be come october's renewal. :-\
Re: Insurance? [quote author=kateincornwall link=topic=5853.msg75237#msg75237 date=1399654502] I insured Sam when he was a puppy and his free four weeks insurence ran out . However , I am wavering , I have never made a claim and yet the premiums have gone up twice now, just a bit scared in case its tempting providence : [/quote][quote author=Mollly link=topic=5853.msg75233#msg75233 date=1399653972] I never insure my dogs. I ensure that I have enough 'put by' that should an animal need Healthcare I can cover it Animal insurance is a business, they have to ensure that they will make a profit or they will not survive. Premiums escalate as animals age and the risk of something going wrong with them rises. [quote author=hd link=topic=5853.msg75248#msg75248 date=1399655305] I insure mine. have never made a claim. even so the premium went up. mine is with pet plan. yours seems a touch high for one dog. i have covered for life £7k in a year option. who has yours been with? if it's pet plan i'm now scared about what the premiums will be come october's renewal. :-\ [/quote] I like to know that ultimately i will decide on my dogs treatment. I'm pleased to you and Latte have the whose in charge thing sort out [/quote] Yes it is petplan,and the quote from Kennel Club was more. Sorry
Re: Insurance? I am looking at insurance policies and think I may insure for the first year at least, then reassess. I never insured my cats and would have lost money had I done so.
Re: Insurance? I don't insure my older dogs, there are too many of them. I usually insure youngsters for the first year or two, in case there are any serious issues that arise (like HD) I've insured Rachael with More than, via Bought by Many for £277 for their premier cover (I think up to £12,000 per year). Bought by Many organise groups of people to get discounts on insurance. I thought that was quite reasonable, but to be fair I didn't shop around much.
Re: Insurance? I have insured Harley at a cost of £18 per month for up to £7000 per annum per illness. I also pay £10 a month for a pet plan via my vets - this covers all consultant fees for sickness appointments, booster injections, health check every 6 months, nail clipping, discount on medications and flea/worm treatments and a few other things. Might be worth seeing if your vet does something similar. My pup was poorly for a few months and we seen our vet 6 times during this period, plus her recent bite injury makes another 2 visits - would of been £35 per visit = £280 saved
Re: Insurance? We're with PetPlan. We pay about $450 a year for a $500 excess. The Aus dollar is about £0.67. In our first year we had Obi we had: Ringworm Kennel cough Dog bite Hip X-rays Allergy Two trips to veterinary dentist. About $3000 worth of vet attention. Most of it was under the $500 excess so we didn't claim but we could've got about $1000 back on the rest.
Re: Insurance? I'm not sure I would risk it, especially for the first few years at least. When we got our last pup 14 years ago it was about £8.50 per month but the premiums went up every year and in the end we were paying about £47 in her 13th year for only about £3500-£4000 of cover, so it does get really expensive but we don't have the spare cash if we need to take a sudden hit. My sister had similar insurance for her last dog who got anal sac gland cancer at the age of 10. She spent about £8500 over the next 20 months on scans, chemo drugs, specialist vet visits etc so had to find about £5k extra over and above her insurance!
Re: Insurance? We are insured. Shopped around and opted For Argos Platinum. Think its £7000 a year lifetime cover and £65 excess. With a diagnosis of HD in the first year with xrays and ortho appointments, we had no trouble with claims, and won't we stopping it as 2 hip replacements in years to come is going to cost a large sum of money. I think we pay just over £300 a year. I think we have had our moneys worth so far. We don't claim for everything - pay for her NSAID meds without claims for instance.
Re: Insurance? Petplan, £500 excess, £12k vet fees, £2k alternative therapy, lifetime cover. I pay £55 a month. Bills in first year to cover ruptured cruciate and ongoing ear infection (referred to dermatologist) were absolutely staggering, was very glad of the insurance.
Re: Insurance? We've never insured and kept a little by for the rainy day. In over 30 years of owning dogs, we've always came out top versus the costs of being insured. Of course, there are anecdotes (you've seen them here) where insurance was a godsend, but they must be the anomalies or the insurance companies would have gone out do business by now. I think it poses a couple of questions: Pet Insurance is big business, who is really benefiting? On treatment, I'm of the view just because we can doesn't mean to say we should. HD and hip replacements being a case in point and I mean absolutely no offence by citing that particular example. I know this is a moral maze but another case; Labrador has a heart problem, vet bills run to many thousands, dog is not really being a labrador for 18 months in terms of his quality of life, dog dies. Would that treatment plan been different if the dog hadn't been insured? Possibly, possibly not - but if it is possible, who is really paying for it and who is ultimately benefiting? A tough one and a difficult moral judgement as well - whatever you decide will be right for you.
Re: Insurance? I think it is the case that no-one should buy insurance expecting this to cost less money (in the long run) than not buying insurance. Think of house insurance, you buy it hoping that your house will never get burgled or burn down. What buying insurance does is remove a risk, not save you money in the long term. If insurance companies didn't make money, insurance wouldn't be available to buy - the companies benefit, they are not charities. People who want insurance also benefit by the product they want to buy being available. I think if you are in a position to cover the vets bills before you have saved up, then insurance is not necessary. If not though, you have to give serious consideration to what that means for your pet without insurance - which is that you may have to contemplate putting your dog to sleep if he requires a procedure that is unaffordable without insurance.
Re: Insurance? I agree with Julie and ultimately the cost v benefit of treatment is going to be a difficult and sometimes heart rending decision; insured or not.
Re: Insurance? I intend on having insurance. I do believe it's about 60$ Canadian or so for a decent coverage and 500& deductible. I see it like having house insurance/car insurance/life insurance. Just there for peace of mind and coverage god forbid anything happens. I know of someone who got a new puppy, the puppy jumped out of their arms in the first week of being home and ended up needing 2000$+ in vet bills. If I didn't have insurance Id put the money Id pay into it, into an account for "emergencies" but even still, vet bills can be substantially larger than you can prepare for.
Re: Insurance? We've never had insurance either (owned dogs for 30 years) and have been lucky enough not to regret it.
Re: Insurance? My 3 year old Labrador is insured with Pet Insurance for £12.38 pcm, maximum vet fees of £4000 and excess of £150. Until now I have never insured my dogs and I cannot give you a good reason for now doing so, other than I am getting older can no longer stand the risks and the huge costs of vets fees! Before deciding on a particular insurer I took into account the following points: 1. Check that a cash back is available. 2. Lifetime cover for accidents/illnesses; avoid insurers with a cover limit per condition. 3. Cheapest is rarely the best. 4. Check Excess, ensure that is a fixed amount and not a % on cost of treatment. 5. Age 7/8 the premiums triple. Hope that helps. Roger
