Re: To insure or not to insure? Insure. I bought an expensive insurance package, and moaned about the costs. Until I needed it. Then I thought it was a bargain.
Re: To insure or not to insure? I've insured for one year to see how it goes. Not an expensive plan but enough to cover some unexpected illness. Unfortunately I was NOT insured when my pup had to go to the emergency vet and it cost me $600 dollars! so.......!
Re: To insure or not to insure? insure after my first 2 payments i claimed almost 3000 pounds, expect the unexpected
Re: To insure or not to insure? Insure! My neice's dog has just punctured his side on a twig running through bushes. The vets bill is going to be huge, they are not insured My Callum had an ulcer in his eye - the bill was £7000. I paid just over £100. Any dog can have these things happen. Insure!
Re: To insure or not to insure? Insure!! My insurance had paid out over £1000 in the first year alone to cover Penny's hip dysplasia diagnosis and physiotherapy. Definitely worth it! I also keep a credit card on standby for anything unexpected or extra!
Re: To insure or not to insure? Insure!! At 7 months Murphy had an eye ulcer due to a foreign body. Total bill was nearly £500. I paid only £100 excess. Also look at the cover as some policies exclude pre-existing conditions or will only pay out once for certain illnesses/injuries. Steve.
Re: To insure or not to insure? I've looked at pet plan and they have quoted 30 a month that's for the covered for life £7000 vet fees a year x As the vet knows about hollies inverted vulva and she may need an op (if it doesn't fix it self) will they pay for that? Or if she gets infections due to this problem? Think we do need it so just going to bite the bullet Thanks again for the very helpful replies Esther X
Re: To insure or not to insure? Generally they don't cover conditions that existed before you took out the insurance... So you might still be up for the cost of an op (if she needs it). But there are heaps of other things that can go wrong with a dog...I think it's still worth taking out insurance if you can fit it into your budget.
Re: To insure or not to insure? we did not have milly insured when she had her kidney out as i took her to vet 2days after we got her and then insurance would say it was pre existing condition so with all scans and more at a specialist plus the op it came to 2000 the actual kidney op was done by our local vet for 800 which i think was very reasonable
Re: To insure or not to insure? I never insure my dogs. The whole Pet Insurance industry needs money to drive it over and above what they have to pay out. This is not a criticism, all industries need money to fund them. If you religiously put the amount your premium would be in a bank account every month it will be there when you need it. Premiums escalate as animals age which is when they are more likely to need veterinary care.
Re: To insure or not to insure? [quote author=Mollly link=topic=7741.msg108221#msg108221 date=1410260492] I never insure my dogs. The whole Pet Insurance industry needs money to drive it over and above what they have to pay out. This is not a criticism, all industries need money to fund them. If you religiously put the amount your premium would be in a bank account every month it will be there when you need it. Premiums escalate as animals age which is when they are more likely to need veterinary care. [/quote] I agree to a point Tina, but what happens if a dog has an accident or becomes seriously ill and there isn't enough money in the account to cover vet care Insurance companies have us over an emotional barrel and not only with the Pet industry x I insure my dogs as much as I don't want to it's piece of mind x
Re: To insure or not to insure? [quote author=Mollly link=topic=7741.msg108221#msg108221 date=1410260492] I never insure my dogs. The whole Pet Insurance industry needs money to drive it over and above what they have to pay out. This is not a criticism, all industries need money to fund them. If you religiously put the amount your premium would be in a bank account every month it will be there when you need it. Premiums escalate as animals age which is when they are more likely to need veterinary care. [/quote] I also agree, however - 9 months after I got Penny insured we had to have her xrayed. These cost over £900. 9x30 = 270 so we still would have had to find £600-700 elsewhere which we wouldn't have been able to afford, add to that the cost of Penny's physiotherapy at £58 a session (she has had 4 so far) my pet insurance has already paid out more than I have paid in since I took it out! All without dispute too. On the other hand I know someone who has a 12 year old GSD whose insurance premiums were almost £60 a month due to his age. His arthritis meds only cost £40 a month so she ended up cancelling her insurance and just putting the extra aside for emergencies. There are pros and cons either way you look at it.
Re: To insure or not to insure? Hollie is now insured We still have 2weeks of the free insurance the vet gave us so there isn't going to be a break. I hate insurance companies, they rob us blind but do feel comforted knowing we can give her everything she may possibly need. X
Re: To insure or not to insure? Insurance companies are businesses - they need to make a profit or they wouldn't exist and neither would insurance. There are a huge number of pet insurance products available, at loads of different price points. Insurance is not designed to save you money. It's not a fund that you pay into and then withdraw. You pay to remove a risk. If you couldn't afford the consequences should the risk materialise, and can afford insurance, insurance is a sensible option.
Re: To insure or not to insure? Insure. My last dog was insured & never got sick in his first 3 years, I was toying with the idea of cancelling but decided against it. The next month he got realy ill & was diagnosed with Addissons Disease, very rare. He then had to have check ups every three months & dialy medication for the remainder of his life. The medication alone would off been £1000 a year. He lived for another 10 years. If he wasnt insured I wouldnt of been able to afford that & would of had to do the unthinkable.
Re: To insure or not to insure? Another vote for insure here. It's worth the monthly payment to know I don't have to worry should the worst happen and we're faced with a decision based on finance rather than the health and happiness of the pupster (another Holly).
Re: To insure or not to insure? I was in two minds whether or not to insure my lab, however he's since been diagnosed with elbow dyplasia and had had to have £2500(ish) of treatment and I'm now an insurance supporter. The last thing you want to be worrying about if the worst happens is whether or not you can afford treatment. At a six month health check (before we had insurance) Ollie had a sore paw, nothing could be seen and it went away in a few days. However his lameness (which led to a diagnosis of ED) was coincidentally on the same leg, so we had a very difficult few weeks while the insurance decided whether this was a "pre-existing condition". Although all the evidence was there to support them paying out I couldn't relax until I saw the cheque as you hear such horror stories about insurance policies. A very very difficult time worrying about Ollie's health and to add money worries on top of that...I was very close to cracking. Thankfully we came through it and the insurance covered everything. Having had such an experience my thoughts are that the monthly premiums are worth it for piece of mind
Re: To insure or not to insure? i'll weigh in here with my personal experience.... we had a yellow male - surry - the love of our family... i know everyone says this, but he was the best dog ever. we adored him beyond words. healthy all his life, never had a problem - then suddenly, last fall, he fell ill.... at just 9 years old. a completely mystery thing - started with a limp, and progressed rapidly to breathing problems and then he died in his sleep overnight on 01-nov. we took him to the vet perhaps 5 or 6 times in those last 2 weeks (that's how rapidly it progressed)..... countless blood tests, x-rays, examinations - in the end, we were well over $1,000 in debt from that. it was worth every penny, i assure you, if it had saved his life.... and even though the outcome was sad, i would do it again in a heartbeat - these puppies become parts of our family. my aunt, when she heard of all the money we had spent to help surry, sniffed, "well, i never heard of spending so much money on a DOG." my nine year old girl said to her, "auntie, there are some things in this world worth spending money on." bless her. anyway, all of this is meant to say... we actually had to come to the difficult decision of "when to stop spending money" simply because we had no more to spend. i promised myself i'd never be in that position again - having to decide when to "stop" trying to help a sick furbaby.... so as soon as we got orion, i signed up for pet insurance, and even if we never use it, the peace of mind is well worth it. so there you have it. my two cents.
