Is Your Pet Insured?

[Bloo]

So, how many people here insure their pets?

I know that some of you are extremely diligent and have your own pet fund for unexpected incidents. And I guess some of you are so rich that you don't need to worry about how much something will cost.

Having kept my cat indoors for the past 7 years, I haven't had him insured. Though he was insured for the fist year of his life - which I think is pretty important as so many young animals get into mischief and accidents.

Now that he's allowed outdoors and getting slightly older, I've started insuring him again. I for one do not have a secret stash of funds and neither can I afford the many thousands of pounds a operation can easily cost. Despite still having veterinary friends (and I'm out of that profession now), I'm not taking any chances.

So what do you guys think?

 

[kewskills]

i have 2 dogs who have never needed any treatment so far. hope that continues. & lots of fish. i have a small emergency fund for any animal releted problems, so far no need to use it. hope that continues

 

[Miss Wiggle]

got both my cats insured, no way could i afford an operation at the drop of a hat. They're excess is £60 and I try and keep that in an acc somewhere all the time so I can always cover that if need be.

They both go out and are both quite naughty and silly at times so I think it's nescessary, it's only £18 a month which isn't much for that peace of mind, IMO anyway.

For those of you thinking about insurance I'd urge you to look into petplan, it's more expensive than most insurances but very much worth the money as they are one of the only companies who cover you for the life of the illness. For example, your beloved pet get's a nasty disease, your insurance pays out for treatment, but come renewal time they will either refuse you cover, or cover you for anything except the existing medical condition and then other insurers won't cover for existing problems either. So you end up having to pay for treatment yourself for the rest of the pets life. With petplan they will continue cover and continue paying out however many years it goes on for. Worth a pound or two extra a month in my book. AFAIK there is only 1 other company in the UK who will do this, and I can't remember which one it is?!

Sorry if I'm not meant to post that as it's sort of a plug (although i don't work for them or anything) but I do think it's worth bringing to people's attention in case they don't know it.

 

[Phishy25]

Both my dogs and cats are insured with direct line insurance for £34 a month (for all 4). They are insured per condition with an excess of £60. One of my dogs got an abcess in her ear a week after I insured her and the vets bills were £150!!! £60 is alot easier to find!

 

[grahamsokel]

I have a bank account for the pets.I have been putting £100 per month away for around 10 years or more and never had an emergancy so it has quite a balance now
If I had paid insurance for all the pets for that length of time it would have been lost money

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Apart from fish the only pets i keep are 3 rats. So far everythings gone pretty smoothely- although when i got my first rat Maya, she came down with a lung infection which she had picked up from the petshop, but it was not expensive or difficult to treat and she was all completely cured within a couple of weeks of medicine treatment from the vet (cost about £60's in total to get her better, had a couple of check ups to the vet and get medicines and stuff etc).
Rats in general are not expensive to treat in comparison to animals like dogs, cats or horses, and tend to suffer from less problems in general, so i don't worry about pet insurance, although i always make sure i've always got some money in the bank and a spare rat cage just in case anything does go wrong.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I have a bank account for the pets.I have been putting £100 per month away for around 10 years or more and never had an emergancy so it has quite a balance now
If I had paid insurance for all the pets for that length of time it would have been lost money

i imagine with as many pets as you have that's the most sensible strategy!

 

[Bloo]

You are very lucky Graham (and sensible - I remembered that you were one of those with your own fund which is great if you're diligent enough to do so) - and all of those who haven't had anything happened to the pets yet.

But I lost count of the countless operations and procedures we had to do that cost thousands of pounds - MRI's etc. etc. and these things run into eye watering amounts. Amounts that the average person simply cannot afford straight away. And we didn't offer a credit system. I remember a little baby rabbit - just a few weeks old - that broke both it's back legs (during a play fight with a hutch mate) - several operations, bone pins, casts etc. later it was several thousand ££'s - and no insurance. These people were rich and though they flinched, money wasn't an object.
I just simply can't put myself in a situation where I couldn't afford to have my pet treated and I just simply didn't have the money to do so. I'd be mortified.

 

[lljdma06]

All of my pets are indoors, so they are less accident-prone. I've got a seperate funds for procedures like spaying, dental cleanings, vaccines, and about 2 exams a year, depending on the pet. I think an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and by keeping the pet clean, keeping up on yearly vaccines, feeding it good-quality food, keeping it's weight down, and doing regular maintenance (nail-clipping, ear-cleaning, anal hair clipping, joint treatments for older pets, message, general inspections, etc), you can prevent a lot of problems. I also know enough about basic pet medicine to be able to home-treat a few problems myself. Not the best solution, but it works very well. I'm thinking about purchasing a general health manual on pets to extend that knowledge further.

What I wish they had was something geared for older pets, but many insurance companies refuse to insure pets over a certain age. Gee, I wonder why? Most conditions in generally healthy pets manifest in old age. Gee, I wonder why? Also, it's just such a new concept right now, that I think many companies are just not offering enough coverage for the price and some doctors won't take insurance yet.

llj

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I think an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and by keeping the pet clean, keeping up on yearly vaccines, feeding it good-quality food, keeping it's weight down, and doing regular maintenance (nail-clipping, ear-cleaning, anal hair clipping, joint treatments for older pets, message, general inspections, etc), you can prevent a lot of problems.

definately agree with that, insurance is no substitute for general maintenance and taking care of your pet.

however there is still plenty of things that can go wrong even with the best cared for pets

 

[Bloo]

What I wish they had was something geared for older pets, but many insurance companies refuse to insure pets over a certain age. Gee, I wonder why? Most conditions in generally healthy pets manifest in old age. Gee, I wonder why? Also, it's just such a new concept right now, that I think many companies are just not offering enough coverage for the price and some doctors won't take insurance yet.

llj

That's a shame - here in the UK (to the best of my knowledge) there are a few companies who offer insurance with no age limit to start. Yes, the premiums & excesses are higher - but quite understandably so as the risk is so much higher.

 

[babybell911]

I didn't have Georgie my border collie insured and then he ran onto a stick and it cost £170 to fix him. It was £65 just to get him seen out of hours! Now he's insured and we've used it once when he had his back dew claws removed.

 

[cardinal sinner]

I save £5 per week in a tin in case of any little accidents. Hopefuly there wont be any!!!!

 

[kanzaris]

That’s the first thing I done when I got my first pup Rosie about 10 month ago. I’m insured with Marks & Spencers, I don’t pay any excess and the dog is insured for £ 7thousand a year every year even if you have to claim for the same illness. Then I got discount for my second pup. And I am glad I had it as my first girl is a dare devil and nearly broke her leg. I had to pay just £80 for out of hours service. I must say I had the money back within 2 weeks. And as Cavaliers are known for heart murmurs and I heard that that medicine is not cheap.

Sabby

 

[K.J.]

My mom won't let me get them insured, I cant' afford it, and she can't afford an operation but makes me let them outside.. We're a lovely family.