Dog insurance

[Neil23]

Hi folks I'm looking at getting my pup insured hes a cocker use him occasionally for a little beating  and in the hide can anyone recommend a insurance company what doesn't cost the earth. Ti

[holloway]

I have used both pet plan and Tesco in the past both have paid without question when required , I think it's a case of trawling through and working out what level of cover is required.The more cover you want the more you will pay and the more you claim the more the premium will go up the next year.If you want to pay less then the excess will be more it's all a balancing act really.

[Dave at kelton]

As Holloway says you get the level of cover for the price you pay just look at any comparison site. I insure my pups until two years old when they start work. Too expensive to insure the pack so self insure and the estate covers injuries.

[snow white]

Find out how much you will pay then put it to one side because all insurance won’t pay out if you claim.

don’t use it just keep saving it and if you don’t claim in the dogs lifetime you are quids in if you have to go to vet you have money to fall back on

[Neil23]

1 hour ago, holloway said:

I have used both pet plan and Tesco in the past both have paid without question when required , I think it's a case of trawling through and working out what level of cover is required.The more cover you want the more you will pay and the more you claim the more the premium will go up the next year.If you want to pay less then the excess will be more it's all a balancing act really.

I was thinking I'd be looking at about £15-20 a month which isn't out the way as vet Bill's can run into thousands these days .. was thinking about not mentioning about working as it's not that often and at end of the day accidents can happen on a normal walk in the woods.

[Twymyn]

Ask yourself why you need the insurance - if you can put your hands on the money to pay an unexpected vets bill of say £1000 or £1500 and you only need the cover if the dog needs v expensive treatment and perhaps ongoing treatment then consider asking for quotes with a large excess which will keep the costs down. Also consider permanent health cover because if you make a claim for a condition thats going to recur the insurer will exclude it from the next renewal and put the premium up into the bargain. 

Having said all that I stopped insuring my dogs a few years ago. I get the odd vets bill but I’ve saved a fortune.

Put the equivalent of the premium into a savings account and you will soon build up an useful vets bill fund

 

 

 

[Fatcatsplat]

The problem is that the treatment available now is so much better than it ever was and pets are living longer, healthier lives, but at a cost. What would have previously resulted in a pet being put to sleep years ago now has a solution, so the vet bills consequently go through the roof and you have an emotional conundrum of how much is too much.

We had our lab/clumber cross PTS yesterday - Massive sarcoma on back right leg that had been cut out twice, but was now inoperable - She was right as rain (albeit with a football sized left bum cheek) until last week when it really took hold and we made the decision - We had been offered a course of radio/chemotherapy that had a 1 in 3 chance of success at an estimated cost of £12,500 which I turned down - Do i regret not paying it? I'd say no, but there's a stupid niggle inside of me that says "What if...?".

Of my last 3 dogs - If i had put £30 a month away for each of them, i would only be in profit on 1 and in deficit on aggregate on the 3 combined

[wymberley]

1 hour ago, Twymyn said:

Ask yourself why you need the insurance - if you can put your hands on the money to pay an unexpected vets bill of say £1000 or £1500 and you only need the cover if the dog needs v expensive treatment and perhaps ongoing treatment then consider asking for quotes with a large excess which will keep the costs down. Also consider permanent health cover because if you make a claim for a condition thats going to recur the insurer will exclude it from the next renewal and put the premium up into the bargain. 

Having said all that I stopped insuring my dogs a few years ago. I get the odd vets bill but I’ve saved a fortune.

Put the equivalent of the premium into a savings account and you will soon build up an useful vets bill fund

 

 

 

If like me at the time you're not au fait wth the pet isurance, the highlighted bit is often termed "for life" cover.

[Twymyn]

2 hours ago, Fatcatsplat said:

The problem is that the treatment available now is so much better than it ever was and pets are living longer, healthier lives, but at a cost. What would have previously resulted in a pet being put to sleep years ago now has a solution, so the vet bills consequently go through the roof and you have an emotional conundrum of how much is too much.

We had our lab/clumber cross PTS yesterday - Massive sarcoma on back right leg that had been cut out twice, but was now inoperable - She was right as rain (albeit with a football sized left bum cheek) until last week when it really took hold and we made the decision - We had been offered a course of radio/chemotherapy that had a 1 in 3 chance of success at an estimated cost of £12,500 which I turned down - Do i regret not paying it? I'd say no, but there's a stupid niggle inside of me that says "What if...?".

Of my last 3 dogs - If i had put £30 a month away for each of them, i would only be in profit on 1 and in deficit on aggregate on the 3 combined

Sorry to hear about your dog - even with the limited info I would say you made right decision.

To insure or not is an economic gamble 

 

 

[Lloyd90]

On 30/12/2020 at 16:05, Fatcatsplat said:

The problem is that the treatment available now is so much better than it ever was and pets are living longer, healthier lives, but at a cost. What would have previously resulted in a pet being put to sleep years ago now has a solution, so the vet bills consequently go through the roof and you have an emotional conundrum of how much is too much.

We had our lab/clumber cross PTS yesterday - Massive sarcoma on back right leg that had been cut out twice, but was now inoperable - She was right as rain (albeit with a football sized left bum cheek) until last week when it really took hold and we made the decision - We had been offered a course of radio/chemotherapy that had a 1 in 3 chance of success at an estimated cost of £12,500 which I turned down - Do i regret not paying it? I'd say no, but there's a stupid niggle inside of me that says "What if...?".

Of my last 3 dogs - If i had put £30 a month away for each of them, i would only be in profit on 1 and in deficit on aggregate on the 3 combined

Summer just gone I had to take my Labrador to be PTS. 
 

She had a lump on the back leg was getting bigger and bigger. They said they could operate and remove the whole back leg if I wanted. 
 

I thought what was the point of putting an elderly dog through traumatic surgery and all the follow up, plus the additional stress of only having 3 legs, just for her to suffer on for a few more months. 
 

I think when the time is right not dragging it out and making the dog suffer is one of the greatest gifts we can give our friends. 
 

You did the right thing mate. 

[Dave at kelton]

12 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

Summer just gone I had to take my Labrador to be PTS. 
 

She had a lump on the back leg was getting bigger and bigger. They said they could operate and remove the whole back leg if I wanted. 
 

I thought what was the point of putting an elderly dog through traumatic surgery and all the follow up, plus the additional stress of only having 3 legs, just for her to suffer on for a few more months. 
 

I think when the time is right not dragging it out and making the dog suffer is one of the greatest gifts we can give our friends. 
 

You did the right thing mate. 

Absolutely agree. This is the obligation you accept when you buy a puppy. In forty plus years of owning gundogs only one has died naturally. In all other cases, and there have been many, the decision has been mine to make. As difficult and upsetting as it is you have to put the dogs physical and mental well-being first!

[holloway]

1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said:

Summer just gone I had to take my Labrador to be PTS. 
 

She had a lump on the back leg was getting bigger and bigger. They said they could operate and remove the whole back leg if I wanted. 
 

I thought what was the point of putting an elderly dog through traumatic surgery and all the follow up, plus the additional stress of only having 3 legs, just for her to suffer on for a few more months. 
 

I think when the time is right not dragging it out and making the dog suffer is one of the greatest gifts we can give our friends. 
 

You did the right thing mate. 

Plus 1

[blackbird]

Don’t bother with cheap insurance you want for life cover as once you claim you have had it, shop around as pet insurance is not cheap today. 

[Neil23]

1 hour ago, blackbird said:

Don’t bother with cheap insurance you want for life cover as once you claim you have had it, shop around as pet insurance is not cheap today. 

Thank for reply 👍

[Shearwater]

Remember, every insurance schedule covers you for everything, however, sometimes you find your covered for nothing

[Jim Neal]

AVOID normal "pet" insurance.  It covers virtually nothing.  And to reinforce the advice already given, get lifetime insurance, because the recurring problems are the ones that rack up the bills.  If your dog has an ongoing problem that requires continual vet help, once your policy renews annually you're stuffed unless it's a lifetime policy.  It does mean you're stuck with the same insurer/policy if you've made a claim, and in my experience they can hike it up a bit, but you'll not be out of pocket if there's been some massive vet bills involved. 

PetPlan, OK, a little pricey... Agria via BASC have been good for me.  They must know it's a working dog otherwise you might end up with an invalid claim.  It really doesn't affect the premium stating the dog works, but what it does do is gets you the right cover.  Insurance is one of those things... you don't really realise what you need until after the event when it's too late.

I have bitter experience of this, trust me.

[oscarsdad]

9 hours ago, Jim Neal said:

AVOID normal "pet" insurance.  It covers virtually nothing.  And to reinforce the advice already given, get lifetime insurance, because the recurring problems are the ones that rack up the bills.  If your dog has an ongoing problem that requires continual vet help, once your policy renews annually you're stuffed unless it's a lifetime policy.  It does mean you're stuck with the same insurer/policy if you've made a claim, and in my experience they can hike it up a bit, but you'll not be out of pocket if there's been some massive vet bills involved. 

PetPlan, OK, a little pricey... Agria via BASC have been good for me.  They must know it's a working dog otherwise you might end up with an invalid claim.  It really doesn't affect the premium stating the dog works, but what it does do is gets you the right cover.  Insurance is one of those things... you don't really realise what you need until after the event when it's too late.

I have bitter experience of this, trust me.

I agree about lifetime cover but I’m seriously considering cancelling Petplan as they are taking the mickey. My older dog, border terrier who has cramping syndrome and on daily meds, plus check ups, bloods etc is 11 and the premium is now over £850 plus the excess keeps going up and they reduce all claims by 10% due to his age - I challenged them on this as they have increased premium based on his age but I’m stuck with them or nothing due to lifetime cover. He has had some expensive surgery plus minor stuff so they’ve probably paid out close to £10k for him.

My working cocker, who is now 9 and has only ever seen a vet once a year for a booster, never made a claim, his premium has gone up to £700, presumably based on age - this one I may tell them to stick, but the now he’s more than likely to need treatment I’ll have paid them a fortune and then never be able to claim - but then that’s the nature of insurance. 
 

I pay £30 a month to insure my wife and I for life insurance, plus with private healthcare through work, I think the dogs costs more than us put together!

A mate of mine got fed up with dog insurance a couple of years ago and when asked by his vet whether the dog was insured (which it was) he answered no - amazingly the cost of treatment was less than 1/3 of the original cost estimate when the vet thought there was insurance so it does make you think...

[loriusgarrulus]

I don't insure our pack it would be prohibitive. I put £150 a month into a seperate vet account and just let it build up. It covers vaccinations and dental bills as well which insurance doesn't pay for. I have only had one bill that the the vet account didn't cover and that was only by £200. There is always Mastercard too.

[Dave at kelton]

6 hours ago, loriusgarrulus said:

I don't insure our pack it would be prohibitive. I put £150 a month into a seperate vet account and just let it build up. It covers vaccinations and dental bills as well which insurance doesn't pay for. I have only had one bill that the the vet account didn't cover and that was only by £200. There is always Mastercard too.

I self insure too. When you have a few dogs it is just too expensive. Only exception is I insure pups until two and start work.