Pet insurance

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Spreckly
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Pet insurance

Post by Spreckly »

This morning I received the pet insurance cover from Maw Th.n for Angel. I couldn't believe my eyes, the premium has increased from £196 per annum to £299.95 per annum. This policy has the highest cover possible, in order to include any dental work.

We were badly stung last year when Nation had just under £1K of vet treatment, terminating in her death. She had always been insured, but when she got to nine, the insurance company were going to take quite a hefty bite of the vet bill, plus the excess. So I cancelled the policy, much to my regret. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Losing my dog was far worse than the vet bill.

We have an excess of £75 with Maw Th.n, and I have just been informed that at the age of nine, the excess increases to £150. So I shall now be coughing up £25 per month, which is a hefty slice out of the pension. We took out intially with MT, and when I tried to upgrade the policy to include dental work (previous two dogs needed a lot of extractions), I was told that no upgrade would be available, instead, i would have to cancel the policy, and take out a new one. This meant that Angel was not covered for a few weeks - can't remember how long now, and I was terrified in case a big vet bill came along.

I know there is argument for and against insuring a pet, but after the trauma with Nation, I vowed not to let a policy lapse. It would take a long time to put the same amount aside each month before reaching the dizzy heights of £1K.

I shall take a peep at the comparison sites, though we have been with companies in the past, and all their premiums have risen faster than the rate of inflation.
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wendy
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by wendy »

I don't know if this is of any help.
But we have always saved the monthly amount, for one dog, in a building society. As we have always had a multi dog household and years ago they never did multi insurance. So we would have had to pay separately for 8 dogs :?
As the years have gone by and not a lot has gone wrong with the numerous dogs.
We now have a tidy sum in the 'bank'. But you have to be strong and not touch that for anything else. This is your own 'insurance'
Needs to be thought about. But you always have to pay the first 'x' amount anyway and most treatment for minor ailments don't cost much more than 'x'
To be honest insurance is a big con and they will try their hardest not to pay out, unless they have to.
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Spreckly
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Spreckly »

Thanks for your post, Wendy. After Nation's huge bill, and an earlier massive one, when she was insured, I daren't think how long it would take to amass 1K, or eyewateringly more. When N's insurance lapsed, I paid a small fee to Dogs Trust, to cover any accidents she might have caused.

The comparison review website for insurance is quite a good read!
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Meanqueen
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Meanqueen »

Hi. I am in agreement with Wendy on this one. I paid insurance for my cat Bugsy for many years and never needed to claim on it. When he got to a certain age and the premiums went up, I thought enough is enough, and cancelled. I vowed then to save and keep money aside should he need any treatments. He is now 18 and doing quite well for his age, so any ailments from now on will be age related. I am not in favour of prolonging an animals life if it is in pain, or not of a reasonable quality, so I won't be throwing money at a dying cat to get another few weeks out of it. He has had a wonderful life with me, the best that any cat could have.

I now have three cats and a dog, and choose not to insure, and like Wendy, put money aside. There is enough in the pot for any treatment. I've just changed my car after saving a sizable sum over three years to pay for it, so saving medium to long term can be done on a pension. There will be a gap from starting to save and building the pot up, to having enough. A chance you have to take, but I think that some risks like accidents and injuries can be minimized by being extra vigilant and knowing where your pets are. My cats are in every night, my dog is on the lead near roads or if another dog looks like a possible attacker, I give them a wide berth.

Sadly animals with health issues are harder to insure, because they are the ones that need it most and the premiums will be higher. Something you need to budget for in the grand scheme of things, alongside all the other bills which need to be paid. Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Mo
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Mo »

I agree MQ. I don't insure, and I think quality of life is more important than length.
My home contents are not insured either, nor are my teeth. I'm lucky to be able to save (both enough income and the mindset). Why let someone else make a profit.
But vet bills can be a biggish (new freezer not new car) for anything that needs a general anaesthetic. Paid out last year for a cat- bite ulcer, and this year to have teeth removed. The ulcer was huge and horrible by the time we realised - although we asked the question I'm not sure we got a straight answer about the prospects; afterwards the vet seemed surprised at how well he'd recovered. But what do you do when it comes to it? Same with hens - from all I've read here hens with broken eggs inside rarely have a good outcome. So don't bother them. But I was expecting a dash to the vet with grandsons favourite hen after she'd not come down for treats but stayed on the perch pulsating. Luckily all was fine in the morning.
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Spreckly
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Spreckly »

It is not possible for me to both pay the monthly pet insurance premium, and put the same amount away in an account. I wish I was financially able to do that, but there is no way.
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wendy
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by wendy »

I have never paid Insurance.
Just saved the money {hug} {hug}
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Carole »

Just read all your posts and my dogs ins up for renewal soon wonder what the increase will be.I'm with Mor Th.. and at the moment pay £14 32 a month that's for cover of £7000 but no dental treatment and an excess of £90. Colin will be 7 in May and at the moment healthy.I insured him because my previous dog wasn't covered and developed epilepsy at 5yrs and was on medication till he passed at 14, i dread to think how much money passed over the vets counter,so i thought i would be wiser with Colin.Iv'e only been with this company coming on a year the previous one increased the premium so much despite me never claiming so can't wait to see what will happen this time. Could mean another move.
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Spreckly
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Spreckly »

Carole - I'm with the same company. The first year's monthly payments were just over sixteen pounds, and the new premium is twenty five pounds per month. I have an excess of seventy five pounds. Angel is covered for dental, as my last two shelties needed dental work, despite my cleaning their teeth regularly. Do hope that your new payments are not too massive.
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by tosca100 »

Oh has been watching the Supervet programmes, and when you see the treatments and costs (usually covered by insurance) of all the scans, staff, operations, months of rehabilitation and prosthetic limbs, it's not really surprising that the cost of insurance is going through the roof, someone has to cover the payments and unfortunately the ones with healthy animals who never claim are always going to be worse off. And this is just one practice.

Being here where the vets generally have basic equipment and surgeries (usually in their pet shops) is an eye opener. Annual rabies jab is 80p but given on the street (same brand as the UK) so in the UK, when it costs just to get through the door, there is a huge mark up to cover the cost of modern high tec surgeries and care. There is no pet insurance easily available here, but then we don't have a lot of vets who understand the idea of keeping animals as pets either. We paid for two dogs and a horse in the UK, and were happy to do so for peace of mind, but I can understand how some find it difficult,
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Mo
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Mo »

tosca100 wrote:Oh has been watching the Supervet programmes, and when you see the treatments and costs (usually covered by insurance) of all the scans, staff, operations, months of rehabilitation and prosthetic limbs, it's not really surprising that the cost of insurance is going through the roof,


Is it really kind to do that to animals. I'm not even sure that it always is for people, but at least they understand what is going on and can choose, to some extent.
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tosca100
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by tosca100 »

I'm with you there Mo, but unless you are in the position I suppose it's hard to know. I certainly don't like to see dogs in çarriages, have looked after one in my pet sitting days and he was so sad he had me in tears. But when I had horse in the óld days'vets would try all the tried and tested treatments till a cure was found(or not) but now if anything is wrong it's a quick check for insurance then scans/xrays/hospital stays/ daily visits. It's no wonder insurance is creeping up out of people's reach. It will soon be too expensive for ordinary people to afford to keep pets.

Then the surplus of animals awaiting homes will grow and grow. {cry}
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wendy
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by wendy »

)like(
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Mercedes
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by Mercedes »

We have Daisy covered with More Than too. She isn't even 3 yet and the premium is £32, which I think is a lot.

Last month she was very ill with what turned out to be gastroenteritis. As she is raw fed our vet just jumped to the assumption that she either had salmonella or had got some bone stuck in her somewhere. She had a lot of blood tests, regular x rays and also barium x rays, none of which showed any problems and we were charged nearly £800 for all of that yike*

We have to pay the first £70 and then 10% of the whole bill, so even though we will get a fair bit back, which we are still waiting for, it's still going to cost us quite a lot, plus the ongoing £32 a month premium :?
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HazellB
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Re: Pet insurance

Post by HazellB »

I think Mercedes' post above proves why we should NOT pay for insurance.

If that case had been un-insured, the vet would have simply treated the dog for it's symptoms at a cost of maybe £100 total at worst, and it would have been fine. However, as Mercedes pays insurance, he added a list of treatments that weren't called for and the bill was £800. Mercedes already pays £32 a month (£384 annually), then had to pay the excess and 10% of the bill - a total that's more than the 'real' treatment would have been.
Can I suggest we all try saying "no, the dog is not insured" and see what treatment would then be offered before going the route of using the insurance? That way owners will see not having insurance is usually far, far more sensible (not to mention cheaper).
A perfect example of this is only last week my JRT damaged his throat dragging me a mile to the burger van at Kipplingcotes Derby (a horse race on the Yorkshire Wolds) and kept choking for several days afterwards. All he needed was metacam, which cost £40 inc. consultation. If I'd claimed on insurance (he actually is insured this year, first and last time ever) the vet wanted to X-ray, sedate, scan and offer physiotherapy, costing me far more and the insurance hundreds.

Another example is one of my horses kept colic-ing. If insured she would have been shipped off to vet labs and tested to within an inch of her life, costing me thousands in transport, etc. Uninsured, she was simply treated each time at my cost (about £150 each illness) until we realised she was drinking very cold water in large amounts once each evening instead of drinking often like most horses do. We moved her water trough indoors and she was fine once she worked out her routine.

We have a bank account for emergency vet use, emergency household white good purchase, etc and it's not even added to these days - it's already full enough to cope with pretty much anything. With two dogs, three horses, 30plus hens and an old washing machine, imagine how much we save every year by not insuring but putting away )t'

Just try telling the vet you don't wish to use the insurance and see how much cheaper everything suddenly becomes {rofwl}
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