Dog Insurance

[Toni-UK]

 I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday who has two dogs, both in middle age, and she said that when their insurance started getting expensive (but nowhere near as much as yours  ) they cancelled it and started to put the money into a savings account instead.  The amount saved has well covered any vets bills so far.  I sometimes wonder if that would be a better idea when dogs reach a 'certain' age!  

My OH while spitting feathers at the insurance renewal price (£50) also said this but i think it isn't always a safe solution.I said to him imagine Ruby were to develop cancer and need chemo,or some awful illness that required expensive meds every month,a broken bone,investigation of some sort e.g MRI scan,the vets bill could run into thousands and a measly £50 per month savings isn't going to cover that type of situation unless we save for many years (1 year= £600 ) in the mean time leaving her without cover.
I just couldn't/wouldn't take the chance.

[MIN]

Gemma is with PAH with lifetime cover for £19. But staffy poppy, I have to stay with tesco £36 with £60 excess. no one else will insure her unless i agree to £99 excess plus 15% of costs. Poppy is 11 years old and never had a claim

[chrisp]

Am with Pets at Home.  Their cover is very good and it's lifetime.  I pay £21.  Though unfortunately I discovered when 1st getting Mollies and then renewing it - it is like car insurance - it's a postcode lottery.  I couldn't understand initially why people were getting deals so much better than I had when I had a young dog etc.

[LurcherGirl]

... it is like car insurance - it's a postcode lottery.  I couldn't understand initially why people were getting deals so much better than I had when I had a young dog etc.

That is one of the reasons mine are so high. A London postcode probably makes my premiums one of the highest in the country...    Hopefully when I move to Norfolk later this year, my pet premiums will drop considerably. 

[piph]

Lurchergirl - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend with what I said about stopping insurance.  I would never suggest a dog be PTS purely due to it's age.  I quite agree with everything you say, and if you can afford the insurance, well, that's fine, but I still think the amount you are paying M & S is excessive. But, I suppose, if the dogs had pre-existing conditions before you took out the insurance then maybe that accounts for it.  I don't know many people who have changed insurers after a condition has been diagnosed. I know of lots of owners with dogs with serious, ongoing conditions who pay far less than that.  We ourselves paid only £47 a month with Pet Plan for our 5 year old GR who had epilepsy, and we were claiming in excess of £260 a month for drugs alone, plus several thousand pounds for special investigations at the AHT, plus regular blood tests to check drug levels etc. The List just went on and on.  We just paid £90 a year excess for each condition in addition to the monthly premiums.

As to the conversation I was having about saving the money in a savings account.  We were talking about normal, healthy dogs with no conditions and not many vet visits apart from the usual.  We were saying that most of time the vets visits occur when they are puppies and then when they get old - I suppose what we were saying was that if, during their adult years when they didn't require much in the way of treatment, you saved what you would pay in insurance, then it would cover conditions that might occur in old age.  Of course that's barring accidents and serious illnesses, and was just an idle conversation in general terms!

Right - I'll stop digging now and go and hide in the hole I've dug for myself, and keep my thoughts to myself in future. 

[JennyBee]

As to the conversation I was having about saving the money in a savings account.  We were talking about normal, healthy dogs with no conditions and not many vet visits apart from the usual.  We were saying that most of time the vets visits occur when they are puppies and then when they get old - I suppose what we were saying was that if, during their adult years when they didn't require much in the way of treatment, you saved what you would pay in insurance, then it would cover conditions that might occur in old age.  Of course that's barring accidents and serious illnesses, and was just an idle conversation in general terms!

It doesn't even take a serious illness for the bills to add up. Brodie (5) has had a year of one ear infection after another. Before that she was relatively healthy, although she has always had slight problems with her ears. It took three visits to a very expensive specialist to sort it out, which came to about £1000. That doesn't take into account the cost of month upon month of treatment and ear drops at our own vet. I haven't added up how much that cost, I dread to think what it would come to .

I did once think of cancelling and putting money into an account, but wouldn't dare now - especially with her episode of pancreatitis. I'll just have to keep paying and hope it doesn't get too high . I have started an account to put a little money in, to take care of that 20% I will need to pay once she reaches a certain age

[LurcherGirl]

Lurchergirl - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend with what I said about stopping insurance.

Appology accepted, though it did make me quite upset. The thought of putting a dog to sleep when faced with high vet bills purely based on his age is not nice.

... but I still think the amount you are paying M & S is excessive.

And I so agree! But what can I do... Dylan had TPLO (cruciate) surgery three years ago, the other cruciate is also damaged, but so far holding well... that might change any day though. If that needs surgery too, it will come to several thousand pounds if you include preliminary investigations and rehab (the first one was around £6000). He also has a few dry discs in his back. They are so far not causing any problems at all and possibly never will, but if they do, it could also become expensive - though back surgery is probably not something I would consider for most dogs. He's also hypothyroid, though that is well under control and not expensive to treat.
Dylan is one of these dogs that the insurance has earned absolutely nothing out of. He has had near enough 30 anaesthetics in his life time; stitches after accidents and bite wounds, lump removals, knee surgery... He also had exertional rhabdomyolsis (exercise induced muscle breakdown resulting in kidney failure) which is something sighthounds can get. Luckily he was treated quickly and effectively, so there was no lasting damage from that. It cost around £800 to hospitalise and treat him though.
I would say that overall, he has cost me and my insurance around £20,000 - so you can imagine that I will not take any chances with him re insurance!

But, I suppose, if the dogs had pre-existing conditions before you took out the insurance then maybe that accounts for it.

He didn't have any pre-existing conditions when he went with M&S many years ago (only accident/bite wounds incidents which don't count as pre-existing), but he has had a lot of treatment since and yes, that will account for some... as does my London postcode... and the fact that lurchers are considered high risk by many insurances due to being very prone to accidents that cost a lot of money to fix.

My saluki has also had several accidents that cost a lot of money to fix, e.g. inhaling a grass seed, nearly cutting off a toe, deep cuts etc. Then he has unfortunately a dry disc in his back, in his case symptomatic. At the moment controlled with food supplements and herbs, but that might change in the future as it is a degenerative disease.

My spaniels however are the ones that balance everything. My American cocker had some expensive bills when he was younger due to hypothyroidism and resulting allergies, but this has been under control for years now and he is fine without causing any vet bills. Skye is under investigation for hypothyroidism, but is otherwise healthy as well and neither of them have ever had any accidents or other illnesses...   and I hope it stays that way.  

So the moral of the story is... if you don't want any high vet bills, don't get a sighthound! LOL

[LurcherGirl]

Just got my youngest cocker's renewal through and it's gone up by just a few pennies. Phew. 

[Helen]

jarv is with M&S and his insurance is £47 per month....they are expensive but have always paid my claims within 3 weeks and have been very good so far 

[AnnieG]

... it is like car insurance - it's a postcode lottery.  I couldn't understand initially why people were getting deals so much better than I had when I had a young dog etc.

That is one of the reasons mine are so high. A London postcode probably makes my premiums one of the highest in the country...    Hopefully when I move to Norfolk later this year, my pet premiums will drop considerably. 

I wouldn't bank on it (literally and figuratively!). I have today cancelled my Marks and Spencer Pet Insurance policy for my 11 year old cocker Cassie. This may sound irresponsible but it has just risen from £70.20 per month to a staggering £104.79 and I live in Cumbria, one of the lowest premium areas in the UK.  What is even more infuriating is that this amount appears to have been cynically calculated to cover the cost of absolutely all the drugs she needs to cope with her chronic liver and eye problems and still yield M&S a small profit.  Meanwhile, I am left paying this huge sum plus a £70 excess and the first 20% of veterinary costs which actually adds up to more than the cost of going it alone. When I started this policy, it offered no-excess, full payment protection. Of course, Cass was young and healthy then and didn't need it. As soon as she began to show the early signs of a chronic condition, the conditions became harsher and harsher. Now, when she is uninsurable by anyone else, the underwriter slaps on a premium that makes cancellation almost inevitable.  I might add that we recently got an online quote from the same company for a totally fictitious spaniel of the same age and it came to £30.75 a month.  What is the point of insurance that simply dumps you when the going gets rough? I am now prepared to take my own chances. If Cassie's liver/pancreas problems flare up again, there is very little we can do to save her regardless of cost. Her drugs keep her alive and on the day they no longer work, I hope I will have the courage and love to say goodbye quickly. So I have simply added third party cover to our household insurance for a few pounds and will meet all the other vet costs from our limited income.  But it wasn't supposed to be like this.  How I wish I had gone to one of the other companies - like PetPlan which has been brilliant with our other dog, despite a couple of really steep claims - from the very beginning.

[LurcherGirl]

You could always insure with someone else cheaply. Although that wouldn't cover any pre-existing conditions, it would cover for anything new. Example: I changed my Pyrenees (RIP) from M&S to AXA at 10 years old. This meant that his pre-existing condition which was arthritis and an occasional limp (meaning that everything for that leg was excluded of course) were excluded and I paid for that. BUT he went on to have a major reaction to Previcox (used for his arthritis/limp) that caused him bad digestive issues, which cost several hundred pounds to treat, later his liver went also and he developed cognitive disfunction and was on a nutraceutical for that - all paid for by the insurance as none of those were pre-existing conditions (and they paid for the house call to put him to sleep too!).   The insurance premium came to "just" £30/months compared to £110/month before... It was so worth it. (I have also changed one of my younger dogs that is hypothyroid and has food allergies. I now pay for all that medication - which luckily isn't expensive - but his new insurance will pay for everything else should he need it.)

[AnnieG]

Good advice - thank you.  I'll investigate. I have also just discovered that I can get 3rd party liability cover from Dogs Trust even more cheaply than on my household insurance which also gives me the added security of knowing they will take care of my dogs if anything happens to me.  I'm really impressed - it's quite a bargain for £12.50 (£25.00 for under-60s).  I've already made provision in my will but it's really good to have back up in case my carefully planned arrangements unravel.