[Help] Completely O/T: Dog Insurance

[pb21]

We have just got a new dog/puppy, a 5 month old mixed breed from RSPCA Brighton. She came with 4 weeks pet insurance but we need to sort out something long term and am looking for some advice as there are so many options and we have no experience!

Pretty sure to get lifetime insurance and at the moment think that 'boughtbymany' complete or regular is best. These are £29 and £22/month and cover £15k and £7k of vet's fees per year respectively. What we don't know is how much the premium increases each year, any ideas?

Basically don't want to end up on Noel Fitzpatrick's TV show and not able to afford for her to have new hips!

Thanks.

 

[AmexRuislip]

We have just got a new dog/puppy, a 5 month old mixed breed from RSPCA Brighton. She came with 4 weeks pet insurance but we need to sort out something long term and am looking for some advice as there are so many options and we have no experience!

Pretty sure to get lifetime insurance and at the moment think that 'boughtbymany' complete or regular is best. These are £29 and £22/month and cover £15k and £7k of vet's fees per year respectively. What we don't know is how much the premium increases each year, any ideas?

Basically don't want to end up on Noel Fitzpatrick's TV show and not able to afford for her to have new hips!

Thanks.

We are with these guys, no complaints.

https://www.animalfriends.co.uk

 

[AlastairWatts]

It just gets more and more expensive each year, especially if you make a claim. I insure my lab/rottweiler cross with Tesco pet insurance (who were cheapest when I got him) and the premiums, after three claims, now run at a little over £550 a year. Labradors (or lab crosses) seem to spend their waking hours looking for food and all three claims have been when he's managed to poison himself eating something that he shouldn't. But I don't think that I can change insurance company because he's either 8 or 9 years old (he's a rescue dog so no-one really knows) and with that history the costs will be the same with another company. To make matters worse there's a big excess too. I live just off a main A road so I always worry that he'll get out and cause an accident. I've been told that members of the Dogs Trust get free third party insurance, and someone suggested that the best way would be to join them and then cover the vets bills yourself, but given the scale of charges I've had to py in the past I didn't think that an option, especially as the dog is getting older. So - like all insurances - it's all great until you make a claim.

 

[Madafwo]

We've had our pet insurance with the Co-op for years, it's about £30 a month for my two, one of which is over 10 years old and has had a £3,000 root canal surgery.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

We have a rescue dog and, because you don't know the history, it is always best to get decent insurance. We did some research and went with Tesco pet insurance. Animal Friends were our second choice.

 

[Brian Parsons]

Here's a thought. Open a savings account and put what you would spend monthly on insurance into it. As it builds up not only are you saving money but at the " end" you have a nice nest egg and havent made another insurance company richer. Ive been doing this for over thirty years and numerous healthy pets.

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[drew]

Here's a thought. Open a savings account and put what you would spend monthly on insurance into it. As it builds up not only are you saving money but at the " end" you have a nice nest egg and havent made another insurance company richer. Ive been doing this for over thirty years and numerous healthy pets.

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Do you do the same with your car or house insurance?

 

[Brian Parsons]

Do you do the same with your car or house insurance?

Not the same and you know it.

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[dejavuatbtn]

Son in law’s beautiful dog of 6 years just diagnosed with Epilepsy. Vet and medication bills will be costly for rest of its life. It only needs one unhealthy pet to justify the expense.

 

[pb21]

Thanks for all the replies definitely good to have some opinions based on experience.

On the self insurance thing I can't see that being too feasible, she may need £2ks worth of vet fees and that would take ~6 years at £30/month.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Third paw-ty or fully comp?

 

[dazzer6666]

Not the same and you know it.

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It is, only the potential risks differ........so just depends on how much you’re prepared to gamble. Lots of corporates do this incidentally, known as ‘captive insurance’. They usually lob the money into an offshore company.

 

[Kazenga <3]

It is, only the potential risks differ........so just st depends on how much you’re prepared to gamble. Lots of corporates do this incidentally, known as ‘captive insurance’. They usually lob the money into an offshore company.

Slightly off on a tangent but in my line of work do a fair bit of life/health insurance... and can never understand why people are so unwilling to pay for it. Like you say it is is massive gamble and people are gambling with their ability to maintain a standard of living in the face of illness for the sake of avoiding paying the equivalent of what- a couple of rounds in the pub?? - per month. Of course these same people will always have their gadgets, cars, pets insured but don't seemingly don't value themselves as highly.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Slightly off on a tangent but in my line of work do a fair bit of life/health insurance... and can never understand why people are so unwilling to pay for it. Like you say it is is massive gamble and people are gambling with their ability to maintain a standard of living in the face of illness for the sake of avoiding paying the equivalent of what- a couple of rounds in the pub?? - per month. Of course these same people will always have their gadgets, cars, pets insured but don't seemingly don't value themselves as highly.

That's because these types hold the mentality of: "I'll be dead so I don't care ...."

 

[Kazenga <3]

That's because these types hold the mentality of: "I'll be dead so I don't care ...."

Some of them think like that, but it's more the people with families and the attitude of 'it won't happen to me' that rankles- one hell of a gamble to take. Of course you hope to never have to use insurance, in which case yes it's money 'wasted', but if you do need it then it becomes the best money you can ever spend.

Saving personal money to retain as a potential nest-egg if not needed was mentioned above. Nice idea, but chances are the money you can save won't come anywhere near the figure payable on an insurance policy and that may be required in the event of anything significant.

 

[drew]

Not the same and you know it.

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Same principle. You don't really take out insurance for run of the mill vet bills, it the risk of sizeable bills that warrant insurance.

 

[arewethereyet?]

Thanks for all the replies definitely good to have some opinions based on experience.

On the self insurance thing I can't see that being too feasible, she may need £2ks worth of vet fees and that would take ~6 years at £30/month.

Definitely this, don’t even consider it. I pay £61 a month currently for my 12yr old lurcher, it’s going up again in February and whatever it’s going to be will be worth every pound, I simply NEVER want to be in the situation of “well it’s going to cost xxx and I don’t have that kind of money situation, or don’t worry sir, your insurance will cover that. No brainer.

 

[ferring seagull]

Son in law’s beautiful dog of 6 years just diagnosed with Epilepsy. Vet and medication bills will be costly for rest of its life. It only needs one unhealthy pet to justify the expense.

I agree, if a dog develops cancer drugs will be horrendously expensive so a lifetime insurance is best where claim limits renew each year.

My six year old working cocker is currently insured with Petplan who are arguably the best if most expensive - £57.00 monthly as of January 2019.

I also pay £14.00 monthly to Alliance Pet Care through my vet which covers all the flea and worming treatments, kennel cough jab and annual health check which is a decent saving compared with simply meeting each expense as it arises. Worth considering !

 

[Gazwag]

Go through a company like Topcashback and you will get a couple of months premium back. We have just changed from Tesco, our dog is 11 now and their premium this year went up over £250, Got insurance with Petplan now which was a lot cheaper than Tesco and we go a load of cashback to help.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Is it just me or since the take up of pet insurance have Vets premises become far more lavish and the couple of vets I know are earning a fortune. It seems that they have become incredibly expensive and are happy to undertake all sorts of treatments that a few years ago would have meant putting animals down ?

I really find it hard to morally justify spending the thousands on a pet which seems to be the norm these days.

And before anyone starts, I'm as guilty as the next as I pay more a year for my daughter's cat insurance than I do to insure a sports car !