Insurance advice for older dog

[Blueskytoday]

I have an 8 year old Lhasa apso dog, I love him dearly he is a great little fella.
Unfortunately over the years I hate to think how much I've spent on him at the vets.
He has needed X-rays for hip / backproblems, medication for pain, ultrasound treatment for back pain.
He has had numerous ear problems , has had anaesthetic to clean ears out, ear drops several times.
Recently he has had corneal ulcers and has dry eye, eye drops.
Skin infections , antibiotics.

I've thought a few times about getting insurance for him but always wondered about the pre existing condition clause.

now he's 8 he's probably going to get more problems as he's getting older.
I'm very grateful that all his problems have all been treatable and although unpleasant not serious.

has anyone get any advice re whether to start an insurance cover for him or if it's not going to be worth it because of his health problems?

I also wish I knew that this breed are prone too all of these issues,
It would certainly put me off getting another one.

Thanks

[Noitsnotteatimeyet]

To be honest at 8 and with a long medical history like that, insurance costs would be sky high, even if you could get a company to take him on - plus he wouldn't be covered for any condition related to anything he's had before, which would be ruling out a lot ...

I think you're right in that he's probably going to cost quite a bit in the next few years but you'd be better off putting the money you would have paid into a savings account and just leaving it there until needed

Insurance can be extremely useful but you need to get it early and get lifetime cover so that any potential problem will be included

[mollie123]

agree with pp. Get a quote for insurance and instead of takiing out the insurance put a constant amount into a savings account to be drawn on when your dog needs treatment. You may well end up ahead of the game and it saves lining the pockets of vets who will tend to over medicate/over prescribe for eye-watering amounts - just IMO of course.

[EasyToEatTiger]

8 is a difficult age for many insurance companies. It's when, in their view, that dogs become elderly and health issues become more prevalent. So insurance shoots up. If you have about £5000 for eventualities, you could self-insure. Some of the health problems might not be recurring which is a good thing. It's such a hard decision to make, when we want our dogs to be with us forever. If you have a kind vet, speak to them. I have had the Insurance conversation with our vet. Please don't be afraid

[JeVoudrais]

Most companies I spoke to wont insure a dog on a new policy past 8. I switched nine to Petplan when 7.9 years old as they said if he was 8 they wouldn't start a policy, so you might have to be careful.