to not insure my dog?

[fluffymouse]

She is a mixed breed, her dad is a breed known for being very healthy, and mum a Heinz. Neither have any health problems. She is a small dog too (live longer, healthier from what I hear). She is also a docile little thing, so I have no worries about needing third party insurance as she would never be aggressive. She is also spayed (reduces risk of certain cancers).

I have savings and could afford to pay out for a large vet bill should something unforseen happen.

Insuring her with petplan (the insurers most people recommend) would cost an eye watering 34/month. There would still be a large excess (110).

Wibu not to insure on this basis?

Dogs have a nasty tendency to cost a lot, vet wise, as they near the end of their days - if you want to maintain a decent standard of health for them. Friends have cancelled and the next week their dogs have had costly issues (spleen rupture, kidney disease etc). Due to this I have continued to insure my eldest dog at nearly 12, this year insurance has paid out £3000 for him so far. I won't mention the monthly premium as it makes me feel faint.

If you are the type to want to maintain an excellent quality of life and health for your dog until they die then keep insurance IMO.
If you are the type to just look at your dog as it gets older and gets age related health issues and write it off as 'ageing' then cancel insurance.

I have always had my dogs insured, with one small exception. My last old girl was insured until she was eleven years old. At that point, the insurance went up to £62 per month. She had been to the vets for nothing more than spaying/ boosters etc., so I cancelled her insurance and saved the £60 per month in a separate account.
By the time she died I had almost £1000 saved!
My new pup is insured, and will stay insured. He has already cost the insurer over £5k and he is only 8 months old, my money pot would not have gone very far in his case!
I have always used Morethan and honestly could not recommend them too highly, they have always been fantastic. Quick to pay out and absolutely no hassle whatsoever.

We recently spent $10k on an operation for our dog. I'm not sure that insurance would have covered it, but we chose to self insure in any case so a bit irrelevant (also we are not in the UK). I've read analysis that suggests saving for vet costs is better than insurance, but it was a while ago and may not be valid any more. The dog house is the Mumsnet dog board here

Petplan is very expensive. I did tons of research into best insurance for my dog (well, I came on Mnet and asked!).
We have fully comp ins through John Lewis which is £18 per month.

I don't think anyone can say their dog would never harm anyone. I knew a lovely dog who completely changed personality when he became old and ill and attacked two people (I was one of them, his owner was the other). He had been the most placid and gentle dog for years, I don't know how or why he changed so dramatically. Fortunately, as he had arthritis in one leg we were both able to escape unharmed but it was a very close call both times and I shudder to think what could have happened to a child. I'm terrified of dogs and their unpredictability now - I'd known this dog for years and the attack came out of the blue and entirely unprovoked. He was pts as a very unhappy and aggressive dog after years of being happy and friendly. I don't know whether or not you should have insurance, but any dog can harm and I'm wary of owners who are so convinced that their dog never would.

It's not just about the dog being aggressive and hurting someone but what about the dog tripping someone up and them suffering a life changing injury such as a broken hip? Not an intentional injury but a perfectly possible one even with a small dog.
I think if you subscribe to Dogs Trust third party insurance is included (it certainly used to be) so might be worth looking at that option.

You don't know it wouldn't harm another person. It is impossible to know that even the calmest of dogs can turn if provoked - insurance aside that is quite a dangerous attitude to have.

Personally I think your mad not to insure. With any form of insurance your unlikely to need it but it's best to have it there just incase. Over the years I have given car insurance companies thousands of pounds (I dread to think how much) but I still wouldn't go without!

We were in the same position - healthy dog, no parental issues but we decided to insure, which was a good thing as our dog broke off part of her tooth and exposed the nerves. She had to have a root canal repair with one of a few dental vet specialists in the UK. It cost £3000. Almost 12 months later she did the same with another tooth - same cost again.

You need to shop around. We pay £11.50 a month which is basic emergency cover in the event of an accident plus third party and a small amount for any illness. We also received a £30 tesco voucher. Our dog is 8 so if we can get a low cost insurance plan then so can you.

On average of course, insurance is bad economy. Most people pay more than they receive and that way pay for the ones who receive more than they pay. BUT, the point iwhen considering insurance is to consider if you can afford to pay if things go wrong ie it is pointless for most people to insure a £20 appliance, as they can easily pay for a new one in the rare event of it breaking. With regards to vet bills, if you know that you can easily pay for them ( and you are aware just how much they can add up to) even if you dog ends up with a long term health problem, then you don't need to insure. However unless you are very, very wealthy you do need the 3rd party. Accidents happen, even to the sweetest, most well trained dogs. The typical scenario is your dog causing a road traffic accident, but so many things can happen. Personal injury claims can run into millions!

RottDog wracked up £4k in vets bills in the 8 weeks it took for her to die from a cancer diagnosis.

My friend has just paid out £7k for a hip replacement for her mutt. Same friend went through £3k in x rays and scans alone when her other dog slipped a disc.

IMO Insurance isn't a 'nice to have' it's a necessity, and it seems that the powers that be agree, as there are plans to bring in compulsory vaccination/chipping/insurance as part of a new dog licensing scheme.

On average of course, insurance is bad economy. Most people pay more than they receive and that way pay for the ones who receive more than they pay. BUT, the point iwhen considering insurance is to consider if you can afford to pay if things go wrong ie it is pointless for most people to insure a £20 appliance, as they can easily pay for a new one in the rare event of it breaking. With regards to vet bills, if you know that you can easily pay for them ( and you are aware just how much they can add up to) even if you dog ends up with a long term health problem, then you don't need to insure. However unless you are very, very wealthy you do need the 3rd party. Accidents happen, even to the sweetest, most well trained dogs. The typical scenario is your dog causing a road traffic accident, but so many things can happen. Personal injury claims can run into millions!

I will be the dissenting voice OP and agree with you. Save your money and take the risk. .

If my dog was hit by a car and needed extensive surgery I would PTS not because of the money but because I don't believe in putting the poor animal through that trauma and pain which they don't understand.

I know I will get flamed for saying so but I have had many animals over the years and only had to pay out twice for anything larger than £300 which I had out aside. Both times it was for basic tests to help diagnose the animals problem, and then the minimal treatment needed to restore their quality of life.

You cannot insure against every little thing . A friend recently lost her beloved insured dog and the bastards are refusing to pay out the £800 bill she had wracked up treating her cancer, even the euthanasia fee!!

You do what you feel is right for you & your dog OP as others here do for theirs by insuring- each to his own a very personal choice.

I think you are being naive to state that your dog is healthy and small dogs tend to be healthier anyway. Your dog could be (seriously hope not) struck down by anything at any time.
He could be attacked by another dog and the owner do a runner and leave you with the bills.

I have both my pony and greyhound insured with PetPlan - it costs me £75 a month for both. They are by far the best insurers around - I have had probably £10K off them in the last ten years. They have never quibbled, paid the vets direct and always answer the phone - not to be underestimated when you have an animal about to be rushed in for an operation.

On the other hand you say you have the money to pay if something went wrong so it's really up to you - would you want to part with a good chunk of your savings though when push came to shove? Also sometimes insurance pays towards something - my horses bill came to over 7K and my limit was 5K so I still had to find 2K - imagine if I had to find the rest. I lost her anyway after all that so that's another thing to think about - you still have to pay even if it all goes wrong - I know horses are typically going to have bigger bills than dogs but you would be amazed how it all adds up!

A lot of the cheaper companies are cheaper for a reason - they don't pay out.

Some dog insurance I don't think is good value, ie the not covered for life type.

So if your dog develops diabetes then after the first years money has gone that's it, not covered anymore and you're left spending £££ per month on tablets.

So really it's the type of cover you get that is important.

I use petplan covered for life £7000 per condition per year.

She's had aprox £6000 of ops and she's just three. She has a recurring illness. It is £39 per month on the new renewal. I expect as she gets older I'll be paying more but the reality is I simply would not pay thousands of pounds out for a dog vet bill (if you see her please don't tell her!) So for us (and the dog) it's a win win

YWBU not to insure for third party liability at least. Yes, the risk is small but the potential payouts are huge. If your dog tripped someone up and they fell and suffered life-changing head injuries, you'd be liable and the damages can run into millions.

Vets fees...well, that's your call. Our hardy moggie never ailed a day in her first eleven years and in the last six months has cost us over £1,100. Fortunately she is insured. One diagnostic scan alone has cost over £400 because of its specialist nature so you can't be sure you wouldn't exceed your annual premiums quite quickly if something did go wrong. It does give peace of mind that our pets can have the most appropriate care when they need us most and finances don't have to play a part in the equation - a quick call to the insurance company beforehand to check they'll cover X and then it's all systems go.

Floundering I'm sorry your friend lost her dog. Obviously I can't comment on the rest of her claim but euthanasia costs are rarely covered under standard vets fee cover-type policies, unfortunately.

We're with Petplan and they've been excellent whenever we've had to claim, and every vet we've ever been with is always relieved when we tell them who our insurer is as they are one of the better companies in the business.

There seems to be some very expensive vet bills here. My 11year old jack Russell has had several accidents and illnesses which have resulted in operations, x rays, overnight stays, medication etc. I've never had a bill for more than £300.

She isn't insured, but I've never thought about 3rd party insurance and I'm going to look into that today. Do you insure the dog or yourself?!

You are confident you can afford a vet bill of £4000 but reluctant to pay 34 a month? How does that work?

I often wondered if I was wasting my money badly paying dog insurance when my dogs were so healthy. Looking back I can see that more important than being healthy, they were young.

Came the 8-9 year mark and there was one thing after another one from rotten teeth to IBS, passing for a pancreatitis and an operation to remove large pieces of plastic (dog toys) she had swallowed over the years. It was not a single £4000 bill, it was years of bills ranging from £200 to £2000 coming in regularly. Thankfully the dogs were insured, by the time one of them died at 14 my guess is that she had brought vet fees of over £9,000.

The important thing is that while we wouldn't have bat an eyelid at those bills while I was married by the time the dog went that bad I was divorced and I simply couldn't have afforded the bills, the dog would have been put to sleep if any bill over £400 had arrived.

Petplan is very expensive, I was advised it's better for pedigree dogs.

I have pet insurance with asda and it's only £6 a month I think- don't notice it going out it worth it in case something went really wrong.

My dog wasn't insured. Got hit by a car.

Ended up paying £8000 to have her leg fixed.

(two operations spread over 4 years - one to put a plate in, one to remove it, prolonged stay at vets, long courses of antibiotics).

I'd say, get insurance!

We have an insurance that doesn't have an excess, but if I were to change plans I would ideally want an excess of less than £50 - very few visits to the vet cost more than £110 (although reading this thread I think I might have been very lucky up till now)

I have to agree with most of the others here, pet insurance isn't something you get because you particularly want to, it's something that's necessary given what vets can now do for dogs and what that costs.

If having the cash avalible to pay isn't an issue I'm struggling to see why you wouldn't get basic insurance as a back up which would give you liability as well.

I have Pet Plan. Credit where credit is due, they are fantastic but I've made several claims (yes small dog and no nothing to do with breed either!) and it costs a fucking fortune.

Petplan is comparatively expensive, but insurance is about more than cost. I have never had cause to regret using them, they have always paid up without a quibble, they are happy to deal direct with the vet saving us a lot of hassle, their customer service is excellent, they offer lifelong cover (many don't) and a multi-pet discount, and they are sensitive when loss occurs. Hearing some of the horror stories among friends and acquaintances of their difficulties in trying to get reimbursement from their cheaper, less specialised insurers doesn't make me inclined to switch for the sake of saving a couple of pounds a month.

A dog is like a car - it can cause an accident which leaves a young high-earner tetraplegic and dependent for life. You ought not to have the choice on third-party.

Vets' bills - your business.

Your HH buildings and/or contents insurance may well cover you for 3rd party - or you could move to one that does for negligible expense.

OP, last month I spent £500+ treating my dog because he ate something in the street that could have killed him. Can you guarantee that your dog would never pick up something in the street or something harmful to dogs left in the garden by foxes? Our fox visitor leaves cooked chicken bones lying around, can be fatal to dogs.