...to cancel my pet insurance?

[KoalaDownUnder]

I have just discovered that my pet insurance auto-renewed last week. $726 (or £434) for 12 months, for one dog! She's only 4 years old, with no pre-existing conditions.

WIBU to cancel the bloody policy and take my chances?! Anyone got any horror stories that'll convince me otherwise?

If she needs an operation have you got a few grand in the bank to pay for it or would you be comfortable with having her put to sleep if you can't?

Maybe shop around and see if you can get it cheaper?
I've had perfectly healthy pets take ill suddenly and pet insurance has been a life saver.
I hope your dog continues to be well but you never know when they'll take ill or have an accident.

That is ridiculous but - cautionary tale - my friend has a lovely mutt, 3 years old, put his foot down a rabbit hole when tearing through the woods.

Broken hip

Total cost £7K+ and now on permanent anti inflammatory & pain killing drugs that cost her the best part of £50 a month.

He's as good as new but her bank balance isn't.

Rather than cancel can't you shop around for a cheaper policy (apologies if you've already done this)

My apparently healthy cat had a funny turn a few years ago and ended up diagnosed with a heart condition. She's since had several scans, a lot of medication and got so sick we nearly lost her.

I reckon it's costs around £7-8k over the last few years for her vets bills and medication, there's no way in hell I would be without comprehensive insurance!

would you be comfortable having her put to sleep

God no. I'd sell my house first.

have you got a few grand in the bank

Yes. But it would hurt. Last 12 month have been a financial nightmare.

I had exactly the same conversation last week with dp. Dog insurance has jumped from £26 per month to £37. No claims, been with them 5 years. Dog is 6 and not a breed with any inherent health issues.

I have found a policy half that price but not as much cover. Instead of a lifetime policy it's a standars policy and only pays out £1000 per year per illness but up to 4 illnesses. Still covers 5k for an accident I think.

Am still debating what to do. We can affors the increase but if it goes up again next year and then the year after I am not sure.

I am also thinking about what lifelong conditions I would treat for a long time and the cost of those. Something like cancer I dont think I would. I would chose pts.

So I can't say what you should do. One option is to have a spare credit card just for vets bills. Another is to pay into savings account what you would have spent on vets. I am tempted to do that having just done a balance transfer so have a spare credit card with 0 balance and save £30 pcm into an account for vets bills.

For the ponies we have I pay £60 pcm direct to my vet until the balance gets to £500. This way they know I am good for the money and I usually have a decent cushion.

In which case it sounds like you probably can't afford not to have insurance, really.

I always ask clients when thinking about insurance, if something happened tomorrow, and we could fix it but it would be £4-5k upfront and unknown ongoing costs for the rest of the animal's life - could you manage it. That's where insurance can save lives.

Tbh £36/month doesn't sound expensive at all.

I deal with pet insurance claim yesterday I sort out three pets claims. Pet 1 has three separate conditions including diabetes total claims in last two years £4K and will continue for diabetes at around £150 per month.
Pet 2 became ill 6 weeks ago so far the bill is £2.6K again a chronic medical condition is part of the issue so this will continue to rise.
Pet 3 had an injury 8 weeks ago a broken toe so far we have claimed over £800.
We are by no means an expensive practice, we had a dog with peritonitis the other week, the quote from the referral practice was probably 6-10K, but could be up to 20K.

Tbh £36/month doesn't sound expensive at all.

It's all relative, I suppose. It's a fair amount when you're cost-cutting, although I see your point.

I do have a credit card with 4.5k available on it. I am still not sure and the policy is still running.

An accident I would obviously put right if operating would mend it. But am pragmatic about long term incurable illness. And there are some conditions I would chose pts over long term medication. Purely on a quality of life principle.

I need to spend a couple of hours doing some proper research. I do have 1 of our ponies insured as we couldn't afford to replace her. And I have claimed in the past on a horse insurance policy which came to 5k so am aware of the benefits of insurance.

But the dog insurance is more expensive than the pony insurance now. £37 is ok. If it goes up to £50 I will really have to think. It's not affording it that is the problem. It's whether it's worth paying for.

If you make a claim in the thousands obviously it is but like all insurance you are buying peace of mind.

Lonecat

Okay. I think I'll just suck it up and keep the insurance.

My friend has just had a bill of more than £7k for her uninsured dog. You're shocked at getting an unexpected bill for £434? Trust me, that's nothing to how you would feel if that was 10 times as much. Cancelling your policy IMO is a false economy, but shop around for a better quote.

It's not affording it that is the problem. It's whether it's worth paying for.

This.

If she really needed expensive treatment, I'd find the money. I'm just slightly agog that the premiums have gone up by nearly $100 since last year and I didn't claim once.

The dog is an v robust mongrel rescue dog. She's not a particular breed that's prone to any kind of genetic illnesses. (One v experienced dog trainer's comment was 'She'll live forever, that thing' )

I'm also slightly peeved that their website is currently offering a 25% discount to new customers.

Might be time to do a thorough comparison shop and give them a call.

My idiot cat stuck her face in a bunch of lillies. Three day vet stay. £700 bill.

Last year, she ate curling ribbon. Vet had to operate to get it out her stomach or it would have possible ended up twisting up her intestines. Vet bill £2000.

I've never been more grateful for pet insurance.

Friends of mine had their dog insured but it had a serious injury. The total fees were about £8000. Their insurance limit was £3000. I would say if you wouldn't consider getting the dog put down in the event of an accident you need to pay the insurance (and check its limit).

I just forked out £150 on CandleCat2 the other day, and that was only on blood tests, a steroid injection and some pills. I have insurance, but still have to claim the money back. If I didn't have insurance, I would have to either put him down or let him suffer. I did recently change insurance as the last one had become ridiculously expensive. But I would never be able to afford his treatment otherwise.

I'll be the voice of dissent -- I've had three dogs (also robust mongrels :) and we never had any expensive incidents. For one of them we paid out probably £2K toward the end of his life as he had some ongoing health issues, but for the rest we never paid more than £150 a year. If I had forked over £435 per year for each of them, I would have paid in excess of £15K.
That being said, i would shop around and if you can get a reasonably priced policy, it is worth it because things can of course happen unexpectedly.

I pay £540a year no pre existing conditions for a puppy. It seemed the going rate for mine this year I pay 828 in total for a dog and two house cats

Richard, my extended family have all had pets their whole lives - cats, dogs, etc. none of them have ever had pet insurance, and the animals all just seem to live a long life and then die of natural causes!

How about setting up a direct debit into a savings account just for this. Transfer over the amount each month, its a gamble but if nothing happens you have a nice wodge, and if something does happen you have some buffer money.

Vim a vet nurse and don't have insurance on one of my dogs, small cross breed, but do the other ( irish wolfhound so £££ if anything happens)
The amount you are paying has gone up because of claims in your area which have loaded premiums. Defo worth giving them a call and asking for a deal. Although be very careful changing insurance policy even with the same company...make sure it's a continuation of the existing one with all the same benefits and no new restrictions. And if you are changing companies be aware that anything you have claimed for eg, broken toe, chest infection can be used against you and will themselves be a preexisting condition and not included in the new policy but also, what catches a lot of people out is that that broken toe will lead to exclusion of any arthritis in that leg in the future on a new policy because the insurance company are protecting themselves.
It's an absolute minefield. Be very sure what you are jumping from and to before you do it.

Moat animals won't need insurance. The problem is, you don't know if yours will be the one that will. Insurance is expensive, but the cost is spread out. Would you be able to find £7 or £8000 if you needed it? I will add, with my cat, even small treatments like treating an abscess were quite expensive (a few hundred pounds) and insurance paid for that.

And vets fees have risen in the last decade or more due in part to the insurance policies. Vets can charge more as they know the owners aren't paying for it. But those without insurance pay more than they should for those exact reasons.
Some vets also allow you to pay in instalments for anything big. Have you asked about that?
Is your policy annual, per condition or lifetime cover, btw?

Policy is annual, AFAIK.