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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Pet insurance

25 replies

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 06:43

My friends dog has been attacked by another dog, the vet bill is currently £3,500.

The other dog owner does not have the money to pay, they are saying my friend should have insurance.

OP posts:

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 06:45

Sorry didn't mean to send yet....

If the other owner just doesn't have the money then they can't pay it can they? So does make my friend wrong for not having insurance ?

Nightmare situation!

OP posts:

AuntBeastie · 15/10/2018 06:46

She should. They both should, but it’s certainly negligent of your friend if she doesn’t.

MilkItTilITurnItIntoCheese · 15/10/2018 06:47

They should both have insurance imo.

Possumfish · 15/10/2018 06:48

Every dog owner should have insurance!

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 06:48

@MilkItTilITurnItIntoCheese 100% agree! I wouldn't dream of not having insurance!

OP posts:

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 06:51

Yes they should make insurance "law" for animals.

My friend is adamant that the other side should pay but the contract is with the vet and her. She's also talking solicitors, but if the other side don't have the money how will that help? Surely it'll just mean a bigger bill?

OP posts:

Fishcakey · 15/10/2018 06:53

If they have no insurance and won't pay then she will have to pay unless she takes them to court and as you said, that's not cheap. All animals should be insured because you never know what's ahead but that doesn't help your friend right now.

FFSFFSFFS · 15/10/2018 06:56

The other person might be covered if they have house insurance

But they both should have insurance

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 06:56

@Fishcakey I agree but if she takes them to court and they just do not physically have that money, do they get stuff taken away to pay for it or do they pay so much per week?

I bet to insure the dog now will be very expensive!

OP posts:

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 06:57

@FFSFFSFFS ahhh that's interesting, I'll mention to her.

OP posts:

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 15/10/2018 07:01

I agree with your friend in that other dog owner should have insurance to cover the damage that their dog caused. But she also should have it because her own dog depends on her and she needs to cover all scenarios.
I'd report the owners of the other dog to the police - it doesn't sound like a safe animal to have off the lead. If it can attack another dog, could it do the same to a person?

Dumbledora · 15/10/2018 07:03

I think it should be compulsory for dog owners to have insurance. However, our insurance (1 dog, healthy breed, never claimed) costs more than the house insurance.
Hope your friends dog is OK.

Vodkafairy75 · 15/10/2018 07:03

Really they both should have insurance, the third party liability would cover any vet bills for the other person or if they were insured then their insurance would pay for the costs. As they were both uninsured then your friend will need to pay the vet but she could try & claim the costs back through the small claims.

I work in a vet & there are still so many people who don’t insure their pet, I think a lot of people think it will never happen to them! If she doesn’t have the money herself to pay some vets do have payment plans to allow you to pay the cost up. I hope your friend’s dog is doing ok now 😊

LotsToThinkOf · 15/10/2018 07:04

I don't agree that every dog owner should have insurance, but I do agree that every dog owner should have money put aside in order to pay for incidents such as these.

If insurance companies were fair then I'd agree with you, but my experience with pet insurance is very negative and so we save a monthly amount to cover incidents. Our premium went up and up for our dog, who was a kennel club registered pure breed. The reason the premium went up so much was because of the health issues that the breed was prone to and because they were seen as prone to them the specific issues were not covered. So when my dog did develop a health condition it wasn't covered, yet I was still having to pay a high monthly premium and also having to pay for ongoing medication and vet visits.

They also failed to pay out the for full cost of a different dog who died from a tragic accident, we produced the receipt as requested and they knocked a percentage off for each year of her life. Seeing as she was 3 there was no reason that her value would have decreased by 30%, she had no health conditions. Again, we were paying a huge premium.

Until companies are fair with the way that they conduct themselves then so many people will be out priced. If they made it more manageable then I don't think it would put so many people off and yea, we'd have more responsible pet owners. Your friend will have to pursue through courts I imagine which is very unfair on her.

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 07:05

I understand that the police have been informed, which of course is right. The owners are saying it's never done anything like this before, which may be true but who knows?

Not sure if the police have visited or not.

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Eliza9917 · 15/10/2018 07:06

Even if your friend had insurance, the persons whose dog attacked hers insurance should pay out so that's on is being a very cheeky fucker.

I got no win no fee solicitors involved when we were attacked and one of our dogs nearly died. The woman's insurance said they wouldn't pay as her last payment bounced. I got all fees paid for both dogs, compensation for me and my mum and a payment for costs since (resocialisation etc).

Surely the person must have home insurance? Tell your friend to suggest they claim off that.

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 07:08

@LotsToThinkOf I see your point but bills with vets seem to be HUGE for anything so it's hard to save enough to keep pace. It's also such an unknown amount. But insurance companies should be fairer and should be named and shamed for not meeting claims.

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Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 07:10

@Eliza9917 I've text her about the home insurance thing, fingers crossed!

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loopylou1984 · 15/10/2018 07:15

Definitely should be paid for by the other person. If it was me and I couldn't afford it (wouldn't happen as I have insurance) then I would offer to pay your friend back in monthly instalments.

It is so important to read all the terms and conditions of any insurance before taking it out. Insurance companies are businesses and have to make a profit. If they didn't apply exclusions and specific terms and paid out on everything then they would not make any money and would not be able to pay out on any future claims once the money ran out.
You usually can find a company who will cover your pre existing conditions or not apply blanket exclusions for a specific breed etc but they will cost more of course in order to avoid their claims payments being more than their income.

Fishcakey · 15/10/2018 07:16

I'd be very surprised if home insurance covered it. My pet insurance is much more expensive and my home insurance (which is a good policy and I pay extra bits) has nothing to do with my animals at all.

Vodkafairy75 · 15/10/2018 07:20

I think the issue with some of the insurance companies is that the level of cover isn’t always explained to the owner. They see one company which are good at paying out for vet bills, don’t have stupid exclusions on the policy and have a cover for life policy and they discount that one as being too expensive. However they will get a quote which is much cheaper but it’s from a company who are notorious for not paying out, have weird exclusions on it and are given a 12 month policy which a lot of people haven’t realised until it’s too late only covers the condition for 12 months. Many people think as they renew their policy every 12 months they think the cover will start again in the new policy year.

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 07:21

To make the situation worse the other people are saying the bill is ridiculous and not prepared to pay it themselves. Of course had they had insurance it wouldn't be like they were paying it "themselves".

I sadly can see my DF paying this or most of it herself.

PP who asked how the dog was, he's 11 years old so an older dog but has picked up a lot.

OP posts:

Twillow · 15/10/2018 07:25

Are they life- threatening injuries or an infection after a scuffle? If the former get the police involved. If the second then she has to suck it up I'm afraid, the insurance for her dog is her responsibility.

Original poster

jobjobjob · 15/10/2018 07:27

@Twillow it's the second example I'm afraid!

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WeirdAndPissedOff · 15/10/2018 08:14

There may still be some liability there though. And for £3,500 I would imagine that a lot of those costs relate to initial treatment of the injuries. (Unless the dog was hospitalised due to infection for a prolonged period?)
The police may ask the owners of the other dog to make a payment arrangement. They did with an acquaintance of mine who was the owner of the aggressive dog in a similar situation. (Though they had already arranged to pay with the other dog's owner anyway).

In any case, I'd imagine your friend will have to pay the bill first - as the customer/account holder she is liable for the bill with the vet, and any delayed or non-payment repercussions, charges etc will fall on her. Unfortunately it's likely that the owners of the other dog will either not pay, or will pay a small amount each month and not the full bill up front.

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