To think that insuring bunnies isn’t worth it?

[careleaversdoomorfate]

Hey everyone,

So, I’ve got a few rabbits. None of them are insured (one was but I cancelled pet plan) and before I get slack I was wondering whether it’s really worth insuring bunnies at all (depending on your incomes obvs).

Here are my reasons for not insuring them.

1. Insurance companies won’t cover dental problems, putting pets to sleep or for spaying or neutering.

1. I used to pay £13 a month for petplan for the one who was insured. However, you always have to pay an excess fee of £55 and then on top of the £13 that’s £68.

1. Apart from one of my unlucky bunny girls who was born with a condition that scrapes £70 a month out of my bank balance. The others have never ever had any lifelong illness (I do put £40 aside for each bunny a month encase of any unexpected illnesses or injury) but whenever any of them have been to the vets in the past For flystrike in the summer or for conjunctivitis or for heavy sneezing when they’ve been ill, the vet bill has never been more than £55 or even £60 per rabbit and so I feel like by having petplan I’m just making things more expensive for myself anyway when I could be putting that extra money aside as well (I’m doing this now).

If I had a cat or a dog obvs I’d insure them but I just think that with rabbits it’s best to just put money aside (depends on income ie if your on minimum wage then maybe it’s wise to get insurance encase an injury or surgery costs you £750) as let’s say I was to be paying £13 x3 a month for petplan then that would be £39 a month and £468 for the whole year but when your excess fee is £55 (many insurances cover so little for rabbits as well) and then your paying £13 insurance ie £68 altogether but your regular vet bill costs you less than that and sometimes even just £48 I really don’t think it’s worth it for rabbits, guinespigs or even hamsters (I used to do their own teeth myself but with rabbits you obvs can’t do this).

Ps; Like, I said before if you do decide that my idea is worth it then please make sure that you are saving £40 a month for your bunny as an unexpected surgery can cost you £200 to £750 per bunny. Luckily I have a lot of savings to but only go with my plan if you aren’t in minimum wage or if you have £100 left for a bunny at the end of each month.

I totally agree and although I have had cats and dogs, I’ve done the same for the same reasons. Nearly all of our pets, past and present have only visited the vets for vaccinations, neutering and finally pts. The one exception had a couple of visits for minor injuries costing less than £50 per visit.

But it is a gamble and like yourself, I’ve made sure to eat mark savings specifically for emergency, costly vets bills.

We save the money into a separate account each month so it's there if they need treatment.

Do you not use any flystrike prevention like rearguard or f10 in the summer?

@StartingGrid

Hey. I do use flystrike more than in the summer time tbh as where I live it seems to get hit a lot but although I am now better at avoiding it. You will still have a pesky lil fly that causes something somewhere. They used to get flystrike more often than usual when I first started out having bunnies again but not so much now that I’ve had them for years. In fact the vets always remark on how well mines are looked after as I’m very young (19) and they just love my rabbits. One is a rescue, one was a gift and the others are adopted. However, I have put myself down on the waiting list for two more adoptions during the next phase of lockdown and then I’m stopping at 7. It sounds crazy financially I know but I work hard and I work two jobs plus studying. I work 7 days a week and do home studying like an online course. So one income goes on my mini rescue as I like to see it lol and the other income goes straight on saving for a deposit on a house when I’m older and as for everything else well it’s always in the house xxx

There's a client where i work who has spent in excess of £5000 on her rabbit, and counting. I daresay she wishes she was insured!

@TheoriginalLEM

Hey

I know it’s a gamble but luckily I have the finances. Can you imagine when I was 18 years old I actually had to spend 1.6k in 2 weeks on my girl bunny for her surgery and her blood test etc. I do consider pet insurance but the truth is that as much as I love my pets I would never have so many knowing that I couldn’t afford them. Like, having the amount I have I manage to save up £300 a month which is what I put into savings for a rainy day and if I ever have to dip into those funds I would and I have done. I would never have more bunnies than I could afford. The only thing I can potentially see being a problem is with my male bunny. He has weak teeth that I’ve strengthened and shaped up through his diet but every so often they chip and it’s because he was fed the worst diet possible before I rescued him. I would just never have more than I could afford vet bill wise and monthly bill wise.

Did your client spend 5k in one go? Or was it Uber a period of years? My girl bunny who I’ve had for 6 years has cost me I believe 3k in vet fees and then her monthly bill of £70 a lot of other treatment I do are natural that heal her but if it’s for something untreatable then she’s at the vets. In fact they know her well and one of the others well as they are regulars lol x

If you have the finances to be able to drop several hundred or more into a vet’s bank account without warning, then you can do without insurance.

My girl had a bad bloat and stasis episode a few months ago. Most likely down to moulting but her gut was like a balloon :( she had an overnight at the vets so she could be on fluids, monitored, she had an x-ray, she came round and responded to medication the next day fortunately but that cost £550, I have insurance (PetPlan) and they paid out.

@bunnygeek

I am lucky to have this extra money but idk tbh