To think pet insurance for cats and dogs should be a legal requirement?

[Lovemusic82]

I’m seeing so many ‘go fund me’ posts on Facebook because someone’s beloved pet need surgery/has been in an accident or needs medication. Vet bills are extortionate these days and people don’t seem to realise that if their pet gets sick they may not have the funds to pay for it. Surely as a responsible pet owner you insure you pet as soon as you get it? Maybe it should be a legal requirement? why should your friends and family have to cough up to pay your vets bills because you didn’t get around to sorting insurance?

Maybe I should re word my OP. If people can’t afford £1000+ vets bills they should insure their pet. I’m just seeing so many people begging for money on Facebook to fix their animals that are injured/sick.

When my cat was very young he had an accident, something that was totally fixable and there was no way I was going to have him PTS when I knew surgery would save him. 2 days in the vets cost £3000+, this was ten years ago so I a. Guessing it would cost a lot more now. A lot of people that have pets can’t afford that kind of money and not all vets let you pay in instalments (mine doesn’t). It’s fine if you do have that kind of money or you can afford to keep a few £1000 set aside for emergencies but It seems wrong to beg on Facebook for people to pay your vets bills?

Yes, if people can’t afford to pay vets fees they should have pet insurance. It’s just being a responsible pet owner.

People beg on FB for money for all sorts of things. There’s no obligation to help out.

@CurlsnSunshinetime4tea

We got every premium we've ever paid and some back when ddog has had 3x surgeries. Personal choice isn't it

With your update, then yes I would agree that people should do their best to have adequate insurance , and I agree that they should not beg on Facebook ,

but people’s circumstances change, and right now people may have to make hard choices between pet insurance and say, necessities for their children.

I think the cost of living has hit a lot of families very hard and pet costs may be a shock to those who chose to home a pet during Covid.

I hope your cat has adapted well to the amputation.

I paid for my dog insurance for ten years religiously and when he had a major issue and needed urgent surgery I found it was excluded due to a minor thing he’d had a couple of years ago.

We paid for it out of our own pocket and will not buy more insurance. What a scam.

It's probably a controversial opinion but I think people should seriously consider the costs of pet ownership before getting pets, especially the potential vet fees. It's the people who really can't afford a few thousand in vet fees but still get 3 cats and 2 dogs I find the most frustrating.

If you have £££ in savings then it's your choice to not insure, of course. I do find it annoying when people say they save £20 per month instead of getting insurance. You'd have to save for years to have enough to cover most vet bills now at that rate.

@CesareBorgia He’s doing great thanks. Just waiting for his fur to grow back to cover his scar now which seems to be taking a long time!

Yep. £20/month isn’t going to cover complicated surgery that’s many thousands of pounds. My insurance has always paid out on surgeries on the same dog that would cost over £10k combined.

@gotomomo i've been burned on home and car insurance so leery of all insurance plans.
but i agree with @viccat , pet ownership is more expensive than monthly pet food.

I'm not sure what my thoughts are about this really. It isn't realistic to make pet insurance compulsory, and yet I think it's abhorrent that there are animals who are quite literally left to suffer because they have the misfortune of being owned by someone who can't afford to provide them with appropriate care.

There’s the added discussion around vet fees as a whole. I read something a while ago that there is an investigation into the ‘overcharging’ of pet owners and the advice given. I can’t remember the article I read but there’s the gist on gov site.

All the local independent vet practices in my area have been slowly bought up by a nationwide company. Where they used to offer Sat and evening (7pm) appointments they now only have appointment times Mon -Fri 10-3. Which is obviously problematic for working pet owners. If you call and need an appointment outside these times you’re directed to the out of hours service which is conveniently owned by the same company and they charge you an immediate £100 consultation fee.