Is insurance necessary?

[TeacakeTilly]

Just that, really. First time owner (both grew up with dogs). TeacakeDog is a 5yr old rescue rottie. Is it worth the £30 a month or should we put the money into a savings account for vet bills instead?

Anyone? Would really appreciate people's viewpoints thankingyoueversokindly

Hmm, it's a tricky one isn't it - the thing is you pay all this money in, and hope that you never have to need it!! However, as dogs get older things will go wrong and insurance also often covers other stuff such as if you get ill and need to pay for kennels etc or if the dog is involved in an accident which you might be liable for. I'd shop around, there are often good deals about.

Rotties are prone to hip dysplasia and cruciate ligament problems among other things. When my Rottie X needed cruciate repairs, it cost £2K+ per leg and then ongoing treatment for the arthritis that resulted from the cruciate damage. Over the 6 years since his first surgery, that adds up to a shed load of cash so I'm bloody glad he's insured! That's not yo mention the other random minor illnesses and ailments over the years. He has a touch of dermatitis in one paw at the minute, the treatment for which is well into several hundred quid and counting.

Quite apart from vet bills, which are extortionate and getting worse all the time, pet insurance generally covers third party liability. So if, for example, your dog slips its lead and runs onto the road causing an accident, the cat driver can pursue you for damages. Your pet insurance will cover such eventualities.

If you do decide to insure, make sure the policy you choose provides a decent level of cover per year rather than placing a limit per condition as a lifelong condition like arthritis could exceed your limit relatively quickly.

Always always get the insurance. We had a rottie and have a shepherd, sadly lost rottie to cancer and shepherd has many issues.
We would NEVER have been able to afford the vets bills
Best decision we ever made

I think it depends how easily you could cope with major vet bills. If something goes badly wrong, the bills can mount up fast. One of my dogs is always at the vet and the costs mount up.

If you have lots of savings and space on your credit card, then maybe you could put the money into a savings account for the dog instead. It's a gamble though. If you look at the insurance company web pages, they usually have something that lists recent claims, so you could look at those and see how well you think you'd cope.

You'd still need third-party insurance, like HarlettOScara says.

I would say always get the insurance. We had a couple of hefty bills with our dog (four figures) when she had a heart problem and then a dental problem. Vets are high tech now and their bills are £££. One of my best friends is a vet and he says he is always having owners in who just can't afford the bill, and a couple of times he has to put them down just because of that which is dreadfully sad (but sometimes they do it for free or cheap). This might happen if your dog ran in the road and got run over or in a fight with another dog etc.

He says PetPlan is the best insurance. We had it and they pay up straight away and don;t put your premiums up when you claim.

I am very glad I have insurance. For years I thought it was a waste of money but kept it up 'just in case'. A couple moths ago my GSD needed an intensive course of treatment that has run up into thousands. I couldn't have afforded that.

I can't imagine not having insurance. Even healthy dogs can have accidents, or require tests. Someone I worked with had a dog which fell in a quarry - insurance meant being able to see the best orthopaedic vets at Bristol vet school, endless X rays and tests and some serious ops to get his dog back to health (which it fortunately did). Unless you were seriously wealthy, there is no way most people could afford this.

Would also agree that third party insurance is vital these days. Just think how easy it would be for even a well behaved dog to trip up a cyclist. You could be looking at a claim for thousands if there was a broken collar bone, time off work, legal fees, etc etc.

Over fourteen thousand on three dogs in as many months.

Insure unless you have big savings or no plans to provide best care options. Life long policy with at least 7 thousand if cover.