Self insurance - anyone else do it?

[Logarhythm]

The dogs trust membership provides £1million public liability and we started putting away a monthly sum in anticipation of medical bills after we decided on getting a puppy a few months ago, this will continue indefinitely and we have adequate savings to cover issues while the account builds cash.
Are we mad to consider self funding our pup's medical bills?

For us - Pet Plan insures our holiday cancellation at a top limit of £2k - our annual summer holiday costs on average around £6-8k sometimes more - the dog's potential medical bills are small compared to the loss on this.

The public liability is a concern, Martin Lewis reckons the dogs trust public liability of £1million is on the low side and for us it's low risk but very high impact, and if £1 million wasn't enough we could lose everything if our dog was responsible for a devastating accident.

We pay an insurance policy through our vet - £25 a month, this covers us for everything, no excess, and includes flea, tick and worm treatment. The only catch is that we have to take out dog to our designated vet surgery where they cover almost everything in house. We have an additional £2.50 public liability / normal pet insurance that we can use If we are away from home. It has a £75 excess.

It's a lot of money for a healthy dog - he is two and we expect many years of trouble free fun. Like you I wonder if I'm wasting money. The worst that happens to him is the occasional cut paw or anal gland clean (TMI?)

Out of fear of a RTA we pay up........

I'm obviously in a different money situation than you but I think a £500 excess is really steep.

yes...if one has expensive holidays I think that would increase the value of the plan a lot. like-wise repatriation and boarding fees.

Cross post logarythem

I had never even thought about holiday cancelation cover - I'll need to dig out my insurance docs and have a re-read. 2k would cover is tho

What devistating accident would cost more than £1 million?

And I'm thinking this thread must have had a skewed response, because if everyone's dog had massive vet bills if this was a representative sample, the insurance premiums would clearly be higher, they need to make a profit....but where to find the info?
Clearly dog would lead a healthy lifestyle, would be well fed, clean diet, no junk food, exercise etc so more likely to be free of disease....gad we pay so much money out to insurance companies - I hate the feckers! We have an emergency fund set by for anything that hits us, it sits in our mortgage as a big over payment, ready to be released as needed. We fire all our insurance premiums into it - spreading the risk...it's money we out aside for emergencies and does not affect our spending habits.

I don't know what would accident would cost more than £1million, legal fees usually can rack up costs pretty quickly....and Martin Lewis seemed to think it wasn't a lot and he might know what these things cost more than I do, If your dog was responsible for a terrible road accident involving multiple cars who knows..it could be rather complicated. A cat is fine though as you are not considered to be responsible for a cat.

Well yes it'll be a skewed result because having had to claim lots from insurance makes you more likely to post about it, lol.

But...my dog is from health tested parents, not from a breed overly prone to health issues, well looked after, fed on good quality grain free food.

He should be a picture of health, he's just not, it happens.

I think pp have 3 million liability if that's any help.

The thing with pets and pet insurance is the uncertainty of it all.

You an prepare, do the right things, go through good breeders, feed good food etc as much as possible and still end with a pet that has health issues. Or just a one off injury it's it's junior years can have huge repercussions in an animal's later life.
Then there are pet owners who don't vaccinate, feed their pet human only, don't worn or use flea treatment and they never have to take it to the vets.

Although, this is becoming less and less the norm. Since the RSPCA tightened is belt on animal welfare a few years back, people are more inclined to bring their pets in much more swiftly.

Ultimately it's your choice OP, whatever you choose to do I wish every happiness with your new pup when you get it. You'll have loads of fun