Insurance

[PerfectlyChaotic]

We've researched the having a dog idea beyond all and I think we're going to go for it. I just wondered whether anyone had thoughts on insurance as obviously this seems to be one of the most significant expenses.

Having spoken to friends some do and some don't & put money aside etc. I've paid a fortune in insurance for my cat over the last 15yrs and never once claimed. Assume maybe dogs possibly more likely to get into scrapes & need treatment, or maybe we've been lucky. Advice welcome!

All insurances are a gamble. The question you need to ask could you afford major expenses such as an operation/X-rays etc that could total thousands and also could you afford long term chronic conditions which could cost hundreds or thousands every year? Also you are better off getting insurance as soon as you get the dog. It is no good if you find a major or chronic condition and then think about insurance as it will be a pre existing illness.

Personally I am happy to pay for insurances I don't claim for with the knowledge that other than an excess anything unexpected is covered.

Insure!
We have claimed over £18'000 back from our dog insurance - he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and has had 2 hip replacements, plus lumps and bumps removed/ tested, grass seeds removed under GA etc

He is now 12 and approaching the end of his life but is a huge important part of our family and as such deserves good healthcare over his life.

Another consideration is lots of conditions, accidents and illnesses can now be treated unlike when my parents had a dog. The downside is they tend to cost a lot.

You can also not account for stupid dog traits where they eat anything and everything. This could easily cause blockages etc... again think £££

Even if you decide to put money away you may still wish to get third party liability cover. I would not want to be liable if my dog ran out into a road and caused a major accident.

We have claimed £9k this year for our dog, and £2k in a previous year (he is 8 years old). Our other dog died this year aged nearly 14 and we never claimed for her once.

It's true that veterinary medicine, especially surgery, has advanced hugely, and so has the cost. The £9k bill came from a specialist referral vet when our own practice said that they were out of their comfort zone with DDog's illness.

We insure our pets and at the moment with our dog we're about even on what we've paid out versus what we've claimed. However our cat would have to live many, many years with no claims and the insurance company would have to raise his premiums substantially before they ever see a profit out of him .,, the first year we had him we claimed nearly £10K after a catastrophic accident which shattered his pelvis. Just the initial emergency treatment to stabilise him was >£2K - and as he's still just as bonkers I wouldn't be surprised if he does something equally stupid in the future.

I was very glad we didn't have to factor in financial considerations when we were making decisions about his treatment

Great, thanks for the replies. Yes, would hate to have to make difficult decisions based on finances. I was just very surprised about how many people I've asked DON'T insure... So, look for a lifetime policy and, I know it's a guess, but what sort of annual limit would it be sensible to insure against?

I spoke with our vet and he said for most things the policy we were looking at, and went with, had a 4K yearly limit would be sufficient. For hip ops etc then you would need more than 4K from what I can gather but we could top up if needed and took the decision to go for a middle amount.

Just wanted to add to the chorus of 'get insurance' :) my parents' dog is 9 now and has regular injections and medication for arthritis. She's also a very lumpy dog so has had lots of biopsies (not covered by the insurance because thankfully they were all benign) but had it been bad news then would obviously have been covered. Would hate to have to make a decision based on not being able to afford certain options :( also, depending on what size dog you're looking at, just anaesthetic alone will cost hundreds.

I think when looking at policies just go for the best you can afford, the highest level of cover - also worth checking are things like will your vets do direct payments with the insurance company. The specialist vets we were referred to only did direct paypments with pet plan and 1 other company can't remember which as we are with petplan. However if they don't it can mean having to find thousands of pounds very very quickly to pay a bill before claiming it back.