Dog insurance - am sure this has been done to death - but ...

[BasiliskStare]

I have 2 border terriers - they are as fit as a flea and so do not have congenital diseases / problems . As a breed they tend to be healthy But they are 10 & 11 - the insurance is now the thick end of £900 ( for two ) . Could any one advise me before I just pay the amount ?

[BasiliskStare]

so some of you think I have done the wrong thing. I have a 14 day cooling off period

I would not ever not insure them & yes public liability if they cause an accident - I do not think they will but then that is what insurance is for isn't it. Just that £900 came as a shock and to get them insured for 3rd party or accident seemed OK & yes we would have to swallow illness. I'm sorry if hardy sounds stupid but by and large border terriers aren't prone to much .

But interested to hear from anyone who thinks I have done the wrong thing - as I say - I have a cooling off period to change it

[BiteyShark]

How much are you covered for accidents? Does that cover any accident, investigations and treatment or are there lots of clauses.

At the end of the day if your dog has a lump and the vet thinks it should be removed are you happy for pay the fees even before considering whether it is cancer? If your dog develops a chronic condition and could have a very good life but with treatment and let's say the drugs happen to be £50-100 a month would you be able to pay?

[BasiliskStare]

@Biteyshark - that is a good question.

Don't wish to drip feed but we have signed up for a year or so now to a ( relatively ) modest amount per month from vet which covers injections / worming etc - so they do see the vet on a regular basis . Thus far they are both healthy ( with the exception of older boy's teeth which needed to be cleaned but that wasn't covered any way so we just paid for it )

In truth @Biteyshark - yes I would be happy to pay if that happens. We could. If that happens it happens. But thus far 11 years of huge bills and not one claim - now - you don't need to tell me that is not how it works, & sorry not meaning to speak rudely - just I have been considering this ) I am thinking the 3rd party & accident could work & then we pay as and when illness happens ( and we will ( I had many years ago a cat who had to have her leg amputated - it cost me £3000 with things to try to save the leg and then the operation Bless her soul she got run over because she couldn't run fast enough. I am not , not , a dog lover , if that makes sense.


Your question about clauses and exclusions is very sensible - they are sending it through to me but have not seen the small print. Thank you for reply though - I would rather know if I have made a mistake with the 14 day thing than afterwards. Very very good food for thought - thank you

[BiteyShark]

I think if you realise how many thousands of pounds things cost, have read the T&Cs closely so you don't get any surprises with the new insurance and have the means to get hold of large amounts of money quickly if necessary then you are making an informed decision.

Sometimes it works out for the insurance company as in your case and other times it works out for the owner (currently that is me and someone I know who has taken far more out than we have paid in).

[snaxinyourslacks]

Have you shopped around for other companies who offer the same level of cover you had but with a much better deal?

Unfortunately having older dogs does push up the premium massively but I change companies every year to keep the price down.

My dogs are my babies and if something were to happen (and it has) we could probably come up with the money but it would be a real strain. I would not be without insurance.

[BasiliskStare]

@snaxinyourslacks - yes I have shopped around but mine are 10 & 11 - no real deals to be done other than reducing the cover. But thank you - we did that a few years ago and got a better price so a very good suggestion - Also just to say I would never be without insurance for my two , but I think the most important ones are 3rd party & accident. It is the illness bit I am thinking of and also to @Biteyshark , I do know operations or procedures can cost a very great deal. As above I spent £3000 on my lovely cat to try to save her leg and it didn't work - so I do get how a dog or a cat or a dog will cost you money - it was just to ask , if you do the basic insurance ( a friend of mine does not insure her dogs at all - I personally would not do that ) - just for the 3rd party thing along with anything else ) we could stick £700 away & next year similar - so we will have money if they needed an operation or something like that.

I know posters have said I am somewhat silly ( I paraphrase) for saying my dogs are hardy and I may very well be so. But to date they are healthy and nothing wrong with them as far as the vet can see. Now as I said , Sod's Law is that the moment I cancel the illness insurance one of them with have something.

Which is why I am so interested to hear peoples' opinions. Just at the moment £700 in my bank account sounds good. That said , if they ever needed anything I would break out everything to have it done for them.

[NotAgainKen]

basilisk If that was directed at me, I don't think you're silly at all - I agree with you that Border terriers are generally healthy dogs, with few breed issues. It's the reason my DH never bothered insuring ours - he's a tough farmer's boy! My point was more that they're so stoic they will mask pain for a long time; DDog's crocked elbow probably happened ages ago and he never made a fuss at the time so we never realised how bad it was whereas if our other dog gets a thorn in her paw she needs a week on the sofa to recover. If I wasn't such a fusspot about him and got a second opinion, we might not have realised and just kept on with the Yumove.

DH & I've argued back and forth about insuring our other dog for months; she's a puppy so it's a bit different. With an older dog, it depends what procedures you'd want your insurance to cover. Personally, I wouldn't put a 10 yr old dog through cancer treatment, (because I don't think the survival time after is worth the stress for the dog) but we're doing DDog's elbow replacement because hopefully afterwards he'll have another 5 years to run around on it. He's incredibly fit, but he could still get hit by a car/eat something poisonous/break another leg and while we can find £4k this time, if he needed another £4k operation in six months it'd be more of a stretch. But it's a moot point, because he's not insured!

You have my sympathy. If it makes you feel any better, I had my two large breed dogs insured at nearly £120/month EACH by the time the oldest was 11, and that was with a 20% excess on every claim.

[BasiliskStare]

@NotagainKen - no not at all at you and thank you for your reply - I just I sad my two were "hardy" - and yes , sensibly some people said even hardy dogs can become ill. I suppose my point was that unlike e.g. my PIL's Lab - who I believe are susceptible to hip / joint problems - Borders do not tend to have congenital problems ( which I know does not mean to say they cannot get ill)

But gosh I had not thought about the fact because Borders "don't fuss" ( as the vet put it ) they may cover up something which may need fixing. Oh heavens I thought I had decided - all getting hard. They are 10 & 11. I have met an 18 yr old Border but then I am not expecting that ( I hope for it , but not expecting it)

Anyway this may take my mind off it - ( video quality atrocious but it makes me smile )

[NotAgainKen]

OMG those teddy bear legs!

basilisk I feel bad for projecting my own owner-guilt onto your dogs; there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON why your BTs should be masking problems, just because mine was! I guess the flipside of hale and hearty dogs is that they're fit enough to get themselves into bother for years - but if you've got money saved for one-off accidents, as opposed to ongoing congenital issues - then that's probably fine.