Better to save, rather than insure, as dog gets older?

[littlepeas]

Just sorted the insurance out for our new puppy and it made me realise how much we are now paying for our older dog! He is only 7, so I guess it's going to go up even more in the years to come and probably quite steeply!

I am pondering whether it would be better to put the money into savings instead. We do have a decent amount of other savings, so could manage a surprise vet bill while we are building up the pot.

What does everyone do?

We’ve never had pet insurance (dog and two cats) and are quids in to the tune of thousands. As long as you have enough cash in case you do end up with a big bill, it’s often the best course.

@Imabitbusyatthemoment
Yes, we insured with Tesco. It was originally only £12 per month for up to £10k per annum cover...think it's their premium insurance. It increased to £26 per month and then this year is at £42 per month but when I consider how much they pay us, it's totally worth it.
She was a rescue so not entirely sure what she's made of 😂 there's some poodle in there somewhere and had been healthy prior to her brain problem.
Considering they cover her long term medication I'm surprised the increase this year wasn't more.
They have a fab service too...all online, pay in approx. 5 days once the plan is actioned and haven't quibbled about the bills once. Reviews are mixed on Trustpilot but hand on heart, they've been fabulous with us.

You're paying so much money...
We've always had cats, which may well be different emotionally. We've never had insurance, and I suppose I have a vague figure in my mind of what I would pay out for vet fees before having the cat put down. So self insurance, but not to the extent of everything we could afford.

I have seen too many sad situations where owners have not been able to pay the vet bills. They have had to make heartbreaking decision based on money rather than their animals welfare.

On a personal level I would never ever want to be put in that situation so would make sure that either I do have a lot of money put aside (thousands) or insure until they are of an age when I know I would not put them through a lot of treatement or GA.

7 to me is still a dog with a lot of life to live.

@Snakeplisskensmum thank you, that’s really helpful. Definitely need to reassess.

If you have thousands put away and you wouldn't care if that went on vet bills then perhaps insurance is not needed.

We are quids in having claimed for many things for our 5 year old dog. We still keep the insurance going even though we could self fund because I don't want money to be a factor in deciding what to do. And even though we wouldn't put him through major surgery with a long recovery time I am mindful that it costs a lot just to get to that decision through investigations.

If you have never claimed for big items or emergency surgery or haven't had any recent vet bills beyond simple treatments it can be quite a shock to find out that it doesn't take much to rack up a bill of thousands.

I am mindful that it costs a lot just to get to that decision through investigations

This, 100%.

@PollyRoulllson

I have seen too many sad situations where owners have not been able to pay the vet bills. They have had to make heartbreaking decision based on money rather than their animals welfare.

On a personal level I would never ever want to be put in that situation so would make sure that either I do have a lot of money put aside (thousands) or insure until they are of an age when I know I would not put them through a lot of treatement or GA.

7 to me is still a dog with a lot of life to live.

I’m not writing him off at 7, just biting that his insurance is already twice the cost of the puppy’s with a good number of years left.

Biting = noting.

For me, its peace of mind. We have savings but forking out £10k (which is around what we've claimed in total) in one fell swoop as opposed to a relatively small monthly payment means that no difficult decisions have to be made. I wouldn't prolong my pets life just for my benefit - she has a great life, even with a brain condition - but means that I don't even have to consider it.

I have always insured for my own peace of mind, until the age where I feel that the dog would not benefit from any major/invasive treatment.

I have kind of gone halfway with the gamble on my older boy lately though - gone for a lower grade insurance than I would use for a younger, livelier, more unknown quantity.

I felt that way I know I have some cover, which would probably go a good way to the level of treatment I would give him, and we have savings/sufficient income to top it up if I still felt it was to the dog's benefit. Would that be a good option, maybe?

@79andnotout You had to spend 26k of your own money?
Good God. That's dedicated pet ownership.

[quote Ihopeyourcakeisshit]@79andnotout You had to spend 26k of your own money?
Good God. That's dedicated pet ownership.[/quote]
Yeah. Totally insane and it wasn't supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be 15k and she goes on to live for another five years but it all went horribly wrong and we had some bad decisions to make which were expensive to diagnose. I'd do it all again if the outcome was better, but now we have a hole in our savings and a hole in our heart. We're always going to insure now.

For the last 5 years I’ve put £100 in an account to cover any vet fees for our two dogs. They are 5 and 8.

I stopped insuring my dog when she turned 9 and her premium shot up to £500pa even with no claims. She is now nearly 17 and has only had dentals (not covered anyway) and one other big bill of about £500. So I am happy with my decision, but would definitely recommend insuring a young dog.

Just another point, when ddog had pancreatitis we had to pay up front and claim from the insurer which took six weeks, luckily we had it. They wouldn't begin treatment without taking 1k up front.

@dontblameme

I stopped insuring my dog when she turned 9 and her premium shot up to £500pa even with no claims. She is now nearly 17 and has only had dentals (not covered anyway) and one other big bill of about £500. So I am happy with my decision, but would definitely recommend insuring a young dog.

What breed is she ? Almost 17 is amazing!

Have you looked at changing insurance company rather than ditch it?
See what quotes you get through moneysupermarket.com

My renewal for DDog age 7.5 was £45 and introduction of 15% excess on vets bills now he's over 7 yrs.
Ive changed to a new policy for £23 and 20% contribution and will save the difference and a bit extra in a separate emergency account to cover the 5% difference.

our springer is 7.
He was lovely and healthy and then developed ear problems. The insurance is not covering the ear (long story). We have spent £2,000 so far this year and the only long term solution is an operation costing £3,000.
In his pre-op blood checks another problem was thrown up a full referral for this problem will cost thousands and then lifelong meds.

This is covered by insurance and the difference, knowing that we don't have to worry about cost is huge.

You'll need deep pockets if you safe don't insure.

I got a dog through an adoption group on Facebook. OMFG - as she's a rescue and has no known background, is over 10yo and is a specific breed (according to her looks, not an Ancestry DNA test), the average quoted price for her insurance was A HUNDRED AND THIRTY FUCKING QUID...PER MONTH!!!
No. She isn't insured. I stash £35 a month for treatments and pay for routines (vaccines) out of my usual income as and when needed.
Pet insurers are daylight bloody robbers

Apparently the older the dog the insurance company tries to buy you off by increasing the price so you go else where as they know you have a higher chance to put in a claim Iv have 2 dogs for 12 years with no insurance but one of them had to get a blood transfusion last year which cost 4 grand but the way I see it is it's divided by 2 dogs so for me am glad I didn't buy insurance 12 years ago

Our insurance wasn’t worth it - at the end we were paying out over £90 per month with excess charges of £120 and once the dog reached 10, we had to cover 10% of any treatment costs too. Our dog didn’t have any costly illnesses, and she just got too weak to move. We paid in so much more than we ever benefited from. Even with that in mind I would insure - most people I know have benefited. All it takes is one long term condition or surgical event snd it pays for itself.

My dog looked perfectly healthy until December 21st, had to be put to sleep on the 23rd.

She was 11.

Tumour which had torn something got her. You never know.

Pet insurance is a good idea as it cost us about £1k without any real treatment just blood tests and pts.