How much insurance cover for senior dog?

[KeepHopeful]

My 15 yo Papillon's insurance premium has just risen by two thirds. She's in good health apart from a recent Stage 2 mammary cancer operation. Vet says unlikely to recur. The insurers say this hasn't yet been processed and hasn't (yet) affected the premium.

Question - how much cover is it sensible to pay for? I can save by reducing it. I insure her to avoid having to decide whether huge unexpected vet bills are affordable or justifiable.

I think it depends on the dog/their overall condition.

In your case, if she's overall in good health and therefore likely to survive anything middling-serious (and the vets would operate on her) I would keep your cover as it is (if you can afford it and assuming it's a high level) given how expensive various ailments can be.

If your dog was arthritic and not healthy (for example), I'd say cancel simply because at that stage they're likely not fit enough to survive major surgery anyway/recover fully/their life isn't a good quality - so insurance at that point is slightly wasted as you then enter the territory of palliative care/PTS to spare the dog pain. I'm conscious that sounds harsh but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it!

She sounds like a star though - 15 years old and having a cancer op! What a fighter.

It really depends on your dog and their age. I cancelled our dog's insurance entirely when she turned 12 and it doubled, and put the monthly premium into a savings account. We took the view that at that age we wouldn't put her through any huge tests, ops, and any long-term medication we would pay for out of pocket as it was unlikely to be more than a few years. She absolutely feared and hated going to the vet so realistically we didn't want to cause her huge distress if she had an illness that required many repeat visits or overnight stays.

Ha, cross post with @Devilshands who said the same as I did but more concisely.

I was paying £83 a month for my elderly dog and seriously wouldn't be without insurance
If you change insurance now everything she's been seen by a vet before will be labelled a pre existing condition
When my old girl died just in the vet alone for not 24 hours was nearly a thousand pound for pain relief ,a drip and a blood test

Renewal has gone from £75 to £125 and the surgery claim hasn't been processed yet so hasn't affected premium so far.

Vet says she's "a strong little girl" and safe for anaesthetic and surgery so far. No significant joint problems, heart, lungs, kidneys ok.

I currently have £10k cover. Now the cost is higher I'm wondering if £6k or £8k would be enough. Apart from illness, I think about attack by other dogs.

If you can afford to pay the difference in cover then maybe but if not I'd stick with what policy you have
They get sick quickly and the emergency night vet wouldn't see me without a £400 deposit that I had to claim back myself

It’s a tough one. My lab turns 12 next month and I’m thinking that I wouldn’t put him through a load of investigations and procedures at his age. He hates the vet (she’s lovely, it’s nothing personal!) and gets stressed when we enter the waiting room for his annual jabs. So, I’m wondering whether or not to renew the policy at all when the time comes in late June.

What's the actual savings between the cover options?

It's not really considering if put through surgery as if that's the only big expense as a lot of old dog conditions can be managed for good quality of life for years but all the consults, medications, treatments, regular bloods, complimentary therapy etc all add up to a scary amount per year. They are also much more likely to need hospitalisation for support if there's some dog lurgy going about.

It's not unheard of for small dogs to get towards 20yrs, one of my dogs average breed lifespan was 12-14 and was 17 when passed. Her basic arthritis medications cost more than the premiums per month but average claim for treatments about £4k per year, then needed a 1k dental and a another condition spending £200 on blood tests every couple of weeks. My vets consults are now £60 and we were often there monthly. Thankfully I was with petplan so didn't really need to worry about putting everything through as the renewal isn't based on own claims.

Papillons average 13-15, can live till 17-18. Mine is in good health so has a good chance of decent quality of life for some time yet. Vet and I would approve quite substantial treatment if indicated I think. I note comments on dogs becoming rather frail but we're not there yet!

I just don't know how much cover is worth paying for. Dropping from £10k to £8k on same policy would save £25 a month, below that it's about £20 per £2k. difference. £199 excess and no copayment.