Insurance question

[BeachRide]

I got my 12 week old labrador in June 2022 and took out pet insurance. He was seen by the vet and had his first check-up, vaccinations etc. Nothing since then - he's a fit and healthy dog. I didn't have him vaccinated in the second year because a retiring vet told me dogs don't actually need them every year. Just the puppy jabs and maybe once or twice more over their lifetime.

I happened to read the whole of the insurance terms and conditions recently and it says the dog must be up to date with their vaccines and to be seen by a vet every 12 months for the policy to be valid.

I'm assuming the policy won't pay out now for anything, even something unrelated like a broken leg, so should I just cancel it? Even if I take him in for his vaccs now, I'm sure the policy will still be invalid as there was the 18 month period when he wasn't seen (I know how they work).

We're intending to have him neutered next Spring, and he can have his vaccinations then.

I could then take out another policy with another company as he will be up to date, and will have seen a vet recently.

Grateful for any knowledgeable responses!

Sorry - we got him in June 2023, he'll be 2 in February 2025.

I think this is standard for all pet insurances however it would only be relevant if the dog was ill with something it should be vaccinated against.

If it broke its leg I think the insurance company would still pay out.

Hmm. Logically, I know that's true, but I also know they'll find any reason to not pay out. Do you think it's worth ringing them to check?

Dogs really do need their vaccinations every year - it’s not expensive to get done (in the grand scheme of pet ownership)

It is 100% the responsible thing to do for other dogs (including puppies as one of the leading reasons puppies die from these diseases is unvaccinated adult dogs who are carrying them - and it may not kill the adult dogs, but it sure as hell will kill the puppy). Very selfish.

And yes, 100% many companies will use that to invalidate your insurance.

I think you need to stick with the terms of your insurance and what your vet says, not with what a retiring vet said. I got my spaniel's teeth cleaned under sedation as not to get them done when advised would have risked invalidating his insurance. If there is any reason to wriggle out of paying they will use it and not getting him vaccinated would be seen as failing to safeguard your dog's basic health.

I use a care plan from my vet; it's £19 a month for my Labrador. It covers all his vaccinations and parasite prevention, three vet consultations, three nurse consultations and 10% off drugs, plus other benefits.

This is one of those situations where I just wouldn't want to risk it - you can restart your dogs vaccinations and get him covered so I would just do that.

And yes, the seeing the vet once a year is totally standard and you do need to be doing that in case of illness.

For injury claims it may not matter so much but your dog should be seeing a vet for at least a basic health check along with jabs.

I don't have any knowledge re insurance but dogs don't need vaccinations every year. A lot of people titre test and there's the evidence they're not required every year. Seems a waste of time to turn up, say "here's my dog" and the vet just tells you they're a good boy!

I've had dogs for decades and they see the vet when they're ill. That's it. They've all been fit, healthy and strong.

The problem is if you then need to claim on insurance and you say "well, my dog hasn't seen the vet in a decade" they may well refuse to pay out which is what OP is concerned about.

My insurance also has a clause about animals being an appropriate weight 😂

Yes, agreed! Which is why I’ve said I don’t know about that part. I’d hate to mislead.

my dog is appropriately chunky 😂

@ExceededUsefulEconomicLife it made me laugh when I read the policy 🤣

I think it's meant to mean that you need to have your pet checked over once a year and follow any advice about their health but I'm really not sure how enforceable it would be as we've never needed to claim.

Anyone else old enough to remember a time when if your pet got worms you treated them, if they got fleas you treated them, and if they got ill you visited the vets? There's too much unnecessary preventative treatment now, making everything less effective and more expensive.

I agree that some vaccinations yearly are not required, but you should be titre testing in that case to check immunity. Lepto should be done every year regardless, especially for labs who are likely to be in water very regularly.

We don't routinely treat for fleas/ticks and worms. For worms we do counts for worms and lungworm and would treat if necessary.

You still don't need to do those things - they're entirely optional. You can also choose not to insure and just go to the vet when your dog is sick if you like - nobody is stopping you.

The issues only start if you want (or need) to claim on your insurance and you haven't followed their requirements for coverage. Personally I think animals should see a vet once a year, I don't think it's a huge hardship in the scheme of things and it could mean issues are picked up and even prevented.

There were 70 cases of leptospirosis in dogs in the UK in 2023, out of a population of approximately 13 million. That's 0.0005% of dogs affected.

Well again, nobody is forcing you to vaccinate if you don't want to - but you may find your insurance doesn't cover you going forward. You also won't be able to use kennels or daycare just as an FYI.

I don't think most dog walkers would touch OP's dogs either (I think you're one - so do correct me I am wrong...but I know the ones near me wouldn't)?

@Killingoffmyflowersonebyone yep you're right - not sure how I missed my own profession off the list 🙈

I do accept proof of titre testing and if a dog can't have vaccines and this is backed up by a vet then that's fine too, but otherwise they do all need to be vaccinated.

What do you think that statistic proves? If 12.5 million of those dogs were vaccinated that's a rather different risk profile.

What do you think that statistic proves? If 12.5 million of those dogs were vaccinated that's a rather different risk profile

Exactly!

And you really don't want your dog to get lepto - it's nasty. Same with Parvo - it can very easily kill your dog.

Our big, robust, healthy 7 year old dog died three years ago from a reaction to Nobivac. Our new puppy did have the vaccines, but we aren't 100% sure that we'll continue having her boosters after the first year.

We have a vet and a student vet in the family and we do know the risks.

We will decide next summer whether to revaccinate or not. We need to check with the insurance regarding the position if we went with the other vaccines but just not the Lepto one.

The Lepto vaccine killed our dog.

I honestly didn’t know dogs were supposed to have boosters, and have just booked them at the vets as a result of this thread (first time dog owner).

Are you not registered with a vet? We get a reminder