Insurance (again)

[CapriceDeDieux]

Our insurance for our 10 year old terrier is up for renewal. We are seriously wondering if we should just put the money in a savings account as the insurance money at his age just seems like we are throwing away cash, can never claim and have to pay anyway.

His main issue is his teeth, many of which were removed last year and our insurance wouldn't cover (we missed the dental clause, this one year on renewal!). And now with an existing condition/age they either won't pay at all or it's extortionate or by the time we have paid the excess we might as well pay the difference as the premium will go up exponentially

I wish we had put the insurance money in an account 10 years ago as we would have a nice lump sum for him if we needed it and without the hassle of insurance. As a robust small-breed terrier we hope for/expect another 5 years with him (I hate writing that, but trying to be practical) and can afford to pay (as we always have done).

Maybe we are paying too little for not very good insurance? But we have never been able to claim on it and it feels like just throwing money away, when we cover all costs anyway.

Any thoughts on what to do most welcome.

With a 10 year old terrier, you need to decide what you would put your dog through, find out approx how much it would cost, and if you could afford it (and how much the insurance would cover). You might have to pay out for something very expensive, but the likelihood is that you won't have to. You may well find yourself paying for e.g. pain meds as your dog ages - our last dog was costing us about a tenner a week in meds for the last year of his life, but that was a LOT less than insurance would have been.

This is a minority view on this board, but we don't insure our dogs. We are able to take the risk as we have adequate savings. It is a risk, though: one day a big bill is likely to land. DH and I have fairly close opinions on what is fair in terms of treatment for an elderly dog, which makes it easier.

I am aware of the big costs as they age, we have been through this with another pet in the wider family recently, but my DH and I like you are on the same page I think.

The insurance just feels like it isn't benefiting us or Ddog.