Dog Insurance

[Lancaster]

Hi,
recently had to have my mate put to sleep and am going to get a new pup to start all over again with.
ASDA pet insurance was a joke, at 13 yrs old the "Superior" cover for my spaniel was £147 a month, found out that they didn't cover dental work other than from accidents when he had to have teeth cleaned and extracted under GA, he was castrated at the same time because he had one ball much bigger than the other and Vet suspected a tumour.
Total bill £1100, payment received after excess deducted was £135 for the castration alone, no payment for GA, pre op or post op treatment as having his teeth cleaned and several extractions at the same time was the primary treatment.
Not even sure that they will pay for the final claim for Euthanasia, they certainly won't pay for his cremation and the little box that he came home in.
Where should I be looking for insurance for a working dog that is affordable and provides a good level of cover?
Thanks.
L

 

[Pedro]

Pretty much, you don't win with insurance. They make money, you lose money, whether you make a claim or just keep paying the premiums. It's the same with any insurance of course, but with pet insurance, even more so it seems. The best way to do it is simply not to have insurance and pay for any vet bills yourself, either as they come up or by putting a reasonable amount aside every month.

The down side to that is if you are unlucky enough to have to pay a very big bill, this is where insurance can at least take the sting out of that. So it's a bit of a risk not having insurance. There's only one person that can assess whether you want to take that risk though. If it's any help, I've had dogs for the last 45 years and although obviously I've had vet bills in that time, I know I'm quids in compared to if I had insurance all that time.

 

[Lancaster]

Pretty much, you don't win with insurance. They make money, you lose money, whether you make a claim or just keep paying the premiums. It's the same with any insurance of course, but with pet insurance, even more so it seems. The best way to do it is simply not to have insurance and pay for any vet bills yourself, either as they come up or by putting a reasonable amount aside every month.

The down side to that is if you are unlucky enough to have to pay a very big bill, this is where insurance can at least take the sting out of that. So it's a bit of a risk not having insurance. There's only one person that can assess whether you want to take that risk though. If it's any help, I've had dogs for the last 45 years and although obviously I've had vet bills in that time, I know I'm quids in compared to if I had insurance all that time.

To be honest that is sort of my thinking too, but I am casting the net wider to see if anybody has found an insurer that they would recommend as I'm not sure if I have the self discipline to maintain a "rainy day just in case the dog gets sick" pot of money.

 

[Pedro]

To be honest that is sort of my thinking too, but I am casting the net wider to see if anybody has found an insurer that they would recommend as I'm not sure if I have the self discipline to maintain a "rainy day just in case the dog gets sick" pot of money.

I hear you. But most of the time, you just need the dosh to cover usual things such as stuff for an infected ear or eye, some antibiotics now and again, that sort of stuff. Which wouldn't even get anywhere near the excess of a policy. If you are unlucky enough to get a bigger bill, maybe a couple of grand, I guess you'll have to decide if you've got ways to fund that if you don't have it to hand. A loan perhaps or a credit card. Or a kindly relative or whatever. Do some vets have payment plans? Maybe.

 

[tonyshooter]

We put £15 per week in each of our 2 spaniels savings accounts, and it works well.

Our Vet is a small independent practice and is very fair with his pricing.

3rd party liability cover, such as if your dog caused a car crash resulting in the driver can no longer working, is covered on our house insurance ( thankfully ! )

 

[estokes10]

Pretty much, you don't win with insurance. They make money, you lose money, whether you make a claim or just keep paying the premiums. It's the same with any insurance of course, but with pet insurance, even more so it seems. The best way to do it is simply not to have insurance and pay for any vet bills yourself, either as they come up or by putting a reasonable amount aside every month.

The down side to that is if you are unlucky enough to have to pay a very big bill, this is where insurance can at least take the sting out of that. So it's a bit of a risk not having insurance. There's only one person that can assess whether you want to take that risk though. If it's any help, I've had dogs for the last 45 years and although obviously I've had vet bills in that time, I know I'm quids in compared to if I had insurance all that time.

I do this works out alot cheaper. When pet insurance is more than life insurance and critical care cover for the family it’s time to step away.

 

[Lancaster]

Thanks guys,
We don't do loans or credit cards, what comes in is what we can spend.
What has been said tends to make me feel that we will set up the dog's pot as a new savings account, if we don't need it, all well and good, if we do need it we spend what's in it and top it up cover the costs.
Insurance has cost me thousands and when I claimed they paid out peanuts.
Dog was happy and healthy for most of his life, had a couple of claims early on due to nasty infections caused by grass seeds which needed a couple of operations, live and learn, don't make the same mistake twice.
Vets make a reasonable living, insurance companies make a killing.
Bar Stewards........

 

[Rake Aboot]

I’ve never insured a dog
After 30 yrs of working lurchers and spaniels I’ve came out on top.

Got an old boy here that will likey be put down in the next month and I bet he’s cost me less than £400 in his 13 yrs

It’s a gamble you might as well take.
Mine get aspirin and Andrew’s liver salts for £5 , not “antibiotics “ at £200

 

[David.evans]

rake
liver salts ? For what please mate
thanks

 

[Chasser]

My dog had GDV or bloat, an emergency life saving op cost me 4k, was insured and I spent £100 on excess I believe. If you were saving £50 a month that would be 80 months to have enough to cover it. If you then had another accident after depleting you’re pot or would require ongoing treatment/aftercare you would be well out of pocket. As ever with insurance it’s a gamble. The reason I went for insurance was because I would hate to have a decision forced by money that would affect his life. The peace of mind the £50 or whatever it is a month brings is priceless to me, this was something I factored in prior to getting a dog. This is just my view!

 

[Rake Aboot]

rake
liver salts ? For what please mate
thanks

Every time the buggers have a rumbling gut or the sh!ts
Andrew’s liver salts mixed in a little milk
Works every time.

 

[nic531]

I used to do the insurance but I never came out on top. Now I have 4 dogs and as one reached 8 years old, the insurance went through the roof. so I said enough is enough. Yes I am lucky enough to have a little savings so can sort out things if I need to. 5 years on and I have had 2 small bills to pay on top of the annual stuff and well in profit.

I have worked around insurance companies and they would not be there if they did not make money. Most of the normal bits and bobs are priced to be just below the excess amount. Are the 'gold standard' style vets working hand in hand with them, imho yes.

 

[Len the dog]

My local vets sold out a few years ago to CVS Group, I believe the largest veterinary group in the UK. Whenever I took him in I was always on the end of their sales pitch for a care plan, a technique that personally I loathe, but the final straw was when the vet made an unnecessary quip about his docked tail being "another mutilation". Needless to say I have changed to a local independant.
I have never bothered with pet insurance and even my previous dog that ran up a few substantial bills, still cost me less over his lifetime than the insurance premiums would have.

Just like boiler insurance, you are effectively paying for the treatment up front whether you need it or not. If you are faced with a large bill then you come out evens, if you don't have any problems then you have lost a lot of money. It is very unlikely that a dog will end up costing you significantly more than you have paid in insurance premiums throughout its life.

 

[NoIDeer]

Just lost my 11 year old spaniel to septicaemia. The insurance claim ended up as 3.5 years premiums with me paying 6 months of that in uninsured and excess.

I guess a good strategy would be to insure and save whilst the dog is young and then use the savings if needed later on, older dog insurance is eye watering. I'm glad I carried on with the premiums though. Losing the dog was bad enough.

Agria were superb with respect to the claim btw.

 

[Rasputin]

I have used Tesco before paid out zero issues now with another I think e&l. For six year old Cocker and 2 year old border it’s £47 a month.

Unless you have a cheap vet insurance is now the only way with the chains. It’s almost like they have a minimum spend of a grand. Probably had circa £13k of the policies in the last five years. That’s £200 a month I would have needed to put aside.

Conversely I pay £67 a month for sodding bupa.

 

[Pelyma]

We recommend to our puppy buyers that they insure with PetPlan or KC for the first few years, that gets them through the first silly stage or if there is anything congenital then save the premiums into an account to use in the event of a future problem. One of ours broke a leg a few years back, that cost £4K.

 

[Morkai]

Are there any that are any good, I had PetPlan once and my dog had a growth on her eyelid, not cancerous but after the removal they said they would never cover any other growth cancerous or not.

That's why I got rid as it seemed pointless.