Pet insurance - is there value I can’t see...?
Discussion
Gary C said:
Hum
Must be a bit cold, but it's a pet !
7k on operations, sorry but it would be good night.
ThisMust be a bit cold, but it's a pet !
7k on operations, sorry but it would be good night.
Had dogs almost all our lives, got 4 Corgies at the moment. Never insured one of them. It's a dog for goodness sake. Absolute spend limit at the vet is £1K for a youngster, otherwise it's goodbye mr chips and get another one. People do seem to project human values onto pets, very odd.
One of my dogs ran up a bill of c. £8k with Noel Fitzpatrick. The insurance paid out about £6k after excesses and other deductions. I was paying about £40 a month (I think it went up to £50 after), so essentially I'd say I've had a good deal.
And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
CAPP0 said:
One of my dogs ran up a bill of c. £8k with Noel Fitzpatrick. The insurance paid out about £6k after excesses and other deductions. I was paying about £40 a month (I think it went up to £50 after), so essentially I'd say I've had a good deal.
And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
A child is not a dog, you wally.And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
bigmowley said:
This
Had dogs almost all our lives, got 4 Corgies at the moment. Never insured one of them. It's a dog for goodness sake. Absolute spend limit at the vet is £1K for a youngster, otherwise it's goodbye mr chips and get another one. People do seem to project human values onto pets, very odd.
I do find this odd.Had dogs almost all our lives, got 4 Corgies at the moment. Never insured one of them. It's a dog for goodness sake. Absolute spend limit at the vet is £1K for a youngster, otherwise it's goodbye mr chips and get another one. People do seem to project human values onto pets, very odd.
I would not put a value on a dogs life, certainly not £1k.
We have a 14week puppy and a roughly 10 year old King charles X rescue.
The rescue is literally a babe and my life would be s
te without him. I would pay any amount of money for his health if needed.bigmowley said:
This
Had dogs almost all our lives, got 4 Corgies at the moment. Never insured one of them. It's a dog for goodness sake. Absolute spend limit at the vet is £1K for a youngster, otherwise it's goodbye mr chips and get another one. People do seem to project human values onto pets, very odd.
Please don't bother having pets if you are not going to take care of them. You have a responsibility for them do you not?Had dogs almost all our lives, got 4 Corgies at the moment. Never insured one of them. It's a dog for goodness sake. Absolute spend limit at the vet is £1K for a youngster, otherwise it's goodbye mr chips and get another one. People do seem to project human values onto pets, very odd.
Let me give you an example - About 2 years ago, 15 year old cat. Vet said, no idea what the problem is (£200 worth of tests by now) - I can open her up and see but PTS now. We went for the operation. 1.5k all in or so. BUT she lived another 18 months. Totally worth it.
There must be a point though where you think, enough is enough. Perhaps as pets are not people or utility in the case of farm animals we confuse ourselves? So animals are just mean to be down the food chain from humans, both socially and tasilly and that is why we eat them.
My ex Midwife SIL is a McMillian nurse and she reckons relatives let people go much quicker (morphine drivers, yep bring it on) than they would ever let their pet be put down! (Meanwhile Vet adds on non insured extras, just to convince you the right decision is made).
Eating random stuff vs petting it? We ate dog in the SE Asia I'm sure, I've eaten snake, insect and possibly Monkey from the Chinese restaurant next to the A34 / Manc Way in Manchester, and have had cats put down. Dogs on the farm are harder as they tend to be a bit more "matey" but at the end of the day when you know the animal is suffering, a cludge on its neck with a spade is surely the best way to let it go go rather than it sitting / stting in it's own basket compared to the days it used to run miles around?
Anyway, good protien generally, avoid the fatty bits and remember, if it wasn't so tasty, meat wouldn't be meant for eating.
My ex Midwife SIL is a McMillian nurse and she reckons relatives let people go much quicker (morphine drivers, yep bring it on) than they would ever let their pet be put down! (Meanwhile Vet adds on non insured extras, just to convince you the right decision is made).
Eating random stuff vs petting it? We ate dog in the SE Asia I'm sure, I've eaten snake, insect and possibly Monkey from the Chinese restaurant next to the A34 / Manc Way in Manchester, and have had cats put down. Dogs on the farm are harder as they tend to be a bit more "matey" but at the end of the day when you know the animal is suffering, a cludge on its neck with a spade is surely the best way to let it go go rather than it sitting / s
tting in it's own basket compared to the days it used to run miles around?Anyway, good protien generally, avoid the fatty bits and remember, if it wasn't so tasty, meat wouldn't be meant for eating.
CAPP0 said:
One of my dogs ran up a bill of c. £8k with Noel Fitzpatrick. The insurance paid out about £6k after excesses and other deductions. I was paying about £40 a month (I think it went up to £50 after), so essentially I'd say I've had a good deal.
And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
i certainly would have a dog or a cat put down rather than spend 7k on it. i can't understand it at all, it's a pet, not a person.And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
But what's that got to do with a child's life and the NHS ? Daft post.
Gary C said:
CAPP0 said:
One of my dogs ran up a bill of c. £8k with Noel Fitzpatrick. The insurance paid out about £6k after excesses and other deductions. I was paying about £40 a month (I think it went up to £50 after), so essentially I'd say I've had a good deal.
And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
i certainly would have a dog or a cat put down rather than spend 7k on it. i can't understand it at all, it's a pet, not a person.And if I'm reading the posts above correctly that you'd have a dog put down rather than pay a big bill, well shame on you. Let's hope we never lose the NHS over here and your kids get sick, eh?
But what's that got to do with a child's life and the NHS ? Daft post.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Really..... sell you house?
We all love our pets but in reality, everyone has a cut off point. But some won't admit it.
Always impossible to say where that cut off point is though. We all love our pets but in reality, everyone has a cut off point. But some won't admit it.
The thought went through my head with mine but the bills stopped at about £2k thankfully, I've no idea how far I'd actually have gone but it wouldn't have seen me selling the family home.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
xjay1337 said:
The rescue is literally a babe and my life would be ste without him. I would pay any amount of money for his health if needed.
Really..... sell you house?te without him. I would pay any amount of money for his health if needed.We all love our pets but in reality, everyone has a cut off point. But some won't admit it.
I just think the whole £1k/£2k is ridiculous.
I'm new to this and looking at getting a dog soon so a couple questions if I may.......
"Lifetime cover". Does this mean the premiums are fixed/agreed in advance or does it just mean they will still offer the same cover for life but the premiums will go stratospheric?
Seriously, is that because you've got loads of pets?
pidsy said:
One of our dogs is £26 a month lifetime cover, the other is £120 a month lifetime cover.
So the different hugely premiums are because different breeds?"Lifetime cover". Does this mean the premiums are fixed/agreed in advance or does it just mean they will still offer the same cover for life but the premiums will go stratospheric?
Jasandjules said:
As to pet insurance, we have accident and emergency cover. But then at one point our premiums were up at 420pcm......
£5kpa for premiums?? Do you own a farm? Or a unicorn?Seriously, is that because you've got loads of pets?
Steve H said:
£5kpa for premiums?? Do you own a farm? Or a unicorn?
Seriously, is that because you've got loads of pets?
Duncan - non pedigree staffy from a rescue — £26Seriously, is that because you've got loads of pets?
Lou - pedigree miniature English bull terrier- the expensive one. They have quite a catalogue of things than can go wrong with them.
Steve H said:
£5kpa for premiums?? Do you own a farm? Or a unicorn?
Seriously, is that because you've got loads of pets?
It was £270pcm for one dog (Newfie) - plus we paid 20% of the medications which took it to about £350pcm. Then we had three other cats and two dogs.... Seriously, is that because you've got loads of pets?
As they get older the premiums can rocket IME.
Jordan210 said:
Talking about insurance im looking at getting it for our pup.
Is it best to get
Accident Only Policies
Time Limited Policies
Maximum Benefit Policies
Lifetime Policies
Im thinking about Lifetime with a minimum of 4k per condition is that about right ?
This might be useful - explains the different types of pet insurance available.Is it best to get
Accident Only Policies
Time Limited Policies
Maximum Benefit Policies
Lifetime Policies
Im thinking about Lifetime with a minimum of 4k per condition is that about right ?
http://www.petmoneysaver.co.uk/blog/pet-insurance-...
Bit of a thread resurrection but, we insured our Lab since birth with a well know insurer who like pets and have a plan to look after them….
Costs in year 1 were around £300 a year.
We are now in year 10 and just got a renewal at over £1,000.
It has gone up roughly £100 / year for every year we have insured (obviously a bit less earlier on). If you stay with them then pretty much everything is covered, but a £7k per annum max spend.
So in year 1 you are insuring £7k for £300. Now it is £7k for £1,000+ (minus excesses of course).
SWMBO would not accept the “she has had a good innings (the dog), maybe we shouldn’t inflict multiple operations to keep her going” argument in the event that something happened. I would be paying for whatever was required.
In the last 5 years she has had around £4k of claims, so less than the premiums over her lifetime but an amount which would have smarted. She has hip issues (the dog) and is likely to need something else.
For perspective the entire family get medical cover with no excess for £2.5k per year, and 2 of us are 50. So the dog insurance represents particularly poor value.
Insure the dog or don’t insure the dog?
Costs in year 1 were around £300 a year.
We are now in year 10 and just got a renewal at over £1,000.
It has gone up roughly £100 / year for every year we have insured (obviously a bit less earlier on). If you stay with them then pretty much everything is covered, but a £7k per annum max spend.
So in year 1 you are insuring £7k for £300. Now it is £7k for £1,000+ (minus excesses of course).
SWMBO would not accept the “she has had a good innings (the dog), maybe we shouldn’t inflict multiple operations to keep her going” argument in the event that something happened. I would be paying for whatever was required.
In the last 5 years she has had around £4k of claims, so less than the premiums over her lifetime but an amount which would have smarted. She has hip issues (the dog) and is likely to need something else.
For perspective the entire family get medical cover with no excess for £2.5k per year, and 2 of us are 50. So the dog insurance represents particularly poor value.
Insure the dog or don’t insure the dog?
When we looked at cover for our German Shepherd pup, it seemed to be about £700 a year. We self insured, and the dog is now 11. She’s needed one major operation, a triple mastectomy, which cost £2k. By my maths we are up about 5k.
I think people need to be realistic about what they are putting their pets through. We had a chat with the vet beforehand and the plan was thus: if he x-rayed once she was sedated, and she was riddled with it, she’d not be waking up. If he operated, and it had spread everywhere, she’s not be waking up. I’m willing to put an animal through an operation that has a high chance of success, and has a minimal recovery time. I’m not willing to put an animal through a series of painful operations that they don’t understand. I’m well aware that 11 and a half is a good age for a GSD, I’m not trying to preserve her forever.
My view on insurance - if you can afford whatever bill the vet throws at you, then don’t bother. You will lose some, but probably win more. If you can’t finance a 10K bill, then yes, get insurance.
I think people need to be realistic about what they are putting their pets through. We had a chat with the vet beforehand and the plan was thus: if he x-rayed once she was sedated, and she was riddled with it, she’d not be waking up. If he operated, and it had spread everywhere, she’s not be waking up. I’m willing to put an animal through an operation that has a high chance of success, and has a minimal recovery time. I’m not willing to put an animal through a series of painful operations that they don’t understand. I’m well aware that 11 and a half is a good age for a GSD, I’m not trying to preserve her forever.
My view on insurance - if you can afford whatever bill the vet throws at you, then don’t bother. You will lose some, but probably win more. If you can’t finance a 10K bill, then yes, get insurance.
pidsy said:
Look elsewhere. PP have got too expensive for many pie op Le over the past few years.
Bear in mind that if you do this, a new insurer would not cover existing conditions (and sometimes vaguely connected conditions - eg if your dog has had a lump removed in the past, they may not cover any other lump removals, even if it's a different type of lump).This may be a consideration with your dog having hip issues.
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