Pet insurance
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You get what you pay for. Those prices wouldn’t get you much. Unless that’s monthly?
Nora
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After much thought we have not renewed our insurance for the dogs this time. We have two much loved dogs, aged 2 and 4 and have never claimed, nor did we claim for the dog we had previously for 10+ years. They both are part of the local vet programme, and by joining Dogs Trust for £12.50 pa we have public liability insurance for them both. We also have a cleared credit card put aside to pay immediately any urgent bills. We simply could not see the point of paying £30 - £40 a month for something we would never use. Having said all of that it took some real heart searching, you just keep thinking but what if??!!
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We insured our first dog with Pet Plan for £7000 cover when she was 4 months old. At two and a half years she developed Lymphoma. After 6 months of treatment she was sadly put to sleep a year a go. The treatment in total came to £12,000 of which the £7000 was covered by the insurance company. They were exceptional. The hospital submitted their invoices and were paid direct. This was invaluable to us as we were so upset and devastated I dont think we could have coped with the added stress if this had not happened. The monthly premiums were worth every penny and more. Would highly recommend Pet Plan
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I too would recommend Pet Plan. They are more expensive than most other policies but the level of cover is excellent. Many companies that deal with pet insurance do not offer cover for life. Cover for life means that if you have claimed for a particular condition, you can claim for the same condition in a future year. If you dont have this, it means if you claim for a particular condition, you will never be a&e to claim for the same condition again in a future year, even if you change insurance company.
David
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Instead of paying £30 - £40 each month, we have put £50 per month into a 5% regular savings account, renewed each year. It soon mounts up....
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As veterinary care has developed, the costs have risen greatly over the years. I never begrudge a vet anything, they are miracle workers, but there is no doubt that treating a pet for anything other than routine minor ailments is now very expensive. Like others, we put the money aside. Petplan used to be good, years ago, but now we find just the best of a bad deal really. Pets are classed as aged at 8, so you don't get the full payout, or they are no longer insured for certain illnesses. If you take out a for life policy, then you can't shop around as you would do with other insurance policies, and the premiums get higher and higher every year.
One thing we have learned. If your pet is on long term medication, say for pain relief or a heart condition, then check out the price of drugs from a reputable online company. Our dogs use Metacam. A 100ml bottle from our vets costs over £50. We use a written vet prescription, which gives 2 repeats and costs £15 each time. We then buy the Metacam from an online company, and with postage, it costs us £12. So that is £17 per bottle. Quite a saving!
Edit: I meant to add that we have used the online company for over 10 years, never had any problems. It pays to research carefully though. Happy to pass on company name if others need it, flea treatments and workers are a lot cheaper as well.
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Do you have to take your dog in to your Vet when getting the prescription? we have to pay for a health check every 3 months before they will issue the medicine. So in our case it would be pay the Vet for a health check plus a prescription as they won't give this without seeing the dog, which makes sense. Meaning there won't be a lot of saving to be made.
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We also get a prescription from the vet cost£16. We also get Metacam 180 ml bottle costing £18, we were paying £50 with the vet. We also get Apoquel tablets for her allergies and we pay about £63 for 45 tablets, can't remember what we were pay with the vet but it is a lot less.
We are using Animed direct and are really good. We used to be able to send the prescription but now the vet has to do it.
Lynne
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Metheven
we pay a monthly fee to the vet about 12.99 which covers her yearly injection, all flee stuff and worming tablets, we also get one free consultation a year.
we have a free 6 month check up so may be this covers us for getting the prescription.
lynne
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Cheers Lynneallan,
I have just paid our Vet £70 for Propalin which lasts 3 months and by law cannot be extended beyond that period without re-examination. Before the vet can give a repeat our dog has to go in for an examination plus the medicine.
I can get the same online but a prescription must be included, and I cannot get the prescription on its own, so examination (£20), prescription (£15) online medicine (£25) totals £60 so not a lot in it.
The med is certainly cheaper online but the hoops you have to jump through to get that adds up in cost.
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Luckily we only a need an occasional repeat prescription for our remaining dog supervised by the vet. If we wanted to buy it elsewhere there would be a prescription charge, we usually buy flea/worming treatment ourselves (cat and dog) if we see any on special offer.
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M, I think it varies from Vet to Vet. Our dogs have to be seen every six months, but we usually time it so they are in for something else. The flea treatment we use is via prescription, and this is included on the same prescription, so we only pay £15 for both items.
When we first used prescriptions they were actually free, no charge at all, but then I think Government got involved. We had a dog on three different tablets, two were seriously expensive from vets, third wasn't, but it saved us hundreds of pounds. If we just go in for a routine check for existing condition it's half usual consultation fee. I think we may be getting well looked after, if you get my drift, but down the years, with all our pets (including a horse) I think we possibly built the extension to the surgery!
They are wonderful though, we are lucky to have a therapy pool as part of the practice as well. Our lad has been using it recently.
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Cautionary tale.
We know somebody who took on and re-homed a dog not so long ago. It was checked over by the vet before purchase. The new owners took out pet insurance. Within 4 months the dog was exhibiting distress and the owners took it to the vet.
To cut a long story short the insurers were landed with bill in excess of £5,000 and unfortunately the dog had to be put down.
I know quite a few people who don't believe in insuring their house contents. I also know what travesty a pure accident or unforeseen event can cause to people as a result of a serious fire or flood.
There are plenty of people who have managed to get away with it but....
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Personally I don't feel I'm getting away with it by not insuring our pets, basically I feel that pet ownership is a big responsibility and if I can't afford to look after them properly I shouldn't take them on. But that's a personal view and some feel more secure by taking up insurance. Lack of insurance for our home could run into a vast amount, worst case scenario, so that's another matter.
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Not meant as a critique Brue. Just that these days there seems to be more and more people living at their maximum credit and some of these people tend to cut back on what used to be called essentials.
If people can afford a few thousand of pounds as vets fees then not taking out insurance will have been an economic decision based on their own circumstances Some people don't realise how much these fees costs and the post was mainly for those who won't have come across current costs.
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Just a quick side-step here if I may.
For the last couple of years we’ve over-wintered in Spain and Portugal, this year for 100 days. I checked my pet insurance and found my dog was only covered abroad for a couple of weeks. Fortunately I had only just renewed a few days earlier so cancelled it and shopped around for one that would cover her for illness and accident for the duration of our holiday. Saga don’t put a limit on but were quite a bit more expensive.
Red Pennant cover a pet for repatriation only so I wanted the full cover that she has at home.
Nora
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I understand where you are coming from Brian It's personal choice and a bit of luck too. I have to say, we were grateful for our insurance last year when Lizzie had a saliva gland removed. Total cost over £5000 for all the tests, scans and eventually the op. She had other issues before this too with pancreatitis.
David
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You need to be very careful checking cover when comparing quotes. I do not know what company came out cheapest on Go Compare but Tesco cover is from RSA who are a large and reputable company and should be one of the best if things go wrong and has a DEFAQTO 5 star rating. If an insurance does not have that then assume the worst.
You tend to get what you pay for and the cheapest is probably very basic with a large excess or the claims are dealt with on a very tight basis.
Always make sure that in the event of a long term illness that you do not get cover for this only until the end of that policy year but the policy gives continuous cover for that throughout the life of the pet as if that happens, the small saving on the premium can be wiped out many times over.
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When we got Meg, 4 years ago, I debated long and hard about insurance but in the end decided to go with More Than and so far, I have been pleased with the service and level of cover provided. Maximum claim of £12000 per year and this is regardless of whether or not a previous claim has been made for the same condition. When we have had to make a claim, they have paid up promptly and it can all be done on-line - with the assistance of our Vet - so minimum fuss.
Although I am currently paying more per month for Meg than I am for a £25k caravan, it does give me peace of mind that if something really expensive cropped up, we will be covered.
On the question of prescriptions, I regularly request one for worming medications which would cost me £75 from the Vets (for six months supply) but I can get for half the price, on-line - including the £8 charge for the script. It's always worth asking because, by law, a Vet cannot refuse to issue one (although some, I know charge ridiculous prices to try to dissuade anyone from asking).
On another money saving matter - our Vet is part of a national chain and when Meg was first taken there, there was an offer of paying £49 up front and that covered her for all her booster injections and an annual check-up for life. Don't know if it's still available.
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One of my Cockers was recently put to sleep at the age of just seven with adenocarcinoma.
He was insured with John Lewis, who are underwritten by RSA, and they have been excellent. Henry was just two when he was diagnosed with Epilepsy. This was poorly controlled, and his medications were gradually increased and added to. His vet referred him to the University of Liverpool SAH where he underwent a battery of tests and MRI scan. The neurologist found no underlying cause of his Epilepsy and it was deemed idiopathic. Last October he was diagnosed with cancer and saw an oncologist at the University SAH who said there was nothing to be done for him. He was given just months to live.
John Lewis have never queried any of the charges for Henry and agreed the payment for his two referrals which were in excess of £2,000. They also paid for his euthanasia; the price paid for him; and also £100 towards his cremation.
In his last years his premiums soared, but they more than covered his monthly vet bills.
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We have continued with the Kennel Club insurance plan, but thinking of cancelling that and setting up a savings plan to put the insurance cost in to that. We have been lucky and not needed to call on the policy. Just figure the £25 a month will mount up to cover most scenarios in our dog's old age. If not then we have the funds to cover the next puppy.
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