Having just got my bitch back from the vets, believe me I am so grateful that they saved her, the bill was £1042, I am now looking for the best insurers for my dogs, I need one who will cover older dogs, because they range from 5 to 9 years, I used to have insurance, never made a claim, sods law, as soon as I didnt renew, something happens:(

Ouch!! Money well spent I'm sure - but I know exactly what you mean about insurance. I paid out ££££ over the years to insure two dogs that actually never cost me a penny in vet fees (apart from the usual vaccs etc). Because of this I decided not to insure my rescue hound and she broke her leg in 5 places during a romp in the park!!
Now I insure!!
Glad to hear your girls OK though - that's the main thing.
Jackie

Hi, you could always set up a doggy savings account and pay in an equivalent of the insurance payments and have cash available to pay future vets fees - its not ideal but better than nothing and does mean that once you have a couple of hundred in the account you can relax a little. Once it has reached an amount you consider "safe" say £500 - if you haven't had to use it - you could stop paying in and just let it accrue interest. If I just had one dog (I have too many to make insurance worthwhile) then I would insure it with Pet Plan - in the certain knowledge it would never be needed!

Yes I think your idea, is the best bet, I have been looking at the costs on the net, they quote for one dog, I have 4 adults, plus I am keeping two from Annas litter, At least at the end of the year, if you havent had any vet expenses you still have the money !!!!!!

Hi WL,

That's exactly what I do. It's a gamble on the hope that nothing major happens before enough has been saved but I remember looking at pet insurance years ago and there was so much small print "get out" clauses. Luckily, in the past, none of our dogs needed much. I think the most expensive was 360.00 for a 12 year old bitch with a pyro. That only work out at 30.00 a year.

Keeping my fingers crossed :)
Dot

Hi,

I considered this & I can see where your are both coming from but for me it is just too much of a risk.

I know of a labrador that lives a few doors away from me who required a hip replacement that cost £3000 and was paid for by insurance, that was a valuable lesson to me !

Insurance for a dog costs me £158 per anum so 15yrs insurance for under £2,400 is to me money well spent. For this I get £5,000 cover for life for each condition & all the other benefits of third party liability insurance etc, etc.

I'd rather have the peace of mind my insurance brings knowing that should I have to, I can just tell my vet to get on with it without worrying if I can afford the fees. The alternative is having £158 ( which to be honest won't cover much at a vets, certainly nothing serious) in a jar at the end of the first year & nothing like like the £5,000 available even after 15yrs saving.

It's a gamble really & each to their own but having seen how much something serious can cost I have decided that insurance is for me (and my dogs :) ).

Poor you, My two are insured with TESCO!! Sounds a bit strange I know, but they were the cheapest by far, just pick a leaflet up at the till. Hope this helps. Emma

Our two pups are being insured with this company http://www.scotpet.co.uk/ they seem to offer excellent cover (insurance for life ie. they cover the same ilness year on year) and value for money.

Dont go for the cheapest go for the one that offers insurance for life ie: they will cover the same illness next year.
I have mine insured with saga and Minnie has had ongoing treatment for two years now the only thing I have paid is £35 the bill is always settled promptly I would recommend them to anyone trouble is you have to be over fifty to insure with them :( :(

I like Westie's idea about putting away emergency money and letting accrue interest.

However, i think it's wisest to be covered by insurance during the first 4 years of a dogs life being that that's when a dog is most likely to be injured, poisoned, or attain some kind of ailment.

My pup loves to put everything in his mouth, and on occasion swallow objects that he later vomits. If one of these objects were to get stuck in a dog's intestine, it may cost tons of money! After a dog's curiosity level falls (i like to wait after four years of age) then i think its more practical to start saving money.

After the dog reaches about 8 years of age, it would probably be smart to reactivate the insurance again since the dog is aging and debilitating diseases and/or ailments will begin to take their toll.

My philosophy is it's better to shell out 800-1000 dollars over the course of the first 4 years than to be stuck with a 2000-3000 dollar bill that has to be paid in full because your dog decided to swallow a sock that you left on the floor or get into a fight with the raccoon it found rumaging through the trash can.

We are with Saga too Mattie. First time in 40years we have ever insured but found it a godsend with "The allergic black lab" I expect you also got the sorry letters with the cheques. One of the perks of being "old" Being able to use Saga. Never think you will get to this point when you are younger. Hope puppy doing well. tangle.

My Border Collie is insured with Pet Plan, though I am not to pleased with them as they did not pay out the full vets bill? Molly cut her poor very badly a month ago, she had to have stiches etc, the whole bill was 159.00, my insurance only paid 79.00? Um! :(

What is the excess on the policy you've got? I have to pay the first £70 of any claim and then Pet Plan will pay the rest.

Fiona
x x x

My exess is £55 but they still want me to pay more? Don't get me wrong not complaining to much as I could not afford the whole bill anyway thank god for insurance ! I have check my policy its like you pay the exess and they pay the rest so will have to contact them to clarify things? :) Julieann

How odd I think you do need to call them and find out what happend.

Fiona
x x x

Do PetPlan have a voluntary higher excess scheme? I think you agree to pay a higher excess in exchange for lower premiums - it might be worth checking that they don't think you have signed up for this?
:)

£35 with Scot pet. ;)

Hi Julieann. I think ours would have paid the total less our excess, £35 I think without checking. We pay the vet the total amount but then fill in the claim form, take it to the vet to fill in his part etc. Vets send it off and Saga send cheque to us. Have had no problems yet and have had several claims. tangle.

I've been in touch with Tesco Pet Insurance - and I must say their premiums are very competative and the excess wasn't too bad either (and I live near London) £50!!

All other cover was very much the same as most other pet insurers.

Zoe P (UK)

I can't help but think that the Vets are forcing us into a position where we just can not afford not to take out insurance of some kind. The first question your vet asks you as you walk in the door now is, "are you insured?". I suppose they would argue that they can offer you the very best veterinary medicine has to offer, if they do not have to take into consideration if the owner can afford to pay or not, but I still do not see how they can justify some of their fee's.

Leigh ..
who is just off to the vets, with two of her uninsured mutts and her credit card again!

I've got a £40 excess on my policy and that's all I pay the vet, they claim the rest direct from the insurance company. I did talk to them about this a while back and was told they do a two tier service, much like the National Health/Private thing, if you have insurance your dog gets the best of everything, if you don't you get a choice of that or cheaper alternatives that although work will take longer.
I do think it's worth asking around, I have a brilliant vet who's waiting room is like going back to the James Herriot days, but they have all the modern equipment and a homeopathic vet, all the staff really care about the animals and the bills are never what I would call extortionate and they will accept payment in installments. Ingrid

My vets are great ~ we could do a pay scheme with them in fact we do with the cats for their injections, I chose to insure Molly due to her being accident prone! I have to call my insurance company tomorrow to clairfy what's what and will get back to you. Though Andy said tonight he wants to look around for another insurance company? Oh boy here we go again :)

Julieann

Consider yourself very lucky, time to pay, I asked if I could pay my bill of £1042 in two halves, Yes, as long as the other half was in by the end of the month, that would be an extra £20. I paid it all because my bitch still had to receive post op treatment. What insurance company do you use, do they have any clauses on over 8 years old.

Charm i am with UIA insurance through the union, how do i find out how much excess i have to pay (ignore my spelling) debbie

Not to sure, though I can remember them wanting to know Molly's age and what size she is extra to put her in a band or some sort? Julieann

found it, it is £35, not bad considering cleo cost me £85 when we thought she had broke her toe and it turned out just to be a bruse