Once again I am wrestling with the insurance dilemma and wondering what to do.

My eldest dog (staffy bitch) is 8 and her insurance has gone up from around £25pcm to £37pcm.  I have looked at various quotes from other companies, changing some of the variables and come to the conclusion that the reason they are all so high is because she is not vaccinated.

She had all her vaccinations until a couple of years ago when I decided to stop vaccinating.  She is pretty healthy and the only claims we had in the last year related to her eye (my other dog kicked her in the eye and it ulcerated).  The excess is currently around £90 so I have been paying for any minor stuff and worm/flea prevention etc.

My dilemma is whether to 1/ get her vaccinated and go for a cheaper premium  2/ don't get vaccinated and pay over the odds for her premiums  3/ don't get her vaccinated and ditch the insurance

Any thoughts?

Some companies charge the same if the are not vaccinated, they just point out that you cannot claim for anything that a vaccine would cover eg Parvo, my PDSA  insurance  has just gone down slightly to £242 for the year so I am happy with that, my other dogs insurance  just about doubled with M&S once she reached 9 years.

Oh to have an insurance for only £37 a month, sigh.

I have one in at just over £50 a month on a Boxer that will be 8yo next year.
Hate to think what it will go up to.
I have another that's just hit the doormat £169.50 a month yup you read it right
£169.50 a month or £2034 a year!! (More Than)
Yes this Boxer does have exisiting conditions and is over 10 years old now..
Sad thing is I don't want to gamble and ditch the insurance as you can bet sods law
that we will require emergency vet treatment/medications if we don't insure..
Rock and a hard place - as it does feel like daylight robbery...both of these dogs are vaccinated.

They claim dogs breed, age and postal code does come into how the premium is calculated.
All I can say is thank God my vets bills don't rise by the same percentage as the insurance does every year.

If the pet insurance company is a good one to be honest I'd stick with it as at least then if you get any further
eye ulcers they will be covered under your existing policy. Eye ulcers can be very expensive to heal if you get an
awkward one or need specialist referral - nearly 4 figures to be precise as we've also been there too.

I checked with AXA who will cover her for under £200pa but only if she is vaccinated.  What a dilemma, to give in to the over vaccinatingculture for the sake of saving  around £300 hmmmm

We have had to cancel our big girls insurance.
She has a hole in her heart and a grade 3 murmur. we have already been told she can't be operated on because of her size, and she won't see old bones.
She is 6 and 1/2 and the premium went up to £30 a month with it going up again when she is 7. We have had 1 claim in the whole time we have had her and it makes me mad that not only do the costs go up but every year the excess goes up aswell. Then we read that after the age of 7 the percentage of the veterinary costs will be reduced beacause of age. Dammed if you do and dammed if you don't........
We are now putting £20 a month away for the eventuality she will need meds in the future.

I have changed my BTs insurance to the RSPCA they have some good rates for dogs not having excsisting conditions. I have just got them down to £10.47 for my bitch and £13.45 for my dog and thats on their top cover.

I agree, would live my dogs to be insured for £37, one is currently £43 and the other £40 a month. I would think the rise is more likely becuase if a general rise in premiums across the board than becuase you don't vaccinate. If you titre test would it be worth seniding them a copy of the titre to show that they are protected?

lucyandmeg, it is linked to vaccinating as I ran different searches through various companies on search sites and the difference in premiums and the companies willing to insure her varied significantly.  for example AXA won't insure unvaccinated dogs.  On their website they don't ask the question but a paragraph at the beginning of the policy document says that dogs must be fully vaccinated.

I don't titre test as my vets were not keen to do it.  She was vaccinated for the first 6 years of her life and I decided to stop doing it but have now caved in and she is going back for her first jab next week.