Hi all,

My insurance renewal is due on June 12th.   It is £553.68.
My GSd is now 14 years old and I have had this lifetime policy with Animal Friends since he was 12 weeks old.
I am not currently claiming for anything.
I had previously decided that I would not put my boy through any extensive treatment or surgery should the situation arise so I was wondering if I should not renew my policy.

Any advice/opinions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Given that with af you will be paying the excess probably £99 + the first 35% of the sum insured and then they will be taking the price of the whole claim from your sum insured not the amount they paid I would seriously think about cancelling.
Given your views on treatment, I think similar btw, what would you claim for ?
Putting the money away you will have £46 permonth to pay for anything that comes up. any claim will need to be over £165 to be worth claiming. I think that's right

I am very pro insurance an dhave 2 with AF , wish mine were that cheap but then I have heavy on going claims.Its an unusual view from suggesting cancelling a policy. lovely to hear of such a long lived shep

That isn't actually too bad a price for a dog of that age - assuming it covers all you need it to cover.

I didn't renew this year's policy for my soon to be 11 year old Golden Retriever as it came in at over £1600

I too have decided that I wouldn't have any major invasive treatment for him even though I have money put aside that would cover most treatments if not all. I am a firm believer in quality over quantity and seeing how long it took him to get over surgery a couple of years ago and how miserable it made him my decisions on any future treatments would be made purely on quality of life.

Thanks guys for your replies and advice.  You  have helped me make my decision not to renew.

I forgot to say that I do also have to pay a 35% co payment.

I did check with Vip4u and they did confirm that my premium amount was a good one but age comes into play.

If it helps.my 9 year old gsd also.with af but with ongoing claims for allergies has just renewed at £100 per.month with the same excess.I also have another with af at the same price per month or near as. It is worth me renewing due to the amount I have to claim each year.forgot to say vip4u were excellant but we agreed it's probably better to stay put.  Nb fpr anyone who reads this quickly af is animal friends insurance  not anal furnuculosis

I must be mean. My old boys insurance was £51 a month and had the usual excess charges. As he was 14 and I had decided no  big or invasive treatments I cancelled it.

He needed Metacam for his joints and had a heart murmer which we just kept an eye on. But that was all he was pts at 15 and a month having been well until 2 days before

I really feel insurance companies give loyal dog owners a rough time once your dog hits 10+... After years of paying out and claiming twice an ear operation and a stitched nose for my lab at the age of 12 her renewal astonishingly high. We stopped the insurance after a heated debate by letter.
Why can't insurance companies give something back to loyal customers and older pets? A discount for years of service and maybe set limit say for older pets rather than hike prices up.

no claims bonus perhaps ? however I have lost mine lol

I'd say thanks but no thanks, personally but then the only time we carried insurance was with our first hound here in the UK before we left for Canada.   Once our numbers increased, it simply wasn't viable to insure and we were lucky in having vets who did allow us to stage pay if we hit a bad patch which thankfully too, was rare.    Our  more significant expenses were to do with C.Sections but the cost of those, and ongoing, were covered by puppy sales.

I did take quotes on my now two only hounds, and nearly died.   One is a breed not known for many 'health issues' too.    And that excess - so basically you end up paying the vet visit, plus the monthly premiums.   Nice.

Thankfully now, although one of the two hounds has been costly from the 4 months he was when we bought him, we have been able to meet these costs from savings.   Given his now medical history, I can't imagine what any insurance (if possible!) might cost.

I have a theory that vet costs are increasing as much because they know many of their clients do carry insurance, as anything.   Why do new vets always ask whether the dog is insured as one of the first questions!!!

Thanks again guys.

It has given me peace of mind to know that others, in my situation with an elderly dog, have cancelled their policy.

Saxonjus....I have thought this too.  After 14 years with about 7 claims during my boys life - all for injury related things....he was a pocket rocket for 12 years of his life .....I would have thought some kind of reward to a customer would be a nice gesture.

Totally agree k94ever

Included in that price doesn't it include liability against people claiming against you and if you have to go into hospital the dog can go into kennels and the price you  paid for the dog should he die? phew

the price you  paid for the dog should he die?

I can't remember where but I'm sure I read something in the last week or two that some, at least, companies only pay out for death by accident and exclude payment for death by illness over a certain age !!!

That is the case with many companies tatty head. .

Yes tatty head that's the case for a lot of companies and with regard to 3rd party claims if u join the dogs trust for around 12 pound per year you also get a policy to cover claims against  you .I gather from Trevor Cooper of dog law it's a very good policy too

Yes, we have the Dogs Trust 3rd party ins. too. Comes included with your membership and covers multi dogs too. There is also a vet. advice line, (telephone charges) run by the RCVS nurses. It is £12 for senior citizens, but I think £25 is the standard fee.

Some  policies now do not pay out for death when dog over 10 years old now.

Personaly I think that is   the least of my worries if I have lost my dog.