I posted on here about getting a second dog and one answer was to think of the cost.  I have and it would still be within my means, yet my pet insurance company have written to say congratulations on not making any claims, so in that case we will be increasing your monthly instalments by £3.50 a month.

that's kind of them ... not Guess its inflation :(

this wont be suitable for everyone,but Ive just cancelled my pet insurance,as it was going up by pounds every year for each of my three dogs , despite never claiming in five years(or ever),and I feared itd be out of my pocket as the dogs got older
(Im on my own and live on the state pension) So now I put the money I was paying on insurance into a savings account,along with the odd fiver here and there when I can spare it.Im hoping to manage this way,and I will use my credit card if I need to,in case of any big bills.

It's what I have done for the past 20 years.  I do breed my own dogs (so even from purely selfish motives it behoves me to select for health and health test breeding stock). 

I do have a fairly natural breed of medium size that are pretty robust.  so the odds are in my favour for general good health.

I have found over the years that besides pimple on the bum type stuff (which would generally be below excess anyway) that vet treatment is likely to be for uninsured things (breeding related), silly accidents (getting into leaf mould and getting conjunctivitis as a result) that youngsters may get into, or nothing needing needing (minor surgery for lumps warts) until old age, when the Insurance would really be high and have large excesses.

In 20 years I have never had to pay out more than one dogs worth of Insurance.  Since 2000 I have had at least 3 and up to 6 dogs.

That's what we do now with 4 dogs, we allocate a sum of money each month, that way there's no excess, and anything that would run into £1000's and cause major problems would most likely be above the ceiling most insurance policies have anyway.

It's what I do as well I put money away monthly and have a credit card.this is just my a pinion but I won't put mine through extremely expensive treatments that may cause pain or distress and no guarantee of a cure at the end. I take each problem and do what I think is best at the time.

As we have always had numbers insurance wasn't really an option.   I suppose we were lucky in having a line which meant our vet visits were minimal over the years, and if we did hit a bad patch, most of our vets, wherever we happened to be living, let us 'stage pay', knowing we'd not be going anywhere fast and would clear our debts before putting food on the table!!    Once down to our current two, I did take quotes but having decided I just wanted insurance, not to buy the companies, decided not to bother.   Fact is, not for nothing do insurance companies set their excesses at around the cost of most normal vet visits which means you end up paying the vet bill AND the monthly premiums.   A no win situation - but great for the insurers!!   Insurance companies are not there for you after all.

If I could, I'd have a separate dog account - never worked out that way I have to say!!   Right now, we are fortunate enough to be able to weather most storms...... she says, fingers crossed because I could still live to regret my decision.

> she says, fingers crossed because I could still live to regret my decision.

That is exactly it in a nutshell, it's a gamble you choose to take. Even with a large number of dogs I'd choose insurance for peace of mind if nothing else.

An expensive vet bill can mount up in minutes, literally. Almost 11 year old dog, slipped disc, scans, x-rays, various tests, happened on a Sunday, pts on the Monday and a bill approaching £1500 with a generally fit dog who didn't look or act her years. It only takes one incident like that to realise just how quickly bills can escalate. At the time she was the only one of my 7 dogs not insured - s*ds law! 10 months previously my old boy of almost 13 racked up a bill of £3500 in the space of 5 days, again resulting in pts. He was insured, costing £66 a month.

I agree with all that you say regarding vet costs.  The reason I have pet insurance is in case anyone claims against me for something my dog might do or if I have to go into hospital for any length of time.

>10 months previously my old boy of almost 13 racked up a bill of £3500 in the space of 5 days, again resulting in pts. He was insured, costing £66 a month

£66 pm x 13 years comes to £10296 now obviously you wont have been paying £66pm for the whole of his life but even so if that was the only big bill you had for him if you had put £30pm away in a bank account for him you would still have come out ahead.

> Even with a large number of dogs I'd choose insurance for peace of mind if nothing else.

I put £150 pm away which is less than the insurance would be for my 6 dogs. I have had bills of £1100 and£1500 in the last couple of years but I still have money in my account. The added benefit is my insurance fund covers all vets bills including routine and low cost items. 

>The reason I have pet insurance is in case anyone claims against me for something my dog might do or if I have to go into hospital for any length of time.

I am a member of the dogs trust which provides 3rd party liability insurance. costs about £25 pa

> £66 pm x 13 years comes to £10296 now obviously you wont have been paying £66pm for the whole of his life but even so if that was the only big bill you had for him if you had put £30pm away in a bank account for him you would still have come out ahead.

What that doesn't show is that he was on medication for arthritis from age 9 which came to approx £70 a month. He was a healthy chap, with few vet visits, prior to 9, but then had extensive x-rays and a few other problems requiring expensive treatment.

It really comes down to "you pays your money and takes your choice". On the whole I think I've got more out of the insurance than they have out of me, don't know if I've just been unlucky, but I'll stick with insuring my lot. :)

One of my dogs has liver disease and arthritis I was paying well over £100 a month at the vets for all her medication but know pay half that by getting a prescription and buying it on line.