Pet Insurance?

[Jennifer Martin]

 Rio's insurance is due for renewal, he is with AXA at the moment but there's been quite a price hike,
I have been trawling around the insurance companies but with no real idea who is 'Best' so I thought I would ask the UK dog owners who they recommend - suggestions please.   

[Dee Rance]

That is all very well Margaret, but if an emergency occurs then it is always a blessing to be able to say, just do what needs to be done, Although I agree with you wholeheartedly, many of the ''new'' vets don't seem to be able to diagnose anything these days, without lots of tests etc. and there are a few vets that treat you like some kind of idiot because you tell them what is wrong with your dog. The old vets and large animal vets are the best ones, but they are fast retiring. I must say that the vets I have now did apologize to me when it was proved that I was correct about something, but the last time that happened my dog suffered and I could never forgive the vet for that, (mind you he no longer is at that particular vet and nor am I)
As for buying from a line that doesn't have any of those problems, well how can you tell??? you do your best and if that isn't good enough well you don't breed, You can only go with the ''honesty'' of the breeder, And that isn't always there, but I digress....I have already started an ISA for mine, but have them insured as well, just in case, strange thing is that the puppy (Fin) costs more than his mother per month, strange one that!!!!
My vet gives a 20% discount for breeders, and a 10% for OAPs so I can have one or the other.
I was also interested in what Rosie Dudley had to say, although I have a family that really wants my two,,when I pop my clogs...as for Jas we will go together and with Tam. But I will look at the Dogs Trust,
I think for me the way I am going with Fin, (insurance + money being put away) will be OK I hope, until I have built enough money in the ISA, and then I will give the insurance the elbow, you are rite, Margaret, you are ultimately lining their pockets, and with most insurances, they will wriggle out of paying if they possibly can. Good luck finding a good insurance company, don't know if there is one...well not in my experience.

[Howard Glansfield]

I left Pet Plan because of the huge rise in premiums and moved to Pinnacle Insurance.also known as Help-U-Cover.I have found the cover very similar to Pet Plan .I have ,unfortunately,had to make many claims for one of my dogs and they have always paid promptly and have proved to be very helpful.I would recommend them.

[silvia]

Thanks Howard ! This sounds a very very good option indeed, and I had past experiences with Pinnacle for some eye/dental covers: they were very fast and reliable. I think I will leave this awful pet-insurance (which is E&L under a new name) and move to them right now!

Petplan is out of mind in my area: they quote ~60-65£ per month, in fact , a very high premium..

Best, Silvia

[Jennifer Martin]

I am sad to hear that we are all in the same dilemma - to insure or not?,- possibly an ISA and the Dog's Trust may be the best way to go. Insurance companies are the only ones to benefit, I would think it is extremely rare that you get back in vets' fee's what you have paid in insurance premiums over the years.
I hope that by 'sounding' each other out on here we may come up with a definitive solution that may help us all.

[Margaret Sierakowski]

"I would think it is extremely rare that you get back in vets' fee's what you have paid in insurance premiums over the years"

ON AVERAGE, you cannot get back what you pay in. Your contributions cover not only claims, but also the running costs of the insurance company ( big buildings, staff, six figure salaries for top managers) as well as shareholders getting the profits
A few people will get back as much as they pay in, the majority will be lucky if they get half of it back
Add to that the effects of vets inflating bills where pet owners are insured and a minority of pet owners out to get back more than they paid in

[Lois McCullough]

I agree with a lot of what has been written however there is an old, old saying ' an insured dog is a healthy dog.' All of my Irish have been insured and apart from one lived to ripe old ages, as before if you live in a rural area speak to NFU you may be pleasantly surprised.

[Margaret Sierakowski]

I sometimes think that in an affluent consumer orientated society, there are pet owners who feel that the more they spend on their pets (insurance , big vets bills, exotic dogs foods at £60 a bag, toys more suitable for children than dogs, expensive dog beds, coats, collars and leads) the more they are demonstrating how much they love their pet
The reality is that you can still love your dog and have a healthy, well cared for, happy dog without having to do any of these things. And much as some pet owners anthropomorphise the reality is the dog doesnt give a damn how much you spend as long as he is well fed, exercised, comfortable and gets some social interaction with you and other dogs. Basic things

[Carmel Murphy]

At least you have some choices in the UK for pet insurance!! Here in Ireland I am only aware of two companies doing this and the cost is very high for 6 dogs, so at the moment I only have1 dog insured(my youngest Abbey) I have only needed to claim on two occasions for Rua for ear cleaning(under anesthetic) and a bad bout of colitis she had once(but now controlled by diet!!) But the sums were very small and certainly not worth the premiums I was paying at the time!! They don't cover the things that are the most expensive for me like hip scoring, vaccinations, pregnancy scans etc., so I decided to do as Margaret suggested and just put money aside to cover anything that may occur in the future!!

[Howard Glansfield]

"I would think it is extremely rare that you get back in vets' fee's what you have paid in insurance premiums over the years"

This is probably true for most people but,in my case,I have an Irish ,Ellie, who has a long term ongoing problem with digital cysts and the cause cannot (as yet) be identified.However her treatment seems to keep them at bay and I must get back what I pay many times over.My other setter,Fred, is a healthy dog and I do not get back what I pay in premiums but ,I suppose,that is how insurance works.One pays for the other.
Years ago I had a puppy who I discovered had a portacaval shunt and his vet bills were horrendous.I thought he was insured ,and he was, but the policy (Co-op) had opt outs and did not cover for the cost of his unsuccessful operation and treatment.My wife and I managed to pay his bills and then vowed that any dog we had would be fully and adequately insured.
I am getting a puppy on October 10th and I will try NFU ,for a quote at least.

[Rosie Dudley]

Insurance is like the lottery, you pay in your stake, a proportion of this goes to the good causes, (in the case of pet vet cover, the insurance co.) and the rest makes up the prize fund, not everyone wins, and those who don't win, make the ones who do win, rich, or in the case of vet cover, pays their vet bill. Thats how it works !

If like me you have a number of dogs, you can run your own lottery. I had some of my youngsters chipped a couple of years ago, the vet had a promotion on and was offering the service for £10 & you got a months free insurance cover ! Obviously the insurance co. was subsidising the deal. I received the written invitation to extend the cover, which I ignored, then got a follow up telephone call offering me their best rates, he was a nice man and I was interested to know how much he would quote, so told him of all of my 9 dogs and not just the ones on his list and he quoted £5200 per year ! I am blessed with dogs who rarely need to visit the vet. Am I likely in many or any years to incur vets bills to this figure, remember also the payout is the cost over the excess, (which is usually equal to the cost of a consultation and a set of antibiotics). The fear most of us have is that the worst could happen and we would not want to be financially compromised should it happen.

If you have a network of trusted family and close friend, you could form your own vet fees club, you could set up a joint account to pay your premiums into, and agree your own rules ! No good causes to subsidise!

I would never compromise the veterinary care my dogs receive, but that dose not mean that my business head shouldn’t negotiates the best rates from my vet. I expect the vet to justify their charges, when medication is being prescribed, I ask the cost prior to accepting it, I ask in a very polite and friendly way if they wouldn’t mind checking on http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/ to see if paying for a prescription (costing about £10) will be more cost effective for me, usually the cost from the vet is many times this outsourced cost, (remember the vets price usually has VAT to be added, Hyperdrug’s price is inclusive). My experience has been that the vet goes to consult with a senior partner or practice manager, and comes back with an offer just above the cost of my going to Hyperdrug, (which remember has a profit element, the vet will still be making this same profit). If your dog is on longterm treatment and have no insurance, it’s very relevant to take this approach. A box of 250 tablets of Synulox 250mg from Hyperdrug costs £201.83 about 81 pence each, check your bills or ring your vet and ask for their price, they are bound by law to tell you, see what the percentage uplift there is on this alone! Wormers and flee treatment is usually half the price and needs no prescription.

The first two years and the last two years of a dogs life are likely to be the most expensive vet bill wise. I always give insurance cover with my puppies and advise the new owner to keep it up for at least the first two or three years. But of course a crisis such as bloat or cancer can occur at any age. Everyone must do what is best for their circumstances and peace of mind, and, the more people that turn away from insurance, the more expensive it will become for those who stay with it. Insurance has caused a vicious circle, the dilemma is, if you have it, the profiteering vets think they can charge what they like, the insurance co. pass the cost of the excessive payouts back to you in their premiums. For many if you don’t have insurance, how will you pay the vets bills.

One other option is buying insurance from the PDSA http://www.pdsa.org.uk/ they do have I think reasonable rates. Also if you are on a pension or benefits, you may qualify for assistance with all or part of your vet bills without buying insurance, have a look at the website to see if you do.

[Howard Glansfield]

I know from the RCVS that if you request a precription the vet has to supply it.My vet charges £20 per item for a 6 monthly repeat prescription.However if the vet hasn't got the drug that he wants to give your pet he has to provide a prescription without charge,This happened to me with a dog who had Cushings.Despite ordering her repeat drug early the vet hadn't got the drug.I was able to demand a prescription and I was able to get it from my local pharmacy at a great saving.If you bought your drugs from a reputable internet site like www.petprescription.co.uk you would probably save a lot of money.Being insured ,there is not much point in doing this.Although, if the Insurance Companies allowed this they would save and make a great deal more money.However the vets would suffer financially.You sometimes can't win!

[Jennifer Martin]

One thing I found with prescription drugs for Jinty was to find the lowest on line price, tell my vet and he use to match it!.