Dog insurance - 12 month vs lifetime cover. Is lifetime cover worth it?

[EchoInterrupted]

I've been on lifetime cover with petplan (4.5 yo medium sized spayed female) for a couple years now and my premium continues to rise (no surprise) and I can't help but wonder if I'm paying for more than I need. I've had my dog since she was a puppy and she has never been sick or injured herself across the 4+ years I've had her. The types of medical conditions I would be concerned about down the road would be large, long-term issues (e.g. cancer). But I guess even cancer would probably be mostly dealt with in one year so would be covered by the 12-month cover?

What long term medical conditions have people run into with their aging dogs that are costing them a lot of out of pocket? Does anyone out there regret paying less for 12 month rather than lifetime cover?

I'm a grad student now, so can't afford sudden big vet bills, but within the next 3 years that shouldn't be as much of a concern so if I had to pay a reasonable amount out of pocket for some type of long term condition it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Anyone got any great pet insurance plans they would recommend?

 

[SOS]

Cushings, diabetes, cardiac disease, epilepsy, arthritis... I’d say they are the most common chronic conditions we see. All cost anywhere from £30-150 a month in medication. Not including regular blood testing and check ups. We estimate stable chronic disease pets are costing upwards of £1000 a year...

Definitely worth the lifetime cover. 12 month in my opinion is like have just accident and emergency cover. It’s ultimately up to you but it’s the long term medications that get expensive.

 

[EchoInterrupted]

Cushings, diabetes, cardiac disease, epilepsy, arthritis... I’d say they are the most common chronic conditions we see. All cost anywhere from £30-150 a month in medication. Not including regular blood testing and check ups. We estimate stable chronic disease pets are costing upwards of £1000 a year...

Definitely worth the lifetime cover. 12 month in my opinion is like have just accident and emergency cover. It’s ultimately up to you but it’s the long term medications that get expensive.

This is great info, thanks!

When would you say most of those chronic conditions start popping up? I guess it depends a lot on the individual dog, breed, size, etc? I'm assuming also though that the insurance rate for say an 8 year old dog would be cheaper for the person who has had the lifetime policy since the dog was 4 and has kept renewing than for the person who switched from a 12 month to a lifetime policy when the dog turned 8 (with no pre-existing conditions).

 

[blackcob]

You say no pre-existing conditions but so many people get caught out with that - absolutely anything mentioned in the history, however innocuous at the time, starts that 12 month clock ticking. Take care also with the cut-off ages for taking out new lifetime policies, 7 or 8 is common but it can be as little as 5 for some breeds.

 

[SOS]

This is great info, thanks!

When would you say most of those chronic conditions start popping up? I guess it depends a lot on the individual dog, breed, size, etc? I'm assuming also though that the insurance rate for say an 8 year old dog would be cheaper for the person who has had the lifetime policy since the dog was 4 and has kept renewing than for the person who switched from a 12 month to a lifetime policy when the dog turned 8 (with no pre-existing conditions).

As Blackcob said, the only way to ensure the dog is covered is to have the insurance continued since they were a puppy. If not any little thing may be picked up on and excluded. Unlike horse insurance they don’t tend to provide the exclusions when issuing the insurance but look at them when you come to claimz

 

[Landcruiser]

Both my older dogs are on long-term arthritis meds, one also has hydrotherapy. Our oldest had an MRI and spine tap a couple of years ago, which wouldn't have been possible without the life cover, it would have been excluded by then. I wouldn't like to add up what we spend on insurance - Petplan lifetime for 3 dogs - but for us it's worth it to be able to pursue investigations and treat the dogs when they need it without having to worry about finding big sums suddenly.
Speaking as a vet receptionist, we see a lot of heartache and frustration when pets have ongoing conditions excluded after 12 months. A 12 month can exclude a whole system, eg digestive system, after a bout of diarrhoea, for instance.

 

[AmyMay]

We now have two dogs. Both on lifetime cover. One is as fit as a fiddle, but lifetime cover gives me peace of mind for the future.

Our new adopted dog has osteoarthritis and may well be on meds for the rest of his life, so lifetime cover is of huge benefit to him especially.

 

[wren123]

To be honest I'd definitely keep it going while you're pushed for money. Have a look at Bought By Many, they do lifetime cover and a few people have recommended them, they might be cheaper.

 

[Squeak]

Is it worth getting lifetime cover quotes from different companies? I went with animal friends as they were so cheap and to be honest I can't fault them as they've paid out every time no questions asked.

 

[SusieT]

Absoloutely worth it. It's easy to decide to cancel it when dog is a healthy middle aged specimen. When they develop illness that turns out to need ongoing medications later on in life lifetime insurance is worth its weight in gold. Horse insurance I'm on the fence of as think the cons often outweigh the benefits - dog/cat insurance particularly lifetime I would always get

 

[Jenko109]

I've only ever had the limited 12 month cover.

My pets insurance claim history

- my cat was involved in an RTA. Broken back. Spinal surgery and stay at specialist vets £4000 approx. He's now mechanically lame but in no pain so no further treatment has been required past the 12 months. This happened approximately 7 years ago. He's still alive now and approximately 9. He is no longer insured as there is only so much i would do for an ageing cat.

- my whippet broke her leg. Stay at a specialist vets. Had to have metalwork made up for her leg. Cost in total to fix her was approximately £3500 which included some hydrotherapy. This happened about 4 years ago. She has not required anything further to date with that leg.

- my collie had an unknown lameness. Xrays etc. Diagnosed tendonitis. Fixed within a few months. Same collie had alopecia. Various skin scraping etc. Fixed within a few months.

Right now the same whippet who broke her leg has an unknown ataxia. She has had 3.5k of diagnostic tests, MRI scans, spinal tap etc. They cannot find what is wrong to be causing it, however the ataxia is intermittent, sometimes she doesn't do it for days at a time so we will try some medication which I will have to pay for as my policy limit for that condition was 3.5k. However, during her MRI scan they have spotted what they assume to be cancer on her thyroid, so she's having her thyroid removed for which my policy should cover the whole operation and CT scans at 4.5k.

I think 12 month policies are okay if you are happy to have some monthly costs associated with medication.

My collie I had to pay out for arthritis medication in her later years which was approx £40 a month.
The whippet will likely need something soon but we are looking at it after her operation.

 

[EchoInterrupted]

Absoloutely worth it. It's easy to decide to cancel it when dog is a healthy middle aged specimen. When they develop illness that turns out to need ongoing medications later on in life lifetime insurance is worth its weight in gold. Horse insurance I'm on the fence of as think the cons often outweigh the benefits - dog/cat insurance particularly lifetime I would always get

This is sort of the conclusion I have come to. I've been paying it out the last 3 years, might as well stick with it until it's actually worth it. I might compare some different policies and see if there's any cheaper options out there. I don't think she has a single thing besides regular vaccines, microchip, and spay on her medical records (I might ask the vet just in case), so there shouldn't be anything they can point to as a preexisting condition.

 

[EchoInterrupted]

I've only ever had the limited 12 month cover.

My pets insurance claim history

- my cat was involved in an RTA. Broken back. Spinal surgery and stay at specialist vets £4000 approx. He's now mechanically lame but in no pain so no further treatment has been required past the 12 months. This happened approximately 7 years ago. He's still alive now and approximately 9. He is no longer insured as there is only so much i would do for an ageing cat.

- my whippet broke her leg. Stay at a specialist vets. Had to have metalwork made up for her leg. Cost in total to fix her was approximately £3500 which included some hydrotherapy. This happened about 4 years ago. She has not required anything further to date with that leg.

- my collie had an unknown lameness. Xrays etc. Diagnosed tendonitis. Fixed within a few months. Same collie had alopecia. Various skin scraping etc. Fixed within a few months.

Right now the same whippet who broke her leg has an unknown ataxia. She has had 3.5k of diagnostic tests, MRI scans, spinal tap etc. They cannot find what is wrong to be causing it, however the ataxia is intermittent, sometimes she doesn't do it for days at a time so we will try some medication which I will have to pay for as my policy limit for that condition was 3.5k. However, during her MRI scan they have spotted what they assume to be cancer on her thyroid, so she's having her thyroid removed for which my policy should cover the whole operation and CT scans at 4.5k.

I think 12 month policies are okay if you are happy to have some monthly costs associated with medication.

My collie I had to pay out for arthritis medication in her later years which was approx £40 a month.
The whippet will likely need something soon but we are looking at it after her operation.

stories like this make me very happy I have insurance (of whatever kind)! The thing I'm on the fence about with the lifetime is that I feel like by the time she is old enough to potentially need regular medication the cost of her monthly medication would probably be equal to the cost of what the insurance company is pulling out of me And she's a mixed breed, can't imagine what insuring a purebred of a breed that is higher risk for costly medical expenses - GSD, English Bulldog, etc would cost

 

[MissTyc]

I paid lifetime cover for my GSD x Rottie. She was fit as a fiddle for 9 years, then suddenly needed surgery to remove mast cell tumour + associated tests etc .. then she had another problem then another then another then another ... by the time she died at 12, I was well quids in!

 

[Squeak]

I paid lifetime cover for my GSD x Rottie. She was fit as a fiddle for 9 years, then suddenly needed surgery to remove mast cell tumour + associated tests etc .. then she had another problem then another then another then another ... by the time she died at 12, I was well quids in!

I've got to admit that I'm the same so far and my insurance have paid more than I have paid them every single year and I'd say my dog was very healthy when she was younger too. She'd have the odd stitches here and there or something but the insurance was only about £100 for the year. I don't usually advocate insurance but for the dog I'm very happy I've had it.