Insurance dilemma

[Sandstone1]

Just had insurance renewal through. It's gone up to £75 a month. This is for a 11 year old dog.
I'm claiming for previcox tablets monthly that cost £65 a month.
Dog has a couple of health conditions which at the moment don't need treatment.
I have to pay 20% of all claims and excess is 100.
Unsure weather to cancel the policy or not.

 

[GirlFriday]

Insurance is a service which allows you to
- split the cost of paying for vet fees into a predictable regular stream of payments instead of irregular one-offs
- pay for one-offs that you wouldn't be able to afford otherwise

Like any service it costs some money.

So, if you are able to budget for irregular cash-flows and can afford to pay for any potential treatment you may wish for your dog then yes, in general, you should cancel.

Unfortunately the forum doesn't know how expensive your dog is likely to be (insurance companies know better than anyone in general) so all you can do is make a guess as to if your dog is likely to be unwell (in an expensive way) in future and if you would wish to provide for treatment or would rather PTS.

ETA: plus of course you know your finances better than us!

 

[angrybird1]

Deleted

 

[Sandstone1]

Insurance is a service which allows you to
- split the cost of paying for vet fees into a predictable regular stream of payments instead of irregular one-offs
- pay for one-offs that you wouldn't be able to afford otherwise

Like any service it costs some money.

So, if you are able to budget for irregular cash-flows and can afford to pay for any potential treatment you may wish for your dog then yes, in general, you should cancel.

Unfortunately the forum doesn't know how expensive your dog is likely to be (insurance companies know better than anyone in general) so all you can do is make a guess as to if your dog is likely to be unwell (in an expensive way) in future and if you would wish to provide for treatment or would rather PTS.

ETA: plus of course you know your finances better than us!

Thank you.
I do of course realise that it's completely my choice to renew or not.
I find that it's useful to hear other people's thoughts and experience in something like this and this is why I've posted it on a forum.
Clearly, you don't t know my finances or the possible cost of any future treatment.
There is a limit on what invasive treatment I would put my dog through at this age.
I'm simply asking for others thoughts on insuring a older dog where the premium has increased such a lot.
That is of course if it's alright with you!
I certainly won't make a decision based solely on replys on here.
It's just a way of getting other people's thoughts and experience on a forum where there will be a mix of views.
Isn't that what a forum is for?
By the way I do know what insurance is for and I don't need it explaining to me. That was not my question.

 

[{97702}]

What breed of dog do you have? That would influence my reply, but in general terms I would probably cancel the policy & try to put some money by in case of future problems.

As a caveat I have to say that none of mine are insured, as I find the insurance premiums are prohibitive for four dogs, so I manage vet treatment as it occurs

 

[Blackwijet]

are the monthly tablet costs being covered by the insurance and will they continue to do so (i.e life cover) in which case you could say the insurance is covering the cost and is therefore worthwhile as if the dog has any further medical needs that will also be covered by the insurance (assuming no exclusions). However if you are saying that you are paying the £65 a month plus the insurance premium then it could be worth considering just putting the £75 away each month. However there's always the dreadful thought of an emergency operation or a nasty accident requiring x-rays/ overnight stays etc and that's when the bills add up. You could make sure you have a spare credit card that is only going to be used for absolute "dog" emergencies and that way only pay for what you need? It's never easy where insurance and ageing animals is concerned.
Having just re-read your query you are getting hit quite a bit with co-insurance and excess so i think I'd go down the emergency credit card route and cover the costs for the £65 a month tablets.

 

[meleeka]

Have you looked online for tablets? My vet charges £1.80 for my dogs tablets, online they are 62 pence! A prescription is £16 for six months so a huge difference.

 

[Widgeon]

Just had insurance renewal through. It's gone up to £75 a month. This is for a 11 year old dog.
I'm claiming for previcox tablets monthly that cost £65 a month.
Dog has a couple of health conditions which at the moment don't need treatment.
I have to pay 20% of all claims and excess is 100.
Unsure weather to cancel the policy or not.

I think I would be inclined to stick with it, as you'd be shelling out £65 a month for the tablets anyway, and at the moment (assuming you're paying 20% of that) you're only paying out £13 per month for them. So at the moment, your total monthly spend is £88, but if you cancelled the insurance it would go down to £65 per month, but you wouldn't be covered for any additional horrors that might occur.

With the caveat that I apologise if I've misunderstood anything there, on the whole I think that the amount you'd be gaining by not paying the insurance would be (relatively) minimal, and you wouldn't have the safety net any more. Despite not being particularly rich I'm fairly risk averse, so I'd hang on to the insurance for now. Obviously at some point it may go up so much that you just can't afford to pay it, in which case I don't think there's anything wrong with cancelling for financial reasons. That's my thoughts anyway! And if I have misunderstood please do explain to me in words of one syllable....

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I tend to not insure them once the premiums are hiked up for 'old age'. But then I have access to savings and a realistic idea on what I'd spend and also put the dog through at that age.
For example, the premiums for my last setter went up to £1100pa at age 9. I was claiming for an ongoing skin issue but opted to move him to Tesco, who excluded that skin issue, for £400pa and was still quids in until they bumped his premiums up and I then opted to insure for accident only-by 11 he was a really old dog who was just pootling about.
It might be worth shopping about to cover other things except the tablets/get the tablets cheaper etc etc.

 

[GirlFriday]

Thank you.
I do of course realise that it's completely my choice to renew or not.
I find that it's useful to hear other people's thoughts and experience in something like this and this is why I've posted it on a forum.
Clearly, you don't t know my finances or the possible cost of any future treatment.
There is a limit on what invasive treatment I would put my dog through at this age.
I'm simply asking for others thoughts on insuring a older dog where the premium has increased such a lot.
That is of course if it's alright with you!
I certainly won't make a decision based solely on replys on here.
It's just a way of getting other people's thoughts and experience on a forum where there will be a mix of views.
Isn't that what a forum is for?
By the way I do know what insurance is for and I don't need it explaining to me. That was not my question.

OP, I'm sorry you didn't like my reply - it was genuinely intended to be helpful. I explained how I would make the decision for myself so you could see what answer you came up with if you applied the same approach (but with your dog, care choices and finances).

I think you read it as patronising or suggesting hyou don't ask the forum but what I was trying to do was help you think it through (using the forum!) - simply saying to you 'I think you should(n't) cancel' would, as I saw it, have been a bit presumptuous. But I appreciate that tone can be hard to judge on here.

 

[Sandstone1]

OP, I'm sorry you didn't like my reply - it was genuinely intended to be helpful. I explained how I would make the decision for myself so you could see what answer you came up with if you applied the same approach (but with your dog, care choices and finances).

I think you read it as patronising or suggesting hyou don't ask the forum but what I was trying to do was help you think it through (using the forum!) - simply saying to you 'I think you should(n't) cancel' would, as I saw it, have been a bit presumptuous. But I appreciate that tone can be hard to judge on here.

Thank you for your reply.
I'm afraid your first reply did come across to me as very patronising.
It may of course be the way I read it but that certainly was my first impression.

 

[Nettle123]

A few months ago I would have said cancel it. Our elderly lab was 11 and her premium was £85 per month. In a complete freak incident she was enjoying her bone when a small piece became lodged in her throat. Our Vet was unable to retrieve it and she ended up in vet hospital. She made a complete recovery but the bills totalled £3900. Her cover was £4000.

I have since cancelled the policy as they discovered a tumour on the pancreas at the same time so we are living day to day with her while she is well. I was so glad we had her covered.

 

[Sandstone1]

It's unfortunately not life time cover so they will stop paying for her tablets once I reach the limit.
She is a Gsd so 11 is quite a good age.
She is despite her health problems very well and lively at the moment.
I'm going to discuss it with my vet before I make a decision.
Thanks for your thoughts.