Insurance, yes or no?

[The Xmas Furry]

I've always had equines self insured.
Puppies have previously been insured for 1st year only, except current 2yr old small. For some reason I renewed her insurance last December (yes, I did nail it down) but have just got this years renewal in.

How many of you self insure/insure? Poll coming up....

 

[Amy May In A Manger]

I insured Daisy up until she was 8. After which I self insured as the premiums went up so much.
Touch wood the only thing I would need insurance for going forward is her heart condition, which cost £1500 to diagnose and the cost of ongoing medication. So I've still saved on premium costs (and thankfully can afford to treat).

But it's a very personal choice x

 

[CorvusCorax]

Had insurance for the old dog but cancelled it during Covid, never used.
Touch wood and God Forbid etc etc, but in my position, if something needed such a huge amount of money to fix I'd be looking at general ongoing QOL anyway.

 

[Jenko109]

Mine are always insured.

Ive had a bonkers number of claims.

It would take a lot of effort to work out, however I would say over the last decade, insurance have paid out over 20k on my dogs, for which I have always had three.

 

[MurphysMinder]

My current 2 are insured and certainly had my monies worth with the heeler . Leg surgery with metal plates at 9 months , and has had ongoing physio every month since for last 4 years . I currently pay £90 a month for the 2 dogs and claim £60 just for physio . Older lad was insured with Petplan and in his last years we claimed a lot . We had nearly cancelled when premiums went up when he reached 12 but thankfully didn’t as soon after he developed kidney disease , then pancreatitis and also had monthly laser therapy for arthritis. Even with 20% co payment it was worth it as meant we could keep him happy for the last few months without worrying about costs .

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We have never insured the dogs and, touch wood, haven't had many expensive treatments needed. Over the years we have definitely come out better off for not insuring and we have always been able to afford any necessary treatment.
As with the horses,though we have a red line for quality vs quantity of life. We refused chemo for both of the Rottweilers. Tbf the vets weren't actually recommending that route.

 

[rara007]

My eldest is liability only now (he is a liability!) but the rest are insured. I’m quids out probably as only made 1 small animal claim so far, and I am fortunate to have access to reasonable funds (credit card!) but still won’t risk it. It’s a real catch 22 at the moment. Many can’t afford insurance either at all or because they have so many, but also can’t afford vets bills. Even those that can afford it often make the choice not to when it comes to the crunch.

 

[skinnydipper]

I had too many to insure at one point (8) and now just have one dog, also not insured. She is not a cheap dog vet wise but that's the risk you take by not insuring.

 

[planete]

We insure animals with no known history for their first year with us then self insure. Looked at over twenty years we have saved ourselves a lot of money. We can however afford unexpected vet bills. I am not sure what we would do if we were unable to foot a big bill at short notice. Probably think much more carefully about animal ownership.

 

[St Nicnaclaus]

Used to until insurance cancelled the public liability as dog growled at vets. He was in pain and then they refused to pay out. Since changed vets too!
Stopped insuring horses bar PL yonks ago and now self insure dog. Got PL for dog through Dog's Trust. Cheap as chips and good cover.

 

[Sprout]

I have insured previous dogs, but quotes for my Swissies are unbelievable, so I don’t!
I don’t like the way vets will do a raft of tests and scans if you are insured, but if you are not insured, they admit there is no real benefit for said tests.
Insurance might have been beneficial for my Swissie who had Epilepsy … I have deliberately never counted the cost for her meds!

 

[splashgirl45]

My previous dogs were not insured but as I’m on a pension with no way of getting extra money I have insured my 3. One terrier had an operation which was over £3000 and a digestion problem which was about £600, my lurcher has had 2 claims , one after he went hunting and had a deep cut on his side which needed stitches and a very deep cut to his pad , total about £1200 . I pay £110 per month for all 3 and it would have been difficult to have covered those bills myself. Even if I put that money away each month it would take a long time to break even, so I will continue to insure for peace of mind although if they weren’t insured they would have had the same treatment regardless ..

 

[Littlest Hobo]

Did have mine insured,then sat down and worked out what I.d spent for the oldest, an 11yr old who has never been to a vet, and cancelled!
If they gave you a No Claims bonus it would make more sense but it wound me up to be paying more and more for something I had never used.

 

[alibali]

I insured my dog until he turned 8 and the premium shot up, the cover decreased and co-payment was introduced! At that point I increased the amount I save monthly for the horse self insurance fund to include an additional amount for the dog.

I now have a reasonable pot to cover either of the horses or the dog should it be required. I also have a credit card if needed and am also prepared to make hard decisions if the bottom of that pot is reached or if it seems it might not be spent wisely on certain tests or treatments.

The fact I'm not insured doesn't mean they won't get any/all reasonable treatment it just means that I am more in control of what does and doesn't happen to them and that a cost/benefit analysis will be applied before launching willy billy into tests and treatment. Luckily both my equine and canine vets are pragmatic in relation to this.

 

[malwhit]

I have 3 dogs but only the youngest (a Whippet) is insured. She is a bit giddy and not very bright so I've kept it going. If it goes up silly money next year, I will have to think if I need to cancel it
For the 2 older dogs aged 8 & 10, I self insure. I have a separate dog/savings account and credit card I can use if necessary.

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I very nearly cancelled our policy this year - it actually did get cancelled due to a miscommunication/misunderstanding with the insurer which thankfully they rectified. Because we hadn't claimed I was on the cusp of taking the risk and using credit card if anything came up.

Well thank goodness I didn't cancel because we've claimed for quite a lot this year, will probably need to claim next year for ongoing treatment, and if Ivy's weird eye lump thing turns into anything needing further investigation then that will be £££.

 

[cbmcts]

I insure 2 dogs and a cat. However, as they age and premiums shot up, I've had to downgrade the insurance to keep the premiums affordable resulting in less cover and some conditions being uncovered but needs must and all that. In emergency I have access to a lot of credit but tbh, I'd struggle to pay it off so continue to insure.

By the way, @Nicnac, Napo tried to cancel one of mines PL because they read the warnings on his vet records - he is a nightmare at the vets but he's carefully managed to ensure safety. I challenged via a formal complaint as an unfair exclusion as the aggression was only at the vets, they as professionals would not be able to claim on my/his policy, that they removed PL in full rather than just cover for bites and that they were penalising owners for being responsible and warning vets when their dog might react. I offered to accept an exclusion for injury caused by aggression but Napo, once I made it clear that I would go to the FCA if necessary, backed down and reinstated cover.

 

[New Forests Rock]

Self insure, both two small terriers, and also any ponies. Premiums have gone ridiculously high They all, of course, will get the care needed even if we live off cheap baked beans

 

[Annette4]

3 are insured, 1 isn't but he is with a vet where we pay monthly and everything is covered. I am likely to put him back on insurance and change vets though.

 

[Titchy Reindeer]

None are insured, it's not yet a big thing over here in France, though it seems to be catching on. With 3 dogs and 4 horses (2 of which would not be insurable here as over 12yo) it's not financially viable. I have savings aside in case of unexpected vet fees. One horse is too old to have any major treatment and one dog doesn't actually belong to me, so his owners would cover any vet bills.

 

[Landcruiser]

2 insured with Petplan on life policies, previously 3. We've probably broken even all in all, over 15 yrs of unbroken policies. All 3 have managed to bottom out the cover on occasion, but it's meant that recommended dental work, ongoing chronic meds, emergency surgeries, CT scans and other expensive diagnostics have all been stress free, financially.

 

[ElleSkywalkingintheair]

All mine have been insured up to my latest dog, who is ex-breeding and was 7 when we got her so never got her insured.

Including my mum's little dog who we had until she died earlier this year, out of 9 dogs, 8 were/are insured and we probably saved money by having insurance on 3 of them as they had huge claims, the rest we are probably in deficit in the insurance companies favour.

In future I think we would probably only insure up until the premiums rise with old age.