Keep insuring - or not!?

Clodagh

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Tawny is not usually insured but last year I did sign her up, with Agria. They had a good offer. My renewal has just come in and it is £400 for the year. With my £160 excess that is £560 before I have got any money back. I am tempted to just cancel it, she is 5 so past the eating bad things stage (I hope). And although I would always do what I could to save her I could find money if needed. Mostly she cuts herself and needs stitches, but that is a lot of stitches!
I know it is a piece of string question, and insurance is gambling really...but WWYD!?
 

gina2201

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I stopped insuring my Bernese at 5 after lifetime cover was no longer offered for his breed at that age. And the premium was getting into 4 figures. Figured at 5 after no claims ever we would pay for any treatment or make a decision based on the seriousness at the time. He is now 8.5 and still going strong.
Previous to age 5 his insurance was about £400 year up to then.
 

MyBoyChe

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Thats basically us Gina, we insure 3, lifetime cover wth Petplan. We have been glad of it with our older springer, she has had several little ops over her 9 years, entropia, a few lumps and bumps removed. The other 2 we have never claimed, they are 8 and 5. With our previous 2 dogs we stopped insuring at 10, excess plus premiums were getting ridiculous and Im not a fan of putting older dogs through lots of treatment. If we thought it beneficial for the dog we could afford it but, like you, we make individual decisions based on the dog and the illness, rather than saying "he's insured, just do whatever"
 

AmyMay

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I have lifetime cover too for Daisy (5). It’s a lot of money to insure, £360. But it’s peace of mind. We all know how quickly vet fees can be racked up, especially if major trauma/surgery is involved.
 

Squeak

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Have you tried quotes from other companies? It might be a middle ground to go with a less respected/ cheaper company for a while when they're younger as they would hopefully still pay out if needed on the major stuff.

I'm with animal friends and they're often cheap, they've paid out for my dog every time without querying even when it was a dog groomer's fault and I submitted a claim after the deadline. My insurance for a lifetime recycling policy is £360 for a 9 year old dog who has a condition which requires at least £100 of medication a year.
 

TheresaW

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Aled’s insurance came out of his previous owners estate. After he’d turned 10, the premiums became ridiculous, and the family asked if we wanted them to continue to pay the insurance, or just chip in if there was a big vets bill. I suggested looking to see if there was something similar to the horses veteran insurance, more to have some sort of 3rd party liability really, which is what he had for the last few years. I think it was with Tesco, and covered him for injuries and 3rd party. We all agreed given his age we wouldn’t put him through anything major.

Luna is insured with Pet Protect, not had to make a claim yet (touches wood), but at the moment it’s about £9 a month. We will get Bo added to her policy, or a new one if needed.
 

splashgirl45

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i had my collie cross insured till she was 5, never had a claim and she seemed to be a very healthy dog, the premiums went up so much i decided to cancel it and if necessary would use my credit card . she is now almost 13 and never had a any problems apart from the odd cut paw and if she got something now i would not put her through major procedures so still wouldnt need insurance. my little terrier who is almost 2 will stay insured till about the same age ,if the premiums are reasonable i will continue, if not i will cancel...
 

Clodagh

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As Tawny works, cheap cover doesn't do it (unless you lie, and I am the world's most sadly honest person!).
I think I will cancel it, tbh I worship that dog but wouldn't put her through a lot of things as I beleive it is unethical rather than I couldn't afford it. I will have to check that we have third party on the house insurance. I will insure new puppy and keep Pen going for a another year or two.
 

SusieT

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When looking at insurance I look at could I afford worst case scenerio- ie. a problem that can be fixed but needs an MRI for example - where the cost is likely to be 2k + or cruciate surgery which can be 2-4K and is an easily solvable problem. If paying for htese would make me stressed I keep the insurance, if it would be easily affordable then insurance is not overly useful as I am paying for the same risk I could take myself.
 

elizabeth1

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You can insure very cheaply for accidents only. It might be a good compromise for a working dog?
Dogs trust membership costs £25 a year or £12.50 if over 60 and gives £1 million public liability
My older dog is not insured any more so I joined to get the cover
 

Clodagh

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Dogs trust membership costs £25 a year or £12.50 if over 60 and gives £1 million public liability
My older dog is not insured any more so I joined to get the cover

I won't suuport Dog's Trust though, but I will phone our farm insurers today and see what they say - they get over £7000 a year from us so I hope so.
 

Chiffy

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I have never had dog insurance in over 40 years of ownership. It doesn’t cover vaccinations and spaying which has been most of my outlay. Teasel did have a growth removed from her foot last year but that was less than £200.
I suppose I have been lucky but I would rather keep some money in the bank for emergencies than pay out £500 a year if not needed.
 

cbmcts

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I have never had dog insurance in over 40 years of ownership. It doesn’t cover vaccinations and spaying which has been most of my outlay. Teasel did have a growth removed from her foot last year but that was less than £200.
I suppose I have been lucky but I would rather keep some money in the bank for emergencies than pay out £500 a year if not needed.

I would have been the same as you until a few years ago and tbh it does very much depend on your breeds. But one rottie who cost over 12k in extra (ie not routine) health care in his 8.5 years taught me the hard way! My 3 JRTs over their combined 46 years probably cost less than £1k in total but current large breed has had one year in which my claims scraped £5k, one year where they were less than £500 and is now on medication that is a minimum of £1k per year - all covered by his insurance which is £425 per year now that he is over 5 years old. I think I'm winning if in 3 years the insurance has cost £1200 including excesses. There's probably another couple of hundred quid in below excess vet bills too.

I was a long time paying off the credit card bills from the first dog so will carry on paying insurance for this dog ( and the cat @ £12 pm that I've never claimed for) just for peace of mind.
 

BBP

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A friends lovely little 5 year old bitch has just been diagnosed with lymphoma. They are £6k down already and if they go for chemotherapy to give her another year, that will likely cost thousands more. I think they are glad they insured, although it sadly can’t be cured.
 

{97702}

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A friends lovely little 5 year old bitch has just been diagnosed with lymphoma. They are £6k down already and if they go for chemotherapy to give her another year, that will likely cost thousands more. I think they are glad they insured, although it sadly can’t be cured.

there is the difference - my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma and i immediately PTS, it had nothing whatsoever to do with vets bills, it had everything to do with quality of life for that particular dog. Personally I wouldn’t put a dog through cheno. I wouldn’t keep an incontinent dog going, I wouldn’t struggle to maintain quality of life due to kidney or liver failure - my dog has been a loyal and loving companion over the years, I would make the most compassionate choice (in my opinion for all the pedants on the forum!) and would PTS
 

{97702}

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I have never had dog insurance in over 40 years of ownership. It doesn’t cover vaccinations and spaying which has been most of my outlay. Teasel did have a growth removed from her foot last year but that was less than £200.
I suppose I have been lucky but I would rather keep some money in the bank for emergencies than pay out £500 a year if not needed.

I totally agree Chiffy - sometimes the greyhounds & lurchers will run into things which cause a vet bill, but the vast majority of my bills are for things not covered by insurance (£556 dental bills for example!)
 

splashgirl45

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i agree with levrier, i wouldnt put my dog through chemo just to extend life. i know of 3 dogs who have been through chemo, 2 or them got another 5 months of life which was interspersed with many days of treatment. the other had meningitis when she was 4 and got through the treatment but still has to have lots of vet visits. she is now 8 and her owner has said he wouldnt put her through that treatment again and if he had know how stressful it would be for the dog he wouldnt have gone ahead the first time but would have PTS...we all have our own ideas but for me, quality of life and not quantity is my belief...
 

Clodagh

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there is the difference - my dog was diagnosed with lymphoma and i immediately PTS, it had nothing whatsoever to do with vets bills, it had everything to do with quality of life for that particular dog. Personally I wouldn’t put a dog through cheno. I wouldn’t keep an incontinent dog going, I wouldn’t struggle to maintain quality of life due to kidney or liver failure - my dog has been a loyal and loving companion over the years, I would make the most compassionate choice (in my opinion for all the pedants on the forum!) and would PTS

One thing I would never do is put a dog through chemo. People suffer enough doing it, and they know why.
 

rara007

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You’d be amazed at how well most do- it’s totally different dosing regimes with quality of life as the main concern not ‘cure’. Never say never!
 

splashgirl45

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You’d be amazed at how well most do- it’s totally different dosing regimes with quality of life as the main concern not ‘cure’. Never say never!

i would be amazed..... as the people i know have completely different types of dogs, flat coat retriever,trailhound and spaniel and all have had similar experiences and all have said they would never put another dog through the treatment especially as the extra life was much less than the vets said it would be..and the spaniel who has survived has completely changed her temperament and is very subdued, not spaniel like at all. i will never change my mind!!
 

{97702}

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You’d be amazed at how well most do- it’s totally different dosing regimes with quality of life as the main concern not ‘cure’. Never say never!

I will always say never - greyhounds and lurchers have a high prevalence of bone cancer, one of the most excruciatingly painful conditions a dog can have. I’ve learned the hard way, to the detriment of two of my dogs (and my everlasting regret) that the modern vet approach of ‘oh well we could try this.... we could try that....’ does nothing for the dog. Hoover greyhound would still be here, emaciated unhappy and suffering, if the f***ing treating vet had had her way.... never, end of
 
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CorvusCorax

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I need PL insurance for competitions, otherwise I wouldn't bother. If something that expensive needed done (God forbid) I'd also have to consider PTS.

I had a row with my dad over this question as he is a fan of a famous TV vet. My dog lives to run, jump and generally be a massive a-hole, knowing him, I doubt he'd cope mentally with prolonged cage rest, metalwork and vet visits and certainly not a prosthetic. Drawing bloods is an ordeal...
 

Cinnamontoast

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A colleague with a springer tells me her dog has totally ruptured a cruciate and partially torn another. I told her the insurance paid out over £3000 for Jake’s TPLO. Her dog isn’t insured. She has no funds. She doesn’t know what to do. As a added warning, we’d just stopped insuring Brig when he was bitten and it cost over £400 for the operation to cut out all the infected cysts of pus. Maybe it’s just springers, but Brig cost a fortune over the years with injuries. The vet said over a third of all injuries he sees are springers. 🤷‍♀️

We pts Jake (Brig’s brother) the day after we had an MRI showing cancer in the spine and a mass in his stomach. We had no choice, he suddenly couldn’t walk one day. I always said I wouldn’t put a dog through ‘extreme measures’ such as steroids/chemo for cancer or wheels.
 

{97702}

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Oh don’t even get me started about that egotistical idiot of a self styled “super vet”..... if he thought of the quality of life of the animal concerned, rather than the ‘i must keep alive at all costs because I can’t be without fluffy’ owners then he might be more morally responsible 😡😡😡
 

CorvusCorax

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A colleague with a springer tells me her dog has totally ruptured a cruciate and partially torn another. I told her the insurance paid out over £3000 for Jake’s TPLO. Her dog isn’t insured. She has no funds. She doesn’t know what to do. As a added warning, we’d just stopped insuring Brig when he was bitten and it cost over £400 for the operation to cut out all the infected cysts of pus. Maybe it’s just springers, but Brig cost a fortune over the years with injuries. The vet said over a third of all injuries he sees are springers. 🤷‍♀️

Is there a hereditary element with cruciate issues?
 

{97702}

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A colleague with a springer tells me her dog has totally ruptured a cruciate and partially torn another. I told her the insurance paid out over £3000 for Jake’s TPLO. Her dog isn’t insured. She has no funds. She doesn’t know what to do. As a added warning, we’d just stopped insuring Brig when he was bitten and it cost over £400 for the operation to cut out all the infected cysts of pus. Maybe it’s just springers, but Brig cost a fortune over the years with injuries. The vet said over a third of all injuries he sees are springers. 🤷‍♀️

We pts Jake (Brig’s brother) the day after we had an MRI showing cancer in the spine and a mass in his stomach. We had no choice, he suddenly couldn’t walk one day. I always said I wouldn’t put a dog through ‘extreme measures’ such as steroids/chemo for cancer or wheels.

Sorry I’m not sure what the “warning” is? That sort of bill is potentially part and parcel of owning a dog for me, and if you can’t ‘manage’ that then you should consider whether you should really have a dog IMO. The cruciate bill is high but not unusual, the £400 is peanuts quite honestly - I’ve paid far more than that for a routine dental.... which of course isn’t covered under insurance!
 

rara007

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Not all cancer is bone cancer (widely known as being very painful and pretty quickly fatal). Some Lymphomas for example do very well if the correct type and diagnosed early enough that you wouldn’t realise if you came across a dog on chemo for it I’m sure. ‘Cancer’ is such a broad spectrum of diseases. Ps. My own dog I PTS without surgery or treatment for his cancer (which he was predisposed to as left entire). Each case is an individual and until you’re presented with it with the likely outcomes it’s impossible to generalise.
 
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