Pet insurance claims top 1 billion

[SO1]

Pet insurance claims top 1 billion. Admittedly most of it is for dogs 800 million because there are a lot more dog owners than horse owners.

I know vets don't make huge sums of money but the amount spent on vet care for pets must be huge each year.

Vet costs questioned as pet insurance payouts top £1bn

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said high veterinary care costs are behind the surge, despite estimates a lack of cover could actually be saving the

www.vettimes.co.uk

 

[SEL]

I've spoken to KBIS (renew but lower value of horse), petplan (cancel horse), More Than (cancel cat) & Harry Hall (4 horse external injury policy) and all have said premiums have gone up because of both the volume and amount of claims. This article seems to suggest that £ per claim isn't higher, just volume of claims.

I was a bit horrified by the amount of £££ the vets spent on diagnostics with one of my horses last year. Roll back 20 years and it would have been box rest, Bute and a steady return to work - which is actually what I ended up doing.

I'm not sure what the answer is because now the kit is there to do the diagnostics the bills will run up. I guess premiums will go up but then people cancel their policies and keep fingers crossed they won't hit a big bill

 

[Cortez]

Well considering that insurance is part of the reason for vet costs being so high in the first place .......

 

[criso]

I was shocked talking to owners how treatment for dogs and cats seems to be even more than horses, they don't charge by size! Plus dogs will be kept alive in circumstances where a horse wouldn't e.g. loss of a limb.

It's only drugs that cost more for horses because of the quantities needed.

There are more dogs than horses or cats, however that still wouldn't account for 3/4 of the costs. Is it possible that some of the fashions in dog breeding mean that there are more chronic hereditary conditions and weaknesses than mean constant care and operations? A lot of people seem to have operations to help with breathing and eye defects plus orthopedic to fix chronic conditions as well as accidents. Or are people prepared to spend more on s dog than a cat.

I think dog insurance can be lifetime rather than just 12 months cover so that would bump it up too.

 

[HollyWoozle]

One does wonder where it ends really… we’ve had 2 insurance claims for our cat (had him less than 2 years) but if he wasn’t insured, I would’ve done anything I reasonably could to find the money. He was referred to an ophthalmologist lately and the initial appointment, approx 40 minutes to be fair, was £300. I don’t begrudge it and I fully understand the training and time that goes into veterinary careers, but you do have to wonder at what point the costs will simply become unmanageable or insurers will start to become stricter.

 

[Widgeon]

Well considering that insurance is part of the reason for vet costs being so high in the first place .......

I was talking about this with our vet the other day. She was pretty frustrated that the insurance industry incentivizes throwing the kitchen sink at a problem ASAP, whereas a more conservative and cheaper approach might be a much better first choice option. Then only if that fails do you go on to more complicated and expensive diagnoses / treatments.

I share her feelings and this is part of the reason I value our vet so much!

 

[Anna Clara]

I've been wondering about this. The industry seems to be on a spiral of insurance allowing more complicated diagnostics and state of the art procedures to horses who probably in the past might have been turned away for a bit or semi retired, with premiums going up and up as vets are able to offer more and more. I had an insured pony go a bit off recently and was immediately pressured into a £500 lameness work up. I didn't go as was worried about early laminitis. End of the story was we think he had concussed feet on the hard ground, had some box rest on shavings and bute for a days, is fine even on the hard now the ground has softened up. But God knows how much the claim for that could have been. And of course now all his feet might be excluded because they are on the vet record despite nothing major being wrong! That sort of thing might put people off calling the vet for minor concerns.

 

[cobgoblin]

Veterinary medicine is now corporate. When insurance becomes too expensive and people stop insuring, the big business will pull out and drop all the vets they employ.

 

[asmp]

When I lived in Germany some years ago vets bills were cheaper than the UK as people didn’t insure for vet treatment.

 

[cobgoblin]

When I lived in Germany some years ago vets bills were cheaper than the UK as people didn’t insure for vet treatment.

I was shocked at the low prices friends in Germany pay for their horse's vet care. We are truly ripped off.

 

[Petalpoos]

I am another person that believes it is not coincidental that the huge rise in vet fees has occurred at the same time as the tie ups between venture capitalists taking over vet practices and the rise of pet insurance companies. No idea how we could ever break it and go back to more sensible, lower cost, treatments but I am not convinced that many of the more extreme treatments are actually in the animal’s best interests.

 

[twiggy2]

as most vets are owned by large cooperates who also own the vet food companies, labratories, referral centres, insurance companies and on line pharmacies i feel it all ought to be looked at a little closer.
one of my bitches had pyometra last week, the vet apologised more than once about what he called the extortionate price £1600 plus antibiotics and pain relief, a normal spey is less than £400.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I was talking about this with our vet the other day. She was pretty frustrated that the insurance industry incentivizes throwing the kitchen sink at a problem ASAP, whereas a more conservative and cheaper approach might be a much better first choice option. Then only if that fails do you go on to more complicated and expensive diagnoses / treatments.

I share her feelings and this is part of the reason I value our vet so much!

That is why we don't insure. Time is very often a great healer

 

[rabatsa]

I wonder if this is why farm vets are so much cheaper than equine/small animal vets. Not many farmers will be insured for vet fees.

 

[criso]

I wonder if this is why farm vets are so much cheaper than equine/small animal vets. Not many farmers will be insured for vet fees.

Not just that. If you are breeding and raising an animal for meat, it has a defined monetary value, it doesn't make sense to pay any vets bills above that for most of the herd. There may be the odd animal a farmer pays to keep going for sentimental reasons but not the majority. Same if it has a function like milking or breeding. We keep horses going where many years ago as working animals they would have been PTS.
So it's also how far people are prepared to go for different species.

Dogs account for 75% of claims but 27% of pets. Cats only slightly fewer than dogs but only a 1/5 of claims.

https://worldanimalfoundation.org/a...n million or 34% of,8.2 million) owning a cat.

 

[Cortez]

I love my animals very much, but I don't insure, and I have a definite limit on how much I'm going to spend on treatment. I also review very carefully how much I'm going to put any animal through in the way of therapy and intervention.

 

[ycbm]

I wonder if this is why farm vets are so much cheaper than equine/small animal vets. Not many farmers will be insured for vet fees.

Also, I understand, horse vet fees are a lot lower in Ireland where horse insurance is unobtainable.
.

 

[cobgoblin]

Also, I understand, horse vet fees are a lot lower in Ireland where horse insurance is unobtainable.
.

I find it hard to believe that horse insurance is not available in Ireland.

 

[ycbm]

We have a dreadful situation at the moment where insurance is causing many horses to be given treatment early in order to get it into a12 month claim time limit and many others are having treatment delayed in order not to set a 12 month time limit clock ticking.

 

[ycbm]

I find it hard to believe that horse insurance is not available in Ireland.

And yet we've been informed that's the case many times by our Irish members that their low vet fees are connected with lack of insurance . ETA Though I may have misunderstood lack of big take up of insurance for lack of availability.


ETA one of many references on the forum in recent years.

Insurance in ireland

Does anyone know an insurance company in ireland that aids with vet bills for horses?

forums.horseandhound.co.uk

.

 

[cobgoblin]

Lucky Ireland, though I doubt the venture capitalists will leave that stone unturned.

 

[Lexi 123]

I find it hard to believe that horse insurance is not available in Ireland.

There is horse insurance in Ireland they don’t cover everyday vet bills but you can insure for lifesaving sugery . You also have loss of use, they also cover pts they give you the current market value of your horse, public liability , tack insurance and rider insurance. A lot of people in Ireland won’t pay for horse insurance I say like 90 % of Equestrian in the Republic of Ireland don’t insurer because it’s expensive depending on your policy and it gets very costly when a horse gets past the age of 15 years old . Like it’s goes up 50% when your horse turns 15 then goes up another 20% at 17 years old. In my opinion it’s worth the money insurance the horse.

 

[Reacher]

I was shocked talking to owners how treatment for dogs and cats seems to be even more than horses, they don't charge by size! Plus dogs will be kept alive in circumstances where a horse wouldn't e.g. loss of a limb.

It's only drugs that cost more for horses because of the quantities needed.

There are more dogs than horses or cats, however that still wouldn't account for 3/4 of the costs. Is it possible that some of the fashions in dog breeding mean that there are more chronic hereditary conditions and weaknesses than mean constant care and operations? A lot of people seem to have operations to help with breathing and eye defects plus orthopedic to fix chronic conditions as well as accidents. Or are people prepared to spend more on s dog than a cat.

I think dog insurance can be lifetime rather than just 12 months cover so that would bump it up too.

Agree about fashions in breeding in dogs - there was a vet a few years ago who spoke up about it and got ostracised by other vets. He gave up being a vet.
Crufts has a lot to answer for in terms of fashion over welfare.
And those Arabs with seahorse heads.

PS this is the guy - talking about unnecessary treatments

Why I'm ashamed to be a vet: a shocking exposé of the profession that puts pets through 'painful and unnecessary treatments to fleece their trusting owners'

For eight years Matthew Watkinson worked as a vet. But are vets really the saints they are made out to be? Here, Matthew, 32, now an author, exposes the uncuddly truth about vets that every animal lover should read. . .

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Miss_Millie]

I recently took one of my small pets for a checkup. No treatment, just a look-over which took all of two minutes. Cost almost £60 Which I'm quite sure has close to doubled in the past 5 years. When my animal insurances next expire, I don't plan on renewing them. I'm just going to start putting a chunk aside each month, which I already do anyway.

 

[dogatemysalad]

I don't have insurance because I don't want an insurance company dictating what diagnostic investigations my animals have to endure before receiving treatment. The decision is between me and my vet. No one else.
My dog became suddenly dramatically, intermittently lame. She seemed otherwise fine and happy. Vet did xrays which showed nothing, so rest, pain relief and a gradual exercise programme was suggested and if no improvement after 4 weeks, they'd do MRIs, possible surgery etc,etc.
I decided to stick to the old fashioned method. Time. The drugs made her sick and miserable. Stopping them helped immediately.
It took several months for her to return to her former level of fitness, but there has been no recurrence since.
Money wasn't the issue, but we did potentially save several thousand pounds.

 

[twiggy2]

Agree about fashions in breeding in dogs - there was a vet a few years ago who spoke up about it and got ostracised by other vets. He gave up being a vet.
Crufts has a lot to answer for in terms of fashion over welfare.
And those Arabs with seahorse heads.

PS this is the guy - talking about unnecessary treatments

Why I'm ashamed to be a vet: a shocking exposé of the profession that puts pets through 'painful and unnecessary treatments to fleece their trusting owners'

For eight years Matthew Watkinson worked as a vet. But are vets really the saints they are made out to be? Here, Matthew, 32, now an author, exposes the uncuddly truth about vets that every animal lover should read. . .

www.dailymail.co.uk

I want vets like that, our current vets haven't questioned any of our decisions regarding the animals in our care, they are very practical and able

 

[cobgoblin]

Agree about fashions in breeding in dogs - there was a vet a few years ago who spoke up about it and got ostracised by other vets. He gave up being a vet.
Crufts has a lot to answer for in terms of fashion over welfare.
And those Arabs with seahorse heads.

PS this is the guy - talking about unnecessary treatments

Why I'm ashamed to be a vet: a shocking exposé of the profession that puts pets through 'painful and unnecessary treatments to fleece their trusting owners'

For eight years Matthew Watkinson worked as a vet. But are vets really the saints they are made out to be? Here, Matthew, 32, now an author, exposes the uncuddly truth about vets that every animal lover should read. . .

www.dailymail.co.uk

I think we all know what's written in this article already, but it's good to see it written down.

I wonder if there will be any reaction from the RCVS.

 

[meleeka]

There are some vets at my practice that still think in terms of quality of life and what is kindest for the animal. Then there are the vets that seem to push for the quickest, usually most expensive option regardless. I have had animals a long time and know what I think is fair to put an animal through and what isn’t. I feel sorry for those that just agree to anything because the vet knows best, without question. There is one vet I just won’t see as they have suggested unnecessary treatments more than once, even when another much more experienced vet has already said it wasn’t necessary or in the animals interest. I’m sure their corporate bosses value their contribution to the practice, but as an owner it’s not nice when you feel the vet is untrustworthy.

 

[Orangehorse]

Not just that. If you are breeding and raising an animal for meat, it has a defined monetary value, it doesn't make sense to pay any vets bills above that for most of the herd. There may be the odd animal a farmer pays to keep going for sentimental reasons but not the majority. Same if it has a function like milking or breeding. We keep horses going where many years ago as working animals they would have been PTS.
So it's also how far people are prepared to go for different species.

Dogs account for 75% of claims but 27% of pets. Cats only slightly fewer than dogs but only a 1/5 of claims.

https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/pet-ownership-statistics-uk/#:~:text=13 Million Pets in UK Households Are Dogs (PFMA)&text=Ten million or 34% of,8.2 million) owning a cat.

That's it. I remember we had one poorly animal and the vet had been out to it a couple of times but then said that if it was out pet cow then she could do a/b/c but it wasn't economical so to call it a day.
We will get the vet out and spend money on sick animals and give them a chance, but at the end of the day they are supposed to be keeping us, not we keeping them and there comes a point where it becomes uneconomic. But a dead animal is a total loss, so we try to avoid that if at all possible.

Our practice is a farm vets, so they do try and keep costs down. I remember taking my dog in when she was limping and thought she would be in overnight for x rays, but they gave her a painkilling injection and said she how she was in a few days, and she was fine.

 

[Widgeon]

In defence of vets, I don't think they are all the money grabbers that some people think - our local small animal practice are lovely and are always happy to treat conservatively if that's what I want. They treat wildlfe without charging and when I had a poorly pet chicken who wasn't going to recover, they put her to sleep for me (don't laugh!!) and charged me £20.

I think sometimes (and this a very general statement) owners need to take a bit more responsibility in educating themselves and making their own decisions on what they want, rather than just leaving it all to the vets, who will tend to assume that the owner wants everything possible done. I usually discuss with the vet what my hoped for outcome is, and what I'm willing to do / spend / put the animal through to achieve it. Occasionally I do say "throw everything at this" but that's rare. We've used multiple vets over the last ten years (different animals and locations) and I've never had a problem taking this kind of approach.