Insure or not?
Discussion
Just been made aware of the insurance renewal for our 12 year old Golden Retriever.
Its £1089pa.
She's already a house dog, sleeps in the garden or our bedroom most of the day. Barks manically at the wall and has befriended the pigeons who feed her off the bird table. Basically she's an old girl going a bit senile.
Now, if someone said for £1K a year she will keep going pain and ailment free then no problem. But, if shes going to be diagnosed with something horrible, be falling apart, in pain and unhappy I'd rather keep the money back to spend on her when she really needs it.
What to do? If she goes on for another 3-4 years insurance is more than kids and cars and my kids aren't insured!! LOL
Do I just keep a couple of grand in the kitty to look after her if the worse happens or is 12 middle age for a GR?
Any advice?
Its £1089pa.
She's already a house dog, sleeps in the garden or our bedroom most of the day. Barks manically at the wall and has befriended the pigeons who feed her off the bird table. Basically she's an old girl going a bit senile.
Now, if someone said for £1K a year she will keep going pain and ailment free then no problem. But, if shes going to be diagnosed with something horrible, be falling apart, in pain and unhappy I'd rather keep the money back to spend on her when she really needs it.
What to do? If she goes on for another 3-4 years insurance is more than kids and cars and my kids aren't insured!! LOL
Do I just keep a couple of grand in the kitty to look after her if the worse happens or is 12 middle age for a GR?
Any advice?
Tough call and I guess you have to take age and probable outcome from any issues in to consideration. I think I'd still be inclined to insure to be honest. You only need one operation and that's the three or four years premium wiped out straight away.
We lost our 2 year old female Dobermann a couple of weeks back. She went to a referral clinic and racked up about 11k in bills. I guess a dog of senior years probably wouldn't go through the same treatment, but it does go to show how quickly the bills can stack up!!we use Petplan who have been brilliant. While I'd have paid for the treatment myself, I'm bloody pleased she was insured.
We lost our 2 year old female Dobermann a couple of weeks back. She went to a referral clinic and racked up about 11k in bills. I guess a dog of senior years probably wouldn't go through the same treatment, but it does go to show how quickly the bills can stack up!!we use Petplan who have been brilliant. While I'd have paid for the treatment myself, I'm bloody pleased she was insured.
After 22 years of dog ownership i never had insurance or had a dog injure themselves.
I then for the first time ever decide to get our Husky insured and yep,she instantly(well it felt like it) broke her leg!!
So there's a lesson for us all there i think,don't take out insurance and tempt fate!
I then for the first time ever decide to get our Husky insured and yep,she instantly(well it felt like it) broke her leg!!
So there's a lesson for us all there i think,don't take out insurance and tempt fate!
My suggestion would be to put money away every month into a savings account. Realistically your dog is coming to the final stages of its life and the most likely costs you will need to pay are for the final vet visit and cremation if you are so inclined. I doubt an insurance policy would pay these for a 12 year old dog as its kinda expected.
Personally I've never insured any of my dogs including the current two (8 yo German Shepherd and 11 yo Golden Retriever) buth have needed the odd trip to vets but never more than £300. I put £30 a month into savings and at the end of the year (assuming no accidents or sickness) that pays for the kennel bills when I go on holiday.
Personally I've never insured any of my dogs including the current two (8 yo German Shepherd and 11 yo Golden Retriever) buth have needed the odd trip to vets but never more than £300. I put £30 a month into savings and at the end of the year (assuming no accidents or sickness) that pays for the kennel bills when I go on holiday.
I've never insured and even with £1500 bills this year I'm still quids in. Don't forget that at 12 YO surgery is not such an option for a big dog and have you checked what they'll pay out and what the excess is? On the other hand as I found this year vets love to spend your money and even procedures that used to be relatively inexpensive can easily run to high hundreds or even thousands of pounds now. Five minute procedure on a cat to find its top tooth was hooked over its lip £400, various tests inc ecg on a dog with heart failure £1100.
I use https://www.animalfriends.co.uk/ old dog insurance
Its about £20 a month, £100 excess and they only pay half the bill. But they do pay to have your dog put down, which can be several hundred pounds so I might get some of my premiums back. Ours is a rescue Tibetan Terrier, got her at 12 years and she's 14 now. I have said if its seriously expensice she gets put down, problem is I am more of a softy than the kids. I think she might live to 16-17.
Its about £20 a month, £100 excess and they only pay half the bill. But they do pay to have your dog put down, which can be several hundred pounds so I might get some of my premiums back. Ours is a rescue Tibetan Terrier, got her at 12 years and she's 14 now. I have said if its seriously expensice she gets put down, problem is I am more of a softy than the kids. I think she might live to 16-17.
Either I have been very unlucky with vets bills, or some of you have been very lucky!
Not all of my dogs have been insured (currently I have two who are and two who aren't) but some examples of the illnesses/injuries previous dogs have had:
Splenic cancer requiring emergency surgery (two dogs)
Diabetes requiring initial hospitalisation then daily insulin injections
Broken toe
Dental treatment
Spinal injury requiring emergency/OOH treatment then euthanasia
Hyperthyroidism requiring daily medication
Suspected adrenal tumour
Arthritis
My current four have had/have:
Dental treatment (into the hundreds)
Immune system disorder requiring regular blood tests and steroid treatment
Bone cancer requiring front leg amputation (not a cure, just to buy more time)
Not all of my dogs have been insured (currently I have two who are and two who aren't) but some examples of the illnesses/injuries previous dogs have had:
Splenic cancer requiring emergency surgery (two dogs)
Diabetes requiring initial hospitalisation then daily insulin injections
Broken toe
Dental treatment
Spinal injury requiring emergency/OOH treatment then euthanasia
Hyperthyroidism requiring daily medication
Suspected adrenal tumour
Arthritis
My current four have had/have:
Dental treatment (into the hundreds)
Immune system disorder requiring regular blood tests and steroid treatment
Bone cancer requiring front leg amputation (not a cure, just to buy more time)
Eons ago I find these people really good for stripped down dog insurance and I wasn't a dog breeder.
Dog Breeders Association
http://www.dog-breeds.co.uk/
Dog Breeders Association
http://www.dog-breeds.co.uk/
lost in espace said:
I use https://www.animalfriends.co.uk/ old dog insurance
Its about £20 a month, £100 excess and they only pay half the bill. But they do pay to have your dog put down, which can be several hundred pounds so I might get some of my premiums back. Ours is a rescue Tibetan Terrier, got her at 12 years and she's 14 now. I have said if its seriously expensice she gets put down, problem is I am more of a softy than the kids. I think she might live to 16-17.
It's costs around £30-50 to have a dog PTS. Where are you getting hundreds of pounds from?Its about £20 a month, £100 excess and they only pay half the bill. But they do pay to have your dog put down, which can be several hundred pounds so I might get some of my premiums back. Ours is a rescue Tibetan Terrier, got her at 12 years and she's 14 now. I have said if its seriously expensice she gets put down, problem is I am more of a softy than the kids. I think she might live to 16-17.
Had lots of dogs, 6 in total, never had insurance.
Some will tell you oh I saved thousands of pounds because I had insurance. In a few cases yes this is true. But it is a bit like taking your car in after a minor bump. Paying yourself sir? We'll pop it back out, good as new. Insurance? Needs new door, bumper and bonnet followed by full respray.
One of my dogs had a growth on an eyelid. I knew the vet well and asked what could be done. He was open that if the dog was insured he could operate under full anesthetic with a team of people for many hundreds of pounds or, as he showed me, could just ping the growth off with his thumb. Growth gone, healed perfectly never came back.
Just put your money away in a savings account and be sensible about things: don't put your loved pet through painful (and expensive) procedures to keep them alive for a bit longer then it is time for them to go.
Maybe it's because I was brought up with a farming attitude, where animals are a business asset, but I have never insured any of my pets. If one of my dogs had an illness or injury which would cost more to treat that the dog was worth then I'd get it put down rather than treating it.
I'm not as bad as my Grandad though, who routinely put down his dogs at 12 year old as that was the end of their working lives and they were likely to start costing money rather than making it then. He found it absolutely ridiculous that my sister would take a chicken to the vet when their value was only a few pounds.
I've found that vets will always find a cheaper way to treat an animal if they know there is no insurance involved.
I'm not as bad as my Grandad though, who routinely put down his dogs at 12 year old as that was the end of their working lives and they were likely to start costing money rather than making it then. He found it absolutely ridiculous that my sister would take a chicken to the vet when their value was only a few pounds.
I've found that vets will always find a cheaper way to treat an animal if they know there is no insurance involved.
chevy55 said:
Five minute procedure on a cat to find its top tooth was hooked over its lip £400, various tests inc ecg on a dog with heart failure £1100.
Am I missing something here? £400 to have a look at a tooth and a lip? How/why?And why run tests on a dog with heart failure? My last two dogs had that. No tests required, put onto furosemide and they each lived a happy life for about another 6-9 months then PTS due to their failing quality of life. What was the point of the ecg? Did it change their treatment at all?
brrapp said:
Maybe it's because I was brought up with a farming attitude, where animals are a business asset, but I have never insured any of my pets. If one of my dogs had an illness or injury which would cost more to treat that the dog was worth then I'd get it put down rather than treating it.
I'm not as bad as my Grandad though, who routinely put down his dogs at 12 year old as that was the end of their working lives and they were likely to start costing money rather than making it then. He found it absolutely ridiculous that my sister would take a chicken to the vet when their value was only a few pounds.
I've found that vets will always find a cheaper way to treat an animal if they know there is no insurance involved.
Wow! Maybe I'm too far the other way, but I'd be interested to know how you assess a dog's 'worth'. If you're talking about how much you pay for them, being rescues, I've 'paid' between £40 and £150 for my dogs. Most vet treatment costs more than that, so my dogs wouldn't have lasted very long if I used your rationale.... I'm not as bad as my Grandad though, who routinely put down his dogs at 12 year old as that was the end of their working lives and they were likely to start costing money rather than making it then. He found it absolutely ridiculous that my sister would take a chicken to the vet when their value was only a few pounds.
I've found that vets will always find a cheaper way to treat an animal if they know there is no insurance involved.
JumboBeef said:
It's costs around £30-50 to have a dog PTS. Where are you getting hundreds of pounds from?
Had lots of dogs, 6 in total, never had insurance.
Some will tell you oh I saved thousands of pounds because I had insurance. In a few cases yes this is true. But it is a bit like taking your car in after a minor bump. Paying yourself sir? We'll pop it back out, good as new. Insurance? Needs new door, bumper and bonnet followed by full respray.
One of my dogs had a growth on an eyelid. I knew the vet well and asked what could be done. He was open that if the dog was insured he could operate under full anesthetic with a team of people for many hundreds of pounds or, as he showed me, could just ping the growth off with his thumb. Growth gone, healed perfectly never came back.
Just put your money away in a savings account and be sensible about things: don't put your loved pet through painful (and expensive) procedures to keep them alive for a bit longer then it is time for them to go.
This is some of the worst dog sHad lots of dogs, 6 in total, never had insurance.
Some will tell you oh I saved thousands of pounds because I had insurance. In a few cases yes this is true. But it is a bit like taking your car in after a minor bump. Paying yourself sir? We'll pop it back out, good as new. Insurance? Needs new door, bumper and bonnet followed by full respray.
One of my dogs had a growth on an eyelid. I knew the vet well and asked what could be done. He was open that if the dog was insured he could operate under full anesthetic with a team of people for many hundreds of pounds or, as he showed me, could just ping the growth off with his thumb. Growth gone, healed perfectly never came back.
Just put your money away in a savings account and be sensible about things: don't put your loved pet through painful (and expensive) procedures to keep them alive for a bit longer then it is time for them to go.
t advice ever from cheap skate. Embarrassing to read. So you forcedYour dog through a procedure on a cost basis hopefully the nhs will do that to you.
Having been back to do medicine I can assure you no growth simply flicks off. The dog in a head lock while it's taken off is unethical. Your ancient vet should be struck off aswell as you. People like you boil my blood.
Insure your dog. I'll give you an example our dog de Bordeaux had cancer treatment at the super vets to remove a cancerous growth that required grafts. . He had the top animal friends policy. You won't put 8k into your savings accounts for something like this. He did a 6k walk today.
Remember. Think of the worst case scenario which will
Cost thousands not a couple of hundred. If your dog is your family give them the best chance don't listen to w
ker advice Edited by m4tti on Sunday 11th September 01:16
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 11th September 01:21
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 11th September 01:25
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 11th September 01:26
dave_s13 said:
We've just got a new dog (bedlington terrier puppy), can you guys recommend any good insurers or ones to avoid.
Just looking at animal friends at it looks OK but impossible to judge how they perform in reality.
Animal friends are pretty good. They've always paid up for us and we had a french bull dog which had significant health problems which they were really good with. Just looking at animal friends at it looks OK but impossible to judge how they perform in reality.
Go for annual life cover and avoid lunar policies
dave_s13 said:
We've just got a new dog (bedlington terrier puppy), can you guys recommend any good insurers or ones to avoid.
Just looking at animal friends at it looks OK but impossible to judge how they perform in reality.
Pet Plan for me. No issues with paying out and good customer service. Not necessarily the cheapest but very good.Just looking at animal friends at it looks OK but impossible to judge how they perform in reality.
Can I just correct people's notion that if not insured vets do it cheaper as this is misleading. It is fraud to inflate prices for insurance.
What actually happens is the gold standard approach is offered with insurance (and obviously without) but as most people who don't have insurance also don't want to spend their own money on gold standard they are offered ways of trying to get the treatment done but at lower cost, this may not beneficial to the animal ie no pre anaesthetic bloods or no iv fluids during an op or not sending a growth off to the lab to be tested, amputate a leg that could have been saved...I can go on and on and on.
What actually happens is the gold standard approach is offered with insurance (and obviously without) but as most people who don't have insurance also don't want to spend their own money on gold standard they are offered ways of trying to get the treatment done but at lower cost, this may not beneficial to the animal ie no pre anaesthetic bloods or no iv fluids during an op or not sending a growth off to the lab to be tested, amputate a leg that could have been saved...I can go on and on and on.
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