Do you have your pats insured?

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Louise B — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 14:48:56 GMT

[quote user="Princess Ophelia Hermione MacBeth"]

3 dogs. All covered. Petplan cover for life (budget)

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Just spotted that I contributed to this thread two years ago. I now have changed my approach. I now have Tesco Accident and Injury only pet insurance (6.25/month per dog) http://www.tescobank.com/insurance/petins/accident-and-injury.html . I joined the Dogs Trust for their third party insurance (most pet insurance 3rd party policies don't provide cover for your dog while it is at work - inc. if it is just sitting in your car on the carpark!!!). But, I pay my vets £50/month direct debit into my account in advance of any illness, etc so that my account is as in the black as I can make it ready for a non - insured condition. I then just pay for vet bills at the time if I can afford to do so so avoid dipping into this fund. Thankfully, I live in an area where my own vets do their own out of hours so i can avoid costly OOH provider charges (or I might have thought twice about taking this approach).

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Sally Seddon — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 10:58:54 GMT

Got my two chihuahuas with pet plan. Takes a good chunk of my wages each month, even with multi pet and staff discount. Wouldn't dare be without it though. I'm not the sort of person who can save. I would love to have an account for emergencies but it just wouldn't happen. Try desperately to get my family to insure their pets with lifetime cover and not just the cheapest policy but they never listen!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

SmegSlayer — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 10:20:19 GMT

We had Brandy insured from the day before we got her at 7 weeks in 1997 (I was 14) with PP and they were brilliant right up to the day she died. Epiphen from age 3, heart scans but no meds from age 5, head MRI at Davies at age 7, then another at 9, heart meds from age 10.

My friends mum had their cat insured with PP but had to cancel it coz when she and her husband divorced they wouldn't let her change the policy to her name without classing it as a new policy with any pre-exisiting condition now not covered.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

mark straw — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:04:05 GMT

Interesting topic.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Carys Thorp — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:28:33 GMT

[quote user="Steph Worsley"]

[quote user="Carys Peet"]

I have three cats and two are insured (one with petplan, one with pet secure) the other one was also insured with petplan but as hes a 14 year old semi feral cat i decided to stop it as realistically i wouldnt do much if he got ill as he would hate it. I changed my siamese from petplan to petsecure as petplan wouldnt give me a lifetime cover for him. I dont have spare money and it would break my heart not to be able to treat them because of a lack of money

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Seems odd to me that petplan wouldn't give you cover for life, why was this????

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I got him as a rescue at 9 years old so insured him with petplan and was told he couldnt have a lifetime cover due to his age, i wasn't happy but accepted it and insured him anyway, a year later i took on another rescue cat that i thought was 9 years old so insured him with petplan and was given a lifetime cover... i rang them to complain that my first cat hadn't been given a lifetime cover and they didn't give me a satisfactory answer so moved him to petsecure. As it turned out the second cat is actually much older than i thought!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

miranda luck — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:59:15 GMT

I have 3 of my dogs and 1 cat insured (Tesco) but my fourth dog is not. I adopted him with a prognosis of 6 months (cancer) so when he goes down it - that will be it. Funnily enough I've had him for a year now and he has no sign of giving up!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Michelle Crawford — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:30:39 GMT

I have a 1 y.o cat and she is insured with Petplan just in case she ever needed referral. Hopefully I'll never need to use it............

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Kirstykins VN — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:10:17 GMT

Soz about the spelling above. Should have proof read and fixed the typo's before I posted.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Kirstykins VN — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:08:31 GMT

Petplan and just had to put in a 3000.00 claim! I'd make sure whoever you go with that you get a Lifetime policy if you can. There are 3 types, a livetime policy which covers for life and the limit re sets every year, a maximum benifit policy which only covers up to a certain amount of money, and a 12 month policy whick only covers for a year. If you take a maximum benifit policy or a 12 month policy once you reach that limit for a condition you will no longer be able to get cover with anyone. My advice get a lifetime one or if you think its to expensive get a maximum benifit with the highest benifit poss. Dont touch the 12 month ones. If you think about it a fracture repair can cost 2k and cancer treatment could even be upwards of 3k a year. so dont get stung. Most practices will help you out if you pet needs treatment but what if they need referred on? I would have had to have my 4 yr old dog PTS if she wasn't insured because there is no way I'd have afforded the traetment and now she is doing fine and you wouldn't know she had been sick at all.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Deemus — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:51:20 GMT

My Jack's with Petplan. He's on the covered for life budget one. Now he's 11 it's about £20 per month (touch wood, I haven't had to use it). His policy gives me 4k worth of treatment which whilst I realise isn't a huge amount if he needs referral, I do have to wonder how much I'd actually put him through if push came to shove.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Bethany Leonard - Williams RVN — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:27:02 GMT

My Lab X and Cat are both petplan covered for life supreme (am a tad paranoid about them) and my in-laws Greyhoud who i have inherited is also with petplan covered for life but budget(in-laws pay for it thankfully). luckily the only thing i have claimed for in the last 6yrs was before xmas when Japsper (Lab x ) has bloods/x-rays/tx for rather acute GI upset - will see how that affects my premium this yr but i would never ever have a pet without some form of insurance.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Kim Buckley — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:20:30 GMT

[quote user="Emma Kerry"]

I had a little Pug puppy in today with the owner turning down the wormer due to cost and saying they couldn't get insurance because they couldn't afford it... I see problems ahead...

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And they spent god knows how much on a pug puppy! It's crazy isn't it!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Emma Purnell — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:08:02 GMT

I had a little Pug puppy in today with the owner turning down the wormer due to cost and saying they couldn't get insurance because they couldn't afford it... I see problems ahead...

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Kim Buckley — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:46:56 GMT

[quote user="Emma Kerry"]

[quote user="Kim Blowing"]

Used to work with a vet who would say to clients who said they couldn't afford insurance if they could afford not to!

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I agree completely! However, they really did want a ridiculous amount per month, it was over £90 per month due to all his previous problems - if they would insure him at all I wanted to insure him!

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Oh I can understand your situation! It was the clients who would come in with their puppies and kittens and said they couldn't afford insurance. Urm then why have you bought yourself a puppy/kitten??

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Emma Purnell — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:42:41 GMT

[quote user="Kim Blowing"]

Used to work with a vet who would say to clients who said they couldn't afford insurance if they could afford not to!

[/quote]

I agree completely! However, they really did want a ridiculous amount per month, it was over £90 per month due to all his previous problems - if they would insure him at all I wanted to insure him!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Kim Buckley — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:39:38 GMT

Used to work with a vet who would say to clients who said they couldn't afford insurance if they could afford not to!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Emma Purnell — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:57:39 GMT

I am a bad mum.

My Jack isn't insured, when I first took him on he had a broken leg and within the first few months he had an eye infection, GI upset/panceratitis bout and started showing atopy signs. When I was looking into insurance it was just so so expensive to do I couldn't afford it every month, but every time he needs things paying for I will find the money, even if it means re-morgaging the house!

Currently saving to replace the hole left by his atopy treatment

Future pets... insurance all the way!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Shelly vn — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:49:25 GMT

I don't have my dogs insured, i used to have my older dog insured and it came in handy when he had a lung tumour and needed to go to the RVC. But the insurance company put his premiums up so much that i just couldn't afford it. Like some have said, he's now so old that i probably wouldn't do to much to him now so it doesn't matter for him. But i also have a younger collie and try as i might i just can't find the money each month for pet insurance on top of every thing else! I just keep my fingers crossed that nothing happens to him!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

BengalcatRVN — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:40:38 GMT

I have my sister's dog, and my 2 cats insured with petplan, dog's on budget as it's too much for me to pay on my own (my sister doesn't believe in pet ins, even after her dog ate rat poison, nearly died, and her prev horse cost a fortune in vet fees she always said the "cost didn't matter" until the vets put a stop to the medication as she wasn't paying the bill at all) the cats are both on standard plan, which I'm greatful for! My wee man has cost them a fortune over the years (sorry petplan!) whereas my girl cat has cost them relativly little, with only about 3-4 claims over 9yrs.

I realised that I wanted the best care for them, and I'm sorry to say, but we nurses can find ourselves pushed to one side for the paying clients, afterall the clients come first. As I pay for my treatment, via my ins co, I feel I can demand the best care for my pets, and it means when clients go "it's alright for you, you get free treatment as your a nurse", I can sit up and go, "No! I pay for my treatment like everyone else!" and they don't think they are being "overcharged" to subsidise for my cats care. (seriously, someone once said that to me!)

Also means, when I lived miles from work and couldn't drive, I could visit the local vets, get my treatment done and get my money back. You never know where you'll be in an emergency.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

chip munk — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:33:57 GMT

All 5 of mine are insured with petplan. I've claimed £100's since last year when my old boy(12 year old lab x) became arthritic.He's also just been diagnosed with borderline hypothyroisism and ?dementia .My last dog I claimed £1000's, he was a very unstable diabetic and with referral costs it soon added up.

I did have the diabetic dog insured with pet protect for 5 years. I then made 2 claims in 12months....lump removal then cruciate repair....and my premium went from £7.95 to £79 a month.!!! I rang them up thinking it was a typo. The reason they gave me for putting up my premium was i was classed as "high" risk having claimed twice in a year. I swapped him to petplan and 14months later he was diagnosed with diabetes. I wouldnt be without my pet insurance as in my experience VN's animals are always diagnosed with conditions that are never textbook x

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Steph Phillips — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:15:26 GMT

Jess & Milo (cat & dog!) are insured with Argos - the platinum cover for life - not that expensive either! .. and my bearded dragon is insured with Exotics Direct which is a little expensive!! but then so would the vet bills if I never had it!!

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Sally Howe — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:53:51 GMT

My dogs are with petplan, my cats have come to me with various injuries so they are not insured.

I recently claimed for Hercules who has soft tissue sarcoma so was really glad I was with PP.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Kim Buckley — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:27:44 GMT

I have my 9 year old border terrier cross insured with Pet Plan. Had to claim for the first time just before xmas and have now claimed for £1000 in total! Thank god for insurance! I did have my collie cross insured but her premiums went up lots and she is now at the age where I just wouldn't put her through a lot so cancelled it. When I get my next dog I will be using Pet Plan again and will be going for their top cover. £4000 a year just isn't enough.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Nicola Smith — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 08:07:13 GMT

I have my dog with pet plan, and my mums old dog who is 17 is still with pet plan and though he is on very borrowed time now it is the medication that keeps him going which costs far more than his monthly premium does so still worthwhile.

I have my cat with AXA as was too old to go with pet plan but not happy with them - premium has doubled since last year and now has renal and joint issues couldnt swap anyway. They say they dont premium load and just due to her age but double is rather excessive and is doubles again next year will have to think again.

I would always keep mine insured as dont have a pot of money available and would always like to do whatever was needed.

Re: Do you have your pats insured?

Cheryl RVN — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 22:29:03 GMT

I am a bad owner and my dog is not insured however she is 14 years old now and no one will insure her anyway. When we got her as a puppy insurance was not a big thing, however it is now and I do recommend it.