Insurance question.

jayne5364 · #1 05-01-12, 03:59 PM

Now that we have the 2 dogs we have been questioning whether to insure them both or to set aside a certain amount each month into a vet fund. We do have money set aside but it worries me that if were something more serious we couldn't meet a huge bill.
We have noticed today that Anya's hips are giving her bother. Nothing serious and we haven't been worried until today. Took them to the park for some offlead time, normaly she will run after a ball for ages. Today she just lay down after about 20 minutes and struggled to get into the car. She's resting now and happy in herself but I hope it's not a sign of things to come.
2 things spring to mind, hip dysplasia or arthritis. She had a large litter of pups at just over a year old (not with me I might add). would this cause any weakness with her hips and should I be concerned.
I know you can't make a claim for 14 days on insurance so I need to get some quotes tonight and sort it or make a choice to save.....When making a claim and paying the excess is it one excess per condition and then they pay for the treatment. Weighing up the pro's and cons, insurance versus savings is a nightmare. I've always been lucky with dogs before and they have been very healthy. A small pot of dog money has always been enough.
Anya is only just turned 2 by the way so anything needing long term treatment will also be a consideration.
Any recommendations for good companies, pays vets direct or quick to settle claims.

Caryll · #2 05-01-12, 08:16 PM

All the insurance companies offer slightly different policies & you'll need to compare them to see if one suits you. A word of caution, though; none of them will cover pre-existing conditions, so if you've already consulted a vet about her hips, she won't be covered for that condition!

I use Sainsbury's - £7500 per condition for life, with quite a high 3rd party level. It costs me about £15 per month (and that's after the renewal - I thought we'd have to pay more cause we'd claimed £5000+ for 2 major illnesses & a couple of more minor things).

Although putting money aside can cover medical costs, it won't cover ant 3rd party claims if, say, your dog gets spooked, runs into the road & causes an accident, or even if he causes damage to someone's proerty somehow. A law suit for that could come to thousands.

Caryll · #3 05-01-12, 08:19 PM

P.S. Most insurance companies are happy to pay vets direct as long as you have paid the excess, but it all depends on what your vets are prepared to do. My vets' rules state that all treatment must be paid up front & then you claim it back, but in practice they'll happily do a direct claim if the bill is likely to be over £200; they just charge an admin fee of £20.

Raven · #4 05-01-12, 08:31 PM

You can get third party insurance from the Dogs Trust, join the trust and you automatically have all your dogs covered, think it is £25 a year. This is all I have now but I had Petra insured from a pup until she was 2, by then I was sure she didn't have any issues with hips or elbows. I have a savings account for the 3 dogs and the third party cover.

jc24965 · #5 05-01-12, 08:44 PM

Your home contents should cover you for accident or injury casued by a dog (including biting) usually up to £2,000,000 subject to a policy excess.

jayne5364 · #6 05-01-12, 08:51 PM

Thanks for the replies. Some food for thought there.
She is ok tonight, it's possible she slipped awkwardly perhaps. It just got us thinking today, as she is unknown history, bred very early and generaly uncared for that we were more likely to have problems. I haven't consulted the vets about her hips as I know about the pre existing thing, also she does seem to be ok now. I've been looking around at a few quotes tonight and had some reasonable quotes. I think I will play safe and start one up. Hopefuly I won't need it but there is something to be said for peace of mind. I would hate to be in the position of not being able to afford treatments.

LindaM · #7 06-01-12, 06:56 AM

If I were in your shoes I would insure.

I can see why Alison (Raven) has taken her option which seems like a good one for her circumstances.

I'm a first GSD owner and mine has a couple health problems - one very unfortunately is epilepsy which didn't show til he was 4 yrs and which I never thought he would get.

Hope your girl is OK with her hips.

Linda