Pet Insurance, yay or nay?

MelonieHead

What are people's opinion on getting Pet Insurance? Is it worth it or would you be better off puting the €216 a year offside in case of emergency? As fas as I know there are only two companies in Ireland that provide Pet Insurance so it's not going to be very competitive.

So does anyone here have their pet/s insured and do you think it's worth it? Has the company been okay with paying out if your animal has needed it?

Alun

Our two cats have certainly made good use of theirs (and nearly broken even on it) over their 7 year old lives so far. Just had a nearly €400 payout for one of our cats, no bother at all. It's worth it, IMO, for the peace of mind alone, not having to put yourself through the turmoil of deciding whether you can afford treatment at the time.

F1ngers

We don't have insurance for our dog or cat, however, if a situation arose where our pets required treatment/surgery, we would dip into our savings straight away.

Quaver

I was considering the same issue myself a few weeks ago, and decided that it was worth it just in case (although mine was no more than €150). €216 isn't really a lot of money, especially if you consider how much you may need if your dog/cat needs a serious operation.

ShayK1

Mine is also insured. I've only had him since January so thankfully I haven't needed it yet. I have a direct debit of €13.75 a month. Its definitely worth it for the peace of mine.

Alun

F1ngers wrote: »

We don't have insurance for our dog or cat, however, if a situation arose where our pets required treatment/surgery, we would dip into our savings straight away.

Thing is though that when (as we had once with a cat) you have mounting bills due to long term illnesses, and in this case it had gone over £1200 (that's punts not euros) at one point, if you don't have insurance then you do at least subconsciously start to question the cost. With insurance it's one less thing to worry about at a difficult time.

Arcee

Having learnt the hard way and spent €3,500 on my dog in the space of 12 months, yes I would recommend insurance. If you're happy to take the chance and dip into your savings then fine but considering that I could have bought more than 15 years of pet insurance for that €3,500..... well, it's a no brainer.

Sanerah

I got a renewal letter from Allianz asking for 600e for our two dogs.. we're not sure if that's a good price.

I think its good for a peace of mind, especially if you live in an estate where your dog has a higher chance of being knocked down. You hear of stories where the car driver sues you for any damage caused by your dog. Also another thing that scared us into getting insurance was when one time my dog playfully jumped up on a stranger and ended up knocking her to the ground. her husband threatened to sue us (No this didn't happen in America). It's not just useful for health reasons, it's useful for legal reasons.

Jack B. Badd

The situation is a little better in the UK as there are a number of insurers - even Tesco offer pet insurance! The competition does appear to mean somewhat lower premiums in relation to Ireland (we currently pay £140 for lifelong cover for our 2 year old cat). Personally, I wouldn't be without it. If she was hit by a car, attacked or poisoned, I'm sure myself and my boyfriend could scare up the money needed to save her life but it wouldn't be easy and personally I'd prefer not to even have to think about it.
Our insurance also covers fees for posters and a reward if she went missing. Do Irish insurers include this?

Emerald Lass

would definitely say its worth it. Our old dog was too old to get ins when it started here - we ended up spending thousands on him by, esp given he lived to be 19! My sis's dog has no insurance - she has needed 2 knee replacements, an eye removed, heart scans etc. It has cost thousands! some people have even said, at that cost would you not just put her down? but she's part of the family so they found the money!

i know you are saying put €216 aside a year, but realistically, how many of us will really do this? I know I would start out with great intentions, but then when bills come in etc, that payment would be the first to get put at the back of the pile. But if I have an insurance bill to pay, I will. And its much cheaper than paying thousands in vets bills, or worse, not being able to pay for treatment and then having to make a heart breaking choice. Its always terrible to loose a pet, but to be forced to decide on euthanasia just because you can't afford treatment would be awful.

Madame Razz

Having an exceptionally ridiculously accident prone cat who certainly takes a 'never rains but it pours' approach when he injures himself(i.e. it's always major!), I can safely say that insurance is most definately worth it.

2 years ago I was at the vets 4 times in two weeks cos Mr Puss was in the wars.....ended up costing me a couple of hundred euro altogether...

Needless to say Allianz were rung and he was covered from the following week!!

MelonieHead

Emerald Lass wrote: »

i know you are saying put €216 aside a year, but realistically, how many of us will really do this?

You've good a very good point there.

The general consensus is that Pet Insurance is definately worth having.

Sanerah, €600 sounds like a lot for two dogs. That's where you'd wish for a bit more competition. Not just for the fees though, but the coverage too. I have Insurance with Allianz but I would ideally change the amount they stump up to offer as a reward. I just feel if the unthinkable happened and he got lost, the bigger a reward offered the more likely someone will hand him back if they find him.

soulstaf

I would strongly recommend pet insurance, i have insurance for my dog and a couple of years ago he developed a lifelong condition which needs daily medication and trips to the vet for tests etc, his bills are up on €3500 a year!

The policy cost of €216 would not pay for an illness / injury bill at the vets nowadays.

Jules

Which ever company you choose to go with , please READ THE FINE PRINT, having delt with one of them in particular, one is far better company.

Sanerah, what type of dogs do you have?

Tupins

Hi I'm with petinsure.ie and I'm only paying less than 8 euro per month for my cat.

You still have to pay an excess each time you go to the vet for a new problem but it's worth it for eg if your pet has to have an operation or if you have to go back to the vet a few times for the same problem. My cat has a recurring problem with her eye and I'm lucky I took out the insurance before that happened as I've been going to the vet getting her checked and having treatment every few weeks for the last few months and have only had to pay once.

JennyAnt

Can anyone here recommend an insurer for my westie puppy? I know westies are prone to skin aliments (and my Baxter does have quite pink skin) so I would like an insurer to represent that?
Thanks!

andreac

There are only 2 companies in ireland that insure pets, Allianz and petinsure,ie, i would reccommend Allianz.

aaronsbz

tell me what pet insurance covers.../..

does it cover stuff like vacination..

misssaucie

Glad to hear I am not the only person who dithered over getting insurance. To be honest I also thought it was an excessive amount as my house insurance is just a few quid more per year. We got 6 weeks free with Allianze when we brought our pup to get his 1st injections and this ran out a few weeks ago. I was humming and haaing over whether to spend the money when my brothers dog ate something he shouldn't have and ended up in the vets on a drip overnight. It cost them nearly €400 in vets fees as the dog had to under go loads of tests aswell. €400 they can't really afford and they had no insurance either. So I got online and spread my payments over a 12 month period which is much more affordable than paying it out in a lump sum. Hope this helps.

Jack B. Badd

Nope, it doesn't cover vaccinations althought some vets run similar schemes whereby you pay a monthly premium to cover expected occurances like health checks, vaccination boosters, worming, etc. Pet insurance is effectively like health insurance for unexpected occurances, e.g. dog gets hit by a car but not dog requires insulin due to a pre-existing diabetic condition.

andreac

It doesnt cover routine things like vaccinations, but does cover nearly everything else, once the dog doesnt have a pre existing problem before policy is taken out.
I cannot reccommend insurance highly enough, my dog, a rottie ended up on a drip over night last summer, would have cost me nearly 300 for that visit alone if i hadnt had insurance. All you have to pay is the excess which is 75 with Allianz i think if you have a claim. Some vets claim for you, mine does, so all you have to pay is the first 75 euro.

Munster Gal

Pet Insurance is improving and it's beginning to cover therapies such as some forms of chemotherapy and hydrotherapy. It's also worth remebering the 3rd party cover you get with it. Someone tried to steal our dog but she got away and was hit by a car, the insurance covered her treatment and had the car owner claimed against us it would cover their costs also.

Emerald Lass

Hi - I yse Blue Insurance for my travel insurance, and I noticed a little while ago that they are soon to be offering varying levels of pet insurance - 2 star to 5 star levels.

Not sure when they are to start selling it, but for anyone due a renewal it might be worth contacting them to see when it will be launched and quotes?

http://www.blueinsurance.ie/pet.asp

ncmc

I've just signed up for pet insurance after reading this thread! Would hate to be in a situation where money became an issue in the treatment of my dog. I want her to get the best possible care regardless of cost. I went with Allianz, they are quoting me €17 approx per month for a purebreed dog. It's nice to have that security now.