Pet insurance

unimaginativeusername

Hi all,

Without naming particular companies, is there a giant difference in pet insurance on the market in Ireland? I've heard insurance from large Insurance brands is good but our local vet offers a plan which I'm tempted to go for. The monthly costs are reasonable and include things like annual vaccinations and blood tests, among other things.

I'm just wondering though that should the worst happen, and the dog needed expensive treatment or surgery, are some plans worthless in reality? I think I'd rather pay out of pocket for the routine things if in meant having peace of mind that the bigger things are covered.

Thank you

unimaginativeusername

Just further to this, it looks like the local vet's insurance plan will cost just over €23 a month and the quote from a large insurance company is €40 a month.

The breed is a Bernese Mountain Dog which do tend to have health problems. If the vet's plan is adequate I'd go with them but I don't want to be stung down the line for being cheap!

I think I've answered my own question but any insight is much appreciated.

Alun

You really need to find out the details of the plan before you sign up for it. As you say these plans generally cover the routine stuff like annual checkups, blood and urine tests etc. and maybe even free consults, but if the consult reveals that any major work needs to be done like surgery or ongoing treatment for a chronic conditions it's unlikely they'll cover that, and that's when things start to get expensive.

unimaginativeusername

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120436101#Comment_120436101

Yeah agreed. I have an appointment with the vet end of next week. I expect them to push their plan but I'm not sure it's worth it if it only covers the routine and not any serious treatments. Annoyingly the insurance company plan doesn't cover routine visits.

CinammonGirl

We have both! In our case, the vet's plan covers vaccines, 6-monthly check up, flea/worms treatment and a few other bits but not things like x-rays or surgery or their fees. Our guy swallowed a scrunchie when he was a few months old and we ended up having to bring him to UCD. An x-ray and an overnight stay (no surgery, he shat it out) came to about 800 euro. Thankfully we had already got the insurance so just needed to pay the excess of 100 euro.

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120436121#Comment_120436121

You really have to work out what you'd pay ordinarily for all the routine stuff if you didn't have the plan, and compare the two.

DBB

It's a pup youre getting, isn't it OP? Or... ooohh... has pup arrived? 😃

For a pup, at the very least, I'd strongly recommend taking out pet insurance for the first year or two, because it's during this time that, particularly with big breeds, you're most at risk with joint/bone/growth issues that come into vast money if you're unlucky enough to need the cover.

Furthermore, should your pup need major medical intervention, you've got the insurance to cover future supportive treatments that can be really pricey too, if you were to pay for them yourself. Say, for example, your pup damages an elbow that requires surgery, in future years, pup might benefit from annual or 6-monthly stem cell therapy. This generally costs €1k or more per treatment... you might be more inclined to get this sort of ongoing treatment if you've got the insurance to cover it?

Have a close look at exactly what you get with the vet's scheme, which seems to be something lots of vets offer these days. It might be worthwhile taking out both covers alright, but do the sums first!

unimaginativeusername

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120437563#Comment_120437563

Thanks so much and yes all going well I'm hoping she will be here in a few weeks time!! I know for some people having a dog or pet is so run of the mill and ordinary but I just feel really privileged to have one which I know sounds soppy but it's true. My family dog died 12 years ago and I've missed having a furry friend and didn't think it would be a possibility.

Anyway I digress, yeah I think the full insurance will be the way to go. I'm less concerned about regular routine costs than some huge surgical bill landing, and the insurance plan I looked at seems to have good coverage. I hadn't even thought about taking out both! It's something I might do once I do my homework on the numbers if it's worth it but it might be a bit of a stretch.

Thanks for all the feedback and help on here as always - I'll be back again no doubt :)

tk123

I have insurance for both but don’t have the pet plan thing. I don’t use flea/worm treatments and don’t buy my food at the vets etc so it’s not saving me anything. Insurance wise i’m with a Allianz and have never had and issue.. and we’ve had a lot of claims!

Tony H

same as tk I'm with Allianz , had a claim last year , she swallowed a sock , I was really glad she was insured , my monthly is around €25 a month and the surgery cost €1400 , so well worth it in my opinion .

SillyMangoX

A third here with Allianz for my cats and I’ll never be without it again. It’s cost us next to nothing for Mooses ongoing diabetic care, everything is covered bar the prescription food! Chronic conditions can add up fast!

SuperBowserWorld

Reminds me ...

You know the elastic bands that meat comes wrapped in. Cut these up into small pieces and dispose carefully in the bin. Otherwise your cat/dog could swallow them and they can wrap around their gut.

I cancelled both my pet insurance policies with Blue Insurance, they were an absolute nightmare to deal with an their website doesn't work. Problems every month with collecting the direct debits. Always the wrong amounts, and the wrong dates.

I switched to Allianz - for about a euro per pet per month dearer, its well worth it.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120436306#Comment_120436306

yeah, i've always been sceptical about pet insurance - there was mention above of one plan costing €40 a month, which would be essentially €500 a year - for a pet living 10 years, that'd be €5k spend (minimum - allowing for excess on claims anyway). how much are you 'saving' with that spend?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120578588#Comment_120578588

I think its worth it for the piece of mind, unless you are confident you can afford to pay as you go.

When my cocker spaniel had a stroke at age 11, I had to rush her in to UCD on a Saturday night. That cost over €500 that I had to pay upfront, or they wouldn't treat her. They wanted to do a CT scan, but it was an additional €1000 (upfront) which I simply couldn't afford at the time. I paid the €500 for her to stay overnight and she was stabilised and discharged back to the care of our own vet at 7am on Monday morning. Without the CT scan, UCD diagnosed vestibular disease. 2 days later, she had another massive stroke. She survived, but went blind very shortly afterwards. She was 14 when she eventually died, but in those final 3 years, I spent a lot more than €5k on vet bills, including an eye specialist.

I always felt really guilty that I could not afford the CT scan that time, and swore if I ever had any other pets, I would keep them fully insured.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120437563#Comment_120437563

I actually have both. The cpmbined cost of both the Allianz Insurance (€12) and TrustVet Pet Plan (€19) is approx €31 per cat, per month.

The TrustVet Pet Plan covers up to 12 vet visits per year, an annual physical check up and blood test, (including dental) discount off dental cleanings and neutering/spaying, vaccinations or vaccination booster, and all flea, tick and worm treatments for €19 per cat, per month. There is a cheaper plan for I think €15 per month.

I went through quite a lot of the visits last year for minor stuff but stuff that needed attention, like wasp stings (one silly cat got stung badly when she tried to catch a wasp in her mouth. Her whole face swelled when it stung her. The other got a paw also stung by a wasp and swelled up a lot. Another also got a minor infection and needed a few days of antibiotics, which cost less than a tenner, but all the consultation fees (€42 each) were covered, so I'd say it was close to paying for itself.