The Kindest Thing You Can Do For Your Animal. (Pet insurance)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Pet insurance
Date:	20/03/09 (248 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Peace of Mind

Disadvantages: Expensive

Pet insurance is the most important aspect to owning a pet in my opinion- it has to be. This is for the sake of the animals, their welfare has to be paramount, and I would like to see a basic form of insurance mandatory for owning a dog or a cat, just as it is for owning a car for reasons I will explain.

My daughter is about to qualify as a vet and it has been a long hard road and one she is passionate about. Her training has taken her to the cutting edge of veterinary medicine and without the insurance companies paying for more difficult cases to be referred to vet schools for expert treatment, not only would many of these animals die, but also new treatments would never be developed.

The truth is not just for the complicated cases it begins with the basics. Many breeds have specific problems, Westies are prone to skin troubles, King Charles Spaniels to heart problems, and Alsatians to a certain type of tumour which can be fatal, but any animal gets sick anytime, and often with no warning on the worst day of the year. We spent Boxing Day in our emergency vets this year with Marigold, one of our cats, with a severe viral infection. The waiting room was heaving and the fees mounting.

We bought a beautiful Persian cat and called him Teddy. We insured him and fully expected he would live to a ripe old age like some of our other cats. Sadly about age 7 he began to show signs of illness, increased thirst, lethargy, and a poor coat condition and he was diagnosed with polycystic kidneys in the end, a genetic disease, though his case was complicated because he also showed signs of a much more common condition, that of inflammatory bowel. He needed expert renal care and he was referred to the London Vet School where tests revealed he had only one poorly functioning kidney. They kept him comfortable and treated him very well indeed, though his condition was found to be terminal and he died not long after. The bills for treatment were over £4000. Without insurance we would have been forced to stop investigations at a much earlier stage, and if he had been suffering from a complicated case of bowel disease he may have lived on. Instead his case was a study for the vet students who were able to learn and understand how complicated some illnesses can be, and certainly the qualified staff were able to benefit immensely from seeing and investigating his case thoroughly.

Most importantly we were left with the comforting thought that at no stage did money ever come into the equation to carry on or not-that decision was made purely on clinical signs, and whether it was kind to Teddy or not.


Only 2 years ago our Shih Tzu developed a corneal ulcer. This is a serious condition and almost led to blindness in one eye in her case. She has an allergy to anaesthetics and as we had insurance we were offered the alternative to surgery of using a special contact lens called a bandage to cover the wound to promote healing. She actually had three of these as they fell out with regularity, but the treatment was successful though rather costly at £600 in total.

In general terms there are 2 really salient points to think about when deciding whether to purchase insurance or not.

1 How will I feel if my animal gets ill unexpectedly, and will I be able to find the money easily or not if it runs into thousands?

2 How will I cope with the guilt if I have to deny treatment which could save a life or even prolong it in good quality?

I have several friends, quite comfortably off, who I have heard say they look the other way when they see a symptom they recognise may be warranting a vet trip because they fear the cost. One particular friend has an elderly cat who is always thirsty-it may have renal failure or diabetes, and I wonder if she would like to be permanently thirsty day in and day out.

Other important points are

1.Who will be responsible if my dog gets out and causes an accident on the road?-Insurance may cover this if you select the right policy.

2.What will happen if my dog is ill and can't go in the kennels. What happens to my holiday I have paid for? This should be covered.

So what insurance should I buy?

In my opinion there are two really important points to make here.

Firstly the ideal policy is one which covers the animal for life. This is why you cannot go onto a website and say a company is cheaper than other because there are two different products out there being sold, and you really need to understand how they differ. A lifelong policy works like this. Say your dog called "Muddle" gets diabetes; he will have it for life so each year your insurer will cover the cost for this condition. If however you have bought a simple policy which is not lifelong at renewal all bills for that will not be covered. The simple policy is always cheaper and it is better than nothing, however you must be aware of this. Whilst ideal for the odd accident, it will not cover a long-term condition for more than one year. Some of these simple policies seem to cloak this fact promoting their cheap policy cost, and you need to really study the wording carefully. Owning one of these policies, if it is not lifelong, and sifting through the document hoping for a miracle, may be as good as reorganising the deckchairs on the titanic if you need to claim for an ongoing problem over the renewal date. They will say it is not covered and you could face a fortune in bills.

Secondly look also at the vet fees cover when comparing policies as some are very low, and if your dog gets cancer and requires chemotherapy in a vet hospital, this really can be thousands, so if you can afford it buy the policy with the highest level.

Until recently Petplan who are a subsidiary of Cornhill Insurance who are the market leader in the sale of lifelong policies used to cover dogs for unlimited vet fees, but now it is capped at £12000, but this is adequate for peace of mind whatever happens. The Marks and Spencer Plan is also excellent and is provided by Axa and will cover you for £7000 each year for your dog (less for cats).There are other companies to look at but the vet fees cap will be less and you really need to look at this because you could if you are unlucky end up in the middle of treatment worrying if your insurance will reach the limit. Some firms such as, More Than, Direct Line Advanced Policy and Sainsbury's will insure conditions for life but up to a capped amount for life which if your animal falls ill when young it may be very inadequate.

Another thing to consider if the amazing benefit some alternative treatments make to the lives of dogs such as hydrotherapy and acupunture, many of these are now covered and this can relieve pain and suffering for dogs will all kinds of conditions.

Many policies also have cover for advertising costs if your pet goes missing, and kennel fees should you be in hospital and unable to look after your pet.

The policy will have an excess which you will have to pay which rises with age and also you must keep your animal vaccinated and up to date with routine worming or the policy will be invalidated. Furthermore you will find age restrictions on taking out new policies so it pays to get with a lifelong cover policy sooner rather than later when it may not be possible. In the case of dogs this is normally 8 for small breeds and less for large.

What people often forget when they shudder at the large vet bills is that the equipment in vet surgeries is very costly to buy and to service. Veterinary medicine is making new discoveries all the time and pets are benefitting from it.

My cat recently lived to 20 and she had an over active thyroid treated for 3 years with medication. She sat in the garden in her favourite spot enjoying the flowers and at peace when three years before she was gasping for breath with a heart rate off the scale, eating 10 tins of cat food a day and losing weight like crazy. Those 3 cat years were transformed by the treatment and she died a comfortable and happy old lady. Isn't that what we want for all our animals?

In this economic climate sadly it is one monthly expense we could all do without. I wish I could say it wasn't necessary, but I feel it has to be if you want to give the best to your pet whatever happens and no one has a crystal ball.

Summary: Try to buy the lifelong cover If you can.