Which insurance company for the hound? Forums

Kelcat

Hi,
Several vets I know all recommend PetPlan - the thing to make sure is that the insurance will continue to always cover existing conditions - i.e. pay for medications for the rest of your pets life - not the remainder of the policy. The vetinary industry is very insurance led - medications etc are astronomically expensive because insurance covers most of them - some conditions can be medicated for a dogs lifespan (12+ years).

bandaid

Its not so very long ago, that Vets used to prescribe drugs developed for humans when applicable, that changed for some legal reason, and the same drugs are double the price. Which is a financial strain on some.

Chatted to my sis in law this evening, and shes a horsey person.
( bears a resemblance) anyway, she gave up with insurance for her horses as she calculated over a 5 year period, that with good husbandry ( if thats the right terminology) she maintained healthy animals, and the vets bills incurred were less than the policy premiums.

I personnally, am absolutely certain however, that even after paying out for various mutts for over 10 years, without a single unscheduled trip to the vet, as soon as I cancel my policy, one of them will be expensively ill.

Zebedee

Last night's drama has convinced me that insurance is potentially well worth while.

I was sitting here, wasting my time on MHF (as one does Very Happy

) when our Gracie let out a very distressed howl and started frantically pawing at her mouth.

It's not easy to peer inside the mouth of a terrified, wriggling dog, but fortunately we have trained her to let us handle her so I eventually found the head of a 1 cm long pin stuck in the roof of her mouth. It was one of those noticeboard pins with a little plastic ball on the "blunt" end, which she must have been chewing without me noticing.

I couldn't get it out with my fingers, so called my wife and between us with a little pair of snipe nosed pliers we got it out, but by this time poor Gracie was very upset and bit Sian's finger (not too badly, fortunately). It was quite accidental of course, but she was so scared and a pin in the roof of her mouth must have been very painful.

It all ended happily with much reassurance and stroking, and she calmed down very quickly and was none the worse for the experience.

If she had swallowed the pin however, I hate to think what the vet's bill might have been.

It's not exactly cheap at around £200 per year, but I'm very glad we have insured her - even though we didn't need it this time.

Hope this helps others to make their own decisions.

Briarose

Oh heck Dave glad she is ok now.