Pet Insurance - yes or no?

Question

As we have always kept numbers of dogs before, I couldn't afford to take out insurance. And we have been lucky not to have any huge bills over the years either. We will be buying a puppy soon, and she will be our only insurable dog as our only other one now is 11. So do I extend her early puppy insurance, or not? And why do vets ask if a dog is insured or not? Should it make any difference (given that I can afford to pay for treatment)?

Answer 1

If you can afford it get the insurance. My boyfriend's cat swallowed fishing line and between the surgery remove it from it's tummy and the stay in the animal hospital the cost him nearly $3,000 USD  

Answer 2

I pay £6 a month for my dog insurance and when it's so cheap, I don't see why anyone wouldn't take it out

Answer 3

insurance is always agood idea but as you can afford to pay for treatment the decision is entirely up to you

Answer 4

this is hard...it's a gamble you take.  my dog is 13yrs & had we taken insurance...it would have been a waste as we have never had much expense with him.

however...my daughter's Sharpei has been sick since puppy years on & off...& now he is 2yrs old...the vet bill's so far total nearly 5,000 quid...so she is thankful she took out insurance.  so...do you feel lucky?!!

Answer 5

i would definitely take out insurance. we did not insure our dobermann and he is 9 now, experiencing a lot of problems with his hips. he has so far had injections and x-rays which have cost an arm and a leg and we are really struggling to pay for it. you may be able to afford vets bills now but your circumstances may change and in ten years time you may not be as wealthy. if we find our dogs problems are too expensive to fix we will unfortunately have to put him down so please insure your pup and don't end up regretting it like we have it's the dog that pays for it in the end if you don't!

Answer 6

If you are definitely sure you can afford ANY treatment that comes up then you don't need pet insurance. Be sure that you are realistic about how much treatment will cost. When my dog was hit by a car if we didn't have insurance it would have cost about £4000 to have her fixed up, with all the damage she had. Do you have this amount of money spare, ALL the time?

Vets ask to make sure if they treat an animal that they will get paid. I would always take insurance. Is just not worth risking that my beloved animals wouldn't be able to be made better, if the worst happens. Pet insurance is really cheap too, for our pedigree lab we pay £25 a month for the best cover you can get.

Answer 7

I've been in your situation too. I've opted to put away £20.00 a month for emergencies - up to now I haven't had to use it so I've a tidy sum put away.

Like any insurance - it's a gamble. If you do need it, it's handy. If you don't, it's money down the drain - except for piece of mind, or course.

I think a lot depends on the vet you use. Mine is really cheap in comparison with some - cheap doesn't mean you don't get good service either.

Personally I feel, if they ask if you are insured and you say yes, the charge will rocket!

Answer 8

I probably would but ask the vet you will be taking the puppy to see what he recommends after all he'll be the one who needs to be paid if any thing goes wrong.

Answer 9

I'd have to say a big yes to pet insurance.

From personal experience. We had to use the vet only a week from purchasing our puppy. I believe the problem came from the breeder, but thats another story.

Still though even after a week, we would have had to pay a pretty hefty vet bill.

As others have stated it IS a gamble. We were just one of the unfortunate one's.

Hope that helps!