Do you have..... insurance

[BettaMomma]

I do.
For my 2 guinea pigs.

 

[mm_simb]

I have a wellness plan for one of my cats which pays mostly everything unless he gets sick...then I have to pay for everything
I don't have anything for Sky yet but plan to get something in the future with Simba's vet since he's a great vet even when Simba acts really bad with him.

 

[houndour]

I'm hopefully bring home 2 rabbits at the weekend. And I'm still deciding about insurance.

Rabbit insurance is annoying because hardly any companies do it and the one I have found has £50 excess!

I'm probably going to get it though for the first couple of years as I don't exactly have any money stashed away incase a big medical bill came my way. But when I get a decent paid job I think I'd rather put a monthly amount away in a savings account than pay money to the insurers.

 

[Bloo]

I have a wellness plan for one of my cats which pays mostly everything unless he gets sick...then I have to pay for everything
I don't have anything for Sky yet but plan to get something in the future with Simba's vet since he's a great vet even when Simba acts really bad with him.

Oh dear - but is the reason for having insurance not to cover the animal when sick ? Don't quite understand that one ?

Anyway, I think it's most important to have pet insurance. Each to their own but being a vet nurse and knowing the true cost of treatment for a simple accident - I'd just not want to take the chance. You "might" be able to get away with not having insurance on a younger indoor only cat but I think that any and all outdoor cats should have insurance (due to the high road risks and cat abbesses picked up in fights). Also, many (most) cats develop some sort of illness later in life (kidney failure, thyroid problems, diabetes, cancer) - most of which can be handled when covered with insurance. Whereas the cost involved is so great when you *don't* have insurance, that many people just decide to put their pet to sleep. Sad but true. Dogs I'd have insured from day one until the day they die (due to most pup's nature to devour foreign objects ! and dogs of all ages potentially running into roads).
Rabbits are costly to insure (relatively) but I've seen some horrendous vets bills for instance when a young rabbit decided to be a bit boisterous in it's cage and kick the hutch wall - only to break both hind legs ! Both had to pinned in excess of £1,000 !
This is me personally and from my own experiences and observations - even as a vet nurse when I can get stuff done at cost.

 

[samseal]

Hi,

Yes have both my dog(Lucy) and my cat (Monkey) insured.

Have no insurance on fish though lol although I wish I did.

Direct Line- Lucy £9/month Monkey £7/month I think I don't pay it my wonderful BF does.Love me love my dog/cat/fish

Sam x

 

[RandomWiktor]

I don't, but I have every intention of getting it as soon as I'm out in the working world making my own salary. With the exception of 2 of the close to 30 (possibly more than if we count fishies), all of my pets are rescues. That means - a lot - of medical bills. My rooster cost me over $1,000 in vet bills, including a $300 foot surgery - and thats just in vet visits, antibiotics, and surgeries. I probably threw in another few hundred for soaks and wraps. I also have a ferret with hemmoraging intestinal ulcers who costs us a good $300 every time he gets sick. Insurance would have really helped, though if pet insurance is anything like human insurance, it won't cover about 90% of the things you request, and will drop you if you show chronic poor health

Actually... now that I think of it... do they even cover things like ferrets or roosters or birds?

 

[Bloo]

Basically you get what you pay for. It's worth doing some research into the different types of insurance. There is a multitude out there - some good, some better and some rubbish. The top companies I've dealt with are "mostly" great and will pay for as long as the animals has a certain illness (cancer, diabetes etc.) until the day it dies. Other policies will only cover the first year and then hike up the premiums and include masses of exclusions. All I can say is *read the fine print* again, again and again. If in doubt as your vet for recommendations. Actually - ask them anyway !
They deal with many insurance companies and claims on a daily basis.
Yes, you can get insurance for exotics and other types of animals - do some research.

 

[eudielynn]

Nope, but I have an unusual case. I live next door to the vet. I can't tell you the number of times we have taken one of our dogs to him (we are down to one now from three) for one reason or another and we would see him in the back yard checking out his patient when he came in to work and again on his way home. My daughter was not working when her cat became ill, and he gave her the medications she needed and let her pay him $5 a week for the medicine only, he did not charge her for the office visit. He also came over to the house several times to check on her (the cat) at no charge.

This man has no personality at all when it comes to people, but I have never seen anyone so devoted to animals. My persian cat is the meanest little snot you've ever seen, and he picks her up and hugs her like a baby and she eats it up. Thanks Dr. Stahly.

 

[smithrc]

I'm hopefully bring home 2 rabbits at the weekend. And I'm still deciding about insurance.

Rabbit insurance is annoying because hardly any companies do it and the one I have found has £50 excess!

I'm probably going to get it though for the first couple of years as I don't exactly have any money stashed away incase a big medical bill came my way. But when I get a decent paid job I think I'd rather put a monthly amount away in a savings account than pay money to the insurers.

Our rabbits are insured

they cost 12.50 a month (for both of them) and are covered for life (not just a year after something goes wrong).

Pickle had complications during his snip. If we had of been charged he would have been a very expensive rabbit - as it went the vets were in the wrong and they didnt charge us.

the insurance would have paid for it in this one incident had we of used it

 

[sunflower]

I have recently (last week) sorted out pet insurance for my doggy after registering her at a local vets and making sure that all her jabs are up to date

Only costing me £7.49 per month

Definately pays to shop around. I also found that ordering online saved me some money too!

 

[BettaMomma]

My piggies are insured - well, one of them is (Ollie) and Stanley is currently going thru underwriting. We have racked up well over 2000US$ on Stan through emergency trips to the vet. He has battled bladder sludge several times over and over. And he's eaten things - he ate the corner off a piece of paper w/ the staple in it. He beat me to an aspirin one day that I dropped on the floor. He's been in 5 times for bladder sludge problems - 3 times of which required emergency care and overnight stays.

He's been a rough one to keep healthy.

I pay about 9$ a month for Ollie - and I'm hoping that Stan will soon be approved for that same plan. They actually have a pretty good program - although you need to pay up front and then you submit paperwork and they reimburse you. There is a 50$ per visit deductible, which in the case of emergency visits isn't much in the grand scheme of things. After that, they pay 90% of their benefit schedule, or 90% of the actual bill - whichever is lower.

And they cover the following animals:
of course dogs and cats, and...
* Birds
* Amphibians
* Chameleons
* Chinchillas
* Extra large snakes
* Geckos
* Gerbils
* Goats
* Guinea pigs
* Hamsters
* Hedgehogs
* Iguanas
* Lizards
* Mice
* Opossums
* Pot belly pigs
* Rats
* Rabbits
* Snakes
* Sugar gliders
* Tortoises
* Turtles

Here's their site http/www.petinsurance.com/
The only drawback to them is that they only cover in the United States - not even Canada. One plus to them is that you can go to ANY vet - doesnt' matter which, just as long as the vet is licensed.

I can't even begin to think about how much cash we'd have saved with Stan if we'd have gotten him on insurance when we first got him.

Aah well, hopefully he'll be covered now.

 

[black angel]

my dog is insured with petplan and its costing me nearly £16 a month. i would love to get one cheaper but i need to know that i get the same cover, and i get bamboozled easily by the way things are worded.
i didnt know i could get my guinea pig covered, i thought it was for rabbits only. is there a company in britain that will cover them?

 

[BettaMomma]

Im' not sure.
I've been trying hard to find a company in Canada.
I know that folks have been on here saying that they have coverage in the UK so maybe that company is also in scotland? Maybe someone else will come alongand be able to answer your question. Sorry i'm so unhelpful

 

[Bloo]

I don't actually know much about this company, but they deal with quite a lot of animals other than dogs or cats.
http/www.exoticdirect.co.uk/

 

[mm_simb]

Simba is on a wellness plan. It's different than an insurance since they only pay for shots, neutering, dentistry, x-rays (for certain body areas) and things like that. They do not pay if they have a broken leg or the x-rays for the leg. They don't pay for medications if they get sick. It's not really a good deal but he is an indoor kitty so he doesn't get hurt often.
Sky will probably be put into an actual insurance.
Simba is likely to stay on the wellness plan since I really like how the vet is with him and how he is treated there by everyone.