Pet Insurance

[Mas1981]

I am with Petplan, not very happy I sent a claim in end of november, I keep asking where my money is and they keep saying it has been processed and accounts will pay it in this week, well that was 2 weeks ago now and in the mean while my dog had a stomach upset and another claim is now sitting with them.

[Boronia]

I have BowWowMeow insurance for my Westies, Penny and Mac, it was the only one that insured for a reasonable cost dogs that are over 9 years old, and they will only insure for accident/injury after that age.

I only had the insurance a few weeks when Penny got a pig knuckle stuck in her oesophagus.....$960 (or near enough to that figure)...I faxed the vets invoice to them (after I paid the vet) and the money was in my account 9 days later less $100 excess. They paid as it was an accident.

BowWowMeow insurance is around $34 for both dogs, direct debit per month.

I also have RACQ insurance which is around $50 annually, per dog, and you can take it out as an extra clause in the home and contents insurance.(I have an idea that NRMA also do something similar) I have it as if one of the dogs is sick (ie, not and accident/injury). They only cover up to $500 (there is a $50 excess, so the most you can get per claim is $450) I did claim on that for Penny when she had a tumour removed from inside her bum, and Mac when his paw swelled up, they covered all of Mac's (less the $50) as his vet fee was under $500 and I got back $450 from Penny's operation...her specialists costs were HEAPS more!

I AM PRETTY HAPPY I TOOK OUT INSURANCE!

I think mine is only $22 a month for two dogs. You must have a better cover.

Hi Rottie Lover01...

The insurance I took out was just the plain-ordinary Accident/Injury policy, nothing fancy. Perhaps BowWowMwow reckon that Rotties are less likely to have accidents than Westies!, it would be interesting to find out if the quotes differ from breed to breed.

[RL1]

Hi Rottie Lover01...

The insurance I took out was just the plain-ordinary Accident/Injury policy, nothing fancy. Perhaps BowWowMwow reckon that Rotties are less likely to have accidents than Westies!, it would be interesting to find out if the quotes differ from breed to breed.

I was wrong. I had a look. I'm paying $20.40 per month for my male and $22.55 per month for my female. Comprehensive plan with $250 excess.

Not $22 per month for both.

[Boronia]

Hi Rottie Lover01...

The insurance I took out was just the plain-ordinary Accident/Injury policy, nothing fancy. Perhaps BowWowMwow reckon that Rotties are less likely to have accidents than Westies!, it would be interesting to find out if the quotes differ from breed to breed. ;)

I was wrong. I had a look. I'm paying $20.40 per month for my male and $22.55 per month for my female. Comprehensive plan with $250 excess.

Not $22 per month for both.

Ha, that makes me feel better, I thought they may have been picking on older Westies! your payments are pretty good for comprehensive and you will be sure that your Rotties would never get a little piggy knuckle stuck in their craws (don't know about the likely-hood of a cow hoof tho'

[becandcharch]

I have both dogs with petplan. I made 2 claims within the first 6 months of getting it and both were paid out. Both claims were about $500 so I have easily got my $$ back and then some.

[JaneyA]

I've had Vets Own accident/injury + illness cover for my viszlas for more than 8 years. Cost is about $40 per month per dog and there's a multi-dog discount. I have had excellent response to claims that have included everything from small wounds requiring a few sutures to ingesting rat poison to orthopaedic specialist care that totalled several thousand dollars. Recently they've implemented a $50 annual deductible that they didn't have originally, but 80% of costs are reimbursed and the money is in my account within 2-3 weeks of submitting the claim.

I highly recommend them, all my dealings with them have felt like they really care about my dogs.

[Starkehre]

FD26, I used to think exactly how your opening post explains, so I totally understand where you are coming from. I always felt the same about health insurance, but have finally managed to alter my attitude towards that also, plus I am a bit older now . I just could not see the value in paying out all that money on premiums unless it was going to be worthwhile.

Since then 2 things have changed my mind...

1. When my Rott bitch got sick nearly 2 years ago, and cost us around $16k. I would do it all again, but the only regret I have is that we didn't not have dyzney covered by insurance. I learn my lessons pretty easily ;) I promised myself that from now on, all new pets will be cover for accident and illness. Our young boy is covered and I am very happy about this. I arranged the cover in advance before I even picked him up, and it was to commence the day he turned 8 weeks, which was when we bought him home. I was not going to take any chances this time.

2. I have just altered the way I think about it. I now just think of my pet insurance in the same way as all the other incurance policies we have. We just pay them as if we have to and it helps me feel more secure. Yet, I still prefer to pay them and never have to put in a claim. Thinking this way makes it a bit easier to justify paying the money, for me anyway.

Sure I part with thousands per year in various insurance policies, and I may never get my money back, but that is not why I do it. I don't want to get my money back, as this would mean that in some way I will be suffering with stress over something bad occuring, and if it the dogs, then them having to hurt or ill or even die.

We use PIA, and have been very happy with them to date.

Yes, if you can save the money just in case, wonderful, but really would you do it, when you could probably use that money to be paying off bills and/or credit cards, mortgage etc?? I know I wouldn't though I would have liked to.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[FD26]

Thanks for everyone's imput. After hearing all your stories we'll be insuring our puppy.

I'm still not sold on insuring the cats though, as cats tend to cost a whole lot less when things go wrong.

[StevenJC]

Ive got my two kids covered with Manchester Unity Pet Cover however they only cover 80% of the bills up to 8k

Perhaps I should be moving across to PIA

[Dfa Dog]

I would never own a dog if I did not either have pet insurance or $15,000 in the bank ready to go for the specific purpose of vet bills!! You hear some shocker stories, one of my friend's dogs got bitten by a snake and was in the emergency pet hospital for many weeks and they had to see one of their investment properties to pay the bill!! I was house sitting for some other people and I found their dog lying stiff as a board out in the middle of the paddock so took it to the emergency vet and they had to call the owners and ask for a $1000 deposit via credit card before they admitted the dog! The dog ended up staying in there for two weeks before passing away- I can't imagine how much their vet bill was!!

Having a Newfoundland, I was always taught that the size of the vet bill is comparable to the size of the dog, and also the breed is prone to a number of health problems... Initial insurance came with him as a puppy which I thought was a great idea. I now pay about $42 a month through Pet Plan, but have since found out that you can buy a year's worth of insurance upfont and save heaps of money!!

[all that glitters]

I would never own a dog if I did not either have pet insurance or $15,000 in the bank ready to go for the specific purpose of vet bills!! You hear some shocker stories, one of my friend's dogs got bitten by a snake and was in the emergency pet hospital for many weeks and they had to see one of their investment properties to pay the bill!! I was house sitting for some other people and I found their dog lying stiff as a board out in the middle of the paddock so took it to the emergency vet and they had to call the owners and ask for a $1000 deposit via credit card before they admitted the dog! The dog ended up staying in there for two weeks before passing away- I can't imagine how much their vet bill was!!

Having a Newfoundland, I was always taught that the size of the vet bill is comparable to the size of the dog, and also the breed is prone to a number of health problems... Initial insurance came with him as a puppy which I thought was a great idea. I now pay about $42 a month through Pet Plan, but have since found out that you can buy a year's worth of insurance upfont and save heaps of money!! If you do go down the insurance path, have a look online first as I found this website that sells it much cheaper than buying direct from the insurance company!

http://www.pookinuk.com.au/product-selecte...&noGoBack=1

I agree! I could NEVER own a dog without pet insurance for those MAJOR costs than run into the thousands.. no way!

[SBT101]

I have been also looking onto pet insurance for a while, but just haven't found the right one. ANy could of helped recently as my boy was hit by a car

Does anyone know which one would be the best that covers everything including lost/theft? I haven't one that covers that also.

[OSoSwift]

I know PetPlan will help you with advertising and rewards when they are lost/stolen and also on the top level of cover you get their purchase price back after a set period of time and some other conditions. I will have to find the appropriate bit

Section 4 - Theft or straying

What We will pay

The price You paid for Your Pet if it is stolen or goes missing during the Period of

Insurance and is not recovered or does not return. If You did not pay for Your Pet

or have no formal proof of how much You paid, We will pay the Market Value of

Your Pet.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS THAT APPLY TO THIS SECTION

If Your Pet is found or returns, You must repay the full amount We have paid You.

If Your Pet is a dog, as soon as You discover Your dog is missing, You must:

1. Tell the police and ask for the crime reference number or written confirmation

of Your report; and

2. Tell all the Vets and local rescue centres within a reasonable distance of the

area where Your dog was last seen, within five (5) days of Your dog going

missing; and

3. If Your dog has not been found within 30 days, fill in a claim form and return it

to Us as soon as possible.

That is a brief bit and you are only covered if you are on the top cover.

Hope that helps, not sure about other companies

[SBT101]

Thankyou, I think this is the one I looked into before and Im sure I got a quote for approx $65 p/m per dog.

[OSoSwift]

I have the budget cover for Mine and I am not sure about monthly but they are $413 dollars a year I think? Something close to that anyway. My main concern was broken bones, snake bites and major stitch ups.