Wednesday 6 March 2013

Pet Insurance – to have or not to have


Do you have pet insurance for your pets?  We don’t - we used to. 11 years ago Mr Hum was hit by a car we had insurance and thank goodness we did as money was very tight and the bill was over £3,500. 

After that the insurance co increased the payments (we had three cats back then) and the monthly cost was £46 for all three back in 2000.  The annual jabs weren’t included and any scrapes they got into always seemed to be just below the £75 excess.  So we decided to cancel and since then haven’t had pet insurance and we have never had a huge bill.
Little cats accident has cost £2,567 so far - there’s still an operation to come in a few weeks.  DaddyHen thinks we should insure – I don’t well not with an insurance company.  We now have two cats who are 12½ and 10½ - 10yrs old seems to be the magic age after which the premiums go very high and lots of things are excluded.  I think we should put the premium in a box specifically for the cats – DaddyHen want to take out a policy.

We were very fortunate to have had the money in cash – no credit cards here!!!.  We still met the monthly goals – except one which was to put money aside for some ground works in the garden and some house maintenance during late spring but that can wait.

Have we been foolish or have we been wise not having insurance? 12 years of paying £46 each month = £6,624 we are still £4,057 better off over the past 12 years.
Would you insure or put the money in a Cat Box?


MummyHen X

8 comments:

  1. From your calculations, I would say 'Cat Box'.

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  2. No insurance here, we have just too many animals to insure........

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  3. I put £30 away in an envelope each month - we unfortuately lost one of our dogs just after Xmas but had the money saved to pay for the treatment that the vet did provide so I would say set a figure that you can afford to save each month and put it away yourself xxx

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  4. I haven't had insurance for my cats for the last 20 years and they've cost WAY less than the cumulative premiums - I'd say cat box xxx

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  5. Definitely insurance for us.Marmalade has cost far more than we have paid in over the years, one broken leg cost nearly 2 thousand pounds several years ago. We are now going to have her referred to an opthalmologist which wont be cheap but might as well as she is covered by her insurance. She is the first cat we ever had insurance for though.

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  6. Gerard is insured but only because it is relatively inexpensive due to his age. Our previous cats were not insured and it got a bit expensive towards the end when they were old. Having said that, we probably forked out a lot less than if we'd paid insurance over their entire lifetime. Cat box it is. So glad your cat is on the mend, it's heartbreaking when they are poorly. xx

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  7. its worrying isn't it. We had no concerns over money a few years ago when we first got our cat, then our situation changed and suddenly we are struggling to make ends meet. Our kitty may have a broken leg, our vet has recommended costly xrays next week..then it just could be a sprain. She is on anti inflammatorys and I am hoping and praying she will walk on her sore leg soon and it just prooves to be a sprain. I wish I had taken out insurance for her but its too late now.

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