Pet Insurance. Probably a good idea.

Narj

Narj

Narj

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My sister's Jack Russell can't move her back legs and is dragging them around. A visit to the vet has resulted in diagnosis, but they want £4000 for the operation, which she doesn't have :( Sadly she hasn't got an insurance policy so I think she'll be seeing if the PDSA can help. I think maybe she's hoping I can help out but I honestly can't fork out 4K, it'll stuff my house plans right up :(

Argh, I just thought I'd put this out there so that anyone who hasn't got any sort of insurance for their pet(s) has a think about it.

Do these operations actually cost this much to carry out or are the vets just bending you over a barrel and ramming you with no lube because they know you have little choice?
 
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Just had my dog operated on recently and the bills are expensive, luckily I am insured but thats also expensive (I pay £23 per month) but its covering the after care as well (which is also expensive). If I sell anything out of my for sale thread I'll send you a donation if that helps.
 
TBirdUK said:
Just had my dog operated on recently and the bills are expensive, luckily I am insured but thats also expensive (I pay £23 per month) but its covering the after care as well (which is also expensive). If I sell anything out of my for sale thread I'll send you a donation if that helps.
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Very kind offer, but no need :) If it comes to it, I'll just have to hand over the cash, but I'll make sure I send the vet a box of poo afterwards for being such a rip-off merchant.

Hopefully the PDSA can help, she's headed down there now after a phone call so fingers crossed.
 
We never used to have pet insurance and pet bills were pretty reasonable, now everyone has insurance vets can charge whatever they like, so you need insurance, vicious circle.
 
maccapacca said:
We never used to have pet insurance and pet bills were pretty reasonable, now everyone has insurance vets can charge whatever they like, so you need insurance, vicious circle.
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Surely to become a vet, you need to be someone who genuinely cares about animal welfare. I suppose it can become like any other job where you have something or a service that's in demand and you get paid well... people just get greedy. :confused:
 
PianoBasher said:
Surely to become a vet, you need to be someone who genuinely cares about animal welfare. I suppose it can become like any other job where you have something or a service that's in demand and you get paid well... people just get greedy. :confused:
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True, but they are also a business. If they did favours for everyone who came along and said "we got no moniez" then they wouldn't be around for long.

maccapacca said:
Your not actually considering giving your sister the £4k??? are you ????
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Why wouldn't he :confused: Assuming she'll be paying it back over some period.
 
We pay over £25 a month for our dachshund,and a another sum for 2 cats.Its expensive,but not as expensive as a big operation,or god forbid having to have a pet put to sleep because you can't afford an operation!
As an aside,I don't think our local vet gives a stuff about animals,just money.
 
maccapacca said:
Your not actually considering giving your sister the £4k??? are you ????
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It's basically like another baby to her, and I'm quite close to the dog myself. I'm really hoping I don't have to (and saying that is guilt tripping me) as I'm trying to renovate the house at the moment and it'll cause all sorts of grief - argh...

TBH I think things should work out fine with the PDSA, they're a good organisation, shame so many scummers take advantage of them and donate pennies afterwards :(
 
depending on what's wrong, 4k probably is right. My dog tore her cruciate ligament in a leg around 5 years ago, operation cost over 3k back then. Then lots of after care etc. As a result my pet insurance is around £460 a year now :/

Hope things turn out ok with the PDSA
 
Was in a similar position with a cat when my parents forgot to get insurance on day 1 of receiving their kittens (who promptly broke a leg on day 1). It's sad threads like this keep coming up - pet insurance really is a pre-requisite for owning animals these days.
 
cheets64 said:
Greed is good, £4k to operate on a dog, jesus.
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Have a look at how much BUPA charge for operations/procedures. £4k in comparison is pennies.

Healthcare is expensive, people just get too used to the NHS. As mentioned, after care, medicines and the procedures themselves are expensive.

To the OP, why on earth did she not have pet insurance? Naivety? Laziness?

Just ran a search and an for a jack russell (assumed 8 years old) you can get insurance from £19 per month, and that's without it being chipped which knocks a couple of quid off the price. That would cover the full £4000, with only a £75 excess. You could get it for less but with less vet fee value.
 
Wouldn't consider not having insurance for our two cats.
One of our cats is really quite old now, she's around 13.
So she really isn't cheap to insure, but we know any operations she would need would be expensive.
Also any medication she might need for life would also be covered.

Our much younger cat is cheap and cheerful to insure (especially with the £75 cashback Sainsbury's were running a couple of months ago).
 
Windle said:
To the OP, why on earth did she not have pet insurance? Naivety? Laziness?
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Yep, a bit naive I think, and didn't realise how much these things cost... I think she was basing her assumptions on experiences with vets several years ago. :(

It's shocking how many people don't have insurance - a friend of mine recently paid out 1K for an op on his dog.
 
Windle said:
Just ran a search and an for a jack russell (assumed 8 years old) you can get insurance from £19 per month, and that's without it being chipped which knocks a couple of quid off the price. That would cover the full £4000, with only a £75 excess. You could get it for less but with less vet fee value.
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Yes, but I doubt you will get insurance for a pre-existing condition.

Insurance + chip is a must have!
 
Windle said:
Just ran a search and an for a jack russell (assumed 8 years old) you can get insurance from £19 per month, and that's without it being chipped which knocks a couple of quid off the price. That would cover the full £4000, with only a £75 excess. You could get it for less but with less vet fee value.
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All pet insurance policies come with a caveat that they will not pay out for conditions which exist, diagnosed or not, when the policy was signed. So, for example, if you pet has cancer when you start the policy but it doesn't become apparent until a few months later, you're still screwed.

There is no way to get insurance which would cover this bill. A bank loan would be the alternative.
 
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TBH. And I said that as a life-long working dog owner and trainer, who knows all too well not only how close you get to them, but how much it hurts to lose them. But £4k for a single op, with potential aftercare and further surgery down the line, for a dog who can't walk now? Sorry, but PTS I'm afraid. You'd be mental to give her your mortgage money.

No disrespect intended, good luck getting this sorted one way or another. :)
 
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