Rabbit insurance/exclusion, not happy, debating changing

I recently decided to take out insurance on my bunnies, I've always had the philosophy before that I'd find the money, whatever they needed.

I've had Artie four years now and the only problems he's had are at six months old he got bloat because I'd given him too many dandelions (Easter) and I hadn't realised the consequences (newish to bunnies at that time). He improved after a few hours and didn't go to the vets. No problem since then but a few weeks ago he didn't eat immediately and wasn't his bouncy self, so I rushed him to the vets. He picked up immediately. (I'd just got in from work and I now believe I over-reacted)

Now, I was honest about the vet trip when applying for the insurance and Artie has listed as exclusions of cover "claims resulting from or connected to Gastro-Intestinal/Digestive System Disorders ". Whilst I can understand I'm fuming because surely the odd belly ache doesn't constitute any significant risk for them to cover him for those MAJOR areas? :? He's costing £9 a month to insure and I think that's now a joke considering there is a major area of his health not covered by insurance.

Rudy is excluded for eyes/dental related having had one dental but that's fair enough as he actually had a problem and treatment, Artie wasn't diagnosed with anything in particular :?

Has anybody similar experience or advice? Can anybody suggest any other insurer who might do a better cover?

Current insurance is PetPlan and I have two weeks in which to cancel if I'm not happy, and frankly I'm not if there's a better offer out there.

They are getting £374 out of me for a year, so what if I had to pay for Artie to have treatment as well as that amount? It doesn't bear thinking about

Another question - of all the things a bunny who has been well up to 4 years old could suffer from, what is the chance of any illness being digestion-related as opposed to anything else? I'm assuming it's quite high :?

:wave: Any advice great appreciated

The two most common area's for buns to require a vets trip for is GI & Dental and the two are often closely related as well.

I've been told his teeth are really good so 'maybe' there is less risk to him of digestion-related than another bunny :?

I think I will ring them to tell them I'm not happy, as I have 4 bunnies' insurance to threaten them with I *might* get them to listen :?

hi
im glad i red this thread. i was debating to go with an insurance company and pet plan was my first choice. i will have to reconsider.

bythe way, im am new to bunnies....how much dandelion can you give? a few leaves per day? i didnt know you cant give them loads.

sunnibunny said:

hi
im glad i red this thread. i was debating to go with an insurance company and pet plan was my first choice. i will have to reconsider.

bythe way, im am new to bunnies....how much dandelion can you give? a few leaves per day? i didnt know you cant give them loads.

Click to expand...

Of all the threads I've read on here Pet Plan gets very good recommendations, please don't be put off by my circumstances. They are good at paying out. The first insurers I looked into a few years ago didn't cover rabbits over the age of 4, so I didn't bother, it's only because I've read such good things on RU about insurance that I made the decision to cover them.

As for dandelions, like anything else, if they are not used to it, introduce it slowly, especially with green food. The pet shop were very helpful that day when Artie got belly ache (Easter Saturday so the vets were shut). They explained that as the dandelions were new growth they would be more likely to upset his stomach than older plants (I think it's to do with chlorophyll content, but I can't remember the science of it so I could well be wrong). He wasn't particularly used to them but kept begging me for more

Hi, I insured Katy (she is the and a half) with Petplan in October and as she had a blockage last Christmas Day they won't cover any GI problems for a year. They just need a letter after the year to say there has been no similar problems *touches wood* and then they are covered. I too made the mistake of being honest I guess as they don't ask about pre-existing conditions if you take out over the internet I don't think.

They wouldn't insure Homer as he had passed his fifth birthday :roll: If anyone knows who insures "older" bunnies, please let me know.

bunny babe said:

Hi, I insured Katy (she is the and a half) with Petplan in October and as she had a blockage last Christmas Day they won't cover any GI problems for a year. They just need a letter after the year to say there has been no similar problems *touches wood* and then they are covered. I too made the mistake of being honest I guess as they don't ask about pre-existing conditions if you take out over the internet I don't think.

They wouldn't insure Homer as he had passed his fifth birthday :roll: If anyone knows who insures "older" bunnies, please let me know.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that, that's really reassuring. I can stand the thought of it being for one year, if that's what they advise. I didn't think there was any point in not being honest as I thought anything on vet's records would be there as evidence anyway if I made a claim! I took mine out over the 'Net, so, yes, they do ask!! I didn't realise they didn't insure over 5 :? and it gets a lot more expensive further up the scale as my 1 year old bunnies were about £6 compared to Artie's £9.

If your vet will state that the problem was 'anorexia' (obviously a symptom and not a cause' then they will pay out for GI problems and dentals!

I've had two claims for stasis, both put down as 'anorexia' and they have paid out without adding a clause to the policy. They were both emergency vet visits too so there was the added 110 just to be seen and they paid out straight away!

charlie82 said:

If your vet will state that the problem was 'anorexia' (obviously a symptom and not a cause' then they will pay out for GI problems and dentals!

Click to expand...

:thumb: Thank you, that's worth knowing.

I'm totally convinced now that Artie didn't have digestion problems on the recent occasion, I was totally convinced at the time it was dental but no further problems since, so probably not.

Bunny Buddy said:

:thumb: Thank you, that's worth knowing.

I'm totally convinced now that Artie didn't have digestion problems on the recent occasion, I was totally convinced at the time it was dental but no further problems since, so probably not.

Click to expand...

I would appeal since he didn't even have to see the vet on that occassion, it's probably just a standard clause. I stated that one of mine had had a tapeworm abscess before I got him, so he isn't covered should he have another one although it's quite rare so I doubt he will! ...either that or change his name, cancel his policy and re-apply

charlie82 said:

B]either that or change his name, cancel his policy and re-apply [/B]

Click to expand...

Oh, that never crossed my mind

On the occasion I thought it was dental he did see the vet but nothing could be found - probably because I'm paranoid and there was actually nothing wrong with him :roll::lol: I think I'll ask what the vets have on record for that episode ... to strengthen my case.

Personally I think for rabbits with preexisting conditions it is not worth having insurance on them as anything they get may be linked to their previous condition. You might be better off setting asside money for those specific buns.

For healthy rabbits I think insurance is a good idea as there are so many things that can go wrong and cost a lot.

If anyone knows who insures "older" bunnies, please let me know.

Click to expand...

Petprotect insured Daisy at 5 years old. I also claimed for her abscess and dental treatment and they paid out very quickly.

timb0h said:

Personally I think for rabbits with preexisting conditions it is not worth having insurance on them as anything they get may be linked to their previous condition. You might be better off setting asside money for those specific buns.

For healthy rabbits I think insurance is a good idea as there are so many things that can go wrong and cost a lot.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I thought, but Artie DOESN'T have pre-existing conditions, I simply took him to the vets once as I didn't think he was eating and thought it might be dental. I hope I can get them to see that. I'm just put out at having exclusions but I don't think they are relevant. I doubt I've got a discount for the things that aren't covered compared to a rabbit whose never seen the vet

*goes off to find out*

It costs the same with exclusions, so less cover - same price :?

chubbina said:

Petprotect insured Daisy at 5 years old. I also claimed for her abscess and dental treatment and they paid out very quickly.

Click to expand...

Thanks, just checked their website and it only does cats and dogs.

Thanks, just checked their website and it only does cats and dogs.

Click to expand...

Oops, sorry! They must have stopped insuring bunnies for some reason. How annoying. Daisy is still insured with them though.
Maybe you could ring their freephone number just to check?

Pet Plan have been great with my dogs. Paid out no problems for Lucy's hip replacement and huge amounts of physio etc. They have never questioned any treatment or refused to reinsure which my vet tells me a lot of cheaper insurance companies will do.

I think the key to insurance is insure them asap as any prior visit to the vet may be seen as an existing condition.

For example when Lucy was a puppy I took her for a check up the day I collected her and she had a little rash on her belly becasue of the previous bedding she was on. So she was excluded from any skin conditions for 2 years - never had any skin problems but the insurance are just over careful. If I had waited just a few months they would not have insured Lucy's hip condition as it would have been apparent and as the operation alone was £7000 and the first year of treatment before the op £4000 I don't know what we would have done.

Hiya
i had the same problem with Phoebe. They excluded any claims to do with bloat/stasis and said they would review if he didnt have another bout of it within a year. Phoebe has now been treated for stasis since ive got him, about 4 to 5 times now. They cant find anything sinister to suggest why he does go into stasis, so his diet has to be kept very very stable which does the trick, but any sudden changes and hes quite poorly
Because of this, i felt it more beneifical to actually keep £9 a month in my bank per bunny incase of emergencies.
TBH i had a very bad expierence with petplan and refuse to use them again. I know other people whove had positive expierences but i certaintly didnt.

i think if there was anything my insurance refused to pay out on id not bother with the insurance... i really hope i dont have to find out if stasis still is covered now that Alvins had it once already :?

:shock:
So, after a lot of debating and soul searching, I decided to cancel the insurance in the cooling off period (14 days).

I was told on the phone (I specifically asked) that I wouldn't have to pay anything. I was due to pay the first two months on 18 Dec (£62.42), I've just checked my bank account and they took £24 on 16th :shock::shock:

I've rung and they said they'd send me a cheque. But why did they take it in the first place??? What is that amount supposed to relate to??? Grief!! What if I didn't know that money had left my account - two days early as well

Why does it always have to be like this with insurance/banks/service providers ?????? *Screams and sobs at the same time*