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Insurance vs savings

VikkiVet

VikkiVet

Mama Doe
i know this has been discussed before, but i seriously can't find any threads for a definitive answer (feel free to point me in the right direction! :roll:).

Considering financial climate and being a student on a tight budget, i am debating whether i should insure my girls, or should put that money in a savings account incase i need it for treatment for them? I got a quote from petplan (are there any better companies?) for about £18 for my two per month (or £26 for 3 ;)....) for life cover, so that is better than putting that in savings surely, as that covers up to £2000 per year per rabbit for treatment?

i was just curious as i know lots of people have savings instead, and just wondered what their reasons were? i want to make an informed choice! also, are there things they dont cover?
thanks :thumb:
 
I have my two insured.

At £18 a month it would take you about 9 years to save up £2000.

Would you have the money if your bunnies got ill in the next few months to pay for it before your savings had mounted up?
 
I have my two insured with petplan at 16/18 a month for the pair. I got two months free by picking up a leaflet in pets at home too so it might be worth doing that :D Ozzy has already had a £175 vet bill so my insurance was worthwhile instantly!! :lol:
 
I weighed it up really carefully and because I had exclusions on one for dental (Rudy) and another for gastro-intestinal (Artie), I decided to go without insurance (made decision around November). It would be £374 per year for my four.

So far this year for the four I've spent £820 on vets bills :shock::shock: Some of that was for routine items such as vaccinations but others were consults/drugs that hit the £35 mark so insurance wouldn't have covered it anyway. The only ones it would have covered were Rudy stasis x 2 at £72 each (£22 after excess). Not sure if genito-urinary is a subsection of gastro-intestinal or separate but Artie's bladder operation was £336, his recent stay was £92 but that wouldn't be covered as he was excluded on gastro-intestinal.

So I'd agree with Jane, less than 4 bunnies I'd definitely have insurance, four was a borderline decision but the exclusions made me decide not to. I have Esme insured though cause I just have a *feeling* though I have no evidence to back up the *feeling*.
 
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I have three buns and insure them, and has been worthwile. If i were to get a 4th ;) I may reconsider, but only because I have credit cards with big limits so could "afford" to pay, if I didn't I would def insure all. If you think you may not be able to find £500 tomorrow if needed I would get them insured:)
 
I choose to not have insurance on any of the animals because after excess, you don't get much back, and you are paying monthly and not receiving much money back. We have savings and could pay any vets bills that come our way. Now Molly has sore hocks anyway, insurance wouldn't cover this, and at the moment, that's the highest vet bill for the rabbits, so I wouldn't receive hardly any money back and I would also be paying monthly for it.
 
Bunny Buddy said:
I weighed it up really carefully and because I had exclusions on one for dental (Rudy) and another for gastro-intestinal (Artie), I decided to go without insurance (made decision around November). It would be £374 per year for my four.

So far this year for the four I've spent £820 on vets bills :shock::shock: Some of that was for routine items such as vaccinations but others were consults/drugs that hit the £35 mark so insurance wouldn't have covered it anyway. The only ones it would have covered were Rudy stasis x 2 at £72 each (£22 after excess). Not sure if genito-urinary is a subsection of gastro-intestinal or separate but Artie's bladder operation was £336, his recent stay was £92 but that wouldn't be covered as he was excluded on gastro-intestinal.

So I'd agree with Jane, less than 4 bunnies I'd definitely have insurance, four was a borderline decision but the exclusions made me decide not to. I have Esme insured though cause I just have a *feeling* though I have no evidence to back up the *feeling*.
Click to expand...

So dentals and gastro-intestinal were excluded? why? in which case surely the biggest problems (molar spurs and hospitalisation for stasis) wouldnt be covered?

thanks for the advice sam_spice, i'll look out for offers and leaflets.
 
I have claimed for both Dentals and Stasis, and as long as I keep the payments up they will be covered for these if needed again :)

I'm with petplan btw
 
LionheadLuver said:
I choose to not have insurance on any of the animals because after excess, you don't get much back, and you are paying monthly and not receiving much money back. We have savings and could pay any vets bills that come our way. Now Molly has sore hocks anyway, insurance wouldn't cover this, and at the moment, that's the highest vet bill for the rabbits, so I wouldn't receive hardly any money back and I would also be paying monthly for it.
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Do you meant not to have insurance? i'm confused! if the hocks weren't a pre-existing condition would drugs/treatments/dressings etc be covered?
 
VikkiVet said:
Do you meant not to have insurance? i'm confused! if the hocks weren't a pre-existing condition would drugs/treatments/dressings etc be covered?
Click to expand...

I meant NOT to have insurance. I'm sure that if it wasn't a pre-existing condition, drugs and treatments would be covered, but probably not dressings, but I'm not sure, so don't take my word for it. :D
 
Anything is covered, as long as it isnt a pre-existing condition.

Some companies will require you to have a dental exam once a yr.
 
and they wont cover the first 14 days of taking out the policy (thank gosh Ozzy's happened on the 15th! :shock:)
 
Snowberry said:
Anything is covered, as long as it isnt a pre-existing condition.

Some companies will require you to have a dental exam once a yr.
Click to expand...

that wouldnt be a problem as i space the VHD 6 months from the Myxi vax so they get dental checks twice a year! :D
 
LionheadLuver said:
I thought consultations, vaccinations and routine checks weren't covered?
Click to expand...

Sorry Vaccs arent covered. Routine checks and consulations are covered on mine but only if they cost more than the £50 excess.

When I lost Graham I was charged £300 for his consultation, GA, xray, ultrasound, meds and then cremation. I got back from the insurers £230. £50 was deduced for excess and £20 as an excess towards the cremation.
 
in the next month i shall find out if im keeping my insurance. Alvin stopped eating last week £47 thats the excess... hes booked in for teeth burring next week and if they dont pay it back ill be cancelling the insurance (pet plan)

they did pay the £300 when he was admitted to the emergancy vets which was great, but the downside youll still need money upfront because its £50 excess and some vets (vets now for example) dont claim direct and my vets said they only claim direct if its ongoing so ill have to pay for Alvins op next week and then claim the money back which defeats the whole point of the insurance as the insurance is there for if you dont have cash :roll:...

im tempted to save the £18 a month and use a credit card for emergancies tbh... will see if i get my cash back or not :?
 
As I see it there are now a lot more treatment options for Rabbits but these often involve a referal to a specialist.

For example I had a Rex with a Heart problem. My *then* Vet at first refused to even consider the diagnosis and so I requested a referal to Bristol. I was quoted £800 minimum and that was about 4 years ago. There was no way I could afford that and fortunately I then found the Vet I am with now. Although we could not do all the diagnostics (ECG, Heart U/S etc) my Vet would at least prescribe meds off licence to enable the Bun to have another year of good quality life.

It is a dreadful feeling to have a sick Rabbit, to know that there are specialists who *might* be able to help but you just dont have the money :cry:

As I said earlier, with just 2-3 Buns I would not hesitate in taking out insurance.
 
I don't have insurance for my lot, but I do put about £40 a month into a savings account just in case. I don't dip into it for regular things like vaccinations though - it is just for emergencies only!
 
If your bunnies are healthy and less than 5 years old definately get insurance. It sounds as if you would find it hard to pay for large, recurring vet bills so insurance gives you cover incase they get seriously ill.
 
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