all i need to know...

about rabbit insurance. i know there have been loads of threads about it but here goes.

have been doing research into this before i get a bun again but if i get insurance i have decided to go with PetPlan. however i just wanted a list of all i need to know about it. eg, what does it cover? what doesn't it cover? good customer service? have you had problems with them paying out, if so what was it for? also, if you can think of anything you wish you'd have known before you got your insurance please say.

i know my last buns only had problems when they were older (8-9yrs). cost me £400-£600. but my vets weren't that savvy and it was for teeth problems and things which i know wouldn't have been necessarily covered. hence all the questions. not sure yet whether to just save a few hundred every month instead?(if i can work out my money for that lol)

thanks:wave: and sorry for long post

I've never used pet insurance. We just put money into savings and use it when necessary.
You need to read the small print on any pet plan as what they cover differs from one to another. Most won't cover older rabbits, and some cover only certain conditions.

sue:wave:

If you get a quote from Petplan then that will give you the Ts and Cs. My policy for 2 buns costs £17.73 per month. There is an excess of £55 per rabbit per claim per year. Injuries are covered from day 1, illnesses have an exclusion period of 14 days (I think). So here's my experience so far.

Mine have been in for several different things since adopting them in July:

Widget had a wound when we first picked her up so she had antibiotics for that £29.29 - this counts as 1 condition and is below the excess- so can't claim.
Sprocket then had some medication for stomach upset £32.89, which turned out to be worms £22.87 - this counts as 1 condition and is around the levl of the excess- so no claim.
Then they both had their little spat and so were treated for bite wounds (esp Widget) £47.87 - this counts as 1 condition and is below the excess- so can't claim.

Now Widget has a respiratory infection, so far that has cost £24.93 Septrin, £16.06 checkup, £23.13 antihisthamine, £27.50 Baytril, and the latest one: £46.42 for lab tests- some of this might be claimable and hopefully any other medication she needs following the lab results will also be claimable.

Sprocket has also had the same lab test as he also has a snuffle, that's another £46.42 for lab tests which is below the excess. But any treatment he needs will probably take it above the excess at which point I can hopefully claim some of the costs back. They should be covered for life so if this is an ongoing illness which flares up regularly this might be worth having, but then you still have to pay th excess every year you make the claim for the same illness. :roll:

I got nothing from paying into Gasket and Tappet's policies for four years that I had them (over £800).

I start my new job at Pet Plan on Monday so i will find out for you :lol: I dont no if they are the best ect but in my interview they sounded like they were.

i think im one of the lucky ones with petplan.

my cat lived for 6 years and i never had to claim, he got very poorly and his treatment which didnt save him came to over 600 quid. all i had to pay for was the excess and the lethal injection as petplan dont pay PTS costs. it worked out my 6 years of premiums = the claim so it paid for itself.

Alvin, several claims for gut stasis some at 350+, hes also had a dental which they paid as a one off and all blood tests were covered again all ive ever had to pay was the excess each time, petplan have paid out far more than ive paid in premiums or excess.

Pearl, 9 months of treatment, blood tests, xrays and even a home visit by the vet all for an enlarged heart. all i had to pay was two excesses and the lethal injection and her cremation as her illness ran over two policy years. they paid out far more than i ever paid them in the two years i knew her. i think it was about 800+ in total.

i can not save so i need the insurance. but if you can keep 500+ just for emergencies then you probably wont need insurance.

insurance doesnt cover routine vaccinations or neuturing but would cover any complications as long as they are above the excess.

I have only had good experiences with pet plan, they have paid out for a dental for Poppy, Gus to have anal polyps removed, and sent to a lab for analysis, stasis for Sweetpea and Gus.

They have never questioned a claim

I think as long as you read the policy notes it is quite clear what is covered and not covered.

Funny you should ask as I am currently on the phone to Petplan insuring little Lucy.
When Hayden got ill I insured Dudley right away as she cost me well over £500 and that was with £200 off and drugs etc at cost price as I work at a vets so her treatment would have cost me well over £800.
I decided to not insure and save but my savings didn't come close to that much so have decided to insure all my rabbits in the future.
I have just insured Lucy and he told me that my rabbits need a dental check every year as they do cover dentals.
I think that it is worth it! i am paying roughly £13-14 a month for 2 rabbits but I get a 20% discount.
If anything should happen to Dudley or Lucy like what happened to Hayden, i am confident that the insurance will cover it and I won't be worrying about costs going up whilst nursing a sick rabbit. I do have a credit card though should they not cover anything as a back up.

Hotrod_2008 said:

I start my new job at Pet Plan on Monday so i will find out for you :lol: I dont no if they are the best ect but in my interview they sounded like they were.

Click to expand...

hope the job goes well for you:wave:

thanks for all your replies. its nice to have peoples experiences. i think petplan do sound good so i will probably go for it. the main reason being the peace of mind that if my bun got anything long term it would be taken care of.
:wave:

I'm still undecided if I should insure the buns yet, I can afford to put £50 a month into a savings account and if I have anymore spare I'll also add that. The minimum of £50 going into my savings over a year works out at £600 but hopefully it will be more. I'm lucky that I have people who I can borrow off as well if I need to spend a large lump sum before I've managed to build my savings up.

I read a book a while ago called 'Love is not enough' it's a woman's guide to all money related issues, it's really well written and funny, so not boring in the slightest. There was a chapter on insurance that was quite enlightening.