Insurance renewal - how much is too much?

[Orenoko]

I just got Lilac's insurance renewal through, it's gone up from £33 to £38 a month. She is nearly 9 so I can't shop around (already tried a couple of years ago and no one would even give me a quote). Rupert's insurance is £30 a month as well so I'm looking at almost £70 a month in insurance payments. Rupert's is locked in until next year but am wondering what others would do in my position re Lilac?

The one thing that's always stuck with me is that whenever I've needed to claim in the past, the value of the claim has pretty much exceeded the annual premium, so it's been worth it. Equally however I can't remember when I last claimed for her, it must be when she had pasteurella in 2021.

I do have the money to pay any bills and access to a credit card for emergencies so am leaning towards cancelling but looking for other opinions before I make any decisions!

 

[Pets mum]

I know what you mean, I've had these thoughts about Georgie cats £77 a month payments. However, after racking up a £2,500 bill over a weekend last year, I'm sticking with it now. It's a tough call though, prices have rocketed all round in pet care.

 

[Orenoko]

I know what you mean, I've had these thoughts about Georgie cats £77 a month payments. However, after racking up a £2,500 bill over a weekend last year, I'm sticking with it now. It's a tough call though, prices have rocketed all round in pet care.

Yeah I always have that lingering doubt of thinking I'll get a huge bill as soon as I cancel! She's in good health, the vet is always happy with her but that doesn't mean she's immune from these things.

 

[InspectorMorse]

Personally if you can manage to keep it going I would. These days the cost of Veterinary care is huge, in some cases extortionate IMO, but that’s a discussion for another thread. Out of hours consultations can cost hundreds of pounds just to walk through the door. Hospital admission over a weekend could easily result in a bill in four figures.

 

[dollyanna]

We're loking at this too - the big buns are about £40 a month total, but the baby bun is another £30 on top of that, and when the maximum per year is only £2000 it starts to seem excessive. The dog's always have a much higher maximum per year yet don't cost much more. So we've insured Njord for now, but are going to try and save £2000 between us and keep it aside, and then keep adding to it without using it, then we might look at cancelling the insurance but continuing to add to the savings. We may keep Freja insured as she is older.
Insurance is always a gamble, but I couldn't cancel it without knowing I had the money there first.

 

[Graciee]

Tricky one, I have dog insurance but never had for buns or pigs, if I didn't have the savings sitting there untouched I don't think I'd cancel tbh. We have money set aside that we don't touch and that's for any vet bills etc that are a lot, we've never touched it tbh but don't add to it anymore. We've never had to use it, we've just paid from normal money but the most it's ever been is 2.5k in one go. What we did originally was put 1k each into savings and saved from there each month. You could start saving a pot now with the view to cancel insurance by next year or something.

My fear would be if I didn't have the money set aside and I needed vet treatment and couldn't pay it.

 

[Orenoko]

Thanks all for your input. I do have money aside that I can use and also have the credit card if things were to get really tough. I need to look through the policy properly as I only read it briefly first thing this morning but the excess is going up, and then there's a contribution on top of the excess now as well that you have to pay, so I'm sure there may be other changes that I need to check over to see. It's more difficult when you can't shop around, I know that if I cancel that's it, I'll never be able to get her insured again.

 

[joey&boo]

Gosh, Boo is only 16 a month. TBH I think I'd keep it going - most elderly rabbits end up with arthritis & need meds to keep them comfy. I hope Lilac's good health continues

 

[Omi]

I have never insured my rabbits, but then I avoid most insurance (unless it's required by legislation). However, I don't think I would consider cancelling insurance, that I had always paid for any animal when it got older, as that's when you're more likely to have to get vet treatment.

 

[Orenoko]

Gosh, Boo is only 16 a month. TBH I think I'd keep it going - most elderly rabbits end up with arthritis & need meds to keep them comfy. I hope Lilac's good health continues

I remember when I got her she was 2/3ish and she cost me £9 a month lol

 

[joey&boo]

Boo was 9 when I got her insured - turned out ok so far, breaks even -ish (I imagine, I've not exactly done my sums ) just on her arthritis related stuff. I imagine she has many exclusions being a blind & deaf EC bun but its still a pleasant surprise - having my first insured rabbit

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

I would keep the insurance. You never know when you could end up paying thousands in vet bills.

 

[Orenoko]

I would keep the insurance. You never know when you could end up paying thousands in vet bills.

I think you've all persuaded me to keep it! Tbh given Lilac's personality I don't think I'd put her through anything major. She hates people, she hates anything in a syringe (even metacam!), and any handling so I know a long-term or major illness would be incredibly stressful for her. But even diagnostics alone would be worth having insurance for.

 

[Bunny Buddy]

When you have done the shopping around, did you try Agria? They don't actively shout about it but last time I spoke to them, they had no upper age limit for new policies.

 

[Orenoko]

When you have done the shopping around, did you try Agria? They don't actively shout about it but last time I spoke to them, they had no upper age limit for new policies.

I hadn't but I just had a look and their quote is £27 a month, the only thing is that they say they exclude any prior illness, not just pre-existing conditions. She's had tear duct issues a couple of times (she's a flat-faced lop) so I need to check my current policy wording to see if that's still covered as it wouldn't make it worth swapping if my current provider does still cover it and a new one doesn't.

 

[Zigzag]

I’d personally keep the insurance if you’re able to do so. Rabbit bills can quickly add up, and procedures and scans can cost loads. However you may be ‘lucky’ and never get any expensive bills. It’s just you never know which way things could go.

I spend £50 on both bunnies, and this is likely to go up. I was thinking of cancelling Zigzag’s a few years ago, but glad I didn’t as his total bill from just the Beaumont is just under 4k (and that’s in less than a 2 year period).

Although I’ve got savings, I’m glad I have the insurance.

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

I think you've all persuaded me to keep it! Tbh given Lilac's personality I don't think I'd put her through anything major. She hates people, she hates anything in a syringe (even metacam!), and any handling so I know a long-term or major illness would be incredibly stressful for her. But even diagnostics alone would be worth having insurance for.

Baby darling chinchilla once cost us nearly two thousand over a few weeks without anything major and that was about 12 years ago. We had to see four vets, including one OFH, before they knew what was wrong. Last vets was an exotic vets. All was solved by then but we had no insurance.

Emergency vets can charge so much for very little. I suppose that may depend on where you live. All our vets are in London and really expensive.

 

[Orenoko]

Baby darling chinchilla once cost us nearly two thousand over a few weeks without anything major and that was about 12 years ago. We had to see four vets, including one OFH, before they knew what was wrong. Last vets was an exotic vets. All was solved by then but we had no insurance.

Emergency vets can charge so much for very little. I suppose that may depend on where you live. All our vets are in London and really expensive.

I've been through having a rabbit with pre-existing conditions that were excluded and yes it was definitely tricky at times! I should really have remembered that rather than thinking £37 was too much!! My vets are generally pretty expensive too (Surrey) but I do trust them so wouldn't want to go anywhere else unless I had no choice.