Insurance Advice?

[White Water]

Two months ago I bought a new baby rabbit off of a friend who'd had a surprise litter. I haven't owned a rabbit in two years, but he is the sixth rabbit I've owned. I didn't waste time insuring him as the previous rabbit cost us well over £2000 in vet bills and I'm not keen on repeating that pattern. Julio is however the first rabbit I have ever insured (part of the reason to that as I'm now 18 and able to legally own him and pay for his bills myself) and I'm worried I've chosen the wrong insurer for him. This is because I've recently reviewed the documents as I'm getting ready to talk to the vet about vaccinating and neutering him (something else we've never done). I'm on a Life-long Petplan insurance scheme and I pay around £160 annually for him, which wouldn't be a problem if not for what the insurance actually offers (which is revealed in emailed documents some time after purchase). I've discovered Petplan won't cover vaccinations and neuturing (which I'm happy enough with because that's not what's really expensive in the grand scheme of vet bills) but they also won't cover burring or any other dental procedure. This is the real kicker here because it was our last rabbit's teeth (and the one before her) that cost us all that money. And quite frankly, I expect Julio to have some problems with his teeth and I'm not prepared to pay for his Petplan insurance if I have to pay for burring or other dental problems too.

So long story short, I'm wondering if anyone here is able to recommend a good insurance company (in the UK) that offers cover for dental problems so that I can renew his insurance with a different company.

[Liz47]

I don't think any insurer will cover vaccinations or neutering as that's preventative health care, or cover illnesses that can be vaccinated against is usually in the policy for insurers too so make sure he has the VHD1/Myxomatosis vaccine and the VHD 2 vaccine.

As for dentals, what a shame petplan won't cover it, I wonder why! At work we deal with rabbits insured by petplan and have had dentals covered. I'm not sure who else to recommend as have never had a rabbit insured by always go with a lifetime policy, then of you find one that covers dentals you could keep claiming generally rather than getting a pot of money that runs out for each condition or a time limit. Best of luck!

[Snowflake-George]

Have Pet Plan changed their policy?

I am with Pet Plan and they have always paid out for dental treatment that is due to injury or illness. To be covered, you must ensure that your pets teeth are checked every 12 months and any recommended treatment is carried out.

They won't pay out for 'routine' trimming, burring or rasping. Although to be honest I don't think there is any insurance company that will pay out for 'routine' dental work for any animal as this is seen as a normal cost of pet ownership. This is the same with vaccinations and neutering.

Although in the past when George my gut stasis rabbit had an episode, he had to have his teeth burred due to a small spur as a precautionary measure and they paid for that even though it didn't actually cause the stasis. They said it won't be paid the next time unless it was linked to the illness.

Just checked one of my recently renewed policies and it says:

Policy Summary - What are the significant exclusions and limitations of my pets policy?
Your policy covers the cost of treatment for a dental injury or illness providing your pet had a dental examination carried out by a vet in the 12 months before the injury happened or the illness was first noticed. See ‘What we will not pay - applying to Veterinary Fees and Complementary Treatment’ - point 17.

General Conditions 2b)
You must arrange and pay for your pet to have a yearly dental examination and any treatment normally recommended by a vet to prevent injury or illness. Any treatment recommended as a result of the dental examination must be carried out as soon as possible. If you do not keep to this condition, any claims which relate to it will not be covered under the policy.

What we will not pay - applying to Veterinary Fees and Complementary Treatment
8. The cost of trimming, burring or rasping rabbits’ teeth.
17. The cost of dental treatment unless your pet had a dental examination carried out by a vet in the 12 months before the clinical signs of the injury or illness were first noted.

[daphnephoebe]

No insurance company will cover the cost of vaccinating or neutering - these are preventative treatments - insurance covers what you can not plan for. If vaccinated bun gets myxomatosis, Petplan will pay. If bun isn't vaccinated then they will not pay.

In terms of dental treatment- Petplan have always paid out for dental treatment carried out by my vet. Generally if bun stops eating, and has a dental procedure to correct the teeth then they will pay.
If you're burring the teeth to prevent stasis (e.g. to ensure they keep eating) they may not pay... normally only around £20 to £30. It appears to be that they will not pay for a conscious dental... However it's completely up to Petplan if they pay or not - the way your vet processes your claim can affect the outcome of payment. You can always call and ask them to clarify what they actually mean.

Petplan is the best rated in the UK and I highly recommend you keep with them.

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[White Water]

Thanks for the advice, guys! (And for getting back to me so quickly!)

From what you've all said, it seems that Petplan might actually cover some of the dental treatments, then? Our last rabbit had had several "routine" burring procedures done and that was what I was mainly worried about with Julio and why I recently went through the documents. I'll review my documents again to see if they've had a change in policy and which treatments won't be covered. I did call them up earlier though and was told they didn't cover dental, so I'm hoping the person I spoke to wasn't too sure concerning rabbit policies (or that there was a miscommunication!)

When I originally insured my rabbit I did check out other insurance companies and thought that Petplan offered the greatest cover so I was hoping that there might have been another company I overlooked, but if you've all had great experiences with Petplan I think I'll stick with them after all. Thanks so much!

[Babsie]

Just another side - you say you've bought a baby rabbit. You can therefore start from scratch and make sure Julio has a good diet comprising 80% good quality hay, which will keep his teeth ground down and his stomach in good order - and then your assumption (from your first post) that he will have dental problems may not prove true.

[Jack's-Jane]

Just another side - you say you've bought a baby rabbit. You can therefore start from scratch and make sure Julio has a good diet comprising 80% good quality hay, which will keep his teeth ground down and his stomach in good order - and then your assumption (from your first post) that he will have dental problems may not prove true.

Some advice about a good Rabbit diet here :

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-diet/

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/art...t-rabbits/view

[MightyMax]

Thanks for the advice, guys! (And for getting back to me so quickly!)

From what you've all said, it seems that Petplan might actually cover some of the dental treatments, then? Our last rabbit had had several "routine" burring procedures done and that was what I was mainly worried about with Julio and why I recently went through the documents. I'll review my documents again to see if they've had a change in policy and which treatments won't be covered. I did call them up earlier though and was told they didn't cover dental, so I'm hoping the person I spoke to wasn't too sure concerning rabbit policies (or that there was a miscommunication!)

When I originally insured my rabbit I did check out other insurance companies and thought that Petplan offered the greatest cover so I was hoping that there might have been another company I overlooked, but if you've all had great experiences with Petplan I think I'll stick with them after all. Thanks so much!

Hi there and welcome to the forum

I agree with you that PetPlan is a very good insurance. In some areas of the country their premiums are prohibitively expensive, but if you can manage it, I would go for it!

Some other insurers will cover teeth in some circumstances, so worth either ringing around or reading the small print.
I prefer ringing

And yes, some of the people working for insurance companies don't seem to know all the details of the policies they sell!

[binkyCodie]

I just want to point out - the teeth thing is really iffy. some people have actually found they will pay for it, other times they do not. I think they cover the anaesthesia and medicine cost, but not the actual procedure. it also depends on circumstances. if the teeth are caused by a medical issue (long term stasis for instance) and not poor diet, they will probably cover it. as long as you can prove you have had their teeth checked regularly and taken advice given by a vet, it will likely be covered for. its a really grey area though. if I had known about this (I read it as - no teeth are done at all) I would have insured, but I didn't it would have saved me a lot of stress with Snoopy.

sadly, almost no insurance companies cover dental treatments 100%. I think its seen as a normal treatment (like vaccinations) as its done so frequently (and on the rise due to poor diet and poor breeding). my rabbit savvy vet told me when she started, rabbit dentals were unheard of. she perhaps saw a handful every year. now, 20+ years later, she does them almost every day. and they see more lionheads, lops & dwarfs with these issues than any other rabbit. sadly due to the rounded and smaller heads we give them to be "cute".

I think if I remember right, I know somebody did get a neuter covered somewhat. I think petplan once again paid for the meds & anaesthesia but I could be wrong. for some reason though my brain is recalling it!!

[daphnephoebe]

Just another side - you say you've bought a baby rabbit. You can therefore start from scratch and make sure Julio has a good diet comprising 80% good quality hay, which will keep his teeth ground down and his stomach in good order - and then your assumption (from your first post) that he will have dental problems may not prove true.

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