Insurance for repeated illnesses and older buns

Hi there, We've had our rabbits for around a year. I made the decision to not get insurance as previous pets have needed little more than their annual check-ups. However, we've had so many trips to the vet this year that I think I probably should have done.

Partly what has stopped me is the fear that I'd get insurance but they wouldn't pay out for some reason. I've heard a few horror stories where insurers won't pay out for example for repeated bouts of GI stasis because it's seen as a pre-existing condition. Is this true? Are there companies who do?

One of the buns is over 5 years old and when I did look into insurance, it was refused based on the age. Are there insurers who will take on older buns?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Both buns had had several trips to the vet this year (I just made another post about that) and so I'm wondering whether with their medical history they'd have any hope of getting insured at all!

Thanks for reading.

i don't have insurance for the reason you mention - the pre existing clauses. seems to me a lot of conditions are either pre existing or at least have occurred before.
imo it's probably a better solution to save up the cost of the insurance (or maybe 1/2 the cost) to have a bit of a fund available in case of emergencies although i don't do this, just take the costs as they happen. i think i've probably won financially doing this but Pepper's last vet trip was eye wateringly expensive but he had suffered the same problem previously so maybe the insurance wouldn't have paid anyway.
the only issue with paying as it happens is perhaps having to find the funds quickly. i don't have any savings. fortunately i don't have to pay my vet on the day, i can spread the cost over a couple of months after the event.

If you get insurance when the animal is a baby or when you first get them before they have any illnesses, and have chosen a lifetime policy, there will be no pre existing conditions so insurance shouldn't not pay out. We don't have our older bunnies insured as they both have pre existing conditions as had either had illnesses before I got them or within the first 14 days so would be excluded. However since I hand reared Bigwig and got my dog with very little illness on his history both are insured and I've had no issues with PetPlan and Tesco paying out. People often get caught out with a 12 month policy, where you only get 12 months from the date they first became ill to claim for that condition or anything related, that's where people may find gut stasis will then be excluded down the line. A lifetime policy won't have this exclusion. Agria do an age amnesty sometimes where you can get older bunnies insured with them, but anything pre existing won't be covered so if you rabbits have already had a few issues it likely won't be worth it.

ETA: insurance companies were rarely refuse to insure an animal due to their medical past, but your monthly premiums will reflect this and may be quite high.

Liz47 said:

If you get insurance when the animal is a baby or when you first get them before they have any illnesses, and have chosen a lifetime policy, there will be no pre existing conditions so insurance shouldn't not pay out. We don't have our older bunnies insured as they both have pre existing conditions as had either had illnesses before I got them or within the first 14 days so would be excluded. However since I hand reared Bigwig and got my dog with very little illness on his history both are insured and I've had no issues with PetPlan and Tesco paying out. People often get caught out with a 12 month policy, where you only get 12 months from the date they first became ill to claim for that condition or anything related, that's where people may find gut stasis will then be excluded down the line. A lifetime policy won't have this exclusion. Agria do an age amnesty sometimes where you can get older bunnies insured with them, but anything pre existing won't be covered so if you rabbits have already had a few issues it likely won't be worth it.

ETA: insurance companies were rarely refuse to insure an animal due to their medical past, but your monthly premiums will reflect this and may be quite high.

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ah, great info. thanks.

Yes, that's really helpful info Liz47 especially about lifetime vs 12-month policies. Thank you! I wish I'd asked for advice about insurance when we first got them! (Kicks self). Both were adopted as adult rabbits from shelters/foster but we only had the medical records of one of them so I really ought to have looked into insurance for the other at the time. I suppose I took a gamble and bet on the wrong side. You live and learn.

And mikek thanks - it's reassuring that others make the same sort of decisions as I did. For us there have been a handful of eye-wateringly expensive visits but at least there are savings to cover them. Hopefully it's just been a run of bad luck for our rabbits this year.

I've not had paid for pet insurance (just first few weeks free with a new pet) - I have too many and it would cost a fortune every month. Over the years, I have rarely spent more on vet fees (other than neutering & vaccinating) than I would have on insurance premiums, but I have had a few biggish hits in the £1k region, plus ongoing drugs, etc. There are some pets that I would insure on a lifetime poicy as they woud be highly likely to need some v expensive issues in later life - but I tend to avoid those breeds anyway (thinking mainly about dogs). I use a credit card, discuss treatment options in depth with the vet, and sort out paying the credit card later. If having a test or procedure isn't going to help to improve the condition or change the treatment received, I tend to question and often refuse it (eg scans rather than x-rays), when it may have been covered on insurance. Sometimes insurance will cover more tests to give more information (ie 'nice to know'), but may not be 100% necessary for standard treatment protocols. You have to weigh up the pros and cons for your rabbit and your budget, and read the policy small print. Sometimes you have to pay a % of the bill as well as an excess per condition.

I had my elder bun Dennis insured via Agria. They often do age amnesty’s and I think I got his for around 19 pounds a month. I personally would never not have insurance as I have had to pay out big time for most of my bunnies. Keep an eye on Agria for when they do the age policies as they always pay out fine too. I know several people where Agria have paid out for exsisting conditions too. They also cover dental trimmings unlike pet plan

PetPlan paid for Bigwigs' dental trim, even though it didn't turn out to be needed but was in the stage when we wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but I did read about teeth trims not being covered unless due to illness/injury. But why else would your rabbit have a dental if it wasn't needed? So I found they paid twice, they added to note to say teeth trimming isn't covered in my policy but they have paid both times since it was related to her condition at the time

I'll be keeping my eye on Agria for my pair coming up to 7, or perhaps one who has been luckily with his health and only had respiratory problems and one dental.

Liz47 said:

PetPlan paid for Bigwigs' dental trim, even though it didn't turn out to be needed but was in the stage when we wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but I did read about teeth trims not being covered unless due to illness/injury. But why else would your rabbit have a dental if it wasn't needed? So I found they paid twice, they added to note to say teeth trimming isn't covered in my policy but they have paid both times since it was related to her condition at the time

I'll be keeping my eye on Agria for my pair coming up to 7, or perhaps one who has been luckily with his health and only had respiratory problems and one dental.

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That’s the same for Syrup. They paid out for her dental but said to note it’s not covered so I looked back through my policy as it confused me. It says in my policy about having regular dental checks which I do but then in another clause says teeth trimmings not covered. I don’t know!

Insurance is always a gamble, and with multiple animals it's a safer bet to not insure but set aside the same amount the preiums would cost. I never understand when people say they can't afford the premium (average £11 a month for a rabbit) because if you can't find that then how will you find hundreds or thousands in a hurry to treat an emergency? It is fine to set aside an amount each month but be realistic - find out the cost of an emergency stasis for example, and make sure that you can either cover that, have a card it can be put on, or can set aside enough to have a realistic emergency amount. Setting aside the premium when you only have 1-2 rabbits won't give you enough to cover the average emergency within a few years so you still need another plan!
But as has been said, definitely look at lifetime vs 12mth policies, I always go for lifetime despite them being more costly, but I have so far always had it back and more.
The other thing to think about is that sometimes you have options to choose between treating/investigating and PTS. I'd always suggest considering what your limits would be for treating/investigating before you are in that situation - things like how long a recovery might be, how much suffering the recovery would be vs the potential outcome, how much suffering the investigtions could cause or prolong. Hard questions, but often with insurance covering the costs it is easier to go a long way down a route without really stopping to think about the suffering in the way - we all want to do "everything" for our animals, but everything isn't always best, and quality of life has to come first.

loobers25 said:

That’s the same for Syrup. They paid out for her dental but said to note it’s not covered so I looked back through my policy as it confused me. It says in my policy about having regular dental checks which I do but then in another clause says teeth trimmings not covered. I don’t know!

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Yeah it is confusing! When I spoke to PetPlan about it they said it's similar to in cat/dog policies teeth cleaning is not covered when considered aesthetic, but if it needs to be done due to gingivitis/illness/injury it is covered providing the animal has had a dental check every year and any treatment carried out. So teeth trimming in rabbits for similar reasons is covered, but not for aesthetic, which I can't imagine anyone would do!