Insurance - is it worth it?

[Honeythebunnyx]

I will be collecting my mini lop in the new year and although I’m not new to rabbit ownership, it has been a while.

Is it now very common to insure your rabbit? and if so, who have you gone with? i’m weighing up the option of insurance vs an emergency savings pot.

Additionally, does anyone have their rabbit signed up to the healthy pet club? I’m also wondering if this would be worth it.

Thanks for any help

 

[joey&boo]

Agria were outstanding in my experience. If you opt for emergency savings, it needs to be quite a large amount of money.
I'd recommend perhaps insuring your bun for at least the first year & assess from there. Mini lops can be susceptible to dental
issues because of their face shape so "health care" arranged in to adulthood would be wise.

Look round for an exotics / rabbit savvy vet - saves lives & a fortune in getting to the heart of medical issues much more quickly

I think the health pet club did contain some unnecessary preventative stuff. Vaccinations & health checks are what they need routinely. I'd weigh up the difference. Good luck & enjoy

 

[Craig 1965]

Hi,
I have 2 bunnies, both are insured with pet plan. And for my, it has been a no brainer. My female bunny flo, had 2 episodes of stasis in the last month which cost close on £500 as she always seems to pick a Saturday or bank holiday to either fall ill or have an accident. Pet plan settled within 5 days and the outlay for me monthly, is in my opinion very affordable and gives peace of mind knowing that the cover is there. If you need xrays or blood tests done, you know its covered so your pet has that gold standard that your pet deserves. I've had my bunnies insured for many years now and I would never not insure them.
I hope this helps
Craig

 

[a reader of books]

I think it definitely is worth it, and agree with j&b that if you decide on an emergency fund instead, it would need to be a significant amount of money. One of my buns had over €1500 in vet costs in just 10 weeks, and my vet is quite affordable compared to most. If your bunny breaks a leg, it'll cost thousands, I believe.

I honestly got much more back from insurance than ever I paid for it (a mixed blessing for sure!), but even if I didn't I think it's worth it for the peace of mind, like Craig mentioned, and knowing you'll be able to get your bun the best vet care, instead of possibly having to compromise or make difficult decisions because the money isn't there. You never know what will happen to your bun, or how your financial situation might change, after all.

I'd really recommend insuring your bun while they're still young and healthy, too. It'll get more expensive as they get older, and once they've had health issues, those won't be covered anymore if you get insurance in the future. Do check if they cover dentals or not, since I don't think all do, at least not where I live.

Good luck with your new bunny! How exciting to get a new friend.

 

[Orenoko]

I'm just going to link to a recent post I wrote where I calculated the cost of my buns vet fees over the previous year. While her situation is different as she's very old and has health issues, I'm grateful I kept her insurance going as I had considered stopping it.

Why you should consider insurance

Just got Lilac's renewal through, she's nearly 11 and has had some health issues in the last couple of years so it's gone up to £500. Out of interest I decided to see what she's cost in vet fees in the last year, totted everything up and in vet fees alone she's cost £2725!!! £800 of that was an...

forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk

 

[Honeythebunnyx]

Thank you so much, everyone. I will definitely be getting her insured straight away!

 

[FireRose]

I would always recommend insuring tabbits, it’s always better to have and not need then need and don’t have.

If you are going down the emergency savings funds you need to be thinking of saving thousands rather than hundreds each month.

Rabbits are complicated and they can turn quickly and it can get expensive quickly too.

Also bear in mind the longer you leave it, if she has any issues this is then seen as a pre existing issue to they likely won’t cover further costs.

Being a lop you’ve the increased issues of dental and ear health being more prone to go wrong.

It’s your decision and yes it does sometimes feel a waste but it’s no different to car insurance.

Good luck with your new bunny

 

[Barn Yard Bunnies]

A million times yes. Some rabbits never need the vets but you can have one that always needs the vets and they are so expense now.

 

[Jesselle]

With a recent bill of £2300, yes. We had a max benefit of £1500, so a large amount to cover for us too.

 

[Zigzag]

Yes definitely. We didn’t insure our first rabbit, and he unfortunately had a number of issues that cost roughly 2.5k in 6 months. My two latest bunnies both needed treatment recently which cost over 3k in total in a short period. Agria have always been great, but unfortunately they don’t offer rabbit insurance anymore.

I’d suggest looking at the terms and conditions, eg Agria cover 50% of CT scans and MRIs only. So newer insurance companies may do something similar. X

 

[SarahP]

This is an old thread, but my view on insurance generally is that you get it if you wouldn't be able to find the money for what you might need it for. If you have the savings available for a very large vet bill (and can top that up constantly), you don't need it. If you don't have the savings yet for a large vet bill, you need insurance.

I've never had pet insurance, not even when I had the rabbits. I suppose I just got used to not having it with small animals, so I never did with the rabbits either.

 

[Preitler]

Well, here (Austria), vets aren't that expensive and I have enough money on the bank so that doesn't really make a dent, although I'm there way more often than I'm at my doctor . Vet visits rarely go over 100€, a skin tumor surgery on a dog was 250, a rabbit spay 130, neutering a buck 90, the most expensive was trying to save a doe with blockage through surgery in a vet clinic on a weekend, unsuccessfully, that came to 350, that's ok for once in 15 years.

Generally speaking, my issue with insurances is that others have way less qualms to use it, even using all kind of tricks to make the insurance pay - I don't, can't do that. I would need to be really desperate to accept anything, so I definitly pull the short straw there. Also, the companies do it for profit, we all pay more than the actual - summed up - cost is. For risks I can cover that all makes it not worth it for me, putting the money aside others pay for all kind of insurances is an insurance in itself. After decades of being reasonably lucky I'm pretty safe.

I do not have any insurances apart from the mandatory ones, like, for the car. I considered keeping the insurance for the house when I bought it- just basic fire, storm, water, but the company said no, I need to take a package with 50 other things I do not need, making it absurdly expensive, so I quit that too.

Anyway, my point of view definitly is different since bills aren't in the thousands here, and since I have enough wiggle room to cope with whatever is coming my way. I reckon that under different circumstances insurances make sense, but imho it isn't something to cope with costs that are to be expected - in that case imo you're better off putting that money aside from the start.

 

[Graciee]

This is an old thread, but my view on insurance generally is that you get it if you wouldn't be able to find the money for what you might need it for. If you have the savings available for a very large vet bill (and can top that up constantly), you don't need it. If you don't have the savings yet for a large vet bill, you need insurance.

I've never had pet insurance, not even when I had the rabbits. I suppose I just got used to not having it with small animals, so I never did with the rabbits either.

Yea this is how I feel, I don't have it for my buns and I'm not worried tbh. I do have insurance for the two cats and the dog, but Idk if it actually makes any sense, I've forgotten to claim for the only things that have come up for one cat I could probably cancel them but also that feels like a big deal? Idk