Why's dog insurance gone up so much? =(

[Mark]

Pet Insurance? But you can get a new dog for only a few hundred for most breeds, or free if you don't care what sort of animal it is... What the hell? I mean, these are just pets you're talking about aren't they? You're not breeding the next crufts champions or a future One Man and His Dog hero here I assume?

You do actually understand that if an operation to save your dog is going to cost a lot of money, there is always a cheaper alternative?

Spot the farmer The cow has a cold - quick blow its head off !!!!!

Normal people actually get attatched to their pets

[Jeff]

Pet Insurance? But you can get a new dog for only a few hundred for most breeds, or free if you don't care what sort of animal it is... What the hell? I mean, these are just pets you're talking about aren't they? You're not breeding the next crufts champions or a future One Man and His Dog hero here I assume?

You do actually understand that if an operation to save your dog is going to cost a lot of money, there is always a cheaper alternative?

It's nothing to do with how much a dog costs

Put very simply, an insurance company works out how much they are likely to spend in claims and how much they are likely to earn from the growth of their assets over the same period and calculate your premium based on the difference between the 2 (plus a bit of profit, if they're lucky).

When their assets are growing more slowly (or their claims experience is bad) they have to increase the premium to cover the difference between the 2 figures

[Monkey]

i know it the mail, buit its the only link i could find

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ance-axed.html

Thousands of pet owners are preparing to pay huge veterinary bills – or face the heartbreaking prospect of having their beloved animals put down – after their insurance policies were axed.
More than 50,000 policyholders with state-owned Lloyds TSB and Halifax have been told they no longer have cover.
Many who have sick cats and dogs will be unable to find pet insurance elsewhere, as other firms will not cover animals that have already been treated. Furious pet owners must now fund the veterinary bills themselves – totalling thousands of pounds – or face the painful alternative of putting their animals to sleep.
It is understood insurers are pulling out of the market because they claim it is simply unaffordable to offer pet cover.
Halifax and Lloyds announced that they would stop offering cover last October. Since 2009, a total of 13 pet insurers have done the same, blaming rocketing vets’ fees

Lloyds customers are no longer able to renew their policies, and any existing cover will end in September.
Many of the affected pet owners have now lobbied Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Halifax, to change its decision and some are threatening to take it to court.
Marc Gander, founder of Consumer Action Group, which is preparing the legal challenge, said: ‘The bank has gone back on its promises and betrayed these policyholders

It said it would cover these animals but now is pulling out. It is effectively abandoning these people and their animals, many of whom have paid thousands of pounds into its coffers for years.
‘Some will now have no choice but to put down their animals because they can’t afford to pay for their animals’ medical bills.’ He said he hoped the insurer would back down and reinstate the insurance, or would instead give out lump sums to owners whose pets were currently undergoing treatment.
The cost of the average pet insurance policy has jumped by more than a third in the past year, and could now range from £150 to £600.
The average cost of treatment for a pedigree cat is now £420 – 28 per cent more than a year ago.
Treatment for a pedigree dog costs £469 on average, a jump of 13 per cent. Some larger breeds rack up higher bills.
Under the Lloyds and Halifax policies, if a pet developed an illness the owners could continue to claim for it when they renewed their cover.
And the Halifax policy had promised cover for up to £6,000 of medical treatment every year, which is why it was so popular.
But the problem for pet owners who now have to change providers is that insurance firms refuse to cover animals that have already been treated for a particular condition.
Mandy Jones, head of rehoming at animal charity the Blue Cross, said: ‘This is a really worrying development for animal welfare as pet owners face being left high and dry unable to pay for their animals’ treatment. The risk if insurers continue to pull out of the market or change their terms is that more sick animals will go untreated.
‘We are seeing more and more people unable to afford vets’ fees during the recession and even a rise in animals being abandoned.’
A spokesman for Lloyds said: ‘Following a detailed review, Lloyds Banking Group has announced the decision to withdraw from the pet insurance market.
‘We are sorry for any inconvenience this might cause customers.’
It said its insurance policies were renewed annually and it reserved the right to cancel them.

[Jeff]

So high claims costs plus poor stock market performance equals massive premium increases

[Johnny]

THIS is why you should vote labour .... under them they would have created the NHS for pets .. where overweight cats and stupid dogs that have run into windows with sticks in there mouths can get treated for free

Its good because the rich people can pay for it all through tax .... and if you are unemployed your 7 pitbulls dont cost you anything

[Unknown Source]

Wow that's expensive for the dogs, it's a LOT cheaper for my two cats.

The only bit I don't like on pet insurance policies is the small print where if you make a claim through them you are basically stuck with that insurer for life as other companies will not insure you - meaning they can hike the price up as much as you want and you're screwed.

Unless you can find a nice insurer that accepts existing conditions

[Lou_Lou]

That's really not the point though Dow. I have two pitbull crosses who I can't get insured in Ireland due to their breed, but anything that's happened to them in the past I've always found the money from somewhere to get them fixed up.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who considers their pets to be part of the family, and that you'd do anything for them.

I've never had insurance on any of my pets. Should do really

The worst one I had was when a cat I had, had thyroid and heart problems. Medication wasn't too much of an issue financially (4 tablets a day but wasn't ££££'s) but she did have to have two operations both £300.00 a time. Not properly OTT but still an expense I could have done without!

Like you say though -if you can find the cash you do Obviously if it had been £8k or whatever, I wouldn't have had a choice sadly, but whatever amount it was, if I could have got it I would have done I stopped with her in the end because the treatment wasn't making her any better (well, it was a little, but for shorter periods of time each time) so the inevitable happened unfortunately

[dow]

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who considers their pets to be part of the family, and that you'd do anything for them.

I wonder if I might just be wired up wrong sometimes. Am I the only one here who, when Grandma became ill and her kidneys started to pack up, thought 'ooh does this mean I can have her bungalow' and not 'I have a spare kidney?'

[unipsycho]

Your not the only one wired up wrong dow. I love my Dog, she is a magnificent Heinz 57 and a superb mountain bike dog, but I'm afraid I see them as cars, if the repair costs more than it does to buy a new one then bye bye!

And you can pick up a new Heinz 57 for 50p!

[Prior]

Whilst im not completely practical as Dow, I get his point. The Ex's best friend had an 11 year old Labrador that needed a double hip replacement at a cost of £8k, with £2.5k upfront from them personally. I asked whats the point of spending that money on a dog whos only likely to live another 2-3 years, and i might as well said i wanted to digup and root the body of her dead nana.

[skyshack]

Sis in law has a "Dizzy", Scooby Doo (Husky / Belgium shep). Bitch scoffed 3 defrosting Cornish pasties last night so was very quiet.

Argos £13.63.

Google entry for PDSA looks cheap too.

Not sure if it has all the cover you may want.

[itrhondaboy]

Spot the farmer The cow has a cold - quick blow its head off !!!!!

Normal people actually get attatched to their pets

Lol exactly my thoughts
Ps I live on a farm missus parents are farmers, they have no problem shotgun to the face of their pets as they're just animals
I would happily spend any amount I need to if it would mean I got another hour of fun with my white Alsatian who died a few years back! I have 2 huskys and 2 Alsatians and have no issues what so ever with doing the same! They're my family I know they'd die to protect me, it's only right that I do everything in my power to do the same for them

[Asht_200]

THIS is why you should vote labour .... under them they would have created the NHS for pets .. where overweight cats and stupid dogs that have run into windows with sticks in there mouths can get treated for free

Seriously???? They'd have had your guinea pig reclassified as a dangerous breed and exterminated the lot of them!!!

[Cluck]

Seriously???? They'd have had your guinea pig reclassified as a dangerous breed and exterminated the lot of them!!!

Good idea* .




*I'm allergic to guinea pigs .

[clai cerrig]

Hamster`s is where its all at guy`s you cant beat a good bit of Hamster Baiting

[dow]

When I was little, our border collie smashed open my hamster cage and ate half of my hamster... You just brought it all back for me, you heartless soul

[DLowe]

I think the problem with the cheap insurances is they are loaded with massive excess's and clauses reducing the likely hood of a claim etc..

I have never had to claim with Tesco - but my mates mum and dad have a rhodesian ridgeback that skewered itself very-very badly on a wrought iron fence a few years ago and they were extremely good in the claim, and the people hardly had to subsidise the bills.. and it went on for years with operations and check ups

[itrhondaboy]

What's chap insurance

[Cluck]

What's chap insurance

Insurance set up by John Bobbit .

[Si]

Or John Wayne?

PS Chuckles