Insurance, at what point would you self underwrite?

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Insurance, at what point would you self underwrite?

7 posts & 6 voices | Started 7 months ago by 2unfit2ride | Latest reply from b r

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2unfit2ride - Member

I have just had the renewal in for my (7 year old) pet (dog) insurance & it amounts to £500 per year, the second dog (3 year old) is £250 so obviously that's £750 per year for two dogs. Assuming that they will live for the next 5-10 years or so, then it equates to a lot of money.
So would I/you be better off not having the insurance? Bare in mind the older dog broke her leg as a puppy that resulted in a £2k claim & any complications arising from that such as arthritis would not be covered by any other insurer if I switched to a cheaper policy?

Cheers in advance.

Posted 7 months ago #
aracer - Member

In general the rule of thumb is if you can afford to pay any claim you might want to make on the policy. If you're being cautious you might want to be sure that you can afford to pay for the highest value claim you can envisage twice. A little more difficult with medical insurance (canine or otherwise) than with insuring a bike where you know exactly what the maximum claim is.

OTOH I could afford to pay any claim I'd make for bikes on my household insurance, yet still have it - I suppose there's a factor there of how cheap I consider the insurance to be relative to any claim (at current rates it would be 15+ years of insurance before I'd paid the potential cost of a single claim).

Posted 7 months ago #
2unfit2ride - Member

Cheers, £11,000 odd sounds like a lot of money put that way, but I think my eldest dog will always be a sick puppy as she is a last of the line inbred 'pedigree' & has never had the 'life' about her that a Border Terrier should have.

Cheers.

Posted 7 months ago #
Woody - Member

Funnily enough I've just gone through the same process justifying the £60 a month it costs to insure my two 6 year old labs.

The bitch is on permanent drugs for a leaky bladder which also costs me £65 a year as an 'excess' but I've no idea how much the drugs actually cost although I would doubt Propalin is expensive.

I'm happy to keep on paying as the cover also includes 3rd party liability and the prospect of having to make a decision as to whether potential future vet costs are 'worth it' is something I couldn't bear.

Posted 7 months ago #
Stu McGroo - Member

Pet insurance is only available because the insurance company, after covering the vets fees, admin costs and overheads can still make a profit. Which basically means on average customers will pay a lot more in than they get out.

I've got 2 Jack Russells without insurance. The 14 year old is very ill, had a night in the vets last week along with scans and blood tests for £389 plus on going treatment on the other hand the 7 year old has cost £18 in those seven years. I'm happy to take my chances rather than paying for yet another policy that I might never use.

To answer the OPs question, start underwriting now. Set up a standing order to transfer the insurance premium into another account and dip in when you need it, if it builds up to an excessive amount take a payment holiday... not an option with insurance!

I don't mean to get on my high horse here but for me the question of "worth it" will never be a financial one, it will be based on what is best for my dog(s).

Posted 7 months ago #
IvanDobski - Member

Not funny, removed.

Posted 7 months ago #
b r - Member

You'll find if you are paying yourself the ability to do a 'deal' with the Vet is very enhanced. We neither insure the dog nor the horses, and to date we are well up (touches wood at this point).

tbh I self-insure most things; and where its a legality I always take a high excess, for example. On my car the only reason I've comp is that its cheaper than TP/TPFT.

But then I haven't claimed on insurance since I was 18 and stuffed a 350LC into a Mk3 Cortina (showing my age at this point)..., so probably seen as a pretty low risk.

Posted 7 months ago #

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