[Anke]

I think pet insurance is a bit of a racket - and I'm pretty sure it's pushed up the cost of pet care because it's OK the insurance will take care of it.

Totally agree. our foxterrier only (so far ) had one op to recover a crisp packet from her intestines, plus aftercare for that. She was 5 years old at hat stage, and if we had had insurance we would have paid more than the cost of that by that age. I also do not believe in expensive care for older dogs, it is often just for the sake of the owner rather than the quality of life for the dog.... (but the terriers are fairly long lived without major health problems)

[Sbom]

Whilst I was busy pondering insurance for my puppy she managed to have two vet visits, both needing a general and one stitches out of hours....grrrr
Since being fully insured she has had no problems 
Although being clumsy and very very fast I'm sure it'll happen eventually.
If we had a spare £1000 to kick off an insurance account then I would happily cancel all other policies and self insure......maybe next year

[fsmnutter]

The trouble is that veterinary medicine has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. In the past, a cruciate ligament was repaired by a suture that was designed to take the strain of the ruptured ligament, but would sometimes rupture later in life, or not quite give perfect recovery. Nowadays, there are several options (including the suture method for certain circumstances including lack of funds) and several options that involve delicate precise cutting and plating of the bone, which have better chance of returning to normal function and longevity, however, tend to come at a greater cost, due to equipment and the further training required to perform the surgery. This is expressed in the cost - and it's not just cruciates, there are a number of surgeries or medical treatments that are much better now than in the past, but may cost more.
I believe a lot of the problem with the perception of veterinary costs is related to having a National Health Service. Because it costs us nothing when we go to the doctor, it is easy to overlook how much it actually costs to take a blood sample, perform a surgery, bandage a wound. Look up online the comparison between an American who compared the hospital breakdown of his cruciate repair with that of his dog - very similar operation, very different costs, and although £2500 seems like an absolute fortune for a dog surgery, when you look at what it costs for a human, it suddenly seems extremely good value for money.
I would highly recommend people insure their animals, because it may well be that you never need it, but if you are putting in a set amount per month, and know your excess for each condition is a set amount that you will be able to pay for, then however many times you have an emergency operation for swallowing something, or have an animal hit by a car, or start up with long term medication for a lifelong disease, you know the amount you pay per month plus a one off excess will cover it. If you can manage to find £7500 in a month when you have a major surgery that has complications, or can put it away in savings, but are prepared for vet bills that may still happen once the savings account is empty, then do so.
As a vet, it is heartbreaking to not be able to do the best for an animal because people can't afford it, and insurance usually means that they can.

[Ideation]

It's funny though how some vets charge half as much as others for the same procedure or treatment.

Also, the mark up on meds is crazy!

It's hard to deny that the insurance culture allows vets to get away with routinely charging silly money for things.

[doganjo]

My vet treats first and asks about insurance after!

[fsmnutter]

Different parts of the country have different costs associated with them. Mark ups on drugs are there to keep our costs paid so we can continue to function as a business and treat animals. Many online pharmacies are actually selling drugs for less than we can buy them for so its often not as big a markup as you may think. We all have to sign a clause every time we fill in an insurance form to say that these are the same fees you would charge if an animal was not insured, we'd be committing fraud and be likely to be struck off if this were not true. Perhaps an animal will get a blood sample or a drip  or a repair to a broken leg instead of a cheaper amputation which might not be done if it was not insured, but these are things that ate in the interests of the animal, not to increase the insurance claim.

[caracroft]

Oh  dear I seem to have opened a can of worms 

I understand all the arguments made, but know  I have an expensive large breed who, should she require an operation, will end up costing considerably more than a smaller breed and I dont want to ever be in the position of having her put to sleep prematurely (i.e other than old age )  due to not having the funds to pay for her treatment. 

I have found some very good information by googling "top ten Pet insurance companies".

1.  The advice to avoid comparison sites as some unscrupulous insurance companies have special "cheap" policies to get to the top of the list - which basically exclude nearly everything.

2. "Which!" have a top 5 - based on a whole range of factors, price, cover, excess, dealing with claims etc as --
 John Lewis Insurance Premier (97%), More Than Premier (95%), John Lewis Insurance Plus (81%), Green Insurance Platinum (81%), and Petplan Ultimate (80%).

3.  For a top ten that combines the thoughts from "which!" and "defaqto"  and some other tips and discounts I found this site  -  https://boughtbymany.com/news/article/best-pet-insurance-for-dogs-2013-uk/
You can join the group for your breed of dog and get a good deal - I have got a quote from Morethan which is for £12000 cover and is around £35 - £50 cheaper per month than similar cover with the other companies!!

Hope this helps and all the best with all your dogs and their healthy, accident free lives -  !

Cara