Opinions On Cancelling Insurance / Older Pigs

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bessiehen

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Hello

Apologies if this comes across as insensitive but I am really interested in opinions.

My two guinea pigs will be six this year. They have both had health issues and we have them insured, currently at £400 a year but we made a claim in the last 12 months so expecting it to go up again.

I'm thinking about cancelling our insurance and saving the money for treatment instead, in case they just pass quietly in the night or have something untreatable / irrereversible and will need to be put to sleep. My husband disagrees with me and thinks as they are older they might need more complex care and we might need the insurance more.

At our vets, bloods cost around 80, x ray is around 130, bladder treatment around 200, overnight stay around 30 a night and emergency visit around 80. The most we have spent on treatment at one time is 380 for Clive's first bladder treatment way back when he wasn't even one!

Clive has had regular bladder issues and several flushes (no stones though) and is now on metacam permanently as the vet feels this is appropriate given his age. Burt has had bladder stones once and an ear infection but is now looking like a very old man! No health concerns, just sleeping lots, can't see his food as well as he used to etc.

With or without insurance we will do and pay whatever it takes to keep them happy and healthy but as they are approaching the upper end of their life expectancy I am just interested in any opinions. I don't know what health issues there at this age that may be worth treating a pig for rather than PTS (so for example we would continue to treat bladder issues, and eye issues like cataracts etc where possible, but with a stroke is it usually kinder to put a piggy to sleep?)

I hope I don't sound horrible, it's just something that we need to start preparing for.

Thank you
 
As you say, tricky topic but you are right to be mentally prepared for the old age bit. Glad that your boys have made it to 6, that is great. I have found that between 5 and 6 things can start to go wrong but obviously that depends on loads of factors.
I think I agree with your husband. If you have insurance in place, I would keep going. It is likely some medical issue or emergency will arise in the next few months and if so, you can just deal with that medical decision without too much focus on finances ( I know there is always some). As you say, you don't know what the issue would be, some might lead to a PTS decision, some might not even at 6.
That said, I have none of mine insured, I have 8 boys and it would v expensive but I do have a vet fund allocated. My vet costs are similar ish to yours but operations can be £400 depending on what happens. I have spent well over £500 on my 5.5 year old boar this year already with X-rays, an operation, on going meds etc.
If you can, I would keep the insurance going and relax and try to enjoy their twilight years / months - I love older boys!
 
I'm afraid there's no right answer to this - but it's a good reminder to all forum members to be financially prepared for unexpected vet bills.

All mine are insured but my predominant reason is to stop disagreements between me an my OH .

A common conversation in our household .

Me: I'm taking ** to the vet

OH : How much is this going to cost ?

Me : Don't worry .......s/he's insured .
 
Thank you for your responses.
Money is tight in our house at the moment which is why I was considering it, but I think actually perhaps the fact money is tight is a reason to keep the insurance.
We have to pay quite a high excess but I suppose if they both got ill and both needed treatment in the next year then the credit card would take quite a hammering.
Also there would be the temptation to spend the savings elsewhere...

I think we'll keep it for now then and maybe review next year. I swear they are ever lasting piggies!
 
PiggyOwner said:
I'm afraid there's no right answer to this - but it's a good reminder to all forum members to be financially prepared for unexpected vet bills.

All mine are insured but my predominant reason is to stop disagreements between me an my OH .

A common conversation in our household .

Me: I'm taking ** to the vet

OH : How much is this going to cost ?

Me : Don't worry .......s/he's insured .
Click to expand...

When Clive was very poorly when he was about eight months old and nearly died after going into shock we spent about 400 quid on him (before we had insurance) I remember so many people were shocked asking if we were going to spend it, as if we should just let him die :/
And here he is six years later and still loving life!
 
It's a tough one. I spent at least a thousand on one guinea pig in just over a year. Another piggy died at the age of 6 after a chest infection and I think the vets fees were around £50 or so for her entire life. I was not her first owner but I had known this piggy before through a forum and had followed her life before she had to be rehomed and I took her in. She had never needed to go to the vets before. Insurance would have been a waste on her, but a blessing with the first one.
I have to admit some of my piggies have had rotten luck with health, all for different things. I looked at insurance but decided against it. It's a gamble at the end of the day, some you win and some your lose and you just don't know how it will be. I really don't know what to advise, but at least if they are insured you do have a more definite figure to work in to your yearly budget and that in itself can be very helpful. Vets bills can be hefty as you know and you just never know when you may need to take them in. If a bill hits when you have just had to pay out for car repairs or a new washing machine (or anything unexpected) then things can get worrisome quickly.
I do see the logic in insurance. However, I have decided against it. I may or may not regret that decision, no-one can know until the years play out.... but out of the 9 pigs I've had so far only one of them hit the thousand mark, the rest very little apart from two who both had around £300 or so spent on them. However some of my pigs have died way before old age...

Sorry, I've not been very useful really!
 
Bumble cost me over £5500 throughout his lifetime - and in his previous to last year bust through the £2000 yearly limit by £400 - there is no way I could have afforded it - I too have two "never ending old ladies " one at 6 3/4 the other at 7 1/2 ( the piggy in my avatar) who cost me £300 a year to insure - and the two youngsters who I have just insured this month at another £15 each - so £60 a month or £600 a year - but I don't smoke or drink and hardly go out so they are my hobby - but you can bet your bottom dollar if I cancelled the insurance they would all come down with something that would be pricey!
 
Guinea pig insurance isn't really a thing here, so I have always had to pay as I go. Some of my pigs have been relatively healthy throughout their lifespans, others (Sundae!) had chronic health problems for most of their lives and cost me thousands of dollars over the course of almost 7 years. I know that by the time my pigs were 6 or so, I had begun to move towards treating symptoms instead of going doing invasive procedures. If they had a severe problem that required surgery, for instance, I probably was not going to choose to put an elderly, frail animal through anything invasive. It was quality over quantity. So I can see that, if you feel the same, it might not be worth paying a monthly premium to offset the cost of a potential treatment that you would likely turn down due to age and the likelihood of success being low anyhow. However, if it covers things like routine appointments and dental care, pain meds, antibiotics, etc., it might be worth keeping, as things like infections and dental issues/joint issues requiring x-rays might be more apt to crop up in old age.
 
Thats a toughie but all I can say is that the law of sod definitely exists, you can bet your life if you cancel the insurance you will end up with some large bills. If you don't cancel it they will probably manage fine... tough call.

As for illnesses they can get as they get older, I have had issues from arthritis, ovarian cysts, renal disease... some things are treatable even in older pigs where there is a risk from any surgery and others aren't. Renal disease for example isn't something that is treatable. I have had two pigs with it and it wasn't definitive diagnosis (i.e. all other options were ruled out, there was protein being lost in urine but blood tests would have cost a hell of a lot of money and a definitive diagnosis would not lead to treatment). Other things like fatty lumps, cysts etc may or may not cause problems depending on how quickly they grow and the positioning on the body.

What I would say is think carefully about cancelling, at the age of your piggies and with medical problems, if you cancelled and then tried to re-insure you may find they refuse to insure you in the future.
 
Your pig has to be under 5 years of age to be insured with exotic direct - so if your piggy is currently insured with them and is for example 6 and you decide to cancel, then change your mind a few months later and want to re -insure, you cant because piggy is over 5.
 
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