Pet Insurance for Piggies

[sazmatazz]

Hi, as you may have seen on my other post, one of our piggies is currently at the vets. We have been quoted a huge sum fir her teeth to be fixed.
I looked at insurance when we first got them but couldn't find an insurer who covered piggies.
Does anyone have recommendations, who do you use & how much does it cost?
Will there be cost implications because of her current teeth problems?

Thanks

Saz

 

[flintstones]

Exotic direct cover piggies but unfortunately they don't cover teeth it is in the exclusions. How much have you been quoted?

 

[sazmatazz]

Just been quoted £17 per month for both piggies by exotic direct but I've not looked at the exclusions in detail, it just says up to 2k per pet per year vet bills.
£160 minimum for todays procedure.

 

[flintstones]

Just been quoted £17 per month for both piggies by exotic direct but I've not looked at the exclusions in detail, it just says up to 2k per pet per year vet bills.
£160 minimum for todays procedure.

I wouldn't insure them until you check the exclusions. They won't cover you for today's procedure either.

 

[twiams]

i didn't know you could even get piggie cover, thought it was just cats dogs and rabbits !

 

[Amanda1801]

I have 2 of my 4 pigs covered with Exotics Direct.

My policy DOES cover teeth - but only 50% of the price, after the excess has been paid.

The problem with the situation that you're currently in, is that they won't cover exisiting conditions. Once something is already a problem, it's too late to take out insurance for it. If you took out insurance for the piggy now, no teeth problems would be covered now, or in the future, as it'd be a "pre-existing condition", from the start date of the policy.

 

[harold_the_pig]

I don't like the exclusions or terms with insurers, I tend to put £20 a month in a savings account for my pets incase of large bills

 

[sazmatazz]

I guess we'll just have to cough up!
We have had the worst few days, we were in a car accident yesterday (car likely to be written off & not our fault but we are suffering the financial consequences) Poppy getting ill and we discovered this morning that our 6yr old gold fish is very poorly too

 

[flintstones]

I got quoted £61.45 per month and that's without them knowing our history most things they cover are already excluded. To be fair I still don't think it's worth it Patrick's problems only began this year so I would have been paying this amount for 5 years and his illnesses haven't cost anything near what I would have paid out before hand.

Amanda did you have Cameo covered when she had all her problems?

 

[Amanda1801]

I got quoted £61.45 per month and that's without them knowing our history most things they cover are already excluded. To be fair I still don't think it's worth it Patrick's problems only began this year so I would have been paying this amount for 5 years and his illnesses haven't cost anything near what I would have paid out before hand.

Amanda did you have Cameo covered when she had all her problems?

I took the insurance out before her op, but because it was a "voluntary" procedure, nothing was covered. It would have cost me almost £2000 in vets fees though if I didn't have so much taken off for staff discount. £2000 cover seemed a lot when I took the policy out!

I may be able to claim for her cystitis and stuff, it's something I need to look into when I get round to it. I still ended up paying just over £600 for her treatment.

 

[flintstones]

I took the insurance out before her op, but because it was a "voluntary" procedure, nothing was covered. It would have cost me almost £2000 in vets fees though if I didn't have so much taken off for staff discount. £2000 cover seemed a lot when I took the policy out!

I may be able to claim for her cystitis and stuff, it's something I need to look into when I get round to it. I still ended up paying just over £600 for her treatment.

Routine spaying/neutering etc never seems to be covered. It certainly isn't worthwhile insuring any of my pigs .

 

[Amanda1801]

Routine spaying/neutering etc never seems to be covered. It certainly isn't worthwhile insuring any of my pigs .

I did question them in a lot of detail when I spoke to them.

While they don't cover spaying, I was told that if a piggy was diagnosed with ovarian cysts, she had medication, an ultrasound, then surgery, everything apart from the cost of the spay would be covered.

This seems to be in contrast with dogs, I've seen several insurance policies where things like pyometra won't be covered, as its "preventable" by spaying.

 

[Floydie]

We stoped our insurance for the dogs, the only time weve needed the vets was to have rolos teeth out (they dont cover teeth/dental). Id rather just pay cash for treatment now insurance is to much faff.
Plus our vets offer payment plans for long standing trust worthy clients.

 

[flintstones]

We stoped our insurance for the dogs, the only time weve needed the vets was to have rolos teeth out (they dont cover teeth/dental). Id rather just pay cash for treatment now insurance is to much faff.
Plus our vets offer payment plans for long standing trust worthy clients.

We did this once and our dog got a slipped disc cost £2000 to fix thankfully we where able to find the money, our next dog who was insured got a tumour in his spine and we able to give him some treatments we could never have afforded.

Our current dog is insured - you just never know! x

 

[sharonS]

Aren't these insurances age related too.

 

[TAN]

My 3 pigges are all insured with exotic direct (shortly going up to 5 piggies hopefully ) which will cost £38 per month - I am divorced with 2 children so there is no such thing as spare money for any big bills in our household - so I put all my 20p pieces in a jar and at the end of the month this comes to enough to pay the insurance premium - I am buying peace of mind for me and treatment for my piggies if they need it - without the worry of how to pay a big bill and the rent.

 

[Amanda1801]

My 3 pigges are all insured with exotic direct (shortly going up to 5 piggies hopefully ) which will cost £38 per month - I am divorced with 2 children so there is no such thing as spare money for any big bills in our household - so I put all my 20p pieces in a jar and at the end of the month this comes to enough to pay the insurance premium - I am buying peace of mind for me and treatment for my piggies if they need it - without the worry of how to pay a big bill and the rent.

Insurance is gambling. I do it too, for exactly this reason (especially my dog, as he isn't treated at the surgery I work at) - there's no way I could afford £1000 if he broke a leg, I might not be in a position to pay £50 a month for the rest of his life (which could easily be another 10 years) if he got diabetes. He's currently 9 years old, and I've just increased his insurance cover from £4500 to £7500 per condition. I'm now paying £27 a month, but I CAN afford that!

Aren't these insurances age related too.

Insurance is tricky! I deal mostly with cats and dogs, so I know more about them. Age comes into effect when they are 7-8 years old, or 6 for giant breed dogs. After these ages it can be hugely difficult to find an insurer, as obviously when they get older, things start to go wrong.

If you're insuring a younger pet, you need "cover for life", which DOESN'T stop when they get to a certain age. Pick insurance companies wisely, as once they get past these ages, you can't switch insurers, again, as no one will cover an older pet.

One thing to mention while we're on the subject...if anyone is considering insurance... don't go for E&L or any company underwritten by them!

 

[first_time_piggie_mum]

Ive just looked at the ED site and theres a lot of exclusions mallethead

I might just put the same amount away per month that they were quoting me £21... ?/

 

[Amanda1801]

Ive just looked at the ED site and theres a lot of exclusions mallethead

I might just put the same amount away per month that they were quoting me £21... ?/

Really?

My policy is...

£2000 cover per year
£50 excess per illness for me to pay
They cover 50% of the cost of any dental procedures (I pay the excess and remaining 50%)
They cover 70% of the cost of a referral to any specialist (I pay the excess, they pay the fees I've incurred at my normal surgery, and then 70% of the total cost of the fees incurred at the specialist).
Spay/neuter surgeries aren't covered, but any other costs are (see my earlier post with the cystic ovary details).

That's about it!

It's always a good idea to put some away each week/month. The reason that I don't do this, is because my insurance costs me about 16 a month for Jeff and Cameo. If I put that £16 into a bank account each month, it would take me 125 months, or over 10 years (!) to cover the cost of Cameo's treatment that she incurred in 4 weeks. :x

 

[first_time_piggie_mum]

Yeah....when I read what WASNT covered, it was a lot...It said they didnt cover dental work? :{

 

[sazmatazz]

Its a good job I haven't been paying what I was quoted every month for the last 2 and a half yrs, only for them not to pay out for dental work! I think its outrageous considering if a piggy has teeth probs it can't eat properly & if the owner can't find the money due to the insurance not covering it, it would effectively be fatal!