Insurance yay or nay

[Geminem398]

Hi all.
I have a baby green cheek (Teddy) and a superb parrot (Poppy). I am absolutely loving being a parrot mum to all my feathered friends. But my little turquoise friend has a love for mischief. I had not considered pet insurance before he started investigating and trying to eat everything. (Just so as you’re aware he is supervised all the time and I try and be as bird proof as possible) but curiosity gets the better of him.
Could you advise on whether insurance is worth it and whether I should look to insure them all and what you guys do?

 

[SailBoat]

Call your Avian Medical Professionals Clinic and ask to speak with the Clinic Manager. S/he will have a list of Insurance Companies that they work with! They may have their own plan. Point is, their is no reason to buy something that your clinic does not accept.

We have always budgeted the cost of our Amazons Certified Avian Vets (CAV) cost and placed whatever was not used into a Savings Account.

Remember that insurance companies are a For Profit business model, which means they will change you more that you are likely to incur in any given year. But, you have to be able to manage your money.

 

[wrench13]

Wait, you're not trying to insure the things he eats or destroys, right? That would be impossible (but if you find that, let me know!!).

 

[Stitchthestitch]

I have insurance for albie. It costs me the equivalent of 1 take away a month. I have a £35 excess and my vets can claim directly from my insurance meaning I would only need to pay the first initial £35 and nothing more.

He's on a life time policy (anything other than lifetime is pointless) so if he gets a long term condition, say, arthritis, he's covered for 5k, and the pot of 5k renews each year and that's for each condition. Annual would only cover him for the 1st 12 months before being excluded (pointless for long term issues) accident only is literally for accidents. Not illness or disease.

I weighed it up and i came to the conclusion that it's easier for me to find £35 than it would to find several hundered and even if I put the amount I pay into an account and didn't touch it, I still wouldn't be able to save the equivalent to what my insurance would cover. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I can say to my vet do what you need to do as he's insured. I'd hate to be in a sad situation where i couldn't afford to treat albie and be forced to euthanase him because I couldn't afford it. (I don't know of any vets who offer payment plans in the uk).

 

[fiddlejen]

I considered getting insurance. There was some program that was offering various different "benefits" - actually just different products at full price - to come out thru payroll deductions.

Could not get quote online for birdie insurance, so had to speak to rep in person. He kept talking about peace-of-mind, and I was pretty close to getting it.

However after scrutiny of the details, and another phone call for clarification, the insurance that was offered (1) did not cover the "office visit" portion of any bill and, more importantly (2) did NOT pay the vet directly, would only pay a claim after I would submit it with a paid RECEIPT. Sooo.... how was this gonna be peace of mind? This would NOT enable emergency treatment if I couldn't otherwise afford it. The premium would just be money out of my birdies' pockets, with no real benefit therefrom.

So check carefully into the Details of any policy that you are considering. If it really would mean that, in case of emergency, funds will be there that wouldn't be otherwise, then yes! That would be a wise idea.

But check what is actually covered, and what hoops you might need to jump thru for a claim. The only policy which I checked into, definitely would NOT have been worth it.