Insurance just makes sense
As I’ve said in an earlier post, Dillon had a puppy incident with a sharp object in a river. Dogs are active by their nature and often end up in accidents of some form or the other. The first thought is ‘that’s going to be expensive’. Vets are not cheap, it’s part of owning a dog. The thing you can’t ignore is the value of insurance for these situations. The bottom line is why wouldn’t you insure your dog? I’ve heard many reasons to not insure in the past and want to go through them here. I will say here that before Barley and Dillon we did not insure our dog Bilbo and the responses I write really are based on experience. I would never not insure a dog again.
It’s too expensive
Really? And paying £200+ at any unknown point in time isn’t? You have that much money laying around that the next minute you could be faced with a £200+ vet bill - the average minor operation is close to £300 in the UK (Dillon’s stitches and sedation cost around that figure). As you can’t say ‘when’ your dog will have an incident then you can’t say when you need this money. If you don’t have that much money you can dispose of at any point then surely you are wrong to not have insurance.
The money I save on insurance I can use in a fund to use when the dog gets injured
Sounds good in principle. But, my insurance for each dog is around £9. Over a year that is £108. Dillon’s recent operation cost close to £300 so that is almost 3 years for that one incident. Hardly works does it?
Insurance doesn’t cover everything so what is the point?
The point is what it ‘does’ cover. You are covered for those unknown incidents. The accidents, the damage they may cause and even the worst case of dog death. Whilst no amount of money is going to mean that your dog will be replaced - that’s not the point.
I have the example of one of our past dogs in mind when I refer to this. Bilbo was not insured, he died in an accident with a tennis ball. It was sad yes, but the worst thing was knowing that as we didn’t have the funds at the time and no insurance he was not given a send off suitable for him. I’m not talking about a doggy funeral, but the sad fact is that a dog is not treated well unless you pay for it when it comes to the disposal of them. We would have loved to have had him cremated and scattered his ashes, we had not got the funds to do this and no insurance either - this meant we couldn’t.
The most common thing that dog insurance doesn’t cover is dentist work. Currently we are facing a bill for Barley over this. Whilst, it would be great if it was covered, insurance doesn’t cover everything. You don’t get your annual jabs covered for dogs, spaying isn’t covered, there is quite a list. The point of insurance is the unexpected not routine things that come with having a dog. Your car insurance doesn’t cover for your MOT, it doesn’t cover for you fitting a car stereo either. Just like any insurance, dog insurance is for the unexpected.
My dog cost nothing so why insure it?
Re-home dogs and gift dogs (like Barley was) are not insured for any value apart from a basic level on death. But, this basic level does allow you to prevent the point I make in the past statement on why you should get insured. Further to this, insurance isn’t just about the end result - any dog can get ill, any dog can do damage.
Your dog is an animal and unpredictable
Some people seem to forget that insurance is not just about illness or death. Insurance where a dog is concerned is just as valid to get for the damage and accidental issues that arise. As much as we humanise and domesticate the dog it’s an animal. This animal can cause damage and in the worst case harm people. As a dog owner you can say it will never happen, if you train well it probably won’t, but that isn’t the point. Even a good trained dog can knock down a fence and potter into your neighbors garden and destroy it. Who faces the angry neighbor waving a rather large bill? Unless you are insured you are liable and have to find the funds. If you are insured you are liable but you are covered. Insurance is a safety net that is there to be used should it be needed.
There are many more reasons why you should insure your dog. Having a dog is a huge responsibility, that we often take far too lightly. Having insurance is just part of being a responsible dog owner. In the UK we used to have to buy a dog license - part of me thinks this was a good idea. Now we don’t, if you think of insurance not as an ‘extra’ but as something you have to have with any or each dog you have - it makes sense. The good thing is that if you do have more than one dog the insurance can go down - it did for us with Dillon. Even if you only have one dog you want the best for them at the worst time don’t you? This post is filed under equipment as I see insurance just like owning a dog lead - it’s a must if you have a dog.