Does anyone have pet insurance?

[geegee]

A scary incident recently has left us thinking about insuring our Spanish Water Dog, does anyone have or could recommend any particular insurers?

Our girl dived into a fast flowing river and got stuck on some rocks - having got her out she seemed fine but a few hours later she was paralysed from the waist back and could not get up off the floor. She had lost all feeling and function in her rear half

One panicked emergency consultation/injection later and she was soon up and walking again. Apparently she had crunched her spine scrambling up the rocks, with the discs compressing and bruising the spinal cord so it inflamed and cut off all feeling to her rear half. Was quite a scare, but she should be fully recovered soon - she thinks she already is as the anti-inflamatory drugs make her feel right as rain, but racing around can worsen her injury. Hmm, ever try to get a crazy energetic dog to sit quietly?!

Anyway, back to insurance - any tips?

[hillybilly]

Mapfre is the only pet insurer that I've managed to find that has an insurance to cover vets' bills.
There are other insurances for pets that I've found but they are just the 3rd party type.

[Pink Lady]

I have a policy for my French Bulldog with Protectapet www.protectapet.es. We pay 15 euros per month. It doesn't cover the some things but it's fine for accidents e.t.c.

[Miro]

I think pet insurance is pretty rare here. For one, I doubt that many Spaniards would see the point - no further comment. Secondly, vet bills seem to be so much lower than the UK. Our cat has to visit his vet monthly for an immune system booster (he has FIV) and a vitamin injection, and a general check over etc., and we pay €8 or €10 usually (depends which vet is on and if they can remember what they charged the previous time!) When we first took him in, he was neutered, micro chipped and had an operation on a hole in is upper palette (yes, he's in a bad way!)plus full board and lodging for a week, and the bill was around €150. We wondered about booking ourselves in for a holiday, but the cages are a little cramped for humans.
At these prices, whilst there's always the (God forbid) possibility of unforeseen disasters, it seems that €15 a month is a bit excessive.

[Pink Lady]

Your right Miro, vets bills are cheaper here than in the UK but I'm one of those better to be safe than sorry people. 15 euros may be abit much but it does cover us for travel throughout Europe too. Personally I prefer to pay a little a month rather than get hit with a bill of hundreds in one go. All my Spanish friends surprisingly have pet insurance for their dogs and all the big insurance companies do have pet insurance policies.

[geegee]

Thanks for the tips - yes, its tricky weighing up the pros and cons of to have or have not...especially when you take into consideration all the exclusions.

Take my Perro de Agua's recent accident (see above). So far has cost us €30 for emergency consultation, injection of hydrocortizone and follow- up pills plus €40 second check up and full bloods following suspected internal damage to kidneys (negative, thankfully). If she had needed emergecy spinal surgery due to the crunch, I dread to think what the requisite spinal myelograph, MRI scan, surgery, hospitalization and follow up consultations and medication would have cost...but I suspect rather a lot!

However, having scanned a few policies, most insurers wont pay for specialist scans like the MRI and probably the myelography, and taking protectapet as an example, hospitalisation costs over €250/max €25 a day would have been excluded although certainly incurred for tricky surgery and recovery such as this. As the maximum per claim is €1,500, I suspect I would have still been out of pocket even if I had had cover. Luckily, it seems we have escaped this worst case scenario of surgery, but we will not be sure for a week or so yet...fingers crossed x

Will keep looking and considering!

[geegee]

Update on costs of pet insurance for dogs 8-12wks to 10 years old for those interested:

Both of the following exclude routine health and dental work; vaccinations or illness caused by the lack of vaccinations (e.g. distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, rabies, parvovirus); pre-existing conditions; congenital or hereditory diseases; costs of pregnancy and birth; leishmaniosis; treatment lasting longer than 12 months.

Protectapet - €196 for mainland Spain, max claim €1,500. €40 excess claims up to €500 or €75 over €500. (http://www.petprotect.eu)
Additional exclusions: aids, ehrlichia, ricketsia, arthritis, dermatitis, dementia, toxoplasmosis, herpes and renal failure.
Other limitations: hospitalization costs limited to max €250 or €25 per day; will not pay for MRI scans or any tests that come back negative, or the use of Virbagen (?); tooth removal or other dental treatment only if you prove you have an annual dental checkup and clean.
Additional benefits: Fixed premium for the life of your pet but reserve the right to make policy adjustments or exclude certain claims depending on your claims history blah blah...

Ibex/LLoyds EuroPet - €175 for just mainland Spain, max claim €2,000 ('bronze' scheme).€75 excess on all claims. (http://www.ibexinsure.com)
Additional exclusions: None of note, in general their cover seems much more comprehensive
Other limitations: Excludes dental treatment except emergency pain relief following accident
Additional benefits: Will pay for loss of pet passport and registation.

Mapfre cover is quite limited (max claim €910) and you have to use vets on their approved list (mine is not) or pay 20% of all claims but might work for those in larger towns if their vet is on the list.

[Jool]

Will not pay for any tests that come back negative???

Sounds like a good scam to me, vet suggests tests for a good reason, results are good for your pet but not the bill.........hmmmmm

[Pink Lady]

Thanks Geegee, looks like I got a reasonable deal then as I pay 15 euros a month for cover that includes travel through Europe aswell! It is a tricky decision but we decided to do it while our pup is young and more likely to get himself in trouble

[geegee]

Yes you did, Pink Lady, obviously the price has risen since then and you are enjoying the benefit of the fixed premium for life deal with protectapet. There were so many exclusions in their policy tho I think i will opt for Ibex as this is better value at the moment - would be just our luck she needs treatment for an excluded disease, and yes, Jools I too thought the 'we will only pay for positive tests' bit was rather cheeky!

[anis]

I used Ibex for our big English mastiff. With a dog licence, you have to have pet insurance, it is compulsory.
I was very pleased with the company and didn't have any problems.