Pet insurance

[aidil]

Hey, vet nurse here! Pet insurance can be a massive minefield, I don’t think there’s any other type of insurance that has so many different options. Whichever policy you go with, I would make sure it’s a lifetime policy so if your bunny does develop an illness she’ll be covered for the rest of her life.

Any illness should be covered unless it’s pre-existing or something that could be avoided with preventative care such as vaccinations. Most insurance companies will be helpful if you give them a call and ask what’s covered. I’d ask about dental work - a lot of companies don’t cover dental work but it’s one of the things we most frequently see bunnies for!

 

[Giggling Squid]

As someone who’s claimed over £5k in 2 years after my idiot cat ate string/elastic, I can’t recommend having insurance enough!

we went with boughtbymany/many pets as I think it’s now called and I really rate them. Their claims process is quick and easy

 

[aidil]

Nope, you’d need to keep the policy rolling each year to continue claiming for a condition. With claiming, you’d just need to submit a claims form to your vets and they will take care of everything for you. We send off the full clinical history with prices for what you’ve paid so they know exactly how much to pay out to you.

What breed of rabbit have you got out of interest? As some are more prone to dental/eye issues than others.

 

[Snippysnips]

100% would recommend insurance as Nethies are the breed most prone to dental issues due to their facial structure If a claim is denied, it’s down to the insurance company, not the vets. Unless you mean direct claims where you don’t pay at all and the insurance company pay the vet directly? In which case, most practices don’t tend to offer these without prior agreement as we get stung so much by insurance companies not paying out to us! If for some reason, your rabbit needed some major work doing and you wanted a direct claim, the vets may do something called a pre-authorisation. This is where they get in touch with your insurance company with an estimate for treatment and the insurance company will let us know if they’d pay out for it before you go ahead. But this is usually done for major work like big surgeries etc. Hope that makes sense

Thanks, I'll have a word with the vet before hand as well just to make sure that if it's going be a direct claim then it's all going be OK, it seemed to be mostly the private owned vets that had the problems with it, the franchise vets were not too bad

I've only ever had one Netherland dwarf before an he suffered fits so unfortunately didn't live past 6, the rest have all been Dutch an have lived over 10, apart from my last, she was 6 but had tumours an although removed she ended up with one in the brain that overtook very quickly

 

[aidil]

It's a Netherland dwarf, he's not a pedigree though or the more rarer colours like blue, so hoping insurance won't cost as much because of it, I am a little concerned over some of the vets since I've seen reviews of some vets denying the insurance claims an people still having to pay

100% would recommend insurance as Nethies are the breed most prone to dental issues due to their facial structure If a claim is denied, it’s down to the insurance company, not the vets. Unless you mean direct claims where you don’t pay at all and the insurance company pay the vet directly? In which case, most practices don’t tend to offer these without prior agreement as we get stung so much by insurance companies not paying out to us! If for some reason, your rabbit needed some major work doing and you wanted a direct claim, the vets may do something called a pre-authorisation. This is where they get in touch with your insurance company with an estimate for treatment and the insurance company will let us know if they’d pay out for it before you go ahead. But this is usually done for major work like big surgeries etc. Hope that makes sense

 

[Snippysnips]

A lot of vets offer health plans now instead that include vaccines so it may be worth seeing if they offer that! It’s usually a very small monthly charge for rabbits!

OMG HE’S SO CUTE! You sound like a fabulous bunny owner, they’re very lucky to have you!

Thank so much, he's so tiny as well

Unless I drive to the next town then I can't seem to find health plans with vets where I am, for some reason it says online that this vet offers the vaccine for life but when I asked they said no, the other vets I'd really be paying out of pocket for what it's worth by quite alot

 

[Snippysnips]

Yeah, it generally tends to be the case as the independents can’t afford to take the hit if an insurance company doesn’t pay out and a client defaults on the money owed (I work at an independent and we have to penny pinch ).

Love Dutches! I used to have one myself. 10 years old is impressive, well done for being a great bunny owner!

It's a bit of a pity some independents are wary of insurance as the whole reason I want it is incase I don't have the money to pay out if he ends up costing a lot for somthing

Thank you I've had bunny's ever since a kid but it was obvious my parents that covered costs an now it's my responsibility so want to get the best for him, my oldest bun was almost 16 when she passed, they make incredible pets

Am trying get the little guy toilet trained the now as they all are free roaming buns so helps a ton when they use their litter tray

 

[Snippysnips]

Yeah it's a pity what people will do, one of the vets used to do a vaccines for life with a one off payment but because of some people they no longer offer it an it really would have helped me out

Thanks, they all get spoiled lol, I've never been one to really like cages tbh, especially with the energy they have, he does have a large cage for when am in bed or when am out (which is never longer than 2 or 3 hours) as even with bunny proofing the room am still paranoid he will hurt himself, but it's big enough he can run from one end to the other an jump in it as well

This is my lil bun here

 

[aidil]

Yeah it's a pity what people will do, one of the vets used to do a vaccines for life with a one off payment but because of some people they no longer offer it an it really would have helped me out

Thanks, they all get spoiled lol, I've never been one to really like cages tbh, especially with the energy they have, he does have a large cage for when am in bed or when am out (which is never longer than 2 or 3 hours) as even with bunny proofing the room am still paranoid he will hurt himself, but it's big enough he can run from one end to the other an jump in it as well

This is my lil bun here

A lot of vets offer health plans now instead that include vaccines so it may be worth seeing if they offer that! It’s usually a very small monthly charge for rabbits!

OMG HE’S SO CUTE! You sound like a fabulous bunny owner, they’re very lucky to have you!

 

[aidil]

It's a bit of a pity some independents are wary of insurance as the whole reason I want it is incase I don't have the money to pay out if he ends up costing a lot for somthing

Thank you I've had bunny's ever since a kid but it was obvious my parents that covered costs an now it's my responsibility so want to get the best for him, my oldest bun was almost 16 when she passed, they make incredible pets

Am trying get the little guy toilet trained the now as they all are free roaming buns so helps a ton when they use their litter tray

Yeah, it sucks and we hate not being able to offer it. It’s the people who run off without paying that ruin it for the decent people. We end up being owed £1000s and the cost of living crisis has really hit independent practices hard

Omg 16 years old is incredible!!! I would absolutely love a little house bun myself eventually. I bet your little one is so cute! Love that they’re free roaming too I see far too many poorly kept rabbits in work - wish they were all as lucky as yours!

 

[aidil]

Thanks, I'll have a word with the vet before hand as well just to make sure that if it's going be a direct claim then it's all going be OK, it seemed to be mostly the private owned vets that had the problems with it, the franchise vets were not too bad

I've only ever had one Netherland dwarf before an he suffered fits so unfortunately didn't live past 6, the rest have all been Dutch an have lived over 10, apart from my last, she was 6 but had tumours an although removed she ended up with one in the brain that overtook very quickly

Yeah, it generally tends to be the case as the independents can’t afford to take the hit if an insurance company doesn’t pay out and a client defaults on the money owed (I work at an independent and we have to penny pinch ).

Love Dutches! I used to have one myself. 10 years old is impressive, well done for being a great bunny owner!

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I always think it’s worth it. Rabbits can cost a lot more than people think! I don’t know about companies for rabbits just dogs/cats so no help there sorry! But I know for dogs/cats I’d recommend Petplan (don’t think they do rabbits?) or a big supermarket (some of these may do?).
Why I think it’s worth it for example going off my kittens insurance is around £13 a month for £10k cover. Whereas if she needed even £1k for example of vets bills and I put away the same amount her insurance cost a month it would take nearly 6.5years to save £1k and it’s likely that £1k wouldn’t even be enough. If I saved £50 a month for vet bills I’d have £600 a year which again is not much and would take me 16years to save the for the same amount of cover the insurance gives her. Obviously the insurance price will go up in time but so probably will her need for vet bills (hopefully not though )

 

[Snippysnips]

Thanks I'll check them out, an make sure to find out if dental plan is covered as well, I didn't think to look for that as I know they grind their teeth on toys but it's good to know if the plan will cover it if he develops problems

I don't believe he's got anything existing, he's 12 weeks an will be going for first vaccinations this week so he will get his health check done then

I assume I can't have a break in the cover if I were to claim, has anyone went a year without an then renewed, how does it work with claiming

 

[Snippysnips]

It's a Netherland dwarf, he's not a pedigree though or the more rarer colours like blue, so hoping insurance won't cost as much because of it, I am a little concerned over some of the vets since I've seen reviews of some vets denying the insurance claims an people still having to pay

 

[Snippysnips]

Does anyone here have pet insurance an who did you go for to get the best cover

Despite having pets my whole life its somthing I've never gotten before because its been family pets an like my dog it was my parents that paid, however my last bunny cost me close to £500 before she died an at the time really ate away a lot of savings

This time I want to get some rabbit insurance for my new little bun but not sure if its worth it or I should just put some money in a jar just incase, it's hard to believe but somtimes they can get expensive quick an out the blue

Had a look online but most don't seem to be clear with what exactly they will cover, most are saying general illness or accidents but how do you tell which illness will be covered

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks