Pet Insurance

[Dave]

Do you have pet insurance for your budgies? What are the pros and cons of having it?

We don't. I don't really know why, we just don't.

Your turn! :D

[blueberrybuns]

I don't. From what I have heard pet insurance is so expensive that it is usually only practical if you have a pet with an expensive chronic illness such as dogs with diabetes or very bad allergies that requie bi-weekly cortisone shots, etc.

[Bea]

I don't but i know that a lot of people on other budgie forums i use have a savings account for their budgies. It's a really good idea cause vet bills for a sick budgie can come at inconveniant times and can be REALLY expensive!!

[h-lovesbudgies]

I live in Canada and as far as I could find out there is no insurance available here for any animal besides cats or dogs. I agree with Bea about the savings account though. I also have a credit card that I keep mostly unused so I can use it in emergencies.

[BUUZBEE]

This thread is 2 years old!

[mskimber]

i actually got a quote last week for all five birds about 65 month which was pretty reasonable i thought - haven't yet decided to buy it tho - but considering i spent over 1000 since november it may be worth it

[ronsig]

It is not available here. When I checked how much it was in the States, I found it very expensive. I think it was 15 $ a bird per month. So it is best to put the money in the bank for vet visits.

Sigrid

[softie]

I don't have any pet insurance but I do have a saving's account for the zoo here. I have a seperate self-investment for Peanut. I put in $30 every month.

[AngelWings]

This thread is super old... it's from 2006!

[absolutangel]

It may be old but it's an interesting topic! I haven't found any companies over here that cover birds, only cats and dogs. Even if you could though I think it's a bit of a waste of money. How much are you paying out each month, and if your bird does get sick will they find some get out clause to refuse the claim, or charge you a large excess.

As far as I'm concerned I'd rather put £x away each month, earn interest and hopefully have enough to pay if I need it but not have thrown away the money if I don't. It's great if you were to get landed with a big bill at the start of the cover but if not you could have paid a fortune out for a claim that was much less.

Eg say it's £15 a month a bird, for me £30 a month = £360 a year

If you were to put £360 a year in the bank in a tax free account paying say 5%, after 2 years you'd have about £740, and after 5 years you would have just shy of £2000 in the bank, money that would be long gone otherwise. It's a gamble really!

[Xealot]

It's a gamble really!

Well that's what insurance is - institutionalised gambling. And just like casinos the insurer always wins in the end. BUT I am terrible at saving money so I would certainly consider getting insurance for Charlie, in fact I have considered it but I have only found dog and cat health insurance.

If anyone in Australia knows of a company who provides it for birds though I would be very interested in getting the details.

[keet_tweet4]

We don't have it in Canada.