Insured - To be or not to be?

[Brengirl]

I have just read Matthews thread about the Go Compare society in which we live. I wonder how much annually we spend in the hope that if xyz should happen Insurance will pay out? Does that make us less responsible users and is it in the end money well spent?

[piskieinboots]

I won't pay pet insurance, I have heard too many stories of what they won't pay out on.

I put £20 per month into a cash ISA, they (my two cats) have a tidy sum building up.

[Alison]

Our elder cat came from the Cats Protection League and had Pet Plan insurance already started for him. Before we'd paid the first installment he had a fight with a squirrel which caused his back leg considerable damage an infection and almost £200 worth of bills. Paid up with no quibble. We have since claimed on his behalf for an operation to remove a chicken bone from his guts which included a week's stay at the vets (>£700), an operation to remove his broken tail and then another one to sort it when there were problems, at least two occaisions of an infected pad needing antibiotics and a problem with his teeth. All of these were paid up without any problems and am pretty sure we're still better off with him. Based on these experiences we insured our other cat but don't think we've had to make a claim for her at all but am not willing to take the risk. Would probably have a different view if we'd got the cats the other way round with the less accident prone one first

[Glutton4...]

My Dad, when he ran his business, used to complain about the amount of insurance needed, and the cost of the premiums. But, the day you need it, it pays to have good cover.

I once had pet insurance for my Dog, but they didn't want to know when I wanted to make a claim. So I didn't bother after that. However, I always have full comprehensive cover for my car and my Horse - they can be horrendously expensive when things go wrong.

[dogsbody]

Don'tn have pet insurance (3 cats, 1 been shot, ripped his claw off - emergency op, second, had a back injury - now recovered, 3rd suffers uti often) - maybe I should have...

House insurance paid up no problem when roof leaked - new lounge decor out of that one.

Car insurance always paid up when needed.

All I really need is Lotto insurance, to pay up when I don't win.......

[binley100]

We have pet insurance and they paid up when it was needed. My girls have accidental damage on their hair straighteners because they have been known to be dropped. Apart from that it's the usual fully comp on the cars and house insurance. But surely if you value things you look after them whether they're insured or not.

[Sprocket*]

We have Pet Plan insurance for my two Springers, one is 4 and the other 2, to date they have paid out £4789 between the pair. We joke that they will be having an office party when my two go to Rainbow Bridge. I wouldn't have any other pet insurance as I have heard horror stories of what they will and won't cover.
Car insurance - paid up but nearly drove me insane in the process.
Never claimed on the house insurance.
Health insurance from work - paid up when I fell off a medicine ball in the gym and broke my foot. Paid up when some idiot dislocated my shoulder doing self defence training - he never heard me screaming you are killing me, STOP!

[OllieMartin]

I don't believe in insurance. I pay only that which I have to in order to own something (car insurance and building's insurance), otherwise I'm an 'always say no' kind of guy.

The law of insurance is that you will pay more money into it than you are ever likely to receive out of it. If the insurance companies play the odds against you to earn money, I like to play the odds against them to save it!

I do, however, accept that people with dependants would benefit from the security of having insurances like Payment Protection and Income Protection insurance though.

[beaufontboy]

We took out cat insurance when we got millie from the rescue centre, she was later found to be diabetic and has injections twice a day, hate to think how much it would cost otherwise, but not one for insurance on TV and electrical stuff, not worth it !

[sarraceniac]

Just on pet insurance. I have always put £5 a month by for Ed = £60 a year. He is now 9 and got a blocked colon just a few months ago. Fortunately he didn't need surgery (he is probably too old to have survived it now anyway) but the treatment and 4 days stay at the vets was £210 (we have a good vet) so it was still about £300 less than the equivalent insurance. Having said that - if it had been something really serious we would have been out of pocket. Insurance is a gamble and the insurance companies know the odds. So we gambled against them. Ed is now old for a Staffie so will probably not need anything else that the insurance might cover. So in our case, we won (probably).

[binley100]

It p**s me off when they try and sell you insurance with appliances, tv's etc cos you know that the minute the insurance is up the bladdy thing will blow up.

[Bagpuss]

I'm selective about the insurance I get, and I'm a bore and read through all of the terms to see what it does and does not cover (for example I tend to be a little more careful getting insurance for our trips to Egypt as most providers will not cover terrorism).
I agree that there is a wealth of missold insurance policies out there, but there is a place for it. Mr BP and I got engaged on 1 Jan (yay !!), we have got some wedding insurance on risk as there are so many businesses going under at the mo we do not want to loose our deposits, and it is something which neither of us can control at all.

I have health insurance (via work), buildings and contents, but as we have no young ones (yet!) there is no need for any other life insurance.

Does it make me less careful ? No, it probably makes me more careful as I know what I am and am not covered for. I also tend to make large purchases on a (0%) credit card to gain the added protection which that gives me and make sure that, for example, all holidays are booked via an abta / atol supplier (I got caught out on the XL airline going down and was grateful for this !)

It's one of those things, you begrudge paying for it because you hope that you never need it, if you do ever need it, you're very grateful for it.

[matthew2riches]

I don't believe in insurance. I pay only that which I have to in order to own something (car insurance and building's insurance), otherwise I'm an 'always say no' kind of guy.

The law of insurance is that you will pay more money into it than you are ever likely to receive out of it. If the insurance companies play the odds against you to earn money, I like to play the odds against them to save it!

I do, however, accept that people with dependants would benefit from the security of having insurances like Payment Protection and Income Protection insurance though.

Exactly the same here... unless required by law, I don't need it

Basically what More Th>n are saying is that next year I would write my van off...... twice and a bit For something costing only £500ish I am not paying £1000 odd £ to insure it

I am the sort that saves a lot so if I do need something, I can get it. I think it's called being savvy???

[organic]

Another one that reads policies here.

The noteworthy one in my case comes from when I go snowboarding. I'm not into "piste" at all - I'm the sort who hikes off into the backcountry and rides away from the crowds or ducks a rope to get to a nice off-piste run.

Almost every winter sports insurance policy - including the ones that explicitly advertise "off-piste" cover - actually doesn't (in any sensible interpretation) give off-piste cover. The terms for all but (I think) two policies that I've found state that you're covered off-piste when you're with a guide and not in an avalanche risk area.

While that might seem sensible at a glance - when you know that a guide in a major European resort costs about €310 per day (that's the day rate with the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix) and that ANY slope with snow on it is an avalanche risk area you can see that unless you've got money to burn you'll be riding without a guide at some point and considering the avalanche risk is never below 1 out of 5 ("limited" - not "none") it's obvious they have two HUGE get-out clauses from paying.

The insurance offered by the British Mountaineering Council, however, just says "you're covered" without any unrealistic exceptions.

Thankfully I've never needed to claim, but I've had some scary moments and absolutely huge crashes. Knowing that if on one of the <head> <feet> <head> <feet> <head> <feet> <head> <feet> <stop> crashes my head meets a rock, or a bone breaks I won't be saddled with a 5-figure rescue and medical bill is a very comforting feeling.

The moral?
Read the small print! Sometimes the terms actually exclude payment on major selling points of the policy.

[Rocketron]

Another one that reads policies here.

The noteworthy one in my case comes from when I go snowboarding. I'm not into "piste" at all - I'm the sort who hikes off into the backcountry and rides away from the crowds or ducks a rope to get to a nice off-piste run.

Almost every winter sports insurance policy - including the ones that explicitly advertise "off-piste" cover - actually doesn't (in any sensible interpretation) give off-piste cover. The terms for all but (I think) two policies that I've found state that you're covered off-piste when you're with a guide and not in an avalanche risk area.

While that might seem sensible at a glance - when you know that a guide in a major European resort costs about €310 per day (that's the day rate with the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix) and that ANY slope with snow on it is an avalanche risk area you can see that unless you've got money to burn you'll be riding without a guide at some point and considering the avalanche risk is never below 1 out of 5 ("limited" - not "none") it's obvious they have two HUGE get-out clauses from paying.

The insurance offered by the British Mountaineering Council, however, just says "you're covered" without any unrealistic exceptions.

Thankfully I've never needed to claim, but I've had some scary moments and absolutely huge crashes. Knowing that if on one of the <head> <feet> <head> <feet> <head> <feet> <head> <feet> <stop> crashes my head meets a rock, or a bone breaks I won't be saddled with a 5-figure rescue and medical bill is a very comforting feeling.

The moral?
Read the small print! Sometimes the terms actually exclude payment on major selling points of the policy.

Didn't I recently read that Mountain Rescue Teams are considering not turning out for people that go "off piste"?
You may wish to re-consider your position via -a vis insurance