Decided I would get a few quotes for pet insurance for my new pup since my older dog has cost me a fortune in surgery this month. The cheapest was £24 per month! Surely this can't be how much pet insurance costs?!

I have Tesco insurance for both my dogs, £27 together, but it was something like £15 when I started. If you look online I am sure you can get a better price then you been quoted.

http://www.gocompare.com/pet-insuran...FQITfAodhDmhZg

They say they have some that start £4.55 a mth.

Read the small print VERY carefully. A lot of the cheaper policies only pay out for the first year a pet has a condition, even if it's a chronic one such as diabetes.

You should get it a lot cheaper than that, I generally change companies every year for both my dogs unless the yearly rise is very low. I have used all the big name supermarkets & have found they are generally the worst for offering a good price for the 1st year then rising dramatically for the next year probably hoping you'll just pay it rather than going through the hassle of finding an alternative (especially if you are paying by direct debit)

You should be able to get cheaper than that ... but I know that in the US, Consumer Reports does not recommend getting pet insurance (google around, you can probably find it online). I have a vet discount program that I use called Pet Assure, I'll link to it - I use it instead of pet insurance.

I am wondering about the benefit of having pet insurance. I have had a dog from Battersea for 4 weeks, with free pet insurance with a Company, they will give me another free month if I sign up for a full policy. the quote is £17 a month for a year contract. But if your pet develops a continuing disease eg diabetes, they will only cover vets bills for 12 months for that condition. If you go for the Covered for life plan, where they will continue to pay for the life of the dog for any condition it develops, then the monthly cost is £30.
Of course, if my dog suffers a major accident, or a serious condition, then both £17 or £30 a month would probably be a very good bargain. Although I do have to pay a £75 or £100 excess for each incident or condition.

I shall be shopping around, but think this is a lot of money when the dog is only 2 years old.

Vet bills can be horrendously high. Within a 2 week period my vet bill amounted to a few thousand pounds when my cat was diagnosed and treated for cancer. I had a 20% excess to pay amounting to around £1000 (total, including euthanasia and cremation costs). Without insurance I would have found it hard to justify spending so much money on an elderly cat with cancer with a likely survival of only a few months if she had responded to treatment. I also know I would have spent that money because, at that point, with the shock I was experiencing, I was not ready to give up on my cat without a fight - and she was a fit and feisty cat right up almost to her diagnosis.

My current cats are still young and if any of them need major surgery following an accident or if they develop a chronic health condition then I have the security of knowing that I don't have to use up my savings and an excess of under £100 is nothing compared to the potential final vet's bill. I would always go with the 'covered for life' option.

I have car insurance, contents and buildings insurance, plumbing, shower and electrical insurance, dental insurance etc and I have rarely had to make any claims. I know I would have a much bigger net monthly income if I had less insurance but I prefer having security and peace of mind. I worked out last year that Petplan paid out more for Tabitha, over 16 years, than I had paid in total premiums. However, I have never claimed for my 7 year old cat (or 2 2 year olds). And I hope I will never have to claim, for many years to come.....

Thank you, that is very helpful. Your experience demonstrates the benefits of taking out insurance, both from the financial and peace of mind perspectives.
In my present case, with a 2 year old dog, what i have to think about is the long term. I.E. I have to start paying a relatively high amount now, in order to ensure that when my dog needs medical attention I am not caught out with high fees. I need to think long term, as with your Tabitha.

But I had a different experience with my cat. She lived for 10 years, I never took out insurance, and the vet fees were very low. She had cancer but there was no treatment possible. So in the end, it had been cheaper not to insure.
But I just have the feeling that a dog is more likely to have vets bills, i don't know why. But I am put off by the excess that you have to pay for each incident. Perhaps I might wait 2 years before insuring him. I have a term life insurance which runs out in January 2014, so I could use the monthly premium I have been paying on that to buy him insurance.