Pet Insurance

[frank]

Now that wife and I are retired we're looking to get a cat/kitten, a non-pedigree from one of the local cat rescue centres (not visited them all yet).

Last time we had a cat was 30 odd yrs ago when the kids were young and internet not so freely availiable, I am looking at pet insurance costs, any recommendations for which company to go with ?
I noticed the PDSA has a reduced cost for these on state pension and in a certain council tax band, anyone using this method?

Hopefully whether we get a cat about 2 - 3 yrs old or kitten it will be free of any illness or otherwise.

 

[ecoleman]

We have pet insurance for our dog as she is often out with us and she could pick up all sorts or be hit by a car.

We’ve never insured the cat. She kept up to date with jabs etc and touch wood, 14 years on she’s never been to the vet for anything other than jabs.

Pet insurance is a rip off and what sounds cheap now, will soon be costing a fortune.

Our dogs insurance doubled after the second year so we moved. The problem is that once you’ve made a claim they have you over a barrel because if you move the existing condition is excluded.

We had to take the dog to the vet once because she was vomiting blood. It was nothing serious, she just eaten something she shouldn’t have. We paid the vet bill ourselves (circa £100) to avoid exactly that.

 

[Gremlin]

We had to take the dog to the vet once because she was vomiting blood. It was nothing serious, she just eaten something she shouldn’t have. We paid the vet bill ourselves (circa £100) to avoid exactly that.

The problem is, if you move the insurers can ask to see vet records and that will come up, some do try and use it as a get out.
A lot of people I know put a set amount aside every month towards any unexpected bills, it's a lottery but if you are lucky it
could save you a fortune.
Also try and make sure the sum insured amount isn't an annual amount, I always went for per claim for life, at the time the amount was £5,000.
It may seem a lot when it is the annual amount, but vet bills are damn pricey these days

 

[springer]

I’m using animal friends for our dogs, so far I’ve had to make 1claim and they paid up in full with no,quibbles, yes the premium has increased a bit this year but not by a huge amount so am so far quite pleased witht their service .

 

[Jannyfox]

I wouldn't hesitate to insure a dog but I've had 5 cats, none of them insured. Yes, I've had a couple of fairly hefty one off bills and one cat who was on medication for the last couple of years of her life, but overall the premiums would have exceeded what I spent many times over. It's a lottery, of course, and only you can decide which way to go. Get a cat or kitten from a reputable rescue centre and it should be okay. The animal should be vet checked and you'd expect to be told about any existing conditions. It should also be vaccinated. When you register it with your own vet take it in for a check over. All my cats were rescues. I turned down one I was offered with an existing medical condition purely because at the time I was working full time and couldn't give it the care it needed. Just be aware that if you get an adult cat you may or may not know its history and it may or may not come with some personal baggage as a result. I always let the cat choose me rather than the other way round but it still took one of them months to come to me of her own accord. Once you've won their trust, there's nothing more rewarding.

 

[MatBin]

We have 2 cats, one a pedigree (although you wouldnt think so the bad tempered scrounging flea bag, now 6 years with us and still not very friendly) and the other a moggy (very friendly - we are his 3rd owners! Go figure).
The moggy is insured and a year after we got him, from our daughter who got him from a work colleague, had an accident or so the vet thought at the time, cost a fortune to fix, including major internal surgery and an amputated tail, he's still insured.
Last year the pedigree came home after a 10 days away and looked like she had paralysis of the rear legs (another accident?), we paid £1000 (not insured, so ought of our own pockets) for the vet to tell us he couldnt find anything wrong with her, she was fine after a few days.
Insurance really is a personal call and if you are fond of the cat I guess you insure them to avoid a massive potential bill or the decision to terminate, neither are easy calls.
If the pedigree hits us with another massive bill she's going to her maker I'm afraid as the affection we get back from her despite years of trying is negligible and although I would hate for her to suffer or be put down sometimes costs against rewards has to be evaluated, basically she's almost feral.
Moggy is insured with Argos, they seem pretty good so far.

Matt

 

[noneforit]

We also use Animal Friends for the Dog.

Two claims, one for £2700 for a broken leg and the other £450 for some X Rays and both paid in full with 14 days of the claims being submitted.

They won't pay any emergency out of hours fees though unless its 'Life and Death' so bear that in mind.

Once you make a claim you are stuck with them though so if the price jumps up a lot the next year, you can go elsewhere but often company will not cover pre existing conditions and a broken leg often means no issues with that leg are covered with the new provider even if its unrelated to the original break.

 

[Daysleeper40]

My cat is insured with John Lewis - and I'm glad he is as investigating his persistant limp and discovering he has flexor tendinopathy would have cost us rather a lot otherwise!! One thing to be careful of is that the cover is for life. Some plans will exclude a condition that has occured in the previous insurance year when you come to renew - which is obviously sod all use for chronic stuff.

 

[boogie man]

We also use Animal Friends for the Dog.

Two claims, one for £2700 for a broken leg and the other £450 for some X Rays and both paid in full with 14 days of the claims being submitted.

They won't pay any emergency out of hours fees though unless its 'Life and Death' so bear that in mind.

Once you make a claim you are stuck with them though so if the price jumps up a lot the next year, you can go elsewhere but often company will not cover pre existing conditions and a broken leg often means no issues with that leg are covered with the new provider even if its unrelated to the original break.

We had insurance with Animal Friends too. They covered everything for our Labrador when he was ill over the last year, so they were good in that respect, but they did ask lots of questions about our claim, which made us feel that they weren't going to pay out initially. They also claimed they couldn't get his medical records from the vets we had used in the past, but we found out later from the practice that they'd never actually asked for them ! The claims came to about £3k over the year. Sadly after all the treatment and a couple of operations our dog had to be put to sleep last month as his condition turned out to be an inoperable liver problem

 

[Mozthecat]

We had claims of over £3000 for a one year old cat with a smashed hock from an accident. The Sainsbury’s insurance covered it without question. They have since amended from a £75 excess to 10% of claim, not sure if that was a general Change or just for us, but wouldn’t go without.

 

[tarric]

I am looking at pet insurance costs, any recommendations for which company to go with ?

Have a look round and get a few quotes and compere like for like some policies can look cheap but don't always include the same cover as others. Personally I would look at the insurers that offer lifetime cover just in case, we have always used PetPlan not the cheapest but do lifetime cover and pay our vet directly, if your pet gets a serious long term illness the costs can mount up very quickly.

Pet insurance is a rip off and what sounds cheap now, will soon be costing a fortune.

All insurance is a ripoff right up until the moment you need it.

 

[boyfalldown]

I use Petplan for my dogs. Not the cheapest but I know they payout without quibble.

A rescue will probably cover vets costs for and uninsurable conditions the cat currently has when you adopt it. Check with them though. All good advice above, I'd just add that maybe prior to agreeing to buy any insurance send them a copy of the cats medical record and get them to confirm there are no conditions they won't cover (or what those conditions are)

 

[Dale.]

We had a bad experience in the past. Long story short but I got £13 back out of a £400 claim as it was 3 days over a year. It was an ongoing claim but they only paid out for 3 days.

After that, I set up a standing order to a savings account from my main bank account. The money is always there if we need it.


Pet insurance? Never again!

 

[Byker28i]

Pet insurance is a rip off and what sounds cheap now, will soon be costing a fortune.

It depends on what pet you have. Our insurance was cheap (Tesco's) but only covered £2k of bills, which was great until our labrador tore her cruciate ligament. x rays alone are £500 because they sedate her, £60 per consultation, The operation on her leg was over £1000 and then she stress fractured the same leg, so that amount soon goes. We're running on around £5k at the moment with the vets bills, hydro therapy, physio sessions etc.

I have friends with a dog thats had to have both hips operated on and they are up to around £14k spent so far.

So, vets bills can quickly escalate, which means that either you have to ensure you have significant cover on your policy (Direct Line wanted around £65 a month for £6k of cover), or you need to put a lot of money away a month to cover the bills (or if young, build up a pot).

We've yet to see what happens on renewal to see what they say about existing conditions even though she's nearly fully recovered and will be fine by the time the renewal comes in.

 

[boogie man]

We had a bad experience in the past. Long story short but I got £13 back out of a £400 claim as it was 3 days over a year. It was an ongoing claim but they only paid out for 3 days.

After that, I set up a standing order to a savings account from my main bank account. The money is always there if we need it.


Pet insurance? Never again!

Hardly the company's fault if you don't stick to the policy rules though?

 

[Dale.]

Hardly the company's fault if you don't stick to the policy rules though?

Well, maybe not but the terms did change during the policy to the one I originally took out when a different company took over. Well, that was what I was told at the time.

Either way, never again, I'll put the cash in my own account instead, ta much.