Pet Insurance

[disfunktion]

Picking up our new cat this evening and wanted to get some pet insurance as we don't want to be landed with any pets fees in the future.

What companies do you guys use? Any that I should avoid?

Leaning towards a policy with Tesco at the moment which is around £5 per month.

 

[BDEE]

There was a thread on this last week if you have a look back.

 

[beachBOYken]

do people bother with pet insurance for cats?

 

[disfunktion]

There was a thread on this last week if you have a look back.

Thanks I'll have a look.

 

[disfunktion]

do people bother with pet insurance for cats?

Considering how much vets charge it doesn't make sense to not have insurance.

I'd rather pay £5 a month than have to pay emergency costs which could easily be hundreds of pounds.

 

[Vonhelmet]

We started out paying about £5 a month with Sainsbury's with our cat when we first got her. It's got up to about £7 now, 5 years on. We've never needed it, but it's insurance... Nearly always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[Westyfield2]

Ours are with Petplan.

Previous cats were never insured... and I'm not sure about keeping it for these ones TBH. Might be better off just sticking the money each month in a savings account or whatever.

 

[a1ex2001]

Considering how much vets charge it doesn't make sense to not have insurance.

I'd rather pay £5 a month than have to pay emergency costs which could easily be hundreds of pounds.

We always worked on the theory that if the bill was going to be to big the pet could go for the long sleep, harsh I know.

 

[Vonhelmet]

We always worked on the theory that if the bill was going to be to big the pet could go for the long sleep, harsh I know.

I figure I can spare £6 a month to avoid that, but that's the choice you make.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

We always worked on the theory that if the bill was going to be to big the pet could go for the long sleep, harsh I know.

Minor accidents/ailments can result in substantial bills though.

We (well Petplan) ended up paying nearly £600 when one of our cats lost the tip of it's tail last year. It would have been a bit harsh to have her put down just for that.

 

[Phemo]

do people bother with pet insurance for cats?

My cat cost me £920 in vet bills after she had an accident of some sort. She is now insured, as is my second cat, although I am aware the insurance won't cover anything relating to previous incidents. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[stoofa]

As I said in the thread last week.
Two things to look for:

Number one importance - make sure that the policy gives you "treatment for life".
In that situation, should your pet develop a long-term illness, the costs will be covered for the life of the pet as long as you keep on paying the premiums.
A lot of policies only cover for 12 months of treatment and then you're paying for any longer-term issues.

Number two - to save yourself money look for Quidco deals.
I insured one of our cats with Sainsbury's last year.
Went for their "top" policy as I got an £80 cashback from Quidco - meaning I only paid around £40 for the whole year.

 

[GSXRMovistar]

With AnimalFriends for both of our dogs. We have had to make several claims for one of our dogs and they have been very good in terms of support/payouts. Recommended.

 

[BDEE]

As I said in the thread last week.
Two things to look for:

Number one importance - make sure that the policy gives you "treatment for life".
In that situation, should your pet develop a long-term illness, the costs will be covered for the life of the pet as long as you keep on paying the premiums.
A lot of policies only cover for 12 months of treatment and then you're paying for any longer-term issues.

Number two - to save yourself money look for Quidco deals.
I insured one of our cats with Sainsbury's last year.
Went for their "top" policy as I got an £80 cashback from Quidco - meaning I only paid around £40 for the whole year.

This is the second time I have seen someone say look for lifetime treatment and then say they are covered with Sainsburys (maybe it was you last time too, cant remember!). An additional word of warning here, as I pointed out on the previous thread - There is two types of cover for lifetime treatment. One will treat for life, up to the policy limit (Sainsburys), one will treat for life, up to the policy limit, every year. So wuth Sainsburys, once you reach payout of £7500 or whatever it is, the payout stops, weather that be 1, 2, 3, 4 years etc. Under the other type, offered by Argos (platinum), Marks and Spencers, PetPlan (I think, but not 100%) and a couple of others, it will be the upper limit every year for life, so if treatment was needed for three years with a cost of £7500 per year, these would pay out £22,500, whereas Sainsburys (and similar policies) would pay out £7500 in the first year, then you would have to pay the second and third (in reality you would have your pet put down).

Its OK if the costs are only say £500 a year, then sainsburys would pay out for 15 years (assuming £7500 cover limit), but aware of the actualy wording of the policies, not just the claims of lifetime cover.

 

[Icm76]

Insurance is worth it, one of my family members had a bill for over £2500 to fix a kitten's broken leg (in London.) Another family member outside had a bill of nearly £1000, again for kitten with a broken leg, but that one wasn't London. Petplan sorted the payments quickly in both cases, so I would recommend them.