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[MSE Archna]

This thread relates to the article Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System.

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[terrierlady]

Friend has Jack Russell terrier who had eye trouble , visit to eye hospital £175.00 first visit, £77,50 for each follow up. Eye operation is £2,500
medicine for same is from them £33.00 for eye drops and £5 for other one via a link on this site gets it for £24.00 month now. Had to pay £11.75 for prescription first of course. Hope this helps a little with costings.

[deanos]

My PetPlan renewal went to over £10 a month for my 9 yr old cat with £4000 cover , i renewed with Lloyds for £5.80 a month but realised it would only cover for 12 months.

I have just taken out a policy with the Halifax for £5.20 a month and has £6000 cover which is ongoing and £10 cashback from Rpoints and the excess is only £50 where PetPlan was £85 + 20% of each claim and Lloyds was £65 + 10%.

There was an even cheaper option for £3.50 a month but only had £1000 cover, it seems very reasonable for a older aged pet.

[Judi]

I am at a bit of a loss as where to go with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Presently she is covered by the breeder we bought her from who insured her with PetPlan but the insurance runs out in a day or two so i really need to sort this out now. Now i may be confused but surely, what is cheaper and the best quality health care cover now, will probably be not such good value in the future. So if Millie developed a life long problem that any new insurer wouldnt insure, and the original insurer kept loading more and more terms and conditions over the years, surely your trapped in a no win situation. Having to stick to a policy that was good but isnt so in the future (cause they load you with terms and conditions), just to keep her insured. Surely a Pet Insurer cant lose in that situation.

[mrs_mix]

Be careful when asking questions about what sort of cover you have for your pet's and always get them to confirm this in writing the reasons for saying this is I had my standard poodle with pet plan when he was 18 months old he developed epilepsy they were great at first and paid all the claims that I put in
when things started to look worse I asked them if the policy I had covered him if the unthinkable happend and I had to have him put to sleep
oh yes they said don't worry that will be allright well like a fool I took them at their word and never asked the to confirm this in writing well his condition got worse and after just 6 moths of suffering epilepsy he started having cluster fits which left him with brain damage so almost 2years to the day of my getting him as an 8 wek old puppy I had to have him put to sleep
when i tried to claim they only sent back the money to cover the vet's bill's
when I questioned this they said oh no you haven't got life cover.
now I have another dog he is insured with direct line same type of cover and ten pounds cheaper

[eels]

Don't forget that pet insuarnce often oncludes 3rd party cover up to about £2 million. If your dog runs into the road and causes an accident, you are liable.

[Pixelhugger]

If you own a small business, stick your dog/cat/budgie on your company logo - then it's officially a company mascot, and the business can pay for all its healthcare! Sounds like a Viz Top Tip, but it's actually true.

[hjw]

Marks & Spencer offer a great option on their pet insurance policy. For my cat, I could choose to pay an additional couple of pounds and then have a zero excess. My last policy with PetPlan cost me about £35 more than the M&S policy and it came with a hefty £75 excess.

[daithevet]

I just wanted to warn you that cheaper is not always better! I'm a vet, and can honestly say that if you're going to get insurance, it definately pays to get a policy that covers FOR LIFE.

The majority of cheap plans will only cover a specific condition for 12 months. So should your pet develop a permanent medical condition such as diabetes or heart disease, the insurance policy will only pay for the first 12 months treatment. Arthritis is a common complication after many fractures, and should arthritis develop (as is usual) several years after the accident, your policy would not cover treatment costs.

So if you just want a policy to cover for one-off treatments, go with the cheapest, but if you want peace of mind, get a policy that covers for life. Bottom line - read the small print, and remember that in general you get what you pay for!

[charley24]

Hello Daivet !

I am getting a cat on saturday (6 months old) I have been advised that practiceplan is a good deal - I will have to get the cat her injections (2 x £36 first) then £10.something per month and it means all injections, tablets etc are all included.

Can you give me your views on practiceplan or perhaps tell me the best and cheapest way to make sure I am not shelling out regularly for injections and the like?

Thanks !

[Ember999]

Originally Posted by hjw

Marks & Spencer offer a great option on their pet insurance policy. For my cat, I could choose to pay an additional couple of pounds and then have a zero excess. My last policy with PetPlan cost me about £35 more than the M&S policy and it came with a hefty £75 excess.

I'm with Marks & Spencer too! My little kitten is insured with a policy with NO EXCESS and it cost me only £65 for the year! No Excess is what I like! Pet Plan wanted to charge me £8.95 a month! WITH a £65 excess! I phoned them up and told them they obviously want me to pay them and they end up never paying any vets bills! £65 excess is ludicrous and would wipe out hardly any chance of them ever coffing up the cash!

[BatCat]

I'm with Pet Plan but thinking of switching, my cat was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure last month and nearly died, bills came to over 300£ with 40£ a month checkups to look forward to. Pet Plan isn't covering him because he had a urinary tract infection 5 years ago. Serves me right for being honest!
Cheers,
BatCat

[AnathaJ]

I agree with Dai the Vet about cheapest not necessarily better. If you really love animals the RSPCA provides pet insurance that donates to the charity. They've been great paying out for my animals and with every payment you are helping animals less fotunate than your own.

[Fat Boy]

I have a cat which I got from a colleague that has just turned 13. Is there a company out there that will offer insurance for a cat of that age that will not charge the earth?

[deanos]

Originally Posted by Fat Boy

I have a cat which I got from a colleague that has just turned 13. Is there a company out there that will offer insurance for a cat of that age that will not charge the earth?

I doubt it ,my cat is 9 i have just switched to Halifax it halved my payment to Pet Plan and had higher cover, lower excess and is for life, if you join through Rpoints you get £10 cashback.

[daithevet]

Hi Charley

I'm not sure what practiceplan is, I've never heard of it. Drop me some info or a weblink and I'll research it and let you know. In my experience most insurance companies won't cover routine (ie non-emergency) work, eg vaccination, worming, dental treatment etc. so you still have to pay for these. Also, some companies insist on annual vaccination, meaning if you forget, your policy becomes invalid. Once again, check the small print!

Let me know about practiceplan though.

Dai

[angela-la]

I have also taken out M&S pet insurance because of the option to pay a few pence per month more and have no excess to pay. I looked at all the specialist pet insurance companies and M&S have by far the best benefits, they don't limit insurance to amount per condition, instead it's £7000 per year. I would highly recommend taking out pet insurance, especially this one. My golden retriever has just turned 1, about 6 mths ago she started losing her hair more than usual. We've mounted up £1000 in vets bills having tests, it turns out she has an allergy and will need regular injections to control it. This isn't life threatening but something we will have to claim for on a regular basis. Today I received a cheque for all my vets bills with no excess deducted, M&S paid up without any hesitation, even though we've been insured for less than a year with them. What more can you ask for?

[Red_Elle]

I have just had an insurance claim turned down through Pinnacle when my cat suffered from a food allergy, because she had a mild case of the runs when she had worms when I first got her.
So I have decided to change all four of my cats to M&S. It is a superb policy, that rivals the likes of Petplan and there is no excess. It's actually just under £100 cheaper than Pinnacle, even with the no excess. Although some of my cats have pre-existing conditions, I will be saving, so I don't mind changing.

[wigginsmum]

We've been with Direct Line for years - currently paying £40/month for 7 moggies ages ranging 2 - 10 years (haven't got the snakes insured). And I must say they've always been brilliant. We've had to claim for a couple of cut feet and an abcess on the tail over the years, but the biggie was that cat no. 3 got a blocked urethra this year and nearly died; 7 days in the veterinary hospital. Direct Line were fantastic - settled directly with our vet so we didn't have to find £1700 in the space of a month! Will be checking our policy and talking them to finetune exactly what's covered now, but unless there was a major problem and an excellent new insurer, I can't see us moving.

[mEANIE]

Apparently on 28 November Tesco are introducting new pet (dog) insurance which will cover ongoing illness (not restricted to 12 month time period). The customer service guy I talked to when I advised I wanted to cancel insurance said he couldn't give any details but to phone back on 28th.