Cat Insurance or not?

seafarers_wife

My cat is just over a year old, only outdoors under supervision, had the snip and also been chipped, his renewal for insurance has come in at just under £80 with marks and spencers.

Ive searched pet plan and they are wanting £120 and sainsburys are wanting around £80 as well. I have done a seach on moneysupermarket and some random companies that ive never heard of came up. to be honest I would rather insure him with a company that is "known" or through a bank but the known companies tend to be around the £80 mark.

however with the insuranace going up £30 since last year im assuming that its going to continue to rise so wondering since there is no one here with me bar the cat to debate this. is it worth bothering insuring or just sticking £20 a month in an account for him should we ever need to pay for anything?

gettingready

Try Argos Platinum insurance - not online, call them.

My old cat Tiger and Zara my dog were both insured with M&S but the premiums went up very much so I switched zara to Argos and also insured my 4 kitties with them.

Zara is a GS and costs about 30 per month and each kitty just under £10 per month each....

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If you asked the cat, he'd only say 'Vet? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!' but I would also try to set aside an animal emergency fund, just in case something crops up and, for whatever reason, some money is needed upfront/isn't covered/etc.


ETA: I didn't mean instead of insurance, I meant as well as.

Sid_Wolf

Get it, you never know what could happen

Try direct line, I only pay 24.20 for 2 dogs (per month)

Also make sure to get lifetime cover, might be more expensive in premiums but will make sure hes covered in case he gets an ongoing condition (diabeties etc)

Petal_3

I would say get it if you can poss. afford it. I had a diabetic cat (not insured) who I treated daily for 6 years until he passed away at a ripe old age. It cost an absolute fortune in insulin, syringes, vet fees in terms of keeping in touch with them about his blood sugar levels/adjustments to insulin etc and emergency 24 hr care on the couple of occasions he had a hypo etc.

All 4 of mine are insured.....lots of money but you just don't know!

xx

Tropez

If possible I would say you should continue with the insurance but also start scurrying money away into a saving's account to pay for the worst just in case the premiums become too high for you in the future.

Putting money aside to pay for your cat's vet fees rather than paying for insurance is a reasonable idea in theory but you don't know what tomorrow brings. What if your cat needs a major operation before you have anywhere near enough money to pay for it? Without insurance you're left in a desperate situation that at best would mean taking out a loan (if you could) to pay for the operation and at worst having your poor kitty put to sleep. What if your cat develops a condition that requires on-going medication? Providing your insurance will pay for on-going costs you have some breathing space but if it is all coming out of your pocket you leave yourself little breathing room if something else comes up.

Personally, all my dogs are insured but I also maintain a small "pet fund" from which I pay for their food, their treats, their toys, their checkup fees, possible insurance excess and if ever required any extra money for vet fees. I started it when they were puppies, putting a set sum in each month plus the extra from my change jar. There's a healthy sum in there after nearly 4 years.

My first whippet was not insured. We got her at a time when pet insurance may have existed but was relatively unheard of and as I was only 14 when we got her it wouldn't have been up to me to insure her anyway. When she got ill, I had to spend a lot of money on her - vet visits, medication and treatments etc.

gettingready

I have just paid £260 for a visit at Goddards with 2 of my kittens, 2 weeks ago I paid £120 for just one of them - they have a runny poo and no idea what is causing it....

I was going to cancel the insurance as my cats do not go out etc but here you go......

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I normally look for the small person leaving her yoghurt pot or cereal bowl on the floor instead of clearing it away when I get such lovely presents in the litter tray...

gettingready

Do not have a small person at home to blame and this has been going on with Fred for about 3 weeks now and George few days.......Hmmmm

Will see what the test results show - in any case, glad I do have that insurance. If they pay out or not - another story as used to be with M&S and they were very fast but premiums went sky hoigh, it will be first time I will be claiming with Argos....

seafarers_wife

ok cat insurance it is am happy with marks level of cover so will pay that lump sum for next year and also whack £20 a month into a saving account specifically for cat costs like vet fees and injections.

gettingready

Well, so far £120 + £259 for 2 vet visits, nothing came up on the tests, 2 of the 4 kitties still have a runny poo (boys, girls are fine) so looks like yet another visit and more fees... and I too was considering cancelling the insurance not so very long ago as my lot are young (just over 4 months) and only indoor.. and here we go....

Will see what else will the vets say as apart from runny poo- they are perfectly fine, running pl;aying eating drinking and causing mayhem as kitties do.. but that poo is not normal so need to fully investigate what is causing it.

Put a claim through last week to Argos, will see what happens.. sigh....