Insurance dilemma! Knowing vet costs would help.

murphydog999

I've got a 3 1/2 year old cat, who currently is in good health. Reading everyone's posts about problems with insurance companies not paying out and exclusions, and excesses, and rising costs, my dilemma is insurance, or illness fund.

The problem is I don't have a clue what vets fees are like if she was to have an accident, with x-ray costs etc or maybe need an operation. I realise this is a very wide subject but it would be helpful to have some examples.

Can anyone assist please?

paddypaws101

Oh gosh, this subject is a MINEFIELD and I am afraid I cannot offer much help.......But I will tell you that my vet has taken out insurance for his new kitten. I laughed when he told me, but then he explained that he is not an orthopaedic surgeon, or an eye specialist and would not want to pay the huge bills for either!

spookylukey

My two young-ish cats are insured, I've needed to claim twice. First one was investigation into unusual panting as a kitten. Various tests including X-ray, ECG, ultrasound and a blood test - cost over £600. The second claim was investigation into prolonged vomiting and diarrhoea, including an overnight stay on a drip, an emergency out of hours vet visist and numerous regular appointments - cost over £500.

Many vets outsource their out of hours (evenings, weekends & Bank Holidays) care to a company called Vets Now so if you have to take your pet to a vet as an emergency out of hours you're looking at £120 just for the appointment. Operations, even through your normal vet, can run into the thousands.

There will always be people who say they've never needed to take their pets to the vets other than for routine vaccinations etc and that insurance is money down the drain. Well good for them but I'd rather pay £7 a month to know that whatever happened to my cat I will be able to afford to treat them and give them the best chance. If you do take out insurance make sure that it's life cover ie they don't stop paying after you've claimed for 12 months of an ongoing condition, policies that pay out a set amount per year rather than per condition are the top policies.

My previous childhood cat was un-insured as insurance wasn't really that common 20 years ago. I took her with me when I moved out of the family home, she lived to be 19 and cost me over £5000 in the last few years of her life due to having daily medication and regular blood tests for thyroid and kidney issues. After I lost her I adopted two kittens and the first thing I did when I got them was get them insured.

tankgirl1

Most vets and vet nurse have their pets insured, as noted earlier, most vets are GP's and if anything serious were to happen they couldn't afford referral.. (No vets are not well paid! Vet nurses even less well paid!)

So I would advice a decent for life insurance policy every time

wannabepennypincher

We have a diabetic cat who has reall racked up our vet bill, all insured though thankfully.

He was first taken in as he had pancreatitis (sp?) he was in for 6 days (2 of those days were over the weekend which cost more we think), need a drip, ultrasound, blood tests and a wide variety of different drugs. The bill came to £1500. Then we had glucose cruves while we waited for his blood sugar to stablise at about £200 a time and his monthly meds and needles cost about £50.

I think considering how fast the fee's can rack up I'm just glad its there so should the worst happen all I need to worry about is my cat getting better than worrying how to pay it.

rising_from_the_ashes

I'd lean towards insurance too.

My old cat had kidney problems from the age of 3 and I was lucky to have him until nearly 11 - in part thanks to the fact that he was insured as I'd never have been able to afford all his medication/tests etc.

My current 2 are both insured and I did think about not doing it but having been through it with S I just couldn't - then there's the fact that cats are unfortunately more prone to car accidents....

I've not had to claim for either of them, thank godness, a couple of minor ailments etc which I've just paid (not worth claiming for very small amounts even if just over excess as it would then raise next premium).

I also have an old dog who isn't insured - when I got him (rescue) as I was unable to prove medical history/age, they wanted £45/month premium. Added to the excess - just not worth it. Again he's had a few minor things, tummy upsets etc and is now on arthritis medication. However, that costs around £15/month so still much less than the cost the insurance would've been. (I do have a fund for him instead that I stick £10/month into just in case).

Try PDSA - I've had really competitive quotes from them.

sarah*a

Don't have a cat but do have two insured doggies

OH used to complain every month about the 'waste' of money (£25 pm for both) until the terrier got sick and has cost us over £1500 in 8 months - now he's glad I got it.

For our vets (and I don't think it changes for cat or dog but I maybe wrong - but it wouldn't be much different) it's £24 for every repeat appointment, £10 for a simple blood test and can be upwards of £70 for the more complex ones. Day 'In-Patient' fee was £35ish and we are currently averaging out at about £75pm for insulin/needles.

IIRC they charge about £50 for a 'simple' anaestisia (sp) (put them to sleep for an operation thingy ) and this increases with the amount of 'specialist' work needed .

(all prices are inclusive of VAT )

I do know my vet is just slightly more expensive than the other local vet - but having used them both for my pups I'd rather pay the extra for the professionalism and support - and as I'm insured it's all covered for me - and I don't have to end up at the one I don't like just to save a couple of pounds a month

:cool:

ETA: I did (just for my own curiousity) work out the difference between if I hadn't had insured mine and just put the same money in an 'illness fund'. So far to date we would have blown through the whole amount, had nothing left in reserve should the other one get sick/injured and still have to find (on average) £120 a month to cover vet fees and meds. :eek:

becky4131

Defo get insurance, i am a vet nurse and my animals are insured. I see how big peoples bills get on a daily basis and unfortunatly alot of clients have to decide on having their pet put to sleep because they cannot afford the ongoing treatment and medication.

The first thing i recommend to clients is insurance, this means that the animal can always get the best treatment. I have never had to claim but for 10 pound a month i would prefer to have peace of mind that my cat will get the best care.

Providing you pick a good insurance company you shouldn't have any problems claiming wise. If ou need any advice feel free to contact me.

Rummer

The day after discussing with my OH the possibility of canceling the animals insurance my cat had a terrible accident and the costs were extreme. I would certainly advise getting animals fully insured.

amszephyr

I'd second becky4131's advice about using a reputable company: Petplan (who I find unnecessarily expensive) or Marks & Spencer (who I've found to be excellent for my 2 cats' policies) both have good reputations and - while neither will be the cheapest option for most pets - the long-term peace of mind and reassurance that you're dealing with decent people is worth the extra few pounds I pay each month.
The way I look at it is that I'd rather pay a relatively small (not too noticeable in the grand scheme of things) amount each month than have to face a potential sudden bill of £1000+ should something horrid happen. The trauma of a sick or injured animal would be hard enough to bear without compounding it by having to worry about money, too.

jackomdj

our dog went for quite a few years uninsured. We eventually got him covered & a few months later he suffered from a stroke. The daily tablets meant we got more back each year than we paid out. He also had several operations over the years (mostly for lumps etc) and near the end he was on arthritus tablets too.

We used pet plan, who were expensive but we could claim each year for the same problem, a lot of companies will only let you claim once for an issue.