New kitten - insure or not?

UKTigerlily

CATS wrote: »

Definitely insure, my indoor kitten broke his leg jumping onto the dining table!! the vet told me that actually, had he fallen off a taller place he would not have injured himself as he would have had time to prepare for the landing. The cost was £2500 to fix his leg, my insurance was £60 for the year. Pet Plan and More Than are good. I like More Than as they have a help line you can call if you have any concerns and speak to a nurse

Why wouldn't you just call your Vet who actually knows your pet & has its medical history? All Vets have to provide 24hr cover & I always call if unsure about anything, they are always happy to give advice though can't diagnose

Misty_Blue

UKTigerlily wrote: »

Why wouldn't you just call your Vet who actually knows your pet & has its medical history? All Vets have to provide 24hr cover & I always call if unsure about anything, they are always happy to give advice though can't diagnose

My insurer will not cover out of hours costs unless you've called their Vet Nurse advice line first and had it recommended that you go to the vet rather than wait. In fairness, they did once advise me to contact my vet at 11pm on a bank holiday, so they didn't just suggest waiting to save themselves money on the one occasion I had need to call them.

butler_helen

Misty_Blue wrote: »

My insurer will not cover out of hours costs unless you've called their Vet Nurse advice line first and had it recommended that you go to the vet rather than wait. In fairness, they did once advise me to contact my vet at 11pm on a bank holiday, so they didn't just suggest waiting to save themselves money on the one occasion I had need to call them.

Which insurer is this? I would avoid them.

My scraggly, underfed cat barely crawled home, limp lifeless tail, blood everywhere one evening. I was distressed and live 2 minutes from a vet. I would not want to delay his treatment to get permission from an insurer. We had him in a box and at the vets within 10 minutes.

Pet plan were amazing, no questions over bills, £2k costs over a year for the cat, lovely staff and they barely increased our premiums. However we had their top insurance as this cat was a nightmare or fighting and we just knew he'd be a horror for injuring himself!

Misty_Blue

It's M&S. They have always been great; one of my dogs has had thousands of pounds of pay outs from them with never a query or a delay in sending the cheque.

butler_helen

Misty_Blue wrote: »

It's M&S. They have always been great; one of my dogs has had thousands of pounds of pay outs from them with never a query or a delay in sending the cheque.

Did I understand right that if your dog is badly injured "out of hours". You have to first seek permission from m&s vet nurses before you can take them to a vet? That's madness. (Or having had a badly injured pet, it seems madness to me).

Also worth considering that if you do get a large bill, some vets for a nominal fee (£10 at ours), will claim direct from the insurer. However only certain insurers are on the list, this seems a common theme with other practices I've heard of too.

gettingready

Def insure, best cover you can afford.

Unless you have a lot of spare money in case things go wrong.

HappyMJ

I didn't insure my cat. Over 8 years I've had her she's been to the vet once in an emergency and that cost around £750 to repair a broken leg that she broke falling off the window sill getting her leg caught between the radiator and the wall.

I'm the self insure type though....I think it's too expensive.

If anything is serious now she most probably would have to be PTS. Even if she had insurance she's too old now for too much medical treatment.

gettingready

You were lucky.

George had over 5k surgery when he was 7 months old.

Macius at the vets not long ago - over 1500.

I rather not count on luck, all my 6 cats and a dog are insured.

Misty_Blue

butler_helen wrote: »

Did I understand right that if your dog is badly injured "out of hours". You have to first seek permission from m&s vet nurses before you can take them to a vet?

This is covered in more detail in my policy paperwork, but from the basic policy booklet:

"You must contact the M&S vetfone service if your vet practice is shut."

UKTigerlily

John Lewis have a similar helpline I think & I told them i'd not be calling them first if an emergency & I knew my pet needed Vet care, they said that's fine it's there if needed