Companies that do pet insurance with NO EXCESS and deal directly with the vet

Soleil_lune

Does anybody know of any?

I am sick of getting bills for around £85 to £130 for my cats, when they have had something wrong with them. Thing is; the excess is £100, and it isn't worth claiming for £15 to £30 and bumping up my premiums and having a claim (or three!) on my record for the sake of thirty quid!

FIVE times in the past 2 years, I have paid roughly £100 to £130 for my cats. And because the excess is £100, I haven't claimed.

And I have heard that some insurers deal directly with the vets: so you just take your pets in, they get their treatment, and the vet bills the insurance company directly. Is this true?

Money is getting short - like it is for everyone - and I cannot afford to keep doing this: paying multiple hundreds on TOP of the insurance! Also, they are due for their yearly jabs and worming and flea drops which will set me back over £100! ALL the jabs and flea drops and worming stuff isn't covered by insurance, so the last thing I need is more vet costs.

Can anyone help or advise please? Do you know any insurers that deal directly with vets? And have an insurance with no excess?

Angelicdevil

I think finding a company that did have no excess would be akin to finding the gold at the end of a rainbow!

The risk is too great for an insurance company to be that generous. So, if you did you'll probably find the premiums are a lot higher!

I pay £8 each a month for my kittens and to be honest, if they required thousands of pounds worth of Vet treatment the insurance company would never make their money back. And this is a common situation!

As a rule, I never claim for less than £500 worth of treatment as in the long run I may find I'm unable to insure them or the insurance might become unaffordable.

Unfortunately, these are all the responsibilities of owning a pet! If you can't afford the regular worming or flea treatments/vaccinations they require then should you really be owning animals?

I'm sorry if the above seems harsh but animals are expensive.

gettingready

Also - it is up to the vest not insurance companies if a vet is happy to do direct claim.

Some vets accept direct claims from some insurers some do not.

My vets accepts direct claims from pet Plan and Argos (I got 2 pets with Argos and 4 with PetPlan) if a bill is over 350. In that case I pay excess (Argos 65, PetPlan 85) and the vets send form for the rest of money directly to insurance.

Soleil_lune

gettingready wrote: »

Also - it is up to the vest not insurance companies if a vet is happy to do direct claim.

Some vets accept direct claims from some insurers some do not.

My vets accepts direct claims from pet Plan and Argos (I got 2 pets with Argos and 4 with PetPlan) if a bill is over 350. In that case I pay excess (Argos 65, PetPlan 85) and the vets send form for the rest of money directly to insurance.

That is quite helpful, thank you. I will contact my vet and also enquire with petplan. and Argos maybe...

So you don't think any of them do insurance with no excess then?

sulphate

That's the nature of insurance. Some people (like me) will have a constantly sick animal that is a regular visitor at the vet, and therefore, will be much better off for having insurance. Other pets rarely if ever get ill and therefore if their owner pays every month, they don't get as much back.

Are the amounts you're paying for related illnesses, is it a continuous condition? If so the excess normally applies per condition not per time you claim.

It's up to the vet whether or not they take payment directly through the insurance company, mine doesn't.

Soleil_lune

sulphate wrote: »

That's the nature of insurance. Some people (like me) will have a constantly sick animal that is a regular visitor at the vet, and therefore, will be much better off for having insurance. Other pets rarely if ever get ill and therefore if their owner pays every month, they don't get as much back.

Are the amounts you're paying for related illnesses, is it a continuous condition? If so the excess normally applies per condition not per time you claim.

It's up to the vet whether or not they take payment directly through the insurance company, mine doesn't.

No, no continuous conditions... Just 4 or 5 times I have had to take them for smallish things, like infected paws after a bite or scratch - which all cost around £100 ish, so it was not worth claiming.

That is why I wondered if any company did an insurance with no excess. So as far as you know, no insurance company will do a pet insurance with no excess then?

That is what I am looking for/hoping for.

Soleil_lune

I have actually just got a quote from PETPLAN and the excess is £65 there, which is a 'bit' better than £100 and also they deal with the vet I go to.. I just rang the vet and this is one of the insurance companies they deal with (my current one is not...)

Thank you for your help folks. My policy is due for renewal in January, so I shall more than likely swap then

Misty_Blue

Just be wary about the small things you haven't claimed for, in case the new insurance company can link them to future problems and say they were a pre-existing condition. They'll ask your vet for the animal's records, so everything will be on there even if you didn't claim.

Soleil_lune

Misty_Blue wrote: »

Just be wary about the small things you haven't claimed for, in case the new insurance company can link them to future problems and say they were a pre-existing condition. They'll ask your vet for the animal's records, so everything will be on there even if you didn't claim.

Oh Ok thanks. All the things weren't pre existing type stuff though: they were an infected paw after they got a scratch/bite, and a touch of cat flu, and a little fracture that healed well and only needed painkillers. Neither of them have had any of these things before or since.

Thank you for the advice The vet said that when we register with payplan, they will help us, and they advise them of any ongoing conditions anyway when a pet is unsured. But as I said, there aren't any anyway.

KxMx

Insurance excess, jabs and flea worming treatment are part of pet ownership.
Unless you are eligible for treatment at RSPCA/Blue Cross which are for those in genuine need then you will have to pay yourselves.
You might find getting you Vet to write a prescription for what the cats need and then buying online from a reputable pet med company works out cheaper than getting everything from the Vet.
Some other Vets may offer the jabs at a better price if you are willing to go away from who you know and trust.

aileth

Boosters, flea and worming treatment are part of yearly normal expenses of pet ownership. You should have understood that these would be the costs incurred through pet ownership.

I'd understand if these outgoings of £100 or so every now and then were due to an ongoing niggling ailment which were too low to claim for, but enough that they affect your finances, but what you're complaining about is standard outgoings that come with pets.

Animals get injured sometimes and you have to be there to get them fixed up again. Especially for outdoor cats, who will go and start fights, or get beaten up themselves. Our bigger cat is constantly scrapping and we are at the vets for treatment maybe every couple of months, but it comes with the territory, that is about £60-65 each time I'd say.

Try to shop around vets, they don't all charge the same, some like my vets have a scheme you join which you pay a menial sum monthly and get big savings off jabs, flea and worming treatment, which saves an awful lot.