Costly pet insurance (cats)?

penny*pincher_2

Hi everyone,

I am looking, seriously, at how much I am currently paying in pet insurance for my two cats.

My almost 9 year old Birman has 'covered for life' with PP - I have claimed once on it for dental work and some tests required, came to around £400. Otherwise, she is pretty healthy, has had 2 x bouts of cystitis but the cost for treatment was less than excess so I paid for this outright. (I forget now what the excess is but it is around £80 now). Monthly I am paying £34.21.

My 7 year old Moggie x Birman has 'covered for life' with HuC - has been very healthy, no claims needed. Excess I believe is around £60 - £70 and monthly I pay £19.46.

Both insurance policies were purchased with cash back and obv monthly costs were alot lower when purchased. I am now wondering whether to 'shop around' ?

Does anyone have any experience with changing policies with older cats? I have heard that some insurance providers now no longer provide 'cover for life' as an unlimited amount, which mine both have. Excess has to be paid each year. - But saying that, I have heard some stories where people are being denied claims despite having 'covered for life'.

I am really quite stuck with what to do. - Renewal is not until 2018

sheramber

penny*pincher wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I am looking, seriously, at how much I am currently paying in pet insurance for my two cats.

My almost 9 year old Birman has 'covered for life' with PP - I have claimed once on it for dental work and some tests required, came to around £400. Otherwise, she is pretty healthy, has had 2 x bouts of cystitis but the cost for treatment was less than excess so I paid for this outright. (I forget now what the excess is but it is around £80 now). Monthly I am paying £34.21.

My 7 year old Moggie x Birman has 'covered for life' with HuC - has been very healthy, no claims needed. Excess I believe is around £60 - £70 and monthly I pay £19.46.

Both insurance policies were purchased with cash back and obv monthly costs were alot lower when purchased. I am now wondering whether to 'shop around' ?

Does anyone have any experience with changing policies with older cats? I have heard that some insurance providers now no longer provide 'cover for life' as an unlimited amount, which mine both have. Excess has to be paid each year. - But saying that, I have heard some stories where people are being denied claims despite having 'covered for life'.

I am really quite stuck with what to do. - Renewal is not until 2018

First thing to be aware of is that a new company will not cover any condition, or anything can be connected to it, that you have consulted your vet about in the past. whether or not any treatment was given.

What cover you hve depends on what you buy. Read the policy document- not the summary- carefully to ensure you know exactly what you are covered for.

There are policies that limit cover to 12 months, policies that limit the amount you can claim each year for each condition, policies that have a lifetime limit on the amount payable per condition, policies that have an annual limit of vet fees which is reinstated each year.

The first kind tend to be the cheapest and the last one the dearest.

The excess will vary with each policy and some introduce a percentage copay as well as the fixed excess when the pet reaches a certain age.

It is up to you to decide what kind of cover you want and make sure that is what you are buying.

Many t cases where claims are not allowed are due to people assuming they are covered for something that they are not.

ElusiveLucy

The problem is that as they get older they are more likely to use their insurance. Personally although it is expensive in comparison, I will always stick with Pet Plan because I had major claims with my Burmese a few years ago and went right up to my £6000 claim limit - they were excellent at paying out. Once they are on life-time medication for something like arthritis as well it all adds up.


I've just literally had my renewal though for my Burmese who is now 14.5 years old and it is £42 a month.


What was interesting with Pet Plan was that they don't hike prices for an animal that has a lot of claims - I was paying exactly the same for both my cats - one had maxed out her insurance, the other never used it.

gettingready

I always had my 4 cats insured but have recently cancel all 4 policies and guess what?

In the last 4 months, over 1500 in vets fees between the 4 of them. And they only ever seen a vet for vaccinations while they were insured.

That is how it normally works... sighhh

QuiteConfused

Most insurance companies will not cover for anything "pre-existing" condition. This includes anything your pet has seen the vet for whether or not a claim was made. In this instance, your cat wouldn't be covered for anything related to cystitis for example and this may be extended to anything related to bladder depending on the insurance company.

Agree with the points above - even the healthiest animals get ill and when they do the bills soon rack up. For example, I have only claimed once previously for my 8 year old spaniel. She had trigeminal neurosis and the claim was close to £800 with all follow-up appointments etc. She's now being treated for 2 conditions - the 1st is an ear infection which can't be treated properly due to the 2nd condition. As a result the infection is being "managed" and so far I've racked up over £400 worth of claims. The 2nd condition is a neurology issue which at my vets has so far cost over £400. She has now been referred to a Specialist, my initial consultancy with them is £270 after which she is likely to be kept in for MRI scans etc so could very quickly mount up into the thousands.

Whether or not to insure is obviously personal choice but I would say that often the cheaper ones limit the duration being able to claim per condition and if it becomes lifelong costs can soon stack up. If you can afford to take a hit of thousands then great, if not, would you want to be in a position where you have to choose whether or not to treat your pet based on what you can afford rather than what is right for the pet? My parents don't insure their pets but they are fortunate enough to be able to cover the cost of any costs which may arise!