If Bertie could read this... 15 November 2017 at 10:15PM in Pets & pet care 9 replies 1.9K views

zippygeorgeandben

Hello,
I'm after a bit of advice please.
I have a gorgeous lovely cat called Bertie who is 5 and a half. He's an indoor cat and has been ever since we got him when 7 weeks old. I'm conscious that we pay too much for Insurance. We pay £32.78 per month with Petplan. We've paid this figure roughly since getting him and we think the cost doesn't justify the means. We live on the top floor, don't even have the windows fully open...!
Any thoughts, suggestions, comments are welcome.
Thanks

Katiehound

and I also don't have pet insurance.
I have 2 dogs. I have 3rd party insurance from Dogs Trust.
I actually think that pet insurance is one big rip-off. Fortunately I do have savings to rely on.
I'd be putting the insurance premium equivalent into a savings a/c.......

bugslet

Me neither and so far I'm well ahead in costs. I've had between 2- 6 dogs all my adult life and only one that has cost me a lot of money, around 2.5k, the others, nothing much.

belinda3

Hi that seems alot of money

Im with petplan and pay approx 21 for one cat and 17 for other one been with pet plan since i got them from battersea cats home. when I adopted the second kitten I phoned pet plan and they put the policy as multi cat.
Have you tried checking other prices and than phoning pet plan and asking them to match it?

fairy_lights

If you've been paying that much since you got him, presumably the original figure was calculated before he had been vaccinated and neutered? Maybe you need to get a new quote.


Edit: I've also got a cat called Bertie, and also pay a small fortune through petplan

marliepanda

When my insurance premiums went up to around £20 per cat (with excess of £85 when my bills tended to always be roughly £84.99... and no dental) I cancelled mine.

I now save £20 per cat into a savings account and have done for the past 5 years. I know its a risk, and I would simply pay for any treatment or get credit if my gamble doesnt pay off, but I felt that there were more and more exclusions, higher excesses and higher premiums and it wasnt worth it anymore.

whizzybee

I pay around £21 a month for two cats with morethan and that's the premium level of insurance where costs reset every year if they have a long term condition. Mine are about 18 months old. I don't mind paying that at all and will reevaluate at renewal but I found petplan was really expensive for mine. Plus I got £60 cash back (took 7 months to payout!) so effectively 3 months free. Like all my insurances I'll be shopping around at renewal time but equally I have two young and (touch wood) healthy cats.

sheramber

That is more than I pay for either of my two dogs.

If you have no pre existing conditions, i.e. you have not consulted your vet whether or not treatment was given, then you can take out a new policy each year, either with Petplan or another company. You can take advantage of online new policy discounts.

Stay away from any connected to E& L - check who the underwriters of the policy are.

There used to be a company who insured cat who were indoor cats for a lesser amount but I can't remember who it was.

Glad

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

Hello,
I'm after a bit of advice please.
I have a gorgeous lovely cat called Bertie who is 5 and a half. He's an indoor cat and has been ever since we got him when 7 weeks old. I'm conscious that we pay too much for Insurance. We pay £32.78 per month with Petplan. We've paid this figure roughly since getting him and we think the cost doesn't justify the means. We live on the top floor, don't even have the windows fully open...!
Any thoughts, suggestions, comments are welcome.
Thanks

Hi zippygeorgeandben

have a read of the Pet Insurance Guide on the main MSE site

all guides are fully researched by the MSE Team

there is a Pet Insurance Guide discussion thread HERE

BWZN93

Jeez - I pay just under £20 a month for two cats, and I have to say - it was a godsend for when I needed it. I had to claim for one cat who did get very poorly and our insurer paid back everything we spent less the excess. We used the entire limit in 2 months (£2k), and luckily went into the next years limit by a couple of hundred. Our insurer is Animal Friends. I actually increased the cover after this to have a higher limit since I've seen just how quick that money went.

I honestly think; unless you have savings to cover an incident then you are being incredibly irresponsible. Pets should be given care in line with your human expectations for your own health; too many pets get given up on because it means spending a bit.