Can anyone recommend these pet insurers? 30 August 2018 at 11:09PM in Pets & pet care 6 replies 1.4K views

fairy2

Trying to decide between "bought by many" and "animal friends" for my elderly cat - both expensive policies (one up to £6,000 per condition per year cover and the other £15,000 total per year with the latter having some dental cover). Really want to know if someone used either of these and if they were good at paying out when needed. If anyoen has another insurer they recommend that would be very useful too. Thanks very much.

Glad

Hi
I haven't used either of these companies, there is an article on the main site that might help you choose pet insurance

Cheap Pet Insurance

sheramber

Are you aware that any condition that your cat has had or anything that can be linked to it is excluded from cover on a new policy.

Things like a arthritis may be linked to a previous sore leg, or a previous stomach upset may mean any stomach problem in the future is excluded.

Animal Friends do tend to take a strict view when it comes to previous conditions.

Bought By Many have only recently brought out their own policies. They previously weer a broker for other companies. So there is not a lot of history available. One person has reported a posiitve review on here.

They deal directly with your vet so check that you vet is willing to deal with them.

The same applies for Animal Friends if it important to you that your vet pays the bill direct rather than you paying the bill then claiming it back.

Whoever you chose to go with make sure you read the policy document- not just the summary- carefully so that know exactly wht you covered for.

Colonelspatula

I’d have a chat with your vet and see who they recommend. Usually bets will be teamed up with a certain insurer and they then send your bills straight to the insurance company rather than you having to pay it and then claim it back. Makes life a lot easier X

Albermarle

This is not my experience with Animal Friends .
I have always paid the vet direct and then claimed it back .
I bought a middle level policy and they have paid out according to the rules . Premiums have increased slowly over the years but not excessively.

However when I first took out the policy it was one of the cheapest and in my opinion we have a quite good level of cover for a reasonable price .( even though unfortunately the cost of recent treatment exceeded the limits …)
I think it is generally better to choose one insurer at the start and stick with them.

sheramber

Albermarle wrote: »

This is not my experience with Animal Friends .
I have always paid the vet direct and then claimed it back .
I bought a middle level policy and they have paid out according to the rules . Premiums have increased slowly over the years but not excessively.

However when I first took out the policy it was one of the cheapest and in my opinion we have a quite good level of cover for a reasonable price .( even though unfortunately the cost of recent treatment exceeded the limits …)
I think it is generally better to choose one insurer at the start and stick with them.

If you have had their policy since your pet was young, with no pre existing conditions then there is not a problem. It is when the policy is taken out after there have been vet visits.

However, they also take a strict view of 'the rules'.
In one case an owner contacted the OOH vet regarding her pet's condition. The symptoms displayed indicated it could be Alabama Rot- a rapidly progressing fatal disease. A dog's only slim chance of survival is if treatment can be started very quickly after symptoms appear.

The dog was admitted and, after treatment, thankfully it turned out the dog did not have AR.

Animal Friends refused the Out of Hours charge as the dog did not have AR. in the end.

But a vet had considered the dog needed immediate treatment.

If the dog had had AR a delay until morning/ after the weekend would have proved fatal.

NaughtiusMaximus

I can't comment on either of the insurers you mention but we've never had any issues with PetPlan. We had two cats (sadly no longer with us) who both developed serious long term health conditions plus a third who has been relatively healthy aside from the time he ate some meat netting he fished out of the bin necessitating an operation on his stomach. We never had a claim refused and they always paid what we expected.

They also placed no upper limit on the amount you could claim for a single condition, but we did take out the policies when they were still young so that may not apply for a new policy with an older cat.