need advice on claiming on cat insurance

randm

cat has been diagnosed with heart problem and will need meds every day for rest of life.
first, if i claim for this through the insurance will the next years premium go up, and how drastically.
second, the vet charged £17 for 7 tablets, this did not include a prescription charge, but the same tablets are available online for 38p each. if i do claim but buy the tablets myself online and claim thereby saving the insurers potentially £700 for the year would the insurers take notice of this and not put up the premium as much .
thirdly why on earth can the vets not buy the tablets at the price we can, or do they just put a huge mark up on them?
thanks guys.

sheramber

Whether the premium goes up depends on the company you are insured with. E.g Petplan do not increase the annual because of a claim.

However, premiums do change due to inflation, running costs, the age of the pet etc. Insurance companies are a business and need to make a profit for the shareholders. They are not a charity for pet owners.
They need to take in more money than they pay out.

How much the premiums increase again depends on the company. There is no set rule.

Check how much your vet will charge for a prescription, how long will it last and what if any consultation charge will charged when your pet is reviewed- either 3 monthly or 6 monthly.

Does that work out cheaper than buying from your vet?

Check with your insurance company that they will accept invoices for buying online.

Vets have to buy from particular suppliers.

They have a smaller turnover so cannot buy large amounts as the medicine will become out of date before it is used.

Just like your corner shop cannot buy goods a cheaply as the supermarket can.

When my husband had his shop a larger competitor could sell certain goods cheaper than my husband could buy them in, as they could buy in bulk for a large discount.

Online suppliers can buy large amounts direct from the manufacturers.
They do not have the overheads your vet has.
They do not have to have the expertise that your vet has to diagnose your pet and decide what the best treatment is,
They just select your medication off the shelf and send it out to you.

Your vet has to provide premises, equipment which needs inspection and replacing, staff and keep up to date with training.

Nowadays we expect our vet to have a wide expert knowledge and the most up to date equipment.

That all costs money which can only come form clients.

randm

thank you so much for taking the time to write that. very informative.i have now sent an email to the insurers to query this. many thanks.