Help with pet insurance (price rise)

Kaytofu

Hi all

I have a cat that I rescued in 2010. I was told that she was 2 1/2 then and that she was a Russian Blue but I have no way of proving that.

I've insured her since 2015 with Tesco Pet Insurance on the "Premier £10,000" policy after an old housemate that was a vet nurse suggested I do so. The cost in 2015 was £17.48 per month.

I got the following Vet Fees over:

Total vet fees limit of £7,500 or £10,000 per year, reinstated annually, to give you ongoing cover.

And the following cover type:

Gives you cover up to your vet fees limit each year, for one-off or on-going conditions with no treatment time limit. Vet fee limits are reinstated each year if your policy is renewed.


I have kept the insurance with Tesco since 2015. The fee per month is now £85.73 and I have never even used it. Not even once.

I think I should switch insurer because £85 seems like an awful lot. I am really sloppy with keeping my cat's jabs up to date, so I feel like they wouldn't even honour a claim if I made one. I know my cat is fairly old now though and I know as soon as I switch insurers, I'll need to make a claim and regret it.

I feel really in the dark about this kind of stuff. Any help from the forum would be massively appreciated. What should I do? How can I get it cheaper? I'd be happy to pay up to maybe £40, I think? Or is that unrealistic?

Thanks

JGB1955

Self insure by putting the £40 a month in a savings account.

Nebulous2

That's how they can afford to give lifetime cover. They put up the premiums annually, and for Petplan at least they increase the excess, until many people opt out.

For my dog I don't only need to keep his jabs up-to-date, I also have to get him a check-up including teeth once a year.

We've had one dog for almost 8 years and have been paying insurance ever since we got him. He's had two claims in that time, one substantial one, but I've still paid more in premiums than I've had back.

We inherited another dog at 9 months old, which wasn't insured at the time, and we decided not to insure her. It's a gamble. Most people will pay more in premiums than they get back, otherwise the insurers couldn't do it. Some people will get much more in claims than they have paid.

lindens

Once the cat reaches 8 there is a premium and a bigger excess so its not worth insuring. Self insuring is the way to go

Penelopa.Pitstop

lindens wrote: »

Once the cat reaches 8 there is a premium and a bigger excess so its not worth insuring. Self insuring is the way to go

Unfortunately it may not be true, as I learned myself. I stopped insuring my cat when he was around 13 yr old. Last renewal I got was around £880 per annum, accidentaly it was with Tesco. I decided to stop insuring my cat after that.

Last year alone, I spent around £9000 on cat treatment. Year before around £3500. Can't remember previous years expenses. Even with price increases on annual basis, I would be better off paying for insurance.

I have 3 cats now, and insured them all with M&S. Interestingly, 1 yr old male cat insurance is the most expensive. Other cats are 11 yr old female and 5yr old male. All are declared as domestic breed. One is in allegedly Russian Blue but I don't have papers to prove it and when I did initial quote, insurance was double for Russian Blue. His passport says it's domestic shorthair. Total for 3 cats is £55pcm.

If there was no claim and there's no pre-existing policy, just switch insurance provider.

SSD92

My dog is 4, I've used Tesco for her insurance and had my renewal through last week. It's gone from £14.01 to over £22 a month. I've never claimed, she's never had health issues so I shopped around and will be switching to Direct Line for £12ish a month. I love my dog and am happy to pay for insurance, I'd hate to think anything would happen and she's not insured, but that's quite a big jump.