Pet insurance (that old chestnut)

DeadTomorrow

Hi everyone, 
Our cat recently turned 10 and the monthly payments with Tesco insurance went from £43 to £75 per month. Unfortunately we didn't manage to call in time to try and get it reduced, so we're a bit stuck with it. Shopping around I can find insurance for £40 a month.
But the big sticking point we have is that the vet identified a level 2 heart murmur a while back, which hasn't really changed. He's fine so far. However, I'm guessing that if we were to change insurance provider now, any problem to do with his heart won't be covered because of the murmur? 
It's such a shame because we switched to Tesco because it wasn't supposed to jump that much in a year, and hadn't over the previous years.

KxMx

Yes, anything to do with the heart, or they can link to the heart, won't be covered by a new insurer.

Most policies increase once the cat is 10, Pet Plan didn't increase my payments much when my cat got to that age but cover reduced from 100% to 80%.

Some insurers make the increase even earlier at 8.

Marmaduke123

Ouch! £75 is far too much in my opinion. Can you afford to self insure for anything heart related, or even for everything full stop.

Perhaps discuss with your vet the likely costs if the heart causes problems in the future. I'm assuming any treatment would be medication as valve replacement doesn't sound likely for a cat.

It's  tricky to decide what to do as pets get older. We have tended to self insure after premiums become ridiculously expensive 

Tahlullah.H

I recently had the same issue when my cat was taken in for vomiting and the insurance company came back and said he was no longer covered for anything related to the gastrointestinal system.  That's a lot of cat to ignore and not cover, so I jumped to 'Bought by Many'.  It is expensive, but it has different levels of cover - I am paying under £20 per month.  He is 10 years old.  We had a very long conversation before I made the decision, and what they do is not make the decision the cat will not be covered, they will look at the current illness and the vet will decide, not the insurance company, if the illnesses are linked.  I just felt better that if he suddenly got a stomach ulcer 3 years later, they will not automatically rule it out because of sickness back in 2020. 

I also liked the fact that the instant your pet gets ill, you can initiate a claim, and that will allow them to give you an indication of whether it is likely to be covered by the insurance or not, so giving you a chance to either prepare for bill or make some hard decisions, or know that the insurance is likely to pick it up.  I was really concerned that I may be in a position of thinking the insurance would cover his bills and then finding that they don't at the end of the treatment.

Glad

DeadTomorrow said:

Hi everyone, 
Our cat recently turned 10 and the monthly payments with Tesco insurance went from £43 to £75 per month. Unfortunately we didn't manage to call in time to try and get it reduced, so we're a bit stuck with it. Shopping around I can find insurance for £40 a month.
But the big sticking point we have is that the vet identified a level 2 heart murmur a while back, which hasn't really changed. He's fine so far. However, I'm guessing that if we were to change insurance provider now, any problem to do with his heart won't be covered because of the murmur? 
It's such a shame because we switched to Tesco because it wasn't supposed to jump that much in a year, and hadn't over the previous years.

Hi
take a look at the Cheap Pet Insurance guide on the main site and a long running thread here 

easterbunni

Got my renewal today, premium jumped another 20% to over £200 a month for two older larger dogs.

For £7000 of cover, they're only really covering £3100 after I've paid premium and excess

sheramber

And you will pay the premium and the excess before you get any benefit.
That is when I consider whether it is worth it. but that is a personal decision depending on your own circumstances