Pet insurance, first time buyer

captainlongtoes

Hi everyone, I'm adopting two kittens soon, is it best to pay for insurance monthly or annually? Not purchased pet insurance before so aside from searching for quotes on the comparison sites and deciding upon lifetime cover, I'm not aware of what's best.

elsien

With mine the cost is the same whether I pay in one go or every month so it’s easier to set up the monthly direct debit and space the cost out. 

Not sure how others work but I have an inkling that is standard practice. 

Floss

Check on comparison sites & see whether there is a difference in cost. Mine is monthly with no benefit to paying annually, I've had the policy for 3 years and at £6.75 a month for an 11yo cat I'm quite happy to pay!

Sandtree

captainlongtoes said:

Hi everyone, I'm adopting two kittens soon, is it best to pay for insurance monthly or annually? Not purchased pet insurance before so aside from searching for quotes on the comparison sites and deciding upon lifetime cover, I'm not aware of what's best.

if they charge interest to split the premiums up monthly and you dont need the line of credit then obviously pay it up front... if there is no interest then the difference is likely to be fractional.

The "issue" with pet insurance is the same as with PMI and human health insurance... whilst your young, fit and healthy premiums are fairly cheap and you can shop around frequently. As soon as you have a notable claim though you are basically then stuck with that company for life else the condition and related conditions will be excluded. Because of this some choose to go with more expensive companies like PetPlan knowing that no matter how many claims they make premiums wont go up due to the claims (they'll go up based on the age of the animals and general inflation).

There are several stories on here where insurance goes up to thousands a year on a more traditional insurer but its pay that or dont have cover. 

Robin9

You are going to have fun !  Photos please when you get them


Personally never insured mine -  regular visitors to the vets after fights !

LADYXXMACBETH

I would say that pet insurance is a bit pointless for cats. However, I do insure my cat so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. 
In my 20 years of owning cats I've only ever had to take one to the vets for a torn ligament that, if memory serves me right cost about £250. I think if you can afford the cost of a vet then you may find that having pet insurance isn't very money savvy in the long run. I have it because if my cat Merlin had to go to the vet I wouldn't be able to pay the cost at all and so would have to negotiate with the vet to go direct to the insurance company. 
Also remember that teeth aren't included in insurance and that can be troublesome in later life. 
I pay monthly as it's more affordable, but I will probably stop paying when he gets to about 6-7 as the premiums may be too much for me to afford. 

KxMx

PetPlan will cover dental. 

I had PetPlan insurance for my last cat as on a very low income, she had to be pts at 13 after 3k worth of tests- tests not treatment. 

Even with the excess + 20% of bill (common with older pet insurance) which I covered through savings, I was awfully glad of the insurance! 

I couldn't have afforded not to have it. 

Often I see pet owners say they wouldn't put their pet through harsh (expensive) treatments, well sometimes getting the diagnosis is very expensive! 

ellymoo

I did A LOT of research on insurance and am now with Manypets (was Boughtbymany). They cover dental, and they also include 24/7 video calls in your policy which are invaluable (my dog injured himself a month or so ago and I was able  to get a vet appointment at midnight Saturday night!). These can also save you a visit to the vet. I pay monthly - there's no difference in the premium.

I advise going through a cashback website - but also get a standalone quote to check that going through cashback doesn't up your premium which it seems to with car insurance - and asking your friends who they use as often you can get a bit of a boost through a referral (such as an Amazon voucher). 

LADYXXMACBETH

ellymoo said:

I did A LOT of research on insurance and am now with Manypets (was Boughtbymany). They cover dental, and they also include 24/7 video calls in your policy which are invaluable (my dog injured himself a month or so ago and I was able  to get a vet appointment at midnight Saturday night!). These can also save you a visit to the vet. I pay monthly - there's no difference in the premium.

I advise going through a cashback website - but also get a standalone quote to check that going through cashback doesn't up your premium which it seems to with car insurance - and asking your friends who they use as often you can get a bit of a boost through a referral (such as an Amazon voucher). 

If you look at the small print dental is only covered if animals have an annual dental check up. Crowns aren't covered and neither is a scale and polish. I've often found even with dental included it's very limited. 

captainlongtoes

Wow thank you everyone!

When I was growing up with cats insurance didn't seem to be the norm (like some of you we just took them to the vets after injuries from fights) but I keep hearing about how fees are high these days so I thought I'd better sort some cover. Will try to remember to post pics!

eddddy

captainlongtoes said:

When I was growing up with cats insurance didn't seem to be the norm (like some of you we just took them to the vets after injuries from fights) but I keep hearing about how fees are high these days

Going off topic - but I think part of the reason is that there are far more sophisticated treatments for pets now. There are pet hospitals, pet intensive care units - where sedated pets are attached to machines by tubes and wires etc, with 24 hour nurses etc.

A friend who's a vet says he feels duty bound to offer tests, diagnostics, procedures, etc costing hundreds or even thousands of pounds - and which probably weren't available 10 or 20 years ago - as an alternative to putting the pet to sleep.

Another vet was a bit more forthright and said that if the pet was insured he'd go ahead and do a procedure, but as the pet wasn't insured, it really wasn't worth it.