How should I think about using my pet insurance?

Hennymore

 I recently got a policy renewal email from ManyPets.

Going up from about £27/month to £41/month – a 52% increase. Two cats, 4 years old.

They mention that

Things like your pet's age, more sophisticated vet treatments becoming available and your claims history can significantly affect your renewal premium.

I seem to remember them previously (when they were called Bought By Many) having a policy of supposedly not looking at claims history to determine premiums, but I guess this has changed, or I misremember.

This past year, one of our cats has had a recurring condition (now much improved) which has led to quite a lot of small claims. Several urine samples being analysed, urinary food (which the insurance covers to a certain amount), medicine, bladder ultrasound…

I have assumed that since the policy covers e.g. urinary food, it's reasonable to let the vet put that on the insurance.

But now I'm wondering if it would have been smarter to pay smaller expenses myself (e.g. food, some medicine, even some vet appointments) and "save" the insurance only for (heaven forfend) anything much more expensive. And if I should do this going forward. What do you do? Anyone with insight into which is the better approach?

It seems wrong to me for claims history to "significantly affect" the premium – surely one should be able to make use in good faith of what's included in the policy, and the insurance company makes their money back and then some by averages across all their customers. But I guess that's naive…

sheramber

Very few companies do not take previous claims into consideration.  Petplan is one, but  the premiums are normally higher than other policIes.
What concerns them is the risk of further claims , so a one of claim for something unlikely to recur will be less important than a claim for a condition that incurs  recurrent or ongoing treatment.

What you can do is elect  to pay higher excess so you would only clam when the cost goes above the excess. That usually results in a lower premium.  You can check if your policy offers that.

But at renewal you are required to advise of any changes in your pet's condition so should report any such treatment.  The company would then look at the condition and whether there wa a risk of it incurring higher bills in the future.

Pet insurance is  a business set up to make a profit for the shareholders, not for the benefit of pet owners.

You could self insure by putting money away in a separate account for vet bills and hope you have enough saved when it is needed.

Claddagh_Noir

I agree, pet insurance is big business now, especially now since we are in the cost of living crisis and the influx of people getting pets during the pandemic. 

I am no longer a pet owner, but we were paying £140.00 a month as insurance premiums for our dog until April 2022, the policy would have renewed this month and I would not be surprised if the monthly premiums would have gone up to up to or over £200.00 a month!

Hennymore

Thank you.

I have maxed out the excess as far as I know - I always try to, to keep premiums down.

But as I recall it, things like urinary food either are exempt from excess, and/or the excess is per year or per condition-and-year so had already been paid. So I could put it on the insurance.

I understand and agree insurance is designed for insurers to profit. We’re pretty well off and could self-insure. My thinking has been that if a cat needs some very expensive, low-chance procedure, it would be good not to have to make a painful choice between money and health. And if I pay for it anyway, I may as well use it for what if covers. That’s the part I’m having second thoughts about now.

It makes sense that they’re thinking about what the claims, or any declared conditions not claimed for, say about future risks. If it’s more about this and less about “ah, he availed himself of some urinary food, I guess we need to add on another £5 a month”, that feels a lot better. I don’t see the point in insurance if they try to make that specific money back on my next premium, as opposed to a more general increase. 

Undervalued

Pretty much any insurance policy, be it car, home or pet will require you to tell them about anything that could have given rise to a claim even if you choose not to claim.

SensibleSarah

I tend not to claim for smaller things - usually would be below the excess anyway or close to, and are not ongoing conditions. E.g. One of my dogs had a urine infection earlier this year, which cleared up after 1 lot of antibiotics and has been checked a couple of times since with no reoccurence. With the urine tests and medication, plus consultation, it probably came to about £200, which I just paid. I'm not trying to hide it from my insurers but it simply wasn't worth the effort of claiming and shouldn't be a reoccurring problem. 

For my cat however, who broke her leg in January, and obviously needed x-rays but thankfully not surgery, the bill was just under £1k, so I claimed for that. I dread to think what her premiums will be next year (renewal is Dec), especially as she's now 8 years old too. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I tend to self-insure when they reach a certain age, as with excess and age-related co-payments, if they don't have any ongoing conditions already being covered by the policy, it stops being worth it - that's a decision I make for each pet as and when. 

sheramber

As above, that is what I do.
I have , on occasion, switched to a cheaper. lower level policy and put money away also. So I have some insurance cover but a back up for a larger bill.

How much do you pay in premiums a year/

How much is your excess?

Add these together.

How does that compare with what you claim?

Is it worth it?

How much is your peace of mind worth?

Could you borrow or cover a large bill on a credit card?

PennyForThem_2

I really am undecided about the worth of insuring a cat.  I have in the past and have not had to claim so 'wasted money' sort of.  I know that breeders, multi cat households are not inclined to insure because premiums would outweigh benefits - they tend to put aside an amount a month into a savings account.

I have not insured my current pedigree - indoor cat, young and if got some disease or other I would either pay or put down - the latter if older.

This may sound harsh but it is all about quality of life and cats, being smaller animals, tend to suffer more.

Katiehound

PennyForThem_2 said:

 

I have not insured my current pedigree - indoor cat, young and if got some disease or other I would either pay or put down - the latter if older.

This may sound harsh but it is all about quality of life and cats, being smaller animals, tend to suffer more.

 I agree with your last sentiments .That is exactly what I think

I have 2 dogs- now 10 &15 yo. they are not inbred pedigree types.

Fortunately I am in the position to be able to pay an expensive bill so I have never had pet insurance.
I really think that these days vets are more inclined to suggest treatments that may not be in the best interests of the animal concerned.

I would say save your money for a 'rainy day' and hopefully you will not need to dip into it.

KxMx

I had a 3k bill just to diagnose a terminal condition for my last cat- so big bills don't always come from treatment, which I didn't even go through with for her.
The testing was necessary, there was every expectation from even the super specialist vet that it was at worst likely to be IBD, unfortunately it was a terminal illness.
Thankfully I had insurance so I was spared the worry of how to afford the tests on top of everything else.

Undervalued

Katiehound said:

PennyForThem_2 said:

 

I have not insured my current pedigree - indoor cat, young and if got some disease or other I would either pay or put down - the latter if older.

This may sound harsh but it is all about quality of life and cats, being smaller animals, tend to suffer more.

 I agree with your last sentiments .That is exactly what I think

I have 2 dogs- now 10 &15 yo. they are not inbred pedigree types.

Fortunately I am in the position to be able to pay an expensive bill so I have never had pet insurance.
I really think that these days vets are more inclined to suggest treatments that may not be in the best interests of the animal concerned.

I would say save your money for a 'rainy day' and hopefully you will not need to dip into it.

That is a point of view which some people may share. Others may feel that those expressing it are putting the interests of their bank account first. No two people will draw the line in exactly the same place.

It is of course easier to make a decision about what is in the animal's best interest if no other factors (like the bill) come into play because any treatment would be fully covered by insurance.

Not easy.