Pet Insurance

frugalpam2023

Has anybody got any recommendations on pet insurance companies? With my previous cat I had a very bad experience with the company I insured her with ( I probably shouldn't name and shame on here) - they went to great lengths to not pay out on my claim, but I was very persistent and won in the end. I can't face that sort of battle again.

Misslayed

Move to Pet board requested

baser999

Best bet is to use the comparison sites, you can then filter what you want/need for your pet

frugalpam2023

Thank you 

Glad

frugalpam2023 said:

Has anybody got any recommendations on pet insurance companies? With my previous cat I had a very bad experience with the company I insured her with ( I probably shouldn't name and shame on here) - they went to great lengths to not pay out on my claim, but I was very persistent and won in the end. I can't face that sort of battle again.

Have a read of this article on the main site

Best pet insurance - cheap dog and cat cover - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

frugalpam2023

Many thanks for the replies, I will read the articles suggested 👍

MSE_ForumTeam5

Moved to Pets board

sheramber

Petplan is considered the Rolls Royce of companies.  They don't increase your premiums if you make a claim ( there will be cost of living/business expenses  increases) as others do but the premiums are usually higher.

Many Pets gets  good reviews but again premiums may be higher. 

Cheap insurance can be  cheap for a reason.

Read the policy document- not the summary- carefully so you know exactly what you are covered for.

Ask your vet what companies they are prepared to work with if  it is important that the vet can claim direct.

I had one vet who would only direct claim from Petplan but my last vet was prepared to direct claim from any company. However, if the payment was outstanding after 30 days interest would be charged.

Lavendyr

Petplan has been great so far for me. I had a huge claim (exceeding my £7k insurance cover) on one of my cats and they paid out very quickly and directly to the vet so I didn't have to pay upfront. A lot of vets take direct claims with Petplan so you don't need to pay upfront.

Brie

Some people will suggest you self insure.  So take an amount the insurance company might charge and put it in an account "in case".   And use that if and when.

Personally I've never had insurance.  Mostly due to getting cats from Cats Protection.  If I was insured and the cat died suddenly (road accident or whatever) they would have paid the cost of buying a replacement cat less deductible.  Given that you can get a cat from CP for (last time around at least) under £90 and the deductible was £100 nothing would be paid if the worst happened.  OK so maybe a few times there might be claims to be made (when lovely Ari was taken to the vet over the weekend) and it was near enough a months wages.  But I'd not paid anything for the previous 19 years so maybe I broke even.  

Just saying....  I do wish you and mog every happiness for at least a couple of decades!!!

Lavendyr

Brie said:

Some people will suggest you self insure.  So take an amount the insurance company might charge and put it in an account "in case".   And use that if and when.

Personally I've never had insurance.  Mostly due to getting cats from Cats Protection.  If I was insured and the cat died suddenly (road accident or whatever) they would have paid the cost of buying a replacement cat less deductible.  Given that you can get a cat from CP for (last time around at least) under £90 and the deductible was £100 nothing would be paid if the worst happened.  OK so maybe a few times there might be claims to be made (when lovely Ari was taken to the vet over the weekend) and it was near enough a months wages.  But I'd not paid anything for the previous 19 years so maybe I broke even.  

Just saying....  I do wish you and mog every happiness for at least a couple of decades!!!

My 7 year old kitty was hospitalised and needed very expensive meds. I burned through my £7k insurance in days with emergency hospitalisation, diagnostics and treatment. I could never have put that amount aside. The amount of insurance I'd spent on him from date of ownership until now is less than a quarter of that. And he's covered for life so when his insurance renews he gets cover again, even if the same condition recurs (which it may). 

It's ultimately a question of risk, but I am incredibly relieved that I had insurance. I'm still considerably out of pocket, but it would have been very difficult indeed to afford the necessary treatment if Petplan had not paid out on the first chunk. If you can afford to put aside thousands, then fair enough, but for me, paying insurance has been incredibly worth it.