Pet insurance / first vet visit

PinkCashmere · 23 October 2018 at 4:33PM

I'd been feeding a feral cat that I had to get a cat rescue charity to take when she became ill whilst pregnant. The charity had her neutered etc. told me that she was too wild to be rehomed & so returned her to my garden- except they also had her microchipped with me as the owner! Now I feel fully responsible for her & so she has been staying in my house overnight (she is now more tame btw)

I am preparing to take her to her first vet appointment but have not yet registered her anywhere as I'd been looking around for a cheap vet that I can get to without paying a fortune in taxi fares. I figure I also need pet insurance so my question is do I sort the insurance first or the first vet visit? I am a bit confused because you need to disclose any illnesses/conditions however I won't know this until she visits the vet (the cat charity gave me no info of her vet visit- I know she was tested for things but they never gave results). At the same time I'm worried that the vet visit might reveal something is badly wrong with her & I am unable to afford it. Excuse me if I am being clueless!!

GwylimT · 23 October 2018 at 6:30PM

Rescue cats are given a clean slate by petplan, but like any policy, any symptom in the first four weeks becomes pre-existing.

spookylukey · 23 October 2018 at 6:55PM

If she's not unwell in any way, and you believe her to have a clean bill of health, I would take out the pet insurance now as a 'stray' and wait until the cover becomes complete before taking her to the vet as her new owner - looks like Petplan only excludes claims for illness in the first 14 days of a new policy...

Your policy does not cover any illness that shows clinical signs in the first 14 days of your cover starting. This only applies in your first policy year and does not apply when you renew your policy with us

I believe they would cover for an injury in that first 14 days, just not an illness.

On the subject of insurance I would recommend PetPlan, I'm not with them but wish I was! They have an excellent reputation in the veterinary field for paying out when claims are made. Although they may seem expensive at the start, by the time the other companies hike your premiums after the first year (and you're locked in with them due to having claimed so that illness would not be covered by a new insurance company) you'll wish you hadn't been reeled in by the low price as PetPlan are not known for hiking premiums. Plus they've been around for decades, quite a few companies have pulled out of the pet insurance market in recent years whereas Petplan are a dedicated pet insurer so as safe a bet as any.

Also, I'd recommend getting a 'per year' policy rather than a 'per condition' policy eg 7k per year, each and every year rather than 7k on one condition spead over however many years and once it's gone, it's gone.

PinkCashmere · 24 October 2018 at 11:09AM

Thanks for the replies. I don't think she is healthy as she often has discharge from her eyes & she seems to have a snuffy nose most of the time. I always wanted a cat but didn't think it'd happen like this so a bit overwhelmed with it all!!

Fire_Fox · 16 November 2018 at 2:15PM

How are you getting on, PinkCashmere?

It is likely the kitty who adopted you has tested negative for FIV (cat version of HIV). Rescues will usually put to sleep OR rehome indoor only any cat that tests positive.

Pet insurance / first vet visit

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