Pet insurance.

[Snoof]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this, but I'm looking into pet insurance for Ninja (and any future cats). Can anyone recommend a good insurance company? I've looked at MoreThan but can't get a quote until I manage to wrangle Ninja into his carrier and take him to the vet's so we can decide on a reasonable DOB to give him.

I would like something that actually provides the proper coverage and doesn't cost horrendous amounts of money... But aren't we all? :lol:

[yola]

I use E&L (Equine and Livestock). They do domestic pet insurance also. I pay about £5.50 per cat per month - and even though I've had some claims the premiums don't seem to go up drastically.

Also - they don't argue when you make a claim - I've heard some horror stories about some of the 'mainstream' insurers that have only recently got into pet insurance who wriggle like the devil when it comes to paying out.

[Donna]

I use Tescos insurance but have never needed to use them so cannot comment on their service if a claim is put in.

[Fran]

I use Petplan for my dogs and puppies. Very good, don't quibble paying out and will pay to vets direct so you don't have to stump any money up except the excess. However, they are pretty expensive. I think the premium for cats is £8.40 per month :shock: but they do have a cover for life policy.

The Siamese breeder who I am in contact with uses E & L like Yola. She thinks they are very good value for money and I think they have a cover for life policy (but not entirely sure on this)

Your Cat magazine (January 2006) had a buyers guide to insurance. E & L were not mentioned :? Marks and Spencer got their best buy award. Premiums £6.47 per month with the life cover....

[borderdawn]

I use Petplan life policy.
Dawn.

[Snoof]

Thanks a lot guys!

[yola]

The Siamese breeder who I am in contact with uses E & L like Yola. She thinks they are very good value for money and I think they have a cover for life policy (but not entirely sure on this)



They do have a 'for life' policy - however it does get modified slightly when cats reach 8 years of age. But not as much as I thought they would.

Good luck in your search Snoof . . .

[dinahsmum]

This insurance question is interesting, and one I'm thinking about quite deeply at present.
I think the cheapest one could expect is £5-6 per month. Let's say 5 for easy reckoning. Let's hope puss lives to 20 years. You will pay £1200 in insurance over his lifetime. :shock:
Insurance does not pay for the routine vacs and check ups. Every company has an excess - about £30 now? - so it won't be worthwhile for run of the mill ailments like ear mites or a simple abcess.
Either cover stops or the premiums rocket as the cat ages - the time it's likely to need care/treatment.
Of course it will cover major conditions or accidents.
But I wouldn't dream of putting a cat through some of the huge operations/treatments we've seen on the vet programmes. Sadly, I would opt for euthanasia.
I would try to mend a cats bones if it was in an accident.

I think that, when I get my babies, I will insure them for a couple of years, so that I can establish they are healthy, then just bear the risk myself.

I'm kind of doing that with Dinah (pup+ now aged 19 months) She's with Pet Plan - expensive @ £16 pm but guaranteed to give cover for life for any condition. As she moves into her third year, and demonstrates that she is indeed a healthy girl, with no problems which she was born with, I think I will move onto a much cheaper company, which will adequately cover her for unexpected illness or accident.

Just my thoughts

[Kazz]

DM we are a pair aren't we I do thesame thing, the cats have never been insured - why because it wasn't the done thing back 20+ years ago was it???? or did I miss it:roll:
And if you work it out like you have then they have been vaccinated, spayed and neutured - which insurance wouldn't pay anyhow. Cleo has had no illnesss's but had her teeth cleaned - which insurance doesn;t pay for, :roll: then this cyst removed cost £109.27 which included the "well pet" blood test and the test for the lump for cancer remeoval of stitches, and post op antibitoics. So I would in 23 years paid at a £5, £1380 to claim back "109.27 (for which I would have been deducted the excess of say £20)

Same almost with Oscar, slight cost involved when he's had fights - antibiotics to prevent absess's but I soon learnt to clean bites in salt water:roll: Then his diagnosis for CRF about £80 then nothing more as he was healthy apart from that, then his arthritis steriod jabs. But nothing other than that say he cost me £300-£350 in 23 years not bad.

But the dogs different matter they have been insured by PetPlan but now Sal is coming into her 4th year when she's spayed in the summer and Tess coming into her 2nd year and spayed in the summer, I will not renew this year and think of taking something cheaper if at all. AsI figure putting the money in a building society for them every month is the same thing.

Karen

[Mags]

I don't have Pet Insurance for Cassie but I do put money away each month in case some emergency comes up for her.....

[yola]

I found the pet insurance invaluable when Fifi collapsed Christmas before last. She had exploratory surgery, and 2 days of care at the vets. That would have cost a packet I'm sure. It was covered without even a question - just a very nice covering letter with the claim form!!

Balie has never needed the insurance, however I want to keep it in place for him especially now as he's getting older.

I suppose with the persians it's more of a consideration coz they do tend to be susceptible to certain illnesses more than other cats.

[bagpussarah]

Hi Dinahsmum,

I too am looking at different pet insurance. I have 3 cats all under 2 years of age. However, my youngest is 5 months and I was thinking of getting them all insured once he had been neutered. However, after reading your comments it has made me think about whether it is better to put some money away each month instead.
I would just like to add though, that my friend took out pet insurance for her dog which covers most things. Harry (the dog) was less than a year old when he was diagnosed with an allergy which requires medication. This costs £22 per month, and the insurance she pays for him is £15, so it has been well worth it.
Sarah

[logoes]

I had my dogs insured with Dog Breeders, it was a big mistake as I found out when my 'rescue' was found to have cancer and an enlarged heart. They paid out for twelve months on both counts but that was the end of it. As I was lucky enough to keep Harry going for over five years on constant medication you can imagine what that has cost, a monthly trip to the vet for a check up, luckily we didn't have to pay for that but the medication was never less that £55. So when I collected India from the Rescue centre and she came with 6 weeks insurance with Pet Plan and because she is a rescue they are willing to cover her for life even though she is over 8 yrs old I decided to use them, as a bonus for the rescue centre they get a 10% cut from the first year's premium. I think I would have settled on Pet Plan myself even if we had got a kitten as having looked at several others they did seem to offer the best deal, I just hope we don't need to claim at all, but India seems a very healthy puss. Logoes

[Booktigger]

I never used to have my pets insured, looked into it a couple of years back when Gingers dental and lumpectomy cost me £165 - that was his final dental though, he has no teeth left, and other than his teeth and his fatty lump, he has been healthy. I had SNowy at the time, she already had a liver condition, so that wouldnt have been covered. My neighbour also advised against it, she had never had her dog insured (although the new one is, despite only being 2). When I got Pebbles, I was going to get her insured as she was only 10, and I knew she needed a dental - I was told that dentals aren't covered though, so didn't - although my policy states it is only excluded if not done by a vet. When she had to have blood tests in August and I thought there was something wrong, I got her insured - this has meant that my vet is willing to refer her to a specialist, yet before she knew she was insured, she didn't even mention it. However, I am very iffy about putting cats through painful tests and ops, and have to admit I wouldn't go through with half the things on SuperVets. PArtly cos I take on oldies, and partly cos they can't tell us how much pain they are in. So, although she is insured, I may not end up using it anyway!!
Excess is generally £50, some are only £35, and one company (maybe M & S) allow you to pay extra per month and not pay an excess. Another thing to consider is the vets charge for filling the form in and sending it off - mine charged £3+ for that last week.

[John]

why not ask the vets which they consider to be the best one,

[Booktigger]

The prob with that is some insurance companies run courses for staff in vets, so I would imagine that they would be obliged to say that one. Also there are only a few companies that will insure older cats, so would have been no good for me.

[dinahsmum]

why not ask the vets which they consider to be the best one,
Sounds a good idea - they should know if customers have had problems with any insuurance issues.

[JemBob]

neither of my pets have pet insurance :oops: then rocky got sick cost us £700 learnt my lesson :roll:

[Kim]

I really cannot afford NOT to have pet insurance!! Ben, our lurcher had spondylitis for which he was referred to an specialist vet, he had an MRI which cost £800 and then had spinal surgery. He was on vivitonin and metacam for the rest of his life. His total vet bill was in excess of £2000 - so I was so relieved we had insurance. Daisy, our greyhound had a fall which resulted in a slipped disc on her spine, again she had an MRI and surgery, bill: £2000. In October she was diagnosed with tendonitis, x/rays, medication, etc £400. As you know she was diagnosed with a lung tumour recently and she had to be pts, but the bill was £400. Each time Petplan has paid out.

Please be careful of the companies that will only pay out for a condition for a year, I would really advise a 'cover for life' policy. Tesco will only pay out for a year, not much good if your pet has an ongoing condition.

I have just insured Sidney, our cat with M & S life cover policy. You can chose the excess you pay, or none at all! We chose a 'no excess' policy, which cost £73 for the year. I can claim up to £7000 in vets fees and they also pay for euthanasia and cremation up to £100, and prescription food, petplan do not do this.

[mishmunnypenny]

None of my lot are insured. I also got six weeks free pet insurance when I got Meggie, and three days after I got her she got kennel cough. We treated her at my local vets, which came to about £100. When her tablets ran out, over the weekend, she suddenly became a lot worse, so we rushed her off to the emergency vets, another £120. We didnt worry, as we were covered. We claimed. They messed us about. They kept asking why we needed to go to two differet vets, why couldnt we take her to our own vet out of hours? Eventually, three to four months later, they paid up.

At the same time a friend of mine was having a lot of problems with another company about getting her money back. She waited months for her money too.

At that time all the cats under nine (I couldnt get cover for the oldies) were insured, but after all the hassles we had we stopped it. We also did the same sums as other posters have, you pay a lot of money, there is no guarantee that it will be needed (as most bills are less than £50), vets charge more if you ARE insured, and there is no guarantee that if you claim, you will get your money!

So, none of mine are insured. I put money away every week for them in a kitty. I pay monthly through a special plan which allows me to pay for vaccinations, flea and worming treatment spread over twelve months. It also gives me 10% discount, which today came in very handy as Sniper had a dental and some xrays taken.

I wouldn't advise anyone to take out insurance, no matter how good their sales team make it sound, but to put the same amount of money aside each month.

[yola]

Just to add - my cats are covered for dental work on the E&L policies. I think it depends on the level of policy you take out. I opted for the 'platinum' plans which cover quite a lot, so worth checking individual policy criteria to make sure it exactly fits your needs.

[Kim]

Oh dear Elaine, what a shame you had so much trouble! I suppose it depends on the insurance company, but I have always found Petplan to be reliable and efficient. They have never refused any claim we made. If your claim is within the conditions of the policy, I really can't see how any company can refuse to pay. Petplan will cover for oldies, provided that the policy is taken out before the cat is 8. M & S, Sainsburys and 'More than' do not have an age limit. My vets certainly do not charge me more because I am insured, if they do you have every right to complain!! :?

I would definitely advise every pet owner to take out insurance. Even if I had put money aside every month I would never have saved the £5000+ that I have claimed. As with any insurance, it is a gamble, but I would never dream of not having home insurance! I pay for peace of mind, and that is worth it for me. ;)

[Canis-Equus]

As far as i can make out, pet plan seem to be one of the best...

I forget who it was posted about E&L..... but that would be the FIRST and only time i hav eheard good things about these guys.

There is a reason their cover is SO cheap - its because they have so much small print that they very rarely pay out - so rarely in fact that there are a lot of vets who will NOT treat an animal if they are covered by E&L (unless of course the owner pays up front and then claims from the insurer....)

Perhaps they are better with cats, but from the stories ihave heard from horse and dog owners regarding them (where E&L refused to pay out on a horse who had to be pts as an emergency (broken leg, animal in agony) because the owner hadnt got prior permission to do so...... etc etc)....i wouldnt touch them with someone ELSES bargepole!

Em

[Nicola]

I haven't got mine insured yet but am planning on going with M&S.

[Hreow]

If you can put money away,and you have enough of a buffer to cover the first few years, that sounds like a good option.

I've gone with PetPlan as quite a few of my mates have had good experiences with claiming. I'd rather pay a bit more to have no hassle at a time like that. We're also possibly into financially more unstable ground the next year, so I wouldn't want the added worry of a possibly large chunk comming out of our savings at that time. Cats and disasters being known for their bad timing. :-)

[Fran]

I would only insure with Petplan...they have cover for life policies and pay direct to your vet so that you don't have to actually stump up money and then claim it back.

All my puppies leave here with 6 weeks free insurance from Petplan for the new owners and the kittens I have at the moment will also have the Petplan 6 weeks free insurance cover..

[borderdawn]

That insurance is free isnt it Fran? Have you ever known anyone successfully claim from it? (any breed/type Cat or dog?)

I have just had a row with insurance, Ill do another thread cos its dogs not Cats.
Dawn.

[Fran]

That insurance is free isnt it Fran? Have you ever known anyone successfully claim from it? (any breed/type Cat or dog?)

I have just had a row with insurance, Ill do another thread cos its dogs not Cats.
Dawn.

It is free Dawn. I have claimed myself. Some years ago I bought a pup that came with 6 weeks free insurance from Petplan. The puppy started to be ill 24 hours after we got him and it turned out he had pnuemonia. Petplan didn't quibble and paid out immediately even though we had only had the pup 24 hours. They also allowed us to take out the normal policy once the 6 weeks free was up and still continued to pay out for him. His vet bill in total amounted to around £1000 as he had to be referred to a specialist in Manchester. I would recommend them highly.

[Naomi]

Moli isn't insured as I really don't see the point. She's been spayed and vaccinated so I've got no worries there. She's a very healthy girl and if anything major would happen, eg car accident or something that she would require a big op for then I'm sorry but I would rather opt to have her pts.

My dogs were insured and I used Tesco. They paid out when my old rescue bitch had to have a few lumps removed which, when we first saw the vet said they were fatty lumps but 8 months down the line they said one was a MastCell tumour. Because it was an already exisitng condition they wouldn't normally pay out but seems as she had been mis-diagnosed in the first place they paid out for me. Had to pay out £100 excess as the lumps were classed as different conditions, one was cancerous and the other 3 appeared to be warts :roll:

They paid out very quickly and I couldn't fault their customer services.

[borderdawn]

It is free Dawn. I have claimed myself. Some years ago I bought a pup that came with 6 weeks free insurance from Petplan. The puppy started to be ill 24 hours after we got him and it turned out he had pnuemonia. Petplan didn't quibble and paid out immediately even though we had only had the pup 24 hours. They also allowed us to take out the normal policy once the 6 weeks free was up and still continued to pay out for him. His vet bill in total amounted to around £1000 as he had to be referred to a specialist in Manchester. I would recommend them highly.

Thats good service, and its the reason I am wary of changing, thanks for that.
Dawn.

[Booktigger]

Fran - quite a few insurance companies will pay either to you or the vet, Sainsburys (who I am with) will, but my vet doesn't allow that, so it isn't always a matter of making sure the insurance company will pay to them, it depends on the vets.
My vets dont charge more for the treatment, but htey do charge either £3.15 or £3.85 to fill the form in and send it off, which I think is a bit naughty.
And about putting money aside - it doesn't always work out - if the insurance company pay out for Pebbles insurance, I will get £239 (after my excess), and I have only had it since Aug at £10.66 per month - so I think I got the better deal. And I may be able to get £30 for her blood tests too. Ginger however isn't insured as he is 14, and it was over £14 a month for him and apart from his teeth, he has always been a healthy cat. I do give my vets so much a month for their vaccs and blood tests - but then Pebbles had to have hers 6 months early, so not got round to taking more up yet.