Topic: Your thoughts on cat insurance (Read 4938 times)

Dawn F · « **Reply #34 on:** August 17, 2010, 18:56:08 PM »

just had star's renewal through saying she was not spayed, I rang them to correct it and they said it doesn't make any difference to the premium its a technicality???? I did go on about all the risks of not neutering but I don't think she was listening

Lindsey (thefunkyinuit) · « **Reply #33 on:** August 16, 2010, 19:39:41 PM »

I don't know if anyone else is with Tesco but they don't seem very quick in paying up! We've just rang them to chase and they said the cheque has gone out to us today - about blinkin' time! Its been well over a month since we put in the claim.
They totalled it all up and the maximum we could claim was £2500......we have exactly £6.12 left that we can claim

oh well, its better than nothing! Defo getting per year policy next time.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #32 on:** August 07, 2010, 12:16:05 PM »

Quote from: MitzyMoo on August 06, 2010, 13:23:49 PM

I have insurance for Mitzy, it was with Pet Plan and its only for a month as it was a deal with my vets £75 which included the injections, fleaing, worming, 10% off her spay when she is 6 months old and 4 weeks insurance.

Petplan are pretty good. I was with them for years (only changed because I couldn't afford it for a while and let my direct debit get cancelled so had to start over again with insurance) and had no problem getting them to pay out. They are a bit more expensive than a few others that give comparable or better coverage. When your month is up you might want to take a look at Axa as they are pretty good and a bit cheaper than Petplan. If you stay with petplan, check what policy you have. Iirc, they used to have a value/budget plan and a more premium one which they advertised. However, when I renewed Mosi's (I was similar to you in that I got a month free when I got him from the breeder) they offered me something called "Cat" plan which cost me a few more pence than the budget plan but gave more coverage (more money per year). Don't know whether they advertise that plan now (or even still do it) but I was surprised that there was this level of cover that was available but didnt' seem to be advertised at the time.

**TINA** · « **Reply #31 on:** August 06, 2010, 21:08:23 PM »

Would just like to say, my cats were very healthy & never poorly, they got their routine checks, frontline & wormers,
but last year my 4 all become very poorly, in about 5wks i paid out £1300, & still lost my oldest girl splitz

I wont be without insurance now x x

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #30 on:** August 06, 2010, 16:03:33 PM »

Quote from: Desley (booktigger) on July 30, 2010, 08:24:03 AM

AXA want the complete history for a first claim - unfortunately they dont make it clear, so some of us have been caught out on that and had to wait even longer

Is this fairly new Desley cos never happened on any of my cats?

Who do they ask for the history from?

MitzyMoo · « **Reply #29 on:** August 06, 2010, 13:23:49 PM »

I have insurance for Mitzy, it was with Pet Plan and its only for a month as it was a deal with my vets £75 which included the injections, fleaing, worming, 10% off her spay when she is 6 months old and 4 weeks insurance.

cheekycj · « **Reply #28 on:** August 05, 2010, 08:19:49 AM »

Ah...im sorted

Got a bill from the vets yesterday, for about 185£

Called the insurance company...they have sent 2 cheques for the above amount on 30/7....direct to my vets!

Im even in credit on Joeys account at the vets as i overpaid

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #27 on:** August 01, 2010, 11:51:17 AM »

i think it is just to prove that you aren't trying to claim for a pre-existing condition - and 12 months is better than the whole history

cheekycj · « **Reply #26 on:** July 30, 2010, 16:20:45 PM »

for the reply there

I see maybe they just want to have a look then...thats put my mind at rest

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #25 on:** July 30, 2010, 08:24:03 AM »

AXA want the complete history for a first claim - unfortunately they dont make it clear, so some of us have been caught out on that and had to wait even longer

cheekycj · « **Reply #24 on:** July 29, 2010, 11:43:38 AM »

Havent posted latley....been lurking

Got a letter from Argos insurance the other day, saying they have contacted my vets with regards to Joeys back trouble.

Basically they said they want his medical history for the last 12 months. This cant be normal surely?? I paid the premium.....you (Argos) pay the vet!!

pandora · « **Reply #23 on:** July 27, 2010, 18:00:29 PM »

Insurance is the best thing ever. It allowed me to give one of my boys the best chance to be treated for his heart problems. Sadly he still died but it bought him some quality time and I only paid £65 of a £1700 bill. It is worth every penny in the long run and I insure all of mine, even the little kitten I only just took on. And the younger the insurance is started, the cheaper it stays throughout their life. At least with the insurance I have.

dizziblonde · « **Reply #22 on:** July 26, 2010, 18:05:25 PM »

Tripod's indoor only - she's still insured. Have never had to claim in the 7 years I've had her but sooner or later I will have to and then it'll be worth it not to have to find hundreds of pounds (because I know the expensive little madam won't ever do things by halves) or have the furball's life in the balance. We're not the sort of people with massive savings who could pull that money out of the air if we needed to - so insurance is the only way to go with it.

My mother doesn't insure her cats - last one who ended up at the vets (a black cat, on a dark dirt track at night - ended up getting run over) cost thousands for a bionic-man-esque rebuilding of his leg. They're in a position they could afford that bill - we couldn't. (Said cat then repaid her outlay by trying to hijack her husband, biting her and weeing on her sofa)

Michelle (furbabystar) · « **Reply #21 on:** July 17, 2010, 21:14:28 PM »

Quote from: cheekycj on July 17, 2010, 12:45:01 PM

I mentioned getting insurance for my little ones to some of my friends and my mother.....they all said it was a waste of money as my cats are not that old.

I lost my baby to Lymphoma last year ......she was only 5 !
I wasn't insured but thankfully my vet allowed Me to pay off monthly what I could afford, God knows what I would have done if my vet hadn't have been so nice

swampmaxmum · « **Reply #20 on:** July 17, 2010, 16:35:36 PM »

The point of insurance for certain things is debatable as insurers look for ways not to pay, but pet insurance imho is vital. If you weigh up the cost per week, then think of what you spend a similar amount on (cigs, drink, newspapers, sweets, whatever) it's just a no brainer. You also can't wait until the animal's poorly to think about insurance, therefore it's important to choose the right insurer when they are young and well as once they are older and/or you've put in a claim it's hard to move companies.

Last month we resolved a long running dispute with our ex vet (chronic overcharging, incorrect accounts and nastiness) and we found that his employee/nurse had forgotten to put in a substantial claim in July 09 (£350 odd). She says she posted it but it was never received. We were refusing to pay unsurprisingly as it should have been covered. In the end, the insurance co paid out despite it being months after the claim and we have no pets insured with them any more, both of our boys having passed away. I was hugely impressed and if I ever do get another cat or dog, I'll be going back to them for sure. Over the last years of Swampy's life they paid the vet thousands of £s. We had a 35% excess, but that was because the cats only arrived back in the UK when elderly, so they were an insurance risk. The premium was only £12 a month each as well, even when they were 18 and 15 years old.
I could not have cared for them when they got ill if I'd not had insurance. That would have broken my heart.

cheekycj · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2010, 12:45:01 PM »

I mentioned getting insurance for my little ones to some of my friends and my mother.....they all said it was a waste of money as my cats are not that old.

I do worry ALOT about something happening to them, esp the little one as hes into everything

Ive got them both with Argos insurance (platinum). Covered for life for the same condition (up to 7000£), just as well because afew months after taking it out Joeys back went.....its cost 231£ at the vets to date, and just yesterday i went to the vets to get some more metacam for him....thankfully the vets are claiming the money from Argos direct so i dnt have to worry about that!

Really pleased ive taken it out....puts my mind at rest and the premium really is quite small

cj

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #18 on:** July 03, 2010, 16:09:13 PM »

Just one point on insurance, although the More Than cover you mention is obviously far superior to Tesco - it is still per condition whcih means that once that £7000 is spent, be it over 1 year of 3 years they will simply stop paying for that condition.

The best cover is 'per period of insurance' ie per year, which means that you can spend £7000 each and every year on vets bills (that's in total, for all conditions combined over the year) and that condition will be covered for the lifetime of the animal. Axa is definitely per year, so is Petplan - there might be a few other too.

This is a really good tool for comparing all the different companies / policies - it tells you whether they are per year or per insurance too.

http://www.defaqto.com/compare/cat-insurance

Mark · « **Reply #17 on:** July 03, 2010, 09:36:06 AM »

I just got Alice's renewal policy in the post today. For a 12 year old (estimated by the vet but she may be older) £165 for the year, with £7000 cover for the year. We think insurance is important, even though we would be able to afford treatment if need be. Someone posted once that the less able you are to be able to afford insurance, the more important it is you have it. I have been paying for insurance for Kylie for 8 years and never had to claim. Long may it continue - this is one thing where I never hope to get my money's worth. I do the phones for our CP branch one day a week. You would be surprised how many people phone us asking for help with a large vet bill as they aren't insured. This isn't something most CP branches can help with. When people take on animals, it is their responsibility to be able to take care of them. I try not to look too often on yahoo answers as it is so depressing. It is amazing how many people (usually American) who's cat is ill or injured and they don't have money for a vet. I agree the Daily Mail article is scaremongering. It is a rubbish newspaper on par with The Sun. The other side of the coin is people who have to have their cat euthanised because they can't find the money for treatment. Given that the best policies cost £2 - £3 a week, it is a no-brainer.

Lindsey (thefunkyinuit) · « **Reply #16 on:** July 02, 2010, 23:16:24 PM »

I know this thread is old but I just wanted to say how important I think insurance is. Lacie was diagnosed with diabetes 3 weeks ago today, the first emergency vet fee was £139, at the end of week one (which included her insulin, syringes, prescription food, out of hours fees & a glucose curve) the bill was £465, on wednesday she had to go to the emergency vet again and had to stay in overnight, that was £452. She was at the vets all day thursday and all day today, at a cost of £695. She is again at the emergency vets and will probably be there all weekend at an estimated cost of £1021. Unfortunatley we have now gone over the £2500 limit on our insurance so further treatment is going to be a struggle. Not only do I urge you to get insurance, I'd suggest getting a good policy! We are paying £18 a month for our insurance which is Tesco Standard and only covers up to £2500 and only for 12 mth of the condition. When I was looking at renewing, I checked out More Than and they had a policy that was about £10 cheaper and covered you for up to £7000 for the duration of the condition, I'm glad I didn't cancel my insurance with tesco and take out the new policy though as she wouldn't have been covered anyway as it would have been only 8 days into the new policy that see was diagnosed with diabetes. I'm urging both my mum and sister to take out insurance for their cats.

Kucinta · « **Reply #15 on:** December 04, 2009, 11:05:16 AM »

I have two indoor cats and at their first annual check up and jabs update they both turned out to have heart murmurs. Tests and scans etc to check whether this was down to malformation of their hearts cost me over £400, which petplan paid minus the excess.

I never want to be in the position where my bank balance decides whether I have to choose between treatment or putting to sleep.

I take on board that veterinary treatment has come on in leaps and bounds, but that certain treatments may be very distressing for individual animals to tolerate.

I trust my vet to let me know what treatments there are, but also to balance whether it is worth putting one of my cats through them, or kinder to let them go.

Having pet insurance enables me to choose on the grounds of what's best for my cat(s).

puggy1975 Zoe · « **Reply #14 on:** December 02, 2009, 21:40:23 PM »

Even For indoor cats you really dont know when u will need insurance

My Ollie who is only 6 years old has just had to mave a MRI scan which was £2000 and many other tests. In the last 3 weeks he has have over £2800 spent on him. I dont know how i would have coped without insurance

In my opinion u may never need it but its a saviour if you do as no one knows what the future holds and for me it has been a blessing being able to give Ollie the best care possible for his seizures

Insurance defo worth every penny

Millys Mum · « **Reply #13 on:** December 02, 2009, 18:56:57 PM »

Iv got the 6 keepers insured and 3 not, i wouldnt be without insurance, between 3 cats they have cost around 5k of which i got eveything back minus excesses

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #12 on:** December 02, 2009, 18:19:56 PM »

Mine arent insured, I have 11, its just not feasible - I do though have a savings account for their vet bills and put money in each week. I also have a great vet who will let me pay off big biils as and when if needs be - she wouldnt withhold treatment just because I might not be able to pay straight away. If I had just one or two cats though, I'd certainly look into insurance.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #11 on:** December 02, 2009, 15:16:22 PM »

I am with the absolutely essential brigade too! I think it gives peace of mind that should you have a sick pet, whether it be a chronic illness or an acute illness or accident, the decision as to what, if any, treatment should be given is not down to whether you can afford it. Of course, most vets require payment up front, but it's much easier to borrow the money when you know you can claim it back, and some will wait until the claim is processed. It's easy to go for years without any expensive treatment then bam, something major happens. I have claimed 3 times on insurance.

1. 8 year old indoor cat. Never had any illness except for one minor skin problem when young. Otherwise only been to vets for vaccinations, neutering etc. Returned home from work to find him lying on the floor paralysed. He had a thrombosis in the neck. He was at the vets for about 5 hours before he died. Cost of treatment was nearly £2000 and was nearly a lot more but he died before some very expensive injections to disperse the blood clot were given. I got it all back from petplan minus the excess. Without insurance I'd have had to have him pts at the start and then would never have known whether he could be saved.

2. dental for a 9 year old cat. Again, no history of illhealth. cost including pre anaesthesia blood tests, couple of teeth removing etc. was over £300. Got it all back from petplan minus excess (not all insurers cover dentals)

3. 1 year old ~~lunatic~~ cat chewed through string on da bird. Needed emergency surgery to check whether string inside him. Cost in excess of £400. Got it all back from petplan minus the excess.

It does sometimes feel like an unnecessary expense to be paying it month after month and not claim anything back, esp as premiums seem to be rising all the time. But it gives you peace of mind that it's there should the worst happen. I let mine go when I couldn't afford it but regret that. I am with Axa now but didn't have insurance for Jaffa when he had cystitis last year - cost me £70 out of hours consultation fee plus medication and would have been a lot more if he had had to be kept in (he nearly was). And of course that condition will now be excluded as it counts as a pre-existing condition.

Christine (Blip) · « **Reply #10 on:** December 02, 2009, 15:04:23 PM »

I'm with the consensus: for a few pounds each month you have complete peace of mind that, in the event of illness or accident your cat will receive the care s/he needs regardless of your personal circumstances. Our AXA policy covers up to £7000 each year - that's a substantial sum whatever your income.

Leanne · « **Reply #9 on:** December 02, 2009, 14:33:37 PM »

I too am a big advocate of insurance, like Den's story, my 3 year old lil man (who I class as an indoor cat) had a blocked bladder and had to be rushed to the vets as an emergency last year, fortunately the insurance paid out, however I'd sell my own kidneys to make sure my cats got the treatment that they needed, but having insurance means I don't have to.

Within my job I come across many people who don't have insurance and want financial help towards veterinary bills, and most of them regret not having insurance or not carrying it on.

golden eagle · « **Reply #8 on:** December 02, 2009, 13:35:11 PM »

I agree that pet insurance is important. Whilst I have never made a claim yet I like to have the peace of mind so should anything ever come up I wouldn't have to either bankrupt myself or have to let my cat go because I couldnt' afford £££ in treatments. I did a lot of research early Oct to compare various policies and in the end went with AXA. I only pay £10p/m per cat and it's a true lifetime cover. That's only £3 p/m more than the cover I used to have with Sainsburys for my previous cat which was not a lifetime cover. Hope this helps.

Fire Fox · « **Reply #7 on:** December 02, 2009, 13:00:12 PM »

Quote from: msrisotto on December 02, 2009, 10:41:30 AM

I have it for my indoor kitten but am wondering if it's worth renewing next year when it runs out.
It doesn't cover anything useful like jabs, neutering or consultation fees and I read in the daily mail yesterday a vet who was saying the a lot of vets are unethical, putting pets through long, difficult treatments when they should be euthanised (sp?) instead.

So, do you have it? What do you think?

Some vets may be unethical, but I don't believe the majority are: The Daily Mail is suggesting people have changed from going to vet school because of a love of animals to being willing to inflict unnecessary pain and suffering a few years later, is that likely??

Tabloid newspapers are responsible for a lot of scaremongering in the health arena - I used to work in hospital pharmacy so I know what damage these stories can do.

I think insurance is a very personal decision, more so for an indoor cat who is far less likely to suffer an accident. What would you do if your kitten became diabetic or early stages of renal failure in a year or two? Would you want to PTS, would you be able to afford the several thousand pounds per year for treatment? For me I would want to give Noah the chance whilst he is young, but I could not pay for treatment for ten years or more.

I see it the same as contents insurance: really you probably don't NEED it for when you drop gloss paint on the carpet, or someone breaks in and steals the television and your laptop. You need contents insurance when your house gets burned down and you lose everything bar the clothes you stand up in. Hope my thoughts help!

Den · « **Reply #6 on:** December 02, 2009, 11:14:02 AM »

Quote from: msrisotto on December 02, 2009, 10:57:29 AM

Stop sitting on the fence D+M
Fair enough! Her insurance doesn't run out for a long time btw

Sorry, just a big advocate of insurance. It is one of those things that people always regret if they don't have it or cancel a policy.

Btw- as well as medical fees, they will also pay for vet approved behaviourists and alternative treatments as well as holiday cancellations, rewards for lost pets, emergency boarding etc. Obviously depending on the policy. It is good to know you have all of that, just in case you ever need it.

I'm hoping to not have to claim again until my boy is old and grey when vet visits are more likely to be needed and bills mount up. But it won't work out like that and I will no doubt have various claims sometime within the next few years.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #5 on:** December 02, 2009, 11:13:11 AM »

insurance is essential, indoor cat or not, as is chipping.

I have a cat who has required £2000 of treatment over last year , could you afford that?

Think hopw many years of money to the insurance company that would take.

You dont say which company you are with and its certainly worth being with one of the good ones who cover for £7000 a year every year for the life of your cat with a fixed rate of excess ie AXA.

An MRI scan can cost £2000 plus all by itself, treatment for a broken leg could be £1000

Dawn F · « **Reply #4 on:** December 02, 2009, 11:06:21 AM »

I have insurance for mine - Star my dhl had four teeth out at the beginning of the year because of gingivitis - she cannot be pilled so for the next 6 weeks had long acting anti biotic injections - sum total £350

msrisotto · « **Reply #3 on:** December 02, 2009, 10:57:29 AM »

Stop sitting on the fence D+M

Fair enough! Her insurance doesn't run out for a long time btw

Den · « **Reply #2 on:** December 02, 2009, 10:54:48 AM »

10000000000000% get insurance.

Even if you haven't needed it, there will eventually come a time when you will need it and wish you had it.

I have an indoor cat who is 2. When he was 1 he developed a blocked bladder which is a life threatening condition. He was insured at the time - I rushed him to the vets, said do whatever you have to .. I was left worrying about my cat, not how expensive the bill was going to be. It ended up not far off of £800. His 2nd year renewal went down a few pounds. What they've already paid out is over 7 years worth of premiums.

I would never ever have a cat without insurance as you can never see the future. Anything can happen .. It could be 1 week away or 1 year away.

msrisotto · « **Reply #1 on:** December 02, 2009, 10:41:30 AM »

I have it for my indoor kitten but am wondering if it's worth renewing next year when it runs out.
It doesn't cover anything useful like jabs, neutering or consultation fees and I read in the daily mail yesterday a vet who was saying the a lot of vets are unethical, putting pets through long, difficult treatments when they should be euthanised (sp?) instead.

So, do you have it? What do you think?

Author Topic: Your thoughts on cat insurance (Read 4938 times)