Pet insurance is a bit of a minefield and it's not easy to find the right policy. I think it's important to think long term and not be lured by cheap premiums as if your cat develops an illness that will not be covered if you change insurer, you may be stuck with the same insurer for your cat's life. Some companies offer very attractive premiums to get you in and then when it's renewal time it goes up. All companies re-calculate the way they work out premiums from time to time and that can cause an increase in premium (or sometimes a decrease!). Lots of peeps with M&S have recently had renewals that are a fair bit more than they were previously. Your Cat magazine has a feature on pet insurance in August's edition. from that article are the following tips
1. Shop around and take your time.
Pet Insurance is not like home or car insurance. It's important to get a policy which is right for you, so take your time and be sure you understand what it covers and what it doesn't cover.
2. Do not just go for the cheapest quote
As with most things in life, a cheaper policy usually means cover has been restricted or excluded in some way, so check to see what you are getting before you buy. If a quote looks to good too be true you need to ask why that might be.
3. Find a reputable insurer
Many companies now offer cat insurance, but some have little history in the market and might pull out again if their sales aren't high enough. As you will be looking for cover to last for a number of years, you want to have confidence that the company you buy from will still be there in five or ten years time.
4. Stay with your existing insurer at renewal
Cat insurance is like human medical insurance. Once your pet has a medical history a new insurer will exclude cover for pre-existing conditions, but your current insurer may well continue covering it. Moving from insurer to insurer is often a bad thing because cover might reduce over time if your cat has any previous claims.
5. Look for policies with lifetime cover, or which have no condition limits
Some policies only cover illnesses for 12 months, or limit the amount they will pay out for any one condition. As many claims can go on for longer than 12 months and can be quite expensive, you should consider policies which offer cover for longer than 12 months and pay the full cost of claims - but expect to pay more.
6. Avoid co-insured excesses if possible
Some insurers will give a quote with an excess where you pay an amount PLUS a percentage of the total claim. With claims potentially running into thousands of pounds, these co-insured excesses could mean you might have to pay excesses running into hundreds of pounds.
Tips in Aug edition of Your Cat magazine and by Brian Brown of Defaqto (an independent product research business specialising in finance)
