Cat Insurance

[JoeBloggs]

We have recently rehomed two young cats, we didn't insure our last cat as he was 12. He ended up costing us £4K in vet bills so I am trying to find the best policy. I have heard good things about petplan.

I don't want to be caught out with a policy that wont pay out or will only pay for the first few £100/1000.

I also don't know if its worth paying the extra for the lifelong illness policy, which would cover a long term issue or illness going forward of just to pay for the 12 month one. Any advice please and I just have no idea.

 

[iloveanimals]

We have never had used it, my husband thinks its a rip off, we just pay as we go so to speak. sorry thats crap advice but my friends do the same.

 

[grumpycat]

I’m interested in this - we had insurance with Tesco and it was so finite on what they would pay out. EG one cat had a tooth out and because it was fractured they didn’t cover it but one had a FORL (lesion) and they did

My husband cancelled the insurance in a fit of rage so we actually have none currently. Ours are 8 + 10 but sorting insurance is one of my things to do, so I’m interested in the responses

 

[judgejohndeed]

We're with John Lewis and they've been fab. It's not cheap I won't lie but we have the full whack - doesn't exclude existing conditions, covers all long term illnesses etc. We have several animals and we've had many incidents of overnight stays in pet hospitals etc which would've cost nearly 1k a time, and we've not even had to pay upfront - they claim it straight back from JL. Really really worth it I would say, I would hate to be one of those poor people you see trying to fundraise several thousand quid for their pet surgery etc.

 

[Mamacita]

I have agria but heard petplan is best. I'd definitely get insurance if I were you. Another option is just putting away money each month just in case but it's if you could actually pay out for the bill if anything happens. Also you never know but the cat might end up needing medicine for life, eg of it has diabetes. I'd say lifetime insurance is best, covering everything.

 

[Giggling Squid]

We’re with bought by many... currently waiting to hear if they will pay out for £2.5k of abdominal surgery. Hopefully they will! I am reserving judgment on them until they confirm whether they’re going to settle the claim.......

 

[Keikochan]

We're with Alliance. Not sure if it's the best but it's def not the worst.

 

[Giggling Squid]

We’re with bought by many... currently waiting to hear if they will pay out for £2.5k of abdominal surgery. Hopefully they will! I am reserving judgment on them until they confirm whether they’re going to settle the claim.......

Our claim has been approved, so I 100% recommend them.

it was obviously quite a large claim, for 5 different appointments, so 5 separate claims. They offer a video vet service for free which helps with the likelihood of them paying out. They booked us in with our vets out of hours provision which made it all much easier.

only issue we had was the time it took to pay out. Our vet don’t deal with direct claims, so we had to pay out and then claim. Our kitten is registered with the vet under her pet name and the insurance under her pedigree name, so there was a delay and a lot of confusion. Our first claim for the out of hours was paid in 2 weeks because it was done under the same name

honestly can’t fault them. More expensive than some, but the ease of the video vet and the claims process (literally just upload the receipts) makes it so worth it in my opinion.

 

[JoeBloggs]

We have never had used it, my husband thinks its a rip off, we just pay as we go so to speak. sorry thats crap advice but my friends do the same.

My husbands Aunt, who is a professional pet sitter and has a lot of animals said the same. But I just think if I put £50 away a month (currently quotes are £25 for both a month) we will only end up with £600 a year which for a vet bill is nothing. Our last cat cost us £1,500 on his first night in the hospital.

I'm going to take a look at John Lewis (my husband works for them so possibly discount which would be good) and bought by many.

 

[Giggling Squid]

My husbands Aunt, who is a professional pet sitter and has a lot of animals said the same. But I just think if I put £50 away a month (currently quotes are £25 for both a month) we will only end up with £600 a year which for a vet bill is nothing. Our last cat cost us £1,500 on his first night in the hospital.

I'm going to take a look at John Lewis (my husband works for them so possibly discount which would be good) and bought by many.

My partner was anti insurance, but I ignored him... our kitten is a terror and I’m amazed this is all we’ve had to do in less than a year if I’m honest

 

[Hello Kitty]

My partner was anti insurance, but I ignored him... our kitten is a terror and I’m amazed this is all we’ve had to do in less than a year if I’m honest

Mine are the same (partner and 2 kittens)

Has anyone ever used LV pet insurance?

 

[Penelope Strawberry]

Only have great things to say about PetPlan. They are pricier, but so worth it.

My Boston terrier is epileptic and they covered the cost of all sorts of CT scans, specialist cardiologist, etc, etc. He's on a cocktail of chronic medication to manage his seizures, which costs over £1k per year and they reimburse us for his medication.

 

[Raininvain]

I've used Pet Plan before and they pay out straight away no quibbling but that's what you pay for. Some like Animal friends have bad reputations about paying out.
For my 2 it would cost about £30.00 per month with one like Argos obviously more with Pet Plan and basically I just don't want to pay it so do PAYGO. If the cat needed a very costly treatment I'd either pay it or if it was stupid amount like 10K then decline. If you can afford it I'd go with Pet Plan.x