Pet insurance/the vets

[Taythomlau]

We have insurance with Animal Friends - they seem to be good. Did try to get out of paying once saying it was a pre existing condition when it clearly wasnt, but ended up paying in the end and have been finr since. We've had to use them about 6 times for our 3 year old lab so we've found it useful to be insured. Its about £36 a month premium policy which includes access to 24 hour virtual vets called Joii - amazing service!!

Hope that helps!

 

[Laur91]

We have a rescue cat from Cats Protection and we’ve continued with her pet insurance and thank god we did. She had an overactive thyroid and the treatment we went for cost £2000 - insurance covered it all so it’s an absolute godsend for us.

We are with PetPlan and they’re so easy to deal with and have never queried anything, the premium went up by £2 once she had that thyroid treatment. I can’t fault them.

I think for rehomed cats it’s always worth it as you don’t know what they might have or what might crop up with age etc.

 

[Saddlesoap]

First of all I would like to think I’m a responsible pet owner and I do currently have pet insurance for my dog. But after spending £600 in the last 4 weeks of him and not being able to claim any of it back on his insurance I’m wondering, is pet insurance worth it? My pet insurance is currently £40 per month, life time covers 6k per illness per year, £100 excess and doesn’t cover out of hours unless life threatening. Every time I need to go to the vet it’s either just under £100 so can’t claim, or it’s like tonight and an emergency and I’ve to go to out of hours and spend £400. Am I best just putting money aside every month into a dog savings ac rather then pay for insurance or is the insurance worth it should anything big and awful happen? I have now paid £1800 in insurance since I’ve had my dog and have never been able to claim on it due to their terms and conditions! What does everyone else do?

Vet Nurse here
I'm a bit confused that your insurance doesn't cover out of hours treatment, that should really be up to your vet to decide if it's an emergency.
I assume you realise that if two visits of £90 each are for the same condition you can claim for them as £180?

 

[Champagnecampaign]

I hate how once you’re with a provider your stuck for life. Thought I had a good policy then realised I had a pretty low limit per claim. I was paying £100 a month when I realised that I’d be better saving that and if I had to make one claim I’d be covered with savings and if not we’ll tough luck but better than throwing money away. They must have been listening to me as they reduced my premiums by £20 so I’m still paying. I totally agree with it as it’s been a lifeline with past policies and dogs but hate being trapped.

 

[Scvee13]

Bought by many cover pre existing conditions. We are with them, we have 2 miniature dachshunds, the first dog ended up needing surgery three times aged 9 months and our total vet and animal hospital costs were over £10,000. Our claim was successful. We pay £46 per month for them both, due to this experience I had I would never not have insurance. We took insurance out due to the risk of Ivdd with the breed. We have lifetime cover up to £15,000.

 

[Trixabellee9393]

Hey my cat insurance has been more than worth it. I’ve never heard of them not covering out of hours that’s so bad surely insurance is for emergency’s aswell wtf it’s laughable! But yeah I pay about £7 a month for each cat so around £14 and my cat had his leg broken in September by a fox, cost about £2490 which I had to pay up front and then claim back which took about six weeks .... I had to borrow the money of my sister so the cat could be operated on and then pay her back when it was refunded experience with the vets wasn’t great tho but that’s another story so I would say it’s massively a good thing to have as I would of had to take out a loan to get my cat treated (as I’d go hungry if I had too for my cats lol) but I can see how annoying having insurance is if there so funny about paying out when there’s a problem. What a joke . Also my other cat developed a skin condition at around six months old and thank god I had insurance as she had to go to the vets at least once a month for around a year it was ridiculous! So yeah for me it’s been a life saver xxx

 

[Hendrix]

I’d probably be bankrupt without pet insurance for my dog

I am with Pet Plan, pay £60 a month and my dog has skin allergies. He is on daily tablets which cost £80 odd for a 6 week prescription and he has been back and forward to a skin specialist over the last 4 years for tests which cost around £700. He also goes to the normal vet every 6 months for a check up on his skin before they’ll give him more tablets, the costs for these appointments are also covered by the insurance. He’s been at the vet a few times a month most months since summer this year due to flare ups.

Pet Plan have covered every single skin claim and I pay £100 excess once a year as each skin claim is a continuation.

I’ve only had to claim once for something not related to his skin, he twisted one of his claws and had to be sedated and have it removed. I only had to pay the excess and the out of hours vet did a direct claim for the rest of the money to Pet Plan.

Honestly couldn’t rate them enough!

 

[DCICassieStuart]

I posted this on another thread, but since this is about animal insurance .....

Our cat was a stray who was hanging around our house for about a month, so when she decided that she was moving in permanently I took her to the vet to check if in case she was chipped and to make sure that everything else was okay.
I didn't change my surname when I got married so on that first visit to the vet the cat was registered as Catname Mysurname.
A few days later my husband rang up about pet insurance and the insurance company told him that they didn't discuss it with him as he and the cat didn't have the same surname!
They told him that either I would need to ring back and speak to them or else he could double barrel the cat. He said that since I wouldn't double barrel my own name, he didn't think I was going to do it to the cat

So the cat has my surname

 

[Sickofinstacrap]

Vet Nurse here
I'm a bit confused that your insurance doesn't cover out of hours treatment, that should really be up to your vet to decide if it's an emergency.
I assume you realise that if two visits of £90 each are for the same condition you can claim for them as £180?

I didn’t know that about the 2 visits for £90 as he has a sensitive stomach and can often get bad vomiting and diarhoea even with a restricted diet! It’s prob abit too late to claim for that but atleast I know for again! But yea the small print basically says out of hours if the vet agrees the treatment was potentially life threatening then I get the claim, if not - no claim! I’ve requested the claim through the vet today anyway and chance my arm! He was super sick in my eyes last night but I’m not a vet so I don’t know what they will say to insurance company! Thanks for your help

I posted this on another thread, but since this is about animal insurance .....

Our cat was a stray who was hanging around our house for about a month, so when she decided that she was moving in permanently I took her to the vet to check if in case she was chipped and to make sure that everything else was okay.
I didn't change my surname when I got married so on that first visit to the vet the cat was registered as Catname Mysurname.
A few days later my husband rang up about pet insurance and the insurance company told him that they didn't discuss it with him as he and the cat didn't have the same surname!
They told him that either I would need to ring back and speak to them or else he could double barrel the cat. He said that since I wouldn't double barrel my own name, he didn't think I was going to do it to the cat

So the cat has my surname

Looool my dog has my boyfriends surname. When he’s in trouble I say his full name. When he hears his surname he knows it’s not good! I need to get a life

 

[Saddlesoap]

I didn’t know that about the 2 visits for £90 as he has a sensitive stomach and can often get bad vomiting and diarhoea even with a restricted diet! It’s prob abit too late to claim for that but atleast I know for again! But yea the small print basically says out of hours if the vet agrees the treatment was potentially life threatening then I get the claim, if not - no claim! I’ve requested the claim through the vet today anyway and chance my arm! He was super sick in my eyes last night but I’m not a vet so I don’t know what they will say to insurance company! Thanks for your help


Looool my dog has my boyfriends surname. When he’s in trouble I say his full name. When he hears his surname he knows it’s not good! I need to get a life

Which company are you with? If you're allowed to say?
If depends if the vet deems them the same condition. Vomiting is a tricky one. But if you see the vet for the first consult which is £90 and then ask you to go back a week later for a recheck and that's £50, that would definitely be claimable.
Give your vets a ring and ask to speak to the person who does the claims, they should be very helpful, that's what we are there for

For others reading, Petplan may seem pricy, but honestly they are so good. Claims are so easy to process and they pay out quickly. Some I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. 'Echo'&'Lima' or one with a name similar to PetMates

 

[Sickofinstacrap]

Which company are you with? If you're allowed to say?
If depends if the vet deems them the same condition. Vomiting is a tricky one. But if you see the vet for the first consult which is £90 and then ask you to go back a week later for a recheck and that's £50, that would definitely be claimable.
Give your vets a ring and ask to speak to the person who does the claims, they should be very helpful, that's what we are there for

For others reading, Petplan may seem pricy, but honestly they are so good. Claims are so easy to process and they pay out quickly. Some I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. 'Echo'&'Lima' or one with a name similar to PetMates

We’re with animal friends! Thanks so much that’s so helpful!

 

[Gembo]

Which company are you with? If you're allowed to say?
If depends if the vet deems them the same condition. Vomiting is a tricky one. But if you see the vet for the first consult which is £90 and then ask you to go back a week later for a recheck and that's £50, that would definitely be claimable.
Give your vets a ring and ask to speak to the person who does the claims, they should be very helpful, that's what we are there for

For others reading, Petplan may seem pricy, but honestly they are so good. Claims are so easy to process and they pay out quickly. Some I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. 'Echo'&'Lima' or one with a name similar to PetMates

What happens if a pet is already in the care of a vet after having an operation which has already been paid for but the owner can’t afford an overnight stay but the pet is too ill post op to be discharged?

 

[Raininvain]

What happens if a pet is already in the care of a vet after having an operation which has already been paid for but the owner can’t afford an overnight stay but the pet is too ill post op to be discharged?

I would imagine you would have to sort something out with the vet regarding when you get paid. Sorry about your pet being poorly.

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

I have pet insurance for my cat, it’s quite cheap - around £10 month I think. But he’s missed his boosters so it’s probably not valid at the moment (thanks to who ever mentioned that). Also I’ve let it roll over for a couple of years rather than shopping around so probably not got the best insurance I could get and paying more than I could be.

My nan ended up paying over a thousand pounds when 3 of her cats got sick over the course of a few months. She’s never had pet insurance. That kind of made me want to get it because we can’t afford to pay out that kind of money. Interesting thread.

 

[Gembo]

I would imagine you would have to sort something out with the vet regarding when you get paid. Sorry about your pet being poorly.

Thank you, it’s not my pet but sadly it passed away and I’m really trying to work out who is at fault because it has greatly upset me and I feel partly responsible

I have pet insurance for my cat, it’s quite cheap - around £10 month I think. But he’s missed his boosters so it’s probably not valid at the moment (thanks to who ever mentioned that). Also I’ve let it roll over for a couple of years rather than shopping around so probably not got the best insurance I could get and paying more than I could be.

My nan ended up paying over a thousand pounds when 3 of her cats got sick over the course of a few months. She’s never had pet insurance. That kind of made me want to get it because we can’t afford to pay out that kind of money. Interesting thread.

Just following on from what you have said I would strongly urge anyone with a pet to either make sure they have insurance or have savings or a credit card they can put any unexpected fees on as it can make all the difference. I feel so so passionately about this.

 

[TJ90]

We use animal friends and when we claimed they paid out quickly. We have the highest level you can get with them. £45 a month for our pug. We used Tesco for our last dog, they always paid up but were slow doing so

 

[judgejohndeed]

We’re with John Lewis and they’ve been fab. It is a lot (we have several animals) but already it’s saved us masses. Every time I see a Go Fund Me for a £6k dog operation or something I’m grateful we have the insurance.

 

[Woolly169]

Coop pet insurance is really good, you get a discount if you have a membership card (only a £1 if not) and I’m getting a free hamper for my cat! I did so much research but hard to know until you claim but they seemed best for price and value

 

[Saddlesoap]

What happens if a pet is already in the care of a vet after having an operation which has already been paid for but the owner can’t afford an overnight stay but the pet is too ill post op to be discharged?

I don't really understand why the bill would be paid before the animal is discharged? Regardless, it's a discussion for the vet treating the animal.

Thank you, it’s not my pet but sadly it passed away and I’m really trying to work out who is at fault because it has greatly upset me and I feel partly responsible

Sorry to hear the animal has passed away. Without specifics, I will say it isn't necessarily anyone's 'fault'. It's normal to look for blame, but sadly sometimes animals die despite everyone's best intentions and efforts.

 

[Gembo]

I don't really understand why the bill would be paid before the animal is discharged? Regardless, it's a discussion for the vet treating the animal.



Sorry to hear the animal has passed away. Without specifics, I will say it isn't necessarily anyone's 'fault'. It's normal to look for blame, but sadly sometimes animals die despite everyone's best intentions and efforts.

Thank you, it’s just been a really difficult situation and has caused a lot of upset of course. The animal was not recovering well after the operation, I wasn’t fully aware of the extent of this and the owner couldn’t afford to keep their pet at the vets overnight. Had I known I would have paid and the pet may have lived. I would like to be able to share exactly what happened but it was not my pet and although I don’t think the owner would be on here you never know so I don’t feel it’s my place to post the full story. I’ve only posted at all because I’m struggling so much with what happened and my husband had told me to phone the vet to check on the pet but I didn’t as I did not feel it was my place to do so. Had I done that though I would have been informed of the situation and paid the bill for an overnight stay. It’s that my husband told me twice to call and I didn’t that I am feeling sick about I am so so angry with myself it’s caused me a huge amount of distress. Just trying to work through it.