Pet Insurance

A question about : Pet Insurance

How many here have a cat insured and if so, which policy and company do you find the best deal for a young , single cat ?

Best answers:

• I dont
  Dont have a cat either, probably should be mentioned too otherwise your answers may be skewed.
• What a ridiculous answer. Surely if you have a cat insured (which I asked) goes without saying that you have a cat.
• Go with a "for life" policy, not an annual policy. It's best to insure them whilst they are young because there will be no "pre-existing conditions" excluded on the policy. Personally I recommend PetPlan, many vets accept payment direct from PetPlan and they provide good coverage on their policy. If you go with a cheaper provider make sure you read the policy and compare the coverage. The problem with annual policies is that once your pet gets sick one year it will be excluded the next year, so instead go for a 'for life' policy and they are covered for life, as long as you pay the premiums.
• pet plan don't even come up in the money supermarket results.
• PetPlan probably aren't on comparison sites but they are the best known pet insurance company. If you ask your vet they will probably recommend PetPlan and probably accept direct electronic claims for PetPlan. If you want to be sure of getting a good policy go with PetPlan.
  helpucover are a name used by pinnacle, they are a decent insurance company.
  You have to read the small print I'm afraid, they all cover different things to different levels.
  Just make sure you click on the tab for life cover only policies. You really don't want to bother with an annual policy.
• Pet Plan covered for life is the way to go. Think carefully about whether you take the Ј4k, Ј7k or Ј12k pa options though. If your cat develops a long term condition like heart disease, Ј4k disappears very quickly.
• Pet Plan is soooo expensive. Over Ј16 a month and yet others on the comparison sites are just over Ј2 a month. I want to insure a tabby cat not a snow leopard. I thought this was a money saving forum !
  Surely the cheaper companies are just as valid otherwise they wouldn't be in the comparison sites.
• There are three ways pet insurance and their limits can work:
  1) A single year - you have a limit for the treatment of a condition within a single policy year. Once that limit is exhausted or the policy ends then there is never any further cover for that condition or anything related to it
  2) Multi year - you have a limit for the treatment of a condition but that limit spans multiple years so if you use 33% of the limit each year then cover for that condition will last 3 years but again, once that limit is exhausted there is never any further cover for the conditions or issues related to it
  3) Reinstating - this is the top tier where you have an annual limit for any condition but each year that you renew the limit is reinstated so as long as you stay with them and they offer renewal that condition will continue to be paid
  Unfortunately different companies use the same/ similar names for different things and so it's important to check the actual wording to ensure that "life" means life (ie 3 above)
  The "commitment" the insurer is making varies massively between the three levels of cover and its no surprise that the premiums they charge do too
• I am more of a lurker than a poster but felt like chipping in here...
  PetPlan seem to be widely acknowledged as the best insurer but they are pricier.
  I have one of my two cats insured with Animal Friends, and I've been impressed with them. We also had another insured with them and we recently lost her, they were very easy to deal with, paid out quickly on the two claims we've had with them, and I can email them with queries.
  It's a life cover policy but it does have a Ј2000 annual limit, but we were aware of that when taking it out - it's cheaper than higher limits. Our cats are indoor moggies, so unlikely to have serious accidents, fights or any breed related health issues. Our 8 year old is Ј6 a month, and the 16 year old we lost recently was Ј12 a month.
  The other cat is with a different insurer but there's a long story involved there and this is not the time or place for that!
• rather than start a new cat insurance thread and seeing as people have replied who seem to know more about cat insurance than I do I just thought i'd ask - we currently have a policy with M&S pet insurance, taken out when we had our cat at 18 months old, about 2 years ago. It's gone up from about Ј6 to Ј9, I was going to shop around, i'm guessing it's an annual policy? (i'll check tonight). She had an upset tummy last year and we had a vet bill over Ј100 which the policy paid out on. I'm assuming if I changed insurance provider now, even though it was just a one off occurrence of a bug, they wouldn't pay out if she had an upset tummy again?
• Ok thank you, like a right palaver We had a complete history printout to claim the last time, hopefully i've kept a copy!
• Petplan quoted me Ј15 a month (with a 10% discount) for the lifetime Ј4000 a year limit. I can get the same cover from Animal Friends, M&S,Helpucover,Petinsurance.co.uk,Purely Pets, for just under Ј6 a month. That's a massive saving.
• Are you sure those are equivalent?
  Unfortunately it's very hard to compare pet insurance because you have to research their policies on increasing premiums as your pet gets older, whether they increase the excess or whether they introduce a % contribution on top of the excess. They often have other exclusions and requirements, eg for dental issues to be covered they have to have a dental check every 12 months.
• A vet told me to avoid Animal Friends as they are the worst for paying out.
• Even Petplan come out poor on this website. Seems like all pet insurance companies are sharks. Wondering if best to put so much away in a savings account.
  I think MoreThan seem to be the best option.
  https://www.petinsurancereview.co.uk/