Pet Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

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• Friend has Jack Russell terrier who had eye trouble , visit to eye hospital Ј175.00 first visit, Ј77,50 for each follow up. Eye operation is Ј2,500
  medicine for same is from them Ј33.00 for eye drops and Ј5 for other one via a link on this site gets it for Ј24.00 month now. Had to pay Ј11.75 for prescription first of course. Hope this helps a little with costings.
• My PetPlan renewal went to over Ј10 a month for my 9 yr old cat with Ј4000 cover , i renewed with Lloyds for Ј5.80 a month but realised it would only cover for 12 months.
  I have just taken out a policy with the Halifax for Ј5.20 a month and has Ј6000 cover which is ongoing and Ј10 cashback from Rpoints and the excess is only Ј50 where PetPlan was Ј85 + 20% of each claim and Lloyds was Ј65 + 10%.
  There was an even cheaper option for Ј3.50 a month but only had Ј1000 cover, it seems very reasonable for a older aged pet.
• I am at a bit of a loss as where to go with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Presently she is covered by the breeder we bought her from who insured her with PetPlan but the insurance runs out in a day or two so i really need to sort this out now. Now i may be confused but surely, what is cheaper and the best quality health care cover now, will probably be not such good value in the future. So if Millie developed a life long problem that any new insurer wouldnt insure, and the original insurer kept loading more and more terms and conditions over the years, surely your trapped in a no win situation. :confused: Having to stick to a policy that was good but isnt so in the future (cause they load you with terms and conditions), just to keep her insured. Surely a Pet Insurer cant lose in that situation.:confused:
• Be careful when asking questions about what sort of cover you have for your pet's and always get them to confirm this in writing the reasons for saying this is I had my standard poodle with pet plan when he was 18 months old he developed epilepsy they were great at first and paid all the claims that I put in
  when things started to look worse I asked them if the policy I had covered him if the unthinkable happend and I had to have him put to sleep
  oh yes they said don't worry that will be allright well like a fool I took them at their word and never asked the to confirm this in writing well his condition got worse and after just 6 moths of suffering epilepsy he started having cluster fits which left him with brain damage so almost 2years to the day of my getting him as an 8 wek old puppy I had to have him put to sleep
  when i tried to claim they only sent back the money to cover the vet's bill's
  when I questioned this they said oh no you haven't got life cover.
  now I have another dog he is insured with direct line same type of cover and ten pounds cheaper
• Don't forget that pet insuarnce often oncludes 3rd party cover up to about Ј2 million. If your dog runs into the road and causes an accident, you are liable.
• If you own a small business, stick your dog/cat/budgie on your company logo - then it's officially a company mascot, and the business can pay for all its healthcare! Sounds like a Viz Top Tip, but it's actually true.
• Marks & Spencer offer a great option on their pet insurance policy. For my cat, I could choose to pay an additional couple of pounds and then have a zero excess. My last policy with PetPlan cost me about Ј35 more than the M&S policy and it came with a hefty Ј75 excess.
• I just wanted to warn you that cheaper is not always better! I'm a vet, and can honestly say that if you're going to get insurance, it definately pays to get a policy that covers FOR LIFE.
  The majority of cheap plans will only cover a specific condition for 12 months. So should your pet develop a permanent medical condition such as diabetes or heart disease, the insurance policy will only pay for the first 12 months treatment. Arthritis is a common complication after many fractures, and should arthritis develop (as is usual) several years after the accident, your policy would not cover treatment costs.
  So if you just want a policy to cover for one-off treatments, go with the cheapest, but if you want peace of mind, get a policy that covers for life. Bottom line - read the small print, and remember that in general you get what you pay for!
• Hello Daivet !
  I am getting a cat on saturday (6 months old) I have been advised that practiceplan is a good deal - I will have to get the cat her injections (2 x Ј36 first) then Ј10.something per month and it means all injections, tablets etc are all included.
  Can you give me your views on practiceplan or perhaps tell me the best and cheapest way to make sure I am not shelling out regularly for injections and the like?
  Thanks !
• I'm with Pet Plan but thinking of switching, my cat was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure last month and nearly died, bills came to over 300Ј with 40Ј a month checkups to look forward to. Pet Plan isn't covering him because he had a urinary tract infection 5 years ago. Serves me right for being honest!
  Cheers,
  BatCat
• I agree with Dai the Vet about cheapest not necessarily better. If you really love animals the RSPCA provides pet insurance that donates to the charity. They've been great paying out for my animals and with every payment you are helping animals less fotunate than your own.
• I have a cat which I got from a colleague that has just turned 13. Is there a company out there that will offer insurance for a cat of that age that will not charge the earth?
• Hi Charley
  I'm not sure what practiceplan is, I've never heard of it. Drop me some info or a weblink and I'll research it and let you know. In my experience most insurance companies won't cover routine (ie non-emergency) work, eg vaccination, worming, dental treatment etc. so you still have to pay for these. Also, some companies insist on annual vaccination, meaning if you forget, your policy becomes invalid. Once again, check the small print!
  Let me know about practiceplan though.
  Dai
• I have also taken out M&S pet insurance because of the option to pay a few pence per month more and have no excess to pay. I looked at all the specialist pet insurance companies and M&S have by far the best benefits, they don't limit insurance to amount per condition, instead it's Ј7000 per year. I would highly recommend taking out pet insurance, especially this one. My golden retriever has just turned 1, about 6 mths ago she started losing her hair more than usual. We've mounted up Ј1000 in vets bills having tests, it turns out she has an allergy and will need regular injections to control it. This isn't life threatening but something we will have to claim for on a regular basis. Today I received a cheque for all my vets bills with no excess deducted, M&S paid up without any hesitation, even though we've been insured for less than a year with them. What more can you ask for?
• I have just had an insurance claim turned down through Pinnacle when my cat suffered from a food allergy, because she had a mild case of the runs when she had worms when I first got her.
  So I have decided to change all four of my cats to M&S. It is a superb policy, that rivals the likes of Petplan and there is no excess. It's actually just under Ј100 cheaper than Pinnacle, even with the no excess. Although some of my cats have pre-existing conditions, I will be saving, so I don't mind changing.
• We've been with Direct Line for years - currently paying Ј40/month for 7 moggies ages ranging 2 - 10 years (haven't got the snakes insured). And I must say they've always been brilliant. We've had to claim for a couple of cut feet and an abcess on the tail over the years, but the biggie was that cat no. 3 got a blocked urethra this year and nearly died; 7 days in the veterinary hospital. Direct Line were fantastic - settled directly with our vet so we didn't have to find Ј1700 in the space of a month! Will be checking our policy and talking them to finetune exactly what's covered now, but unless there was a major problem and an excellent new insurer, I can't see us moving.
• Apparently on 28 November Tesco are introducting new pet (dog) insurance which will cover ongoing illness (not restricted to 12 month time period). The customer service guy I talked to when I advised I wanted to cancel insurance said he couldn't give any details but to phone back on 28th.