Discussion
My cat is 15 months old and I've had her since she was 10 weeks (feral, rescue). I insured her last year with Petplan which cost £350 however the premium has gone up to £419 for the next 12 months - this seems extraordinary.
What do other cat owners do, is it a case of going elsewhere or do you take the risk and keep a fund?
What do other cat owners do, is it a case of going elsewhere or do you take the risk and keep a fund?
I appreciate some people are likely more emotionally attached to their cats than I am but I have one which is abou5 5 months old and I won't be insuring him, as much as I like having him around being brutally honest i'll pay for vet bills up to a point and i'm never going to let him suffer but i'm afraid any life altering illnesses such as Cancer or complex breaks or injuries and it would be game over.
Apologies in advance for anyone offended by my response.
Apologies in advance for anyone offended by my response.
I keep the premiums in the Bank of Simpo and pay any vet's bills myself.
Insurance companies make profit which means that overall you lose. I think insurance has also played a role in putting up vet's bills because they know the owner won't be paying. Mind you that's small beer compared to the current trend of big corporates buying up vet's practices which I think is abominable.
Insurance companies make profit which means that overall you lose. I think insurance has also played a role in putting up vet's bills because they know the owner won't be paying. Mind you that's small beer compared to the current trend of big corporates buying up vet's practices which I think is abominable.
Simpo Two said:
I keep the premiums in the Bank of Simpo and pay any vet's bills myself.
Insurance companies make profit which means that overall you lose. I think insurance has also played a role in putting up vet's bills because they know the owner won't be paying. Mind you that's small beer compared to the current trend of big corporates buying up vet's practices which I think is abominable.
Thanks, I'm minded to do the same. Given she's young and I've only paid one annual premium I think now is the time to make that call. Once you're several years down the line I guess you'd feel obliged to keep paying future premiums to get benefit from all the previous years when it wasn't called upon.Insurance companies make profit which means that overall you lose. I think insurance has also played a role in putting up vet's bills because they know the owner won't be paying. Mind you that's small beer compared to the current trend of big corporates buying up vet's practices which I think is abominable.
Jamescrs said:
I appreciate some people are likely more emotionally attached to their cats than I am but I have one which is abou5 5 months old and I won't be insuring him, as much as I like having him around being brutally honest i'll pay for vet bills up to a point and i'm never going to let him suffer but i'm afraid any life altering illnesses such as Cancer or complex breaks or injuries and it would be game over.
Apologies in advance for anyone offended by my response.
As per my (depressing) post in this forum a few mins ago, I've had my cats 17 years, most of these years they've not been insured. Apologies in advance for anyone offended by my response.
I'm sure I convinced myself of a reason behind this at the time, but having just had to spend £3k this weekend I'm of course wishing I had insured them!
But on the flipside, insuring two cats for, say, £500 each per year for 17 years having never needed it until now, maybe that's my reasoning right there....
UTH said:
But on the flipside, insuring two cats for, say, £500 each per year for 17 years having never needed it until now, maybe that's my reasoning right there....
Appreciate you're looking backwards, and I think it's gone up a lot, but if the OP is being quoted £400 for yr old car I dread to think how much a 17yr old one would cost. And you'd have to had it on lifetime cover.That said, we've had multiple cats and not insured them until the last one - my wife took the free insurance from the vet and just let it run on. At 18mths old the cat turned out to have a heart defect. We had £4K cover limit and for two years on the run the vets bills were amazingly, £4K. Then the cat died. Apparently this always happens - the meds they put them cease to be effective.
I will say Petplan paid every bill quickly and without query, including the vet's bonkers pricing for meds - makes me wonder whether the vet gets a kickback.
Personally, from experience, I'd stick with Petplan. They don't increase premiums if you have to claim, and have always paid us swiftly.
Some others seem to have initial low prices, but then ramp it up more in coming years. As they get older it becomes difficult to change, as if they have been ill, and you want to change insurers, most will not consider any pre-existing conditions.
We lost one of our cats last year at 12 y/o, and she had around £8k of treatment in the previous 18 months. With the way vet prices are now, it racks up very quickly, especially if they need an op and/or hospitalisation. Her monthly premium was under £30.
Our other cat is with ManyPets and they have just put the premium up from £43 to £68 per month! She is a bit poorly at the moment and is likely to need treatment at some point soon, so we are just sucking it up at the moment.
Also, bear in mind after 10 years of age, most companies, including Petplan, expect you to pay 20% of any costs, as well as the excess.
Some others seem to have initial low prices, but then ramp it up more in coming years. As they get older it becomes difficult to change, as if they have been ill, and you want to change insurers, most will not consider any pre-existing conditions.
We lost one of our cats last year at 12 y/o, and she had around £8k of treatment in the previous 18 months. With the way vet prices are now, it racks up very quickly, especially if they need an op and/or hospitalisation. Her monthly premium was under £30.
Our other cat is with ManyPets and they have just put the premium up from £43 to £68 per month! She is a bit poorly at the moment and is likely to need treatment at some point soon, so we are just sucking it up at the moment.
Also, bear in mind after 10 years of age, most companies, including Petplan, expect you to pay 20% of any costs, as well as the excess.
cliffords said:
Just to note petplan don't increase the premium after a claim as stated above, BECAUSE at renewal they exclude cover for that condition. It's a very hollow claim to make, they really are a bad lot.
That didn't happen on our case, cat with heart failure - we had exactly the same vet, specialist and medication costs two years on the run. May be due to "lifetime" cover.Pet Insurance pricing generally has gone through the roof over the past 5 /8 years and unless you have purchased lifetime cover from the get go , changing to another Insurer won’t help as pre existing conditions are then excluded.
It’s the same for Dog and Horse Insurance except the pricing issue is magnified.
Many policies have fairly large excesses and quite a few have also introduced percentage contribution per claim on top of this.
The lack of independent vets as already mentioned has just added to the issues given their new owners need profits to rise at owners expense.
Our strategy has always been never to insure Cats , insure Dogs until they reach 7 ( that’s when the hikes really kick in ) and Horses until they reach 24 ( again that’s when premiums get really silly and coverage more restricted ).
It’s the same for Dog and Horse Insurance except the pricing issue is magnified.
Many policies have fairly large excesses and quite a few have also introduced percentage contribution per claim on top of this.
The lack of independent vets as already mentioned has just added to the issues given their new owners need profits to rise at owners expense.
Our strategy has always been never to insure Cats , insure Dogs until they reach 7 ( that’s when the hikes really kick in ) and Horses until they reach 24 ( again that’s when premiums get really silly and coverage more restricted ).
Sheepshanks said:
cliffords said:
Just to note petplan don't increase the premium after a claim as stated above, BECAUSE at renewal they exclude cover for that condition. It's a very hollow claim to make, they really are a bad lot.
That didn't happen on our case, cat with heart failure - we had exactly the same vet, specialist and medication costs two years on the run. May be due to "lifetime" cover.They would only exclude if you have the basic 'Essentials' cover, not the 'Covered for Life' cover. I would only ever take out cover for life.
https://www.petplan.co.uk/pet-insurance/types-of-p...
We've been with Pet Plan for more than 10 years now; they are not the cheapest, but I believe they are the best. We've never had any issues with any claims, and their customer service is very good.
Simpo Two said:
I keep the premiums in the Bank of Simpo and pay any vet's bills myself.
Insurance companies make profit which means that overall you lose.
It means that more people lose than win, but some people do win big. Keeping the premiums isn't much use if your cat breaks it's leg a month into your cunning plan. And then has some other misfortune shortly after the leg gets fixed. Insurance companies make profit which means that overall you lose.
Our most expensive is Oreo at about £720 per year...
... but then he has had about £27,000 on the insurance companies - for three different things that he's managed to do to himself.
First one was attacked by another animal; broke his palate and crushed nose. £7,500
Second one was a broken femur in two places; £6,500
Third one was an unknown illness that we still haven't got to the bottom of (but managing): £13,000 (insurance), £3,000 (personal as we'd gone over the £10,000 per year until it renewed shortly after)
The other three cats are quite a bit cheaper as they tend to keep to themselves.
Since the last £3,000 has been since the last renewal, I've no idea how much it'll be, but not looking forward to it (should be renewing in August)...
All four are insured with Tesco.
... but then he has had about £27,000 on the insurance companies - for three different things that he's managed to do to himself.
First one was attacked by another animal; broke his palate and crushed nose. £7,500
Second one was a broken femur in two places; £6,500
Third one was an unknown illness that we still haven't got to the bottom of (but managing): £13,000 (insurance), £3,000 (personal as we'd gone over the £10,000 per year until it renewed shortly after)
The other three cats are quite a bit cheaper as they tend to keep to themselves.
Since the last £3,000 has been since the last renewal, I've no idea how much it'll be, but not looking forward to it (should be renewing in August)...
All four are insured with Tesco.
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