Cat insurance recommendation?

[Tuftysquirrel]

Hi, Please could anyone recommend a good, reasonably-priced, whole of life insurance policy for our 11 month old rescue kitten? She did have a one-month free Pet Plan cover from Cats' Protection but have got a bit bogged down trying to choose a replacement.

Some companies such as Tesco and Direct Line are offering large freebie incentives but am really interested in a reasonably-priced policy which pays out quickly and will not shoot up wildly in price as she gets older.
Would be grateful for recommendations and also any companies to avoid! Thanks

[ratbagcatbag]

I'm with tescos, prices have increased slightly over the years, but not excessive and paid out fast and with no queries. I had pet plan for my dog,never ever again, age nine, £15 per month, £60 excess, age ten went to £28 per month, and I was responsible for excess and 20% off vets bills. I was livid, he'd been insured with them since a pup and had one £90 claim. Grrrrrrr. I cancelled it there and then.

[ratbagcatbag]

Should say tescos for my cat, not dog, I was just saying why I avoided pet plan again

[MrsClown1]

Avoid Sainsbury's - they were expensive and when my cat had his teeth out they refused to pay.

One thing worth looking into is vet insurance. My vet surgery is brilliant - I pay 12.50 a month for the cat and included in that is all surgery including neutering), annual vaccinations, consultations etc. The only thing not included is cosmetic surgery. There are no age restrictions or anything. My cat is an unknown age but we do know he is elderly. You might try ringing around vet surgeries to see if they have anything similar. I know Vets 4 Pets do a similar thing, though not as extensive. The only thing I would say is read the small print, whoever you go with. The surgery I am with is part of a franchise and are call the Island Vets so there may be one near you.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

It is worth considering these vet plans carefully what happens if your pet needs treatment that your regular practice can not offer like specialist orthopaedic surgery?

[VenusStarr]

Pet plan are the best for whole life insurance plans, although they are expensive, they are the company that my vets recommend.

[Tuftysquirrel]

Thanks everyone for the info. ratbagcatbag,that was exactly what I wanted to know. How awful of Petplan to take all that money from you then ramp up the charges! Will investigate Tesco now.
clown and lonecat lots of food for thought there, didn't even know such a system existed! Why could Sainsburys refuse to pay for your cat's teeth?

How much should insurance for a young cat cost? Is 12·50 a reasonable cost per month? Difficult to find out without putting all your details in multiple times. Sorry, more questions but seems as tricky as car insurance!

[Tuftysquirrel]

venusstarr, so you have had better luck than ratbagcatbag with Petplan? How old is you cat, if you don't mind me asking?

[ratbagcatbag]

My cat is five ish ( stray that never left) its £8 per month for the higher level of cover. Goes up approx £1 per year per month iyswim

[cozietoesie]

I can only guess that pet insurance is like houses, Tufty. You have something which you didn't declare when taking out the policy, something which was a pre-existing problem or you don't do routine maintenance then they have you.

[ratbagcatbag]

Not any policies cover for teeth including my tesco one, when I took cat in,my vet asked if she was insured, I said yes but not teeth (mouth issue) he just winked at me and said well it won't be a tooth problem then will it. It turned out it was an abscess from swallowing a particularly boney creature tht scratched her throat on the way down.

[OohShiny]

Try animal friends. Ours is something like £3.12 per 4 year old cat for a decent level of cover.

[londonchick]

We use Argos and they've been great with our old cat

[FreckledLeopard]

Another vote for Tesco. They paid out quickly and without any problem when one of our cats managed to rip her abdomen open when getting stuck going over a fence. They haven't upped the premiums either.

[Tuftysquirrel]

Thanks everyone for all your help, am following up leads as we speak.

[PK1975]

We use pet plan. Used them for our old cat and the cats we have now.

They've always paid out and we've claimed a lot over the years for our cats' continuing illnesses.

They even paid out during the period of free insurance given to us by the breeder and before we'd signed up. I wouldn't go with anyone else.

[BedHog]

Has anybody used 'Healthy Pets!' for cat insurance? They seem to come up cheapest for decent cover on the comparison sites, without time limits on cover.

[perfectcareerchoice]

I use M&S.I pay £8.02 a month for my 17month old cat. That's premium cover. Up to £7,000 vets fees. Its a whole life cover. My vet was impressed with it when I needed to make a claim!

[SuburbanRhonda]

Agree, perfect. I've been with M&S for both my cats for 11 years. No claims at all for cat1, but I've made thousands of pounds' worth of claims for cat2, who has had two fibrosarcomas removed and has hip dysplasia, for which she is on lifelong medication.

[moonbells]

We were with Direct Line for our old cat - when she got into her mid-teens they were trying to charge £30 a month so we cancelled it. Had been a fiver a month when she was 6.

We have exactly the same dilemma as OP here - have two new furries from Cats Prot and no idea who to insure with.