Best pet insurance and how much?

[emelsie]

Any recommendations for pet insurance ? And idea of how much you pay? Have looked at Tesco bank so far , around £15 a month for 2 cats if I want standard cover for illness and injury (up to £3000 for each new injury or illness)

Thanks !

[dementedpixie]

Is that a lifetime policy? I would make sure it is. Also £3k isn't much cover

[Toddlerteaplease]

Tesco. Go for top level cover if you can afford it. Between them my indoor cats ran up bills of £11000 in a year.

[Toddlerteaplease]

I pay £42 a month for my girls. But it's worth every penny as one of them has serous heart disease and will need medication for life.

[Moggie45]

We’ve been with Tesco before and hey were great when we claimed - paid very quickly. E&L on the other hand were a nightmare, eventually paid but it took ages! My vet said that they have form for making claims difficult.

[emelsie]

Thanks for all replies ! Looks as though I may need to up the cover a bit then , also may be a stupid question but how does the insurance pay out ? If emergency for example would you have to pay and then claim the money back ? Thanks

[Allergictoironing]

Depends on the vet, and the insurance company. I understand that most vets will only charge you the excess and claim directly if you're with PetPlan for example, but not with many others. Worth checking with your vet which they will do this with.

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

I'm with Petplan for mine and they've been brilliant. He's run up over £5k of vet bills in 2 years and the only times we've had to pay are the first time as the vet didn't think it would be covered by insurance and when we had to take him to a different vet. We claimed and the payment was made to us, but every other time the vet has claimed and been paid directly.

[billybagpuss]

I've never insured my cats but just got a puppy and we've gone for direct line that looked like a really good level of cover.

[Toddlerteaplease]

My everyday vet, I pay upfront. Fortunately the vet hospital, cardiologist and v posh referral centre all do direct payments.

[problembottom]

I have Tesco medium level and have had to claim about £1500 this year. They’ve been very good deal with. New conditions are only covered for a year on my policy tho and with hindsight I would have got a top level cover.

[EachandEveryone]

Petplan lifetime up to £4,000. So far this year Daphne has broke her leg which was £900 minus the £90 excess. I was in hospital for a week and they are paying me £15 for each cat per day which I’m pleased about. I pay £42 a month and it’s paid for itself already. They pay direct to my vet which I need.

[Allergictoironing]

Lifetime cover is well worth the extra cost. Many cats get conditions that need medication for the rest of their life e.g. diabetes, kidney or heart issues etc, and the medication for that can be in 3 figures every month. Without lifetime cover, they won't pay out on that past the first year.