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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

. . . to not have pet insurance?

130 replies

RedPandaFluff · 02/04/2025 14:31

We have two Maine Coons and they've been insured all their lives. They're now ten years old, which is getting on a bit for this particular breed, and the monthly insurance cost is going up from £60 to £85. Not only that, but even if we claim, there is a big excess (£150-£250) and we also pay 25% of the total vets bill, even if it's covered.

They're both in good health, no pre-existing conditions, neutered and indoor-cats only. Would I be mad to put the £85 in a savings account each month instead, and hope they don't get ill for at least a couple of years?

YABU - your cats will keel over the second they're not covered; get the insurance

YANBU - pet insurance is a racket and you should definitely risk it

OP posts:
AnnaQuayInTheUk · 02/04/2025 14:35

YANBU but it depends on how important your pet is to you.

We've never insured any of our cats but have just paid the bills as necessary. If one of them needed very expensive treatment for a terminal illness then we'd probably opt to have it PTS.

Our dog is heavily insured - he's part of the family and we would do anything to keep him alive as long as he wasn't in pain.

RunningJo · 02/04/2025 14:36

I don’t insure my dogs past 10. it’s just not worth it, what with the cost itself plus higher excess and then a % of the vet’s fees as well.
I put money into an account to use if I need it.

Having had dogs go through operations when elderly many years ago, I said I wouldn’t put an older dog through numerous invasive procedures so I bear that in mind too.

AllTheChaos · 02/04/2025 14:39

I did the switch to savings, albeit a bit later as a longer lived (non) breed (ie a moggie!) as I knew I wouldn’t want to put him through the trauma of an op when he was too old to have a good prognosis, and anything else the savings would cover.

pushchairprincess · 02/04/2025 14:39

I've just stopped my insurance for my 12 year old Maltese, he has not needed to have any visits to the vet (apart from teeth which cost £780 and I was not covered for) you need to read your t's and c's the older the pet, the more the insurance, and the higher percentage you have to pay towards the vets fees. I just save my insurance cost in my account .

Stagshear · 02/04/2025 14:40

I insure my dogs up until they are 2 and then I stop and put the money into savings on the basis they are then unlikely to need something until they are 7 or 8. I think at the age of 10 in a cat the likelihood of you needing to claim in the next 2 years is high- so I would carry on paying now. If you want to take the putting money into savings route- you do it in the years claims are unlikely, not in the geriatric years.

BellyPork · 02/04/2025 14:41

Do you have 10 thousand pounds sitting in a bank account? Are you able to access another 20 thousand in an emergency? If so, it's fine to forgo insurance.

FeministUnderTheCatriarchy · 02/04/2025 14:46

My Maine Coon cat had an ectopic ureter when a kitten (basically he was incontinent and kept getting utis and would have died from infection). Pet Plan said that a birth defect is a preexisting condition so wouldn't cover the surgery.

It cost just under 8k and wiped out our savings. I swore then that I wouldn't insure again, but I would always have a separate savings account for the cats where I put in a set amount.

We have a responsibility when we get a pet to make sure we will be able to care for their medical needs. If you think you will be dedicated and responsible enough to save for them and not spend it, then I think it's the best way to go!

P.S I know I'm biased, but Maine Coons really are so special. My big guy is laying squashed in the bathroom sink while I have a bath. He follows me everywhere and it was worth every penny to save his life.

LadyDanburysHat · 02/04/2025 14:49

YANBU, and for those saying do you have £10-20k for an emergency. For me anything that required that kind of money spending on my cat would probably be awful for him to suffer, so I wouldn't put him through it and would rather pts.

JitterbugFairy · 02/04/2025 14:50

Put what you would have paid in insurance into a separate vet fund. Hopefully it won't be needed but you should have a bit saved up incase they do.

Pickingmyselfup · 02/04/2025 14:55

My cat is 14 and we are still planning on insuring her for a bit longer but there will come a point where we will stop. A bill that we can't afford would likely to be some major op or for some serious illness and I wouldn't be putting an elderly cat through a huge operation and would rethink making them take meds every day if they weren't good at taking them.

It does depend on how much insurance is too, once it goes over £50 then we will probably stop but that is likely to tie in with her getting quite old anyway.

Vets are so expensive so I would hang on a bit if I were you, it cost me £100 to put my rat to sleep this week!

foxandbee · 02/04/2025 14:58

Hmm. I thought about this when my cat got to 12 and had never been ill in her life but decided to carry on.

Then she got cancer at 13 and sadly died. We didn't go for chemo as I felt it would not be the right thing at that age, but even so the costs soon mounted up and came to about two year's worth of insurance payments. The premiums were more like £55 ish pcm, though.

Not sure if that helps!

Sadcafe · 02/04/2025 15:01

It’s a gamble like any insurance, have two dogs, both insured, both currently below ten so only the excess to pay, have wondered on occasions if the £50 a month would be better in savings, but on the one relatively recent occasion our older uninsured dog needed bloods, scan, drip and some meds, it was over £1500, for what turned out to be just a few weeks extension to her life

Original poster
RedPandaFluff · 02/04/2025 15:03

@BellyPork but even with insurance, for a £10k condition, I'd have to pay the cost of the premiums - say I'd been paying for six months before a cat became ill, so that's £510, plus the excess of £250, plus the 25% I'm required to pay, so that's £2500. In total, WITH INSURANCE, I'd still be paying £3260.

And yes, without insurance I'd be paying £10k, but if an older cat needed that much medical treatment to have a good quality of life, I would have to look at alternatives.

OP posts:
Marinel · 02/04/2025 15:07

I have in the past stopped insuring when our cats got to about 10 years old, because the premiums tend to hike around that age. The renewal for our 12 year old came through last week and I am still dithering although I think we will keep it. He is currently healthy and I am unlikely to put him through a lot of tests and treatments for an illness, but he could have an accident and orthopaedics are very expensive.

I would not cancel insurance if I could not afford to pay possible vet bills next week without it. Putting aside £85 a month and crossing fingers for the next couple of years is a risk.

NeuroSpicyMumof3 · 02/04/2025 15:07

Remember that insurance isn't just about paying vet bills. If you have a dog and that dog causes an accident, e.g. dashing in front of a car causing a crash, those drivers will claim against the liability aspect of your pet insurance. No pet insurance, you are facing those costs yourself. Of course this doesn't apply to cats, but for dog owners you never know if your dog could slip its lead, bite someone etc.

Marinel · 02/04/2025 15:08

@NeuroSpicyMumof3 that doesn't apply to the OP who has cats though.

NeuroSpicyMumof3 · 02/04/2025 15:09

Marinel · 02/04/2025 15:08

@NeuroSpicyMumof3 that doesn't apply to the OP who has cats though.

@Marinel no sorry it was for the dog owners, I have edited

Cosyblankets · 02/04/2025 15:09

NeuroSpicyMumof3 · 02/04/2025 15:07

Remember that insurance isn't just about paying vet bills. If you have a dog and that dog causes an accident, e.g. dashing in front of a car causing a crash, those drivers will claim against the liability aspect of your pet insurance. No pet insurance, you are facing those costs yourself. Of course this doesn't apply to cats, but for dog owners you never know if your dog could slip its lead, bite someone etc.

Edited

You can get 3rd party insurance via dogs trust
Can't remember how much it is something like 25 quid

faerietales · 02/04/2025 15:10

Our oldest cat isn’t insured - they wanted £85 a month when he turned eight which was just ridiculous. I’ve saved the premiums just in case but we’ve never needed it.

faerietales · 02/04/2025 15:10

NeuroSpicyMumof3 · 02/04/2025 15:07

Remember that insurance isn't just about paying vet bills. If you have a dog and that dog causes an accident, e.g. dashing in front of a car causing a crash, those drivers will claim against the liability aspect of your pet insurance. No pet insurance, you are facing those costs yourself. Of course this doesn't apply to cats, but for dog owners you never know if your dog could slip its lead, bite someone etc.

Edited

You can pay £25 a year to Dogs Trust for third party insurance.

CatsChin · 02/04/2025 15:12

I think it's fine not to insure if you can pay reasonable costs.

I have uninsured cats and rabbits. Like others, I have no interest in prolonging their lives with surgery or medicines where the administration of it will make them miserable or not trust me. For most illnesses, I would put to sleep (especially rabbits, because prey animals just hate that sort of intervention).

IglesiasPiggl · 02/04/2025 15:14

BellyPork · 02/04/2025 14:41

Do you have 10 thousand pounds sitting in a bank account? Are you able to access another 20 thousand in an emergency? If so, it's fine to forgo insurance.

Lots of people, myself included, just wouldn't pay that much and instead have their elderly pet put to sleep. It's an option, we don't have to shell out thousands on pets that are near the end of their life and would most likely find treatment to that extent very stressful.

Gardenhaurs · 02/04/2025 15:15

BellyPork · 02/04/2025 14:41

Do you have 10 thousand pounds sitting in a bank account? Are you able to access another 20 thousand in an emergency? If so, it's fine to forgo insurance.

Nuts to pay that out for an animal and I have horses and dogs. Your premium would be insane to cover that much

ghostyslovesheets · 02/04/2025 15:16

foxandbee · 02/04/2025 14:58

Hmm. I thought about this when my cat got to 12 and had never been ill in her life but decided to carry on.

Then she got cancer at 13 and sadly died. We didn't go for chemo as I felt it would not be the right thing at that age, but even so the costs soon mounted up and came to about two year's worth of insurance payments. The premiums were more like £55 ish pcm, though.

Not sure if that helps!

Edited

Sorry about your cat x one of mine had cancer at 3 - we didn’t do chemo either but it was still £3800 for blood tests, admission, scans, transfusions (from our cat!) before he died - so glad he was insured.

i have 5.5 cats (long story) aged between 2-10 and the insurance is a lot but then one busts her knee (again) or one gets a septic bite and I’m glad I have it. Might stop when the oldest reaches 14+

Nextdoortomeis · 02/04/2025 15:21

Our nieces dog was 5 in perfect health.
Ran into a low branch on his walk.
Lost an eye. Insured for £4k bill was nearly £6k. Other eye is now suffering from the strain. Needs drops every day. That's £200 per month.
She has said if it gets worse she will have to pts as can't get cover on this eye.

Don't not insure it could cost you dear.