Mumsnet users share what they think of pet insurance providers

[EllieMumsnet]

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We want to know what you think of all things pet insurance as well as pet insurance providers. Have you found the perfect plan for you? Is there something you wish providers would do more of? Perhaps you can share how you found the pet insurer you are currently with?

Whatever your thoughts and feelings are about pet insurance and the providers, please share them on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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Our 13 year old Dog Tiny ( she is a Chihuahua x Pekingese ) was always insured by Pet Plan...sadly 5 years ago she has to have some quite intensive tests ( vets thought she had a tumor, but it was bad pancreatitis ) and after we put in a claim ( and due to her age ) the premium soared. We now just squirrel abit of money away each month and its there if needs be for her. I was really angered at how much it had gone up though as it was the first claim we had made and we'd had insurance with Pet Plan since she was a puppy ( so 9 years before we claimed )

Costs are high but then so are vets bills, so as with any other insurance, you have to weigh up the risk and choose the option that's right for you.

Always read the small print and compare with other providers.

Personally we have a small pot put aside, incase. I have also read they sometimes are not as good as you would expect they certainly seem very complicated in what they cover!

essential with costs of vets

We have a pet insurance for our cats but haven't had a chance to deal with them about anything yet. I really do think it's worth having one though. Vet bills can be so expensive.

I have two cats and don't have insurance because I think that it is expensive

If anything happened to our pet our family would be heart broken so we would need to know we had done everything we could

I have to admit that we just went with the one recommended by the vet. It never occurred to me to shop around. Looks like I should have done.

I don't buy insurance. Instead, I put aside a little a month in savings. Insurers always find a way to avoid paying but this way you know you have enough to cover emergencies.

Earlier this year my 3 year old dog became ill. It turned out he had liver failure and after a few weeks I had to have him put to sleep. Although there was nothing really wrong with my pet insurance provider, there were things I hadn't thought of myself. After all, none of us really expect our pets to get that ill when they are young do we? The provider I was with did pay out but then some things they said were "too expensive", like the final emergency call out on the day my dad died. It came to over £1000 but they would only pay £600. I had to pay up front and because it came to such a large amount of money it had to go on my credit card and as the full amount wasn't given back to me, I'm now in debt.

That should have said "dog died" not "dad died" I don't think they would have paid out anything for my dad dying!

I would religiously search for the best deal on price comparison websites but now my dog is an old lady the cost of her pet insurance has sky rocketed. Any insurance covering a lifetime condition is basically prohibitive. Instead I put the equivalent sum of money into a savings account and pay for a lower cost insurance just covering the basics.

I could never afford Pet Insurance

Directline are still the cheapest for me, thinking of looking for a lifetime policy soon.

My dog has a pre-existing condition ( Epilepsy) No insurers will touch her now. When we took out her first policy she'd had one fit, the vet had said it was probably an allergic reaction. However when it was diagnosed one year later by a neurosurgical vet ( after she'd had 2 more seizures) it was confirmed as idiopathic epilepsy. The insurance company wouldn't pay out. I just put money away each month now into a savings plan for her.

We currently use Petplan - my parents used it for the family cats when I was a child, and now we’ve acquired furry friends I’ve found myself sticking to what I know!

Only recently got a pet and looked into it, but decided it's far too expensive and we'd just dedicate savings each month to our own 'insurance' pool money.

I use M&S for my new cat. He has had one injury which they paid out on no bother. I used Pet Plan for my previous cat. The premiums went up hugely every year. In the end I put money away each month as the cost plus the excess and exemptions meant that it just wasn't worthwhile.

We have pet insurance for our 2 cats through Tesco at the moment.
The price is reasonable, but we do always shop around through comparison sites every 12 months to ensure we are getting the best deal.
We haven't had to claim yet (thankfully!) so I can't comment on how Tesco deal with claims, nor how a claim will undoubtedly cause future quotes to rise dramatically!! :)

I wish pet insurance providers would take into account how long you've been with a specific provider and adjust the premiums accordingly, our now elderly cat had been insured with the same company, with no claims for 10 years, then suddenly her insurance doubled over night, after a further 2 years they increased it again. at that point we cancelled our insurnace as it was prohibitively expensive, we still put the money aside.

While I appreciate that older animals have more heath issues, but to have the payments almost triple over a 3 year period when we've made no other claims so our cat is obviously in relatively good health, just seemed to offer no customer loyalty

We did not have many choices when we originally insured the rabbits as not many companies offered support nsurance for rabbits. Ironically they can be expensive. I went for best cover and price. Small print matters.

We have pet insurance for both of our pets. I don't find it massively reassuring though to be honest - I have heard many stories of cheaper policies refusing to pay out and premiums seem to go up lots each year despite us having not claimed.

It also feels like it is difficult to shop around, but there is no customer loyalty in staying with the same provider that you have built up a history with.

Pet insurance needs to be comprehensive and with a relatively small excess. Customer service needs to be good.

Totally essential, especially whole of life cover to protect against long term illnesses.
I wish insurers would donate a small amount to a pet charity of your choice if your furry friend passes away having never had a claim made against him/her