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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I believe pet insurance is essential if you own a cat or dog. Vets fees are so high that people may be tempted to leave an illness untreated

Luckily, I haven't had much experience of dealing with providers, and the only time I have had to make a claim it was quite straightforward. I am vary wary about what provider to go with and read reviews carefully before making my decision.

My dog was fully insured for the first 3-4 years. It cost about £150 per year. But after that the renewal fees started to go up drastically to £250-350 and I couldn’t afford it. My dog was perfectly healthy and I’d never claimed so couldn’t understand why it was so expensive (more than my car insurance). Plus there was a £100 excess and any vet treatment required tended to cost less than that or not be covered on the plan so I couldn’t claim. I figured I’d be better off saving the £350 a year and by the time the dog is old I’ll have a couple of thousand to pay for any treatment. So my dog is currently uninsured.

Oh, and the T&C said any long term condition that was diagnosed would result in an increased premium. So I was like, why am I paying for insurance because if my dog gets poorly it’ll cost me a fortune anyway!

I forgot to add I think pet insurer providers should do more to explain the differences between life cover and 12 months cover. It's all there in the T&Cs but anyone new might not understand the implications of a 12 month cover if they claim for an illness.

I have lifetime cover with PetPlan for two moggies. It is expensive but I’ve never had a problem with them. They deal direct with the vet and it’s been easy. I was in hospital for a week recently and they even paid for someone to look after them. It was tucked away in the small print and a pleasant surprise. A broken leg cost £700 recently I could never not have insurance.

We had pet plan for years but never used it as our cats were house cats and never got ill! So in that respect it was probably a waste of money but we had peace of mind knowing that if anything did happen we were covered!

We adopted a rescue dog at the end of last year, as we didn't know exactly how old he was ( we were told 5) it was a pain sorting insurance.
We went with animal friends, but I think on renewal I'll move him to a lifetime policy with another company who pay directly to the vet, as I couldn't afford to pay out and have to wait to be reimbursed.

I have all my cats insured, 2 with PetPlan & 2 with Tesco which is a lot cheaper. I can't change the others to Tesco though as they are older so it would cost even more. I've had a few problems with Tesco being very slow to pay out, then I realised they were part of RSA who I've had a huge dispute with my home insurance as they employed cowboy builders to repair my water damaged kitchen & it took 9 months to complete the work which should have taken a week & they caused me to have a terrible fall causing permanent nerve damage so I'm tempted to change my insurance now because of their relationship with RSA

We are with Pet Plan and have been since we got our two rescue cats - they are mother and daughter and when they came to us the kitten was about 6 weeks old (we can't be sure)

When the kitten was about 6 months old she had kidney failure - we think caused by lily pollen being brought into the house

The vet and Pet Plan were great. The vet dealt with Pet Plan direct for me as we just didn't have the funds at the time for all of the investigations and overnights that were needed.

She made a full recovery which I have heard is very unusual

Mum cat had lesions on her teeth a couple of years ago and had to have a couple removed. I asked the vet to complete the forms (which they did), but they mentioned that very often pet insurance does not pay out for dental work.

We sent the claim off and received reimbursement (less the excess)
I am very glad that we had insurance and very glad that we chose Pet Plan as they have been great

Check the small print as existing conditions may not be covered. It could work out cheaper to put some money in a savings account every month

It could work out cheaper to put some money in a savings account every month

I think that only works out if you are lucky to only ever need vet care for a relatively cheap condition to treat or don't need to claim at all. As I claimed over £2500 in my first year and £2000 in the second year with premiums totalling around £700 for both I would have been seriously out of pocket taking that approach and would now have a large list of preexisting conditions to exclude.

We only have small pets at the moment so we don't have any cover at all.
When we get a dog though, i will look at getting some insurance.

I always have pet insurance for our dogs when we have problems the insurance thankfully has saved us a fortune!

Go for the best you can afford, ensure they cover for life as some companies refuse cover over a certain age

They are expensive but its always best to have some insurance but otherwise it will probably end up costing more money if you do not have anything.

Fantastic - always get a covered for life policy though as it's worth its weight in gold. I went with PetPlan, and about a year in my cat was diagnosed with multiple health issues. They paid for everything and now pay for her regular medicine (which at £150 for a 60ml vial is so expensive!). They will also keep paying for that medicine for the rest of her life!

The only thing I regret is not going for the upper value policy, and in the future I would do so. Being covered for £4000 sounds a lot but not when those vet bills start to roll in.

We've made quite a few claims for our lab puppy. I've found that getting confirmation upfront that something will be covered is difficult, and also that their post claim notification of payment letters aren't clear enough.

We have never had pet insurance for any of our animals.

I think most of them are amazing. Fab customer service but obviously you get what you paid for.

It's odd that you can't easily get covered for smaller pets but they are part of the family and they get poorly too!

We didn’t have insurance for our old cats and spent less than about £500 in their lifetimes on vet fees.

We have it now with Petplan and have two 3 year old healthy cats. The insurance is expensive and goes up automatically each year, it is now 45% more expensive in year 3 than year 1. We have two young cats and have never claimed a penny. The excess is £70 and only once have we had a vet bill which was just over £70 so not worth claiming.

I am really debating cancelling it or trying to get a cheaper policy. I think DH would be horrified if he realised how much we pay.

they are all great until your pet reaches 7 or 8 years old and then the premiums rocket even if you have never made a claim. I have lifetime insurance and pay the high premiums as Vets bills are very high (doesn't help that VAT is added on top) I wouldn't want to be in a position when I couldn't pay for treatment, but the premiums and the excesses as your pet ages really are eye-watering.

I've never had pet insurance as I only have guinea pigs. The bills for them never get very big. I prefer to put a little aside in savings just incase.

I have direct line cat insurance just for peace of mind & avoid big vet bills, so far I haven't claimed. Just wondering if they wriggle out of it if I make a claim in the future?