Cat insurance - advice please!

[RamblingRosa]

I've just got a new cat and I need to get insurance. I have no idea what I'm doing!
What excess should I go for? And should I go for "Maximum benefit" or "Lifetime"? I've just done a search on a comparison website and it's brought up loads but I don't really know what I'm looking for.

Any advice?

Try Petplan- may be expensive but will cover everything and long term conditions. Some companies only pay out for conditions for a year, well worth it in the long term.

We got 2 rescue cats in February, and I agree it's very confusing!! Most of my friends who have cats said they actually didn't bother with insurance for the first few years, but got it once the cats were 5 or 6ish, as it starts getting more expensive to start new policies for older cats and hopefully younger cats are less likely to get ill. In the end I went with Tesco purely because I was so confused with the comparison sites and tesco's new year offer was still on. Not sure this really helps you but I'd have a look around as there are sometimes good discounts.

I would advise lifetime cover with a yearly individual condition cover of at least £3000. This would be on the basis that 70% of the claims we complete for clients are chronic conditions last over a year such as diabetes etc. Also taking into account fixing a really bad accident in a young cat.

I've insured my cat (14) with Animal Friends this year. Has been with Tesco and Sainsburys in the past. He had an accident which required the removal of his tail 3 years ago which made realise that pet insurance is not wasted money, as the treatment came to almost £350. Luckily he was insured so I didn't have to sell a child to pay for his vet bill!

You need to think about at what stage of illness you would say "enough's enough" and put him to sleep. Horrible choice I know but one that you need to think about to make sure you don't over-insure him for no good reason.

I love my cat very much but I am of the opinion that if he gets a long-term health problem that will affect the quality of his life, I will let him go peacefully rather than prolongue his life with medication that might have other adverse affects. I have a kind of notional value of treatment in excess of £500 on this.

He's currently insured for (I think) a maximum of £2k in one year which was the lowest I could get for a cat of his age, and that will cover multiple illnesses/accidents. Excess is, I think, £100.

Thanks all. I've found quite a good deal with Co-op but it needs the vets details and we don't have her registered with the vet yet so I'll wait until we've been to the vet and then I'll sort it out.

Personally, what I would do now (and what I do now for my 4 cats, 2 of which are elderly) is put money into a bank account that is untouchable. Put in the same amount as you would pay for insurance.

If your cats are young, then the chances of them having an illness that would cost more long term to treat than you would pay for cat insurance is very very small. Nature is a lot harsher on cats than on humans, and weaker cats just don't make it through kittenhood.

ALso, young cats (under 2) are the most likely to get run over etc, so insurance is again more likely to be a waste of time than with an older, more sedate cat.

I spent 6 years paying for cat insurance, I can't afford it any more, but it doesn't massively worry me - one of our elderly cats had to go to the vets last week, and the cost of the checkup and treatment was only £10 more than the excess I would have had to have paid if he was insured.

Obviously, being uninsured is always a risk, but pet insurance (cat insurance especially) is one of the most lucrative schemes for the insurers.

Thanks Naetha. I was actually wondering the same thing and thinking of just putting a fiver a month in bank account.