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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Pet Insurance Advice please

15 replies

alwaysthepessimist · 12/03/2019 12:04

Just after some advice, haven't had cats for a few years now due to small child etc etc but we are finally getting a new kitten mid April and it seems lots has changed in the cat world since then. So, when we get the kitten we are planning to use Vets4Pets - they were our previous vets and were very good, they apparently now do plans for vaccinations, flea treatments & worming - seems reasonable but is it? Does anyone have any experience? Also last cats were always insured through Pet Plan - are they still the best to go with nowadays? Have heard bad things about a company called Animal Friends so plan to avoid them. Any others we need to steer clear of?

thanks in advance :)

OP posts:
Toddlerteaplease · 12/03/2019 17:30

I have a healthcare plan with my vet. But you need to work out if it actually will save you money. I'm with Tesco and they've been really good with my huge claims. (16k In 2 years)

Plump82 · 12/03/2019 17:47

I agree Tesco are very good. Just make sure you go with the right plan. I was naive and didnt choose the right cover meaning my cat ended up with a whole host of pre existing medical conditions that weren't covered as we maxed out the limits.

anniehm · 12/03/2019 17:53

We have vets 4 pets complete care (for vaccinations, flea and worm) and Tesco for insurance.

viccat · 12/03/2019 17:53

PetPlan is very good. I claimed lots for my senior who was PTS recently and PetPlan always paid quickly and never questioned anything. Whatever company you choose, always take the lifetime or covered for life policy so they will pay for each condition for the lifetime of the cat.

Vets4Pets I think depends on your local one. Sometimes they seem to have a lot of staff turnover compared to independent/smaller chains where you tend to have the same vet for 10+ years.

Oh and you should consider getting two kittens! They grow up so much happier with a friend and will be less work as they entertain each other.

MojitoMojitoo · 12/03/2019 18:00

Both mine are with Petplan and always been quick with no issues when I've made claims

Original poster
alwaysthepessimist · 13/03/2019 18:05

Thank you everyone I will check out policies and go from there.

@viccat - I would prefer 2 as well but DH has taken a fair bit of persuading to have one so far....I am hoping that when we go to actually choose the kitten he will have and we can have 2 - they are from a rescue and their mum was a stray - hoping to be able to choose next weekend!

OP posts:
zod1ac19 · 13/03/2019 18:13

Vets4Pets do a fantastic Vac4life offer. We paid £99 each after initial vaccinations and they now get annual boosters for life at no cost.

We find it better to do that and just buy worming/flea stuff as required.

We insured our kittens for the first few years with PetPlan but the premiums got ridiculoua despite us never having claimed. We have just cancelled it last month. Fortunately we can afford to pay if something big happens so decided we would just do that.

I would definitely insure for the first year or so until you establish kitten is not poorly or very accident prone!

HuggedTheRedwoods · 17/03/2019 14:34

zod1ac19 - can I ask how much your premiums went up please? I've thought about it in the past, but like you I've always planned on self funding if needed but now wondering if it would be sensible to have insurance as back up (had to have our old cat pts last week and would have willingly paid for any treatment if he could have been saved but its just got me thinking again). Our little cat is 9, healthy and all checks and vacs up to date and quotes look reasonable but I'm wondering how much they start to increase with age even if you dont claim. Thanks.

viccat · 17/03/2019 15:00

The premiums usually go up a bit when your cat becomes a senior but they don't go up because you claim. My 17 yr old was PTS recently and for the last few years her Petplan insurance was £31 per month. However I claimed lots for her as she had hyperthyroidism and kidney disease and regular blood tests - we definitely got back much more than we paid Petplan! (Including the several thousands I mentioned above when she had her anal gland issues.)

HuggedTheRedwoods · 17/03/2019 17:02

Thank you viccat. Did your excess also increase each year? If I'm reading my quote correctly, the t&cs appear to say after age 10 an additional 20% excess is added but its not clear if that is 20% of a claim, the claim limit or just another 20% increase on the existing excess. Blimey, how complicaticated is cat insurance?

porridgeface · 18/03/2019 12:43

I have pet plan lifetime cover for my two and am about £80 a month for them both. They are pedigree cats which I paid a fair amount for too so I imagine that might make a difference.

My premiums were stable for a few years and then maybe went up when they were 5/6ish.

Unfortunately I've had to put several large ish claims in which probably totals at least £7k. Pet Plan have paid out quickly with no quibbles. It's a great peace of mind.

Agree with your view on Animal Friends, I'd avoid them like the plague.

zod1ac19 · 18/03/2019 17:25

@HuggedTheRedwoods

For two moggies (aged 6 months when we got them and first insured them), Year 1 was £21.57 pm, year 2 was £26.12pm, year 3 was £29.36, year 4 £33.31 (£399.72 pa) and they wanted £37.74 in year 5 (£452.94 pa) .

We have never claimed, both cats are healthy 4yo young cats with no issues. Apart from one infected bite on one, they have never been to the vet apart from annual vaccinations. Our excess was £70 so we didn't claim for that.

The premiums had almost doubled in a few years and were now significantly more than our house insurance (that we have claimed on!)

HuggedTheRedwoods · 18/03/2019 19:21

@zod1ac19 - thanks for that info. I'm going to do some more quotes online with increasing the cat age to see what they look like.

AnnaMagnani · 18/03/2019 19:24

Explain to your DH that 2 kittens is a lot less hassle and wreckage of your house than 1. They play with each other, amuse each other and keep away from your curtains.

All for twice the cute Smile

Mine are with Directline and I've been v happy and according to the vet they are one of the better companies for them to deal with. Whatever you pick, make sure you have a policy where you can't max out for a lifetime condition.

LondonJax · 25/03/2019 20:14

We've got More Than Premier cover for our girl. She's now five years old and we pay £14.10pm. She has a limit of £4000 vet bills cover per illness and each year the limit starts again. So if she has diabetes and uses £4000 cover in 2019, in 2020 she starts with £4000 worth of cover for diabetes again. The total cover is £12,000 each year. It's life time cover so again, if she got diabetes, she'd get the £4000 of cover for that illness until the day she died.

We just had to have her back teeth taken out (8 in total) due to a virus she picked up as a stray (she's an RSPCA rescue cat) and they paid all but £80 odd pound of the bill. Many plans don't cover dental apparently according to our vet and they were surprised when ours did.

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