Best pet insurance companies?

[noseywhatsit]

Hey all, I'm currently in the process of looking for a pet insurance policy for my 5 month old kitten and I'm just a bit lost with it all! She hasn't yet been spayed but will be at the end of July, and will be an indoor cat, if that makes any difference. All the policies I've found either offer not a lot of cover or have an excess fee of £100+.

Ideally we would like to find a policy that the vet are happy to deal with directly as we won't always have £1000 spare to pay upfront to the vet should she ever need it. The vet she is registered to say they're happy to deal with some insurance companies directly, but won't tell us which ones.

So, that's it really. What insurance policy would fit into our seemingly impossible criteria? I'm more than happy to pay to keep her insured and get her the treatment that she needs, but I'm just a little bit worried about having the money to cover the cost up front, rather than going through the insurance. Thanks!

I am with Bought by Many. They have the option to pay the vet directly or to pay you back if you have paid the vet already

Most vet's deal directly with PetPlan, but it is usually on a case by case basis if they will accept a direct claim (i.e. for vet to wait for the insurance company to pay rather than owner paying at the end of the treatment). Not sure why your vet won't tell you which one they recommend though, all the practices I've been to usually have insurance leaflets and posters on display and some even offer a one month's free insurance deal if you sign up referred by them.

I'm not sure you'll find anything without the excess though. Mine is currently £95 per condition, with PetPlan.

Whatever you do, get a lifetime/covered for life type policy - this ensures your insurance will keep paying for the lifetime of the cat for chronic conditions (such as diabetes, kidney disease, skin issues and allergies, recurring urinary tract infections etc.).

Tesco have been really good with my 16,000 of claims. £60 excess and I pay £52 a month for my indoor Persians.

A lot of companies are actually owned by RBS - Direct Line, Churchill, Tesco Personal Finance. I use Pet Plan for my cat. They've always been good, but then I've never had to make a claim. I used to have John Lewis insurance for my dog. They were very good at settling claims, but the premiums went up so drastically I had to cancel the policy. My dog has an existing condition so I can't insure her for it so now we just put money away each month in case she ever needs further treatment.

I'm another to recommend Petplan. They aren't cheap but they are good at paying out.
Not all vets will deal direct with the insurance companies so that would be a question you would need to ask the vet surgery.

Apologies for the late reply!
Thank you everyone, I'll be sure to look into everything mentioned, I'll also be putting money away every week, just so she's definitely covered!! Thank you all again 😊 x

For us it’s gotta be petplan. Expensive I know. Currently have both mine insured.but petplan sort out claims quite fast