Insurance for Cats

[Shouldibeworriedaboutthis]

Not a TAAT but another one did inspire me to write this.

Been meaning to get insurance for our girls for ages and just kept putting it off.

They’re a year and a couple of months old, both go outside, both spayed, both chipped and so so so precious to us and loved by our children so we’d be devastated if anything happened to them.

Top result on MoneySuperMarket is £95 for the two. £1000 per condition per policy per year (would this mean £1000 each cat?) and £4000 annual policy limit.

Could anyone advise please?

£1000 per cat is nowhere near enough. Our lad (2 year old) ran up £2.5k the other week-he was in hospital 3 nights; had ultrasound, couple of mini ultrasounds (cheaper), xrays and bloods to work our what was wrong. Then the medication whilst an inpatient on top.
We have Petplan lifetime cover with annual limit of £7k; they do a £10k limit too.
From experience it is worth paying for a better insurer.

I have MoreThan, much cheaper and better cover, vet says they are one of the best also.
Both my cats cost near to £4000 at the end of their lives.

That's not enough cover. Troy was 5 when he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and was nearly up to his annual £4k cover before he died 4 months after diagnosis.

I've just had a new kitten who comes with 4 weeks of £4k cover with Petplan. I will be renewing it to the £7k cover at about £20 a month.

I use Bought by Many. £1k is too little plus you should look for a lifetime policy

Yeah, £1000 isn't enough. I bought a cheap policy when we got our cat, and to be fair, it's paid up without fuss when needed, but we the bill exceeded the £1.5k per condition with his last illness.

Amy kind of accident would be several times your limit.

Minimum cover I would consider is 7K per condition for a cat. As others have said 1K can disappear fast.

Eek really hope the one I went with in the end was ok (hope even more that we never need it!).

Tesco £10000 limit. Not sure if it’s a lifetime policy though

I HATE sorting out insurance and am really bad at it.

My bought by many policy covers up to £15k. I pay £19.36 a month for 2 cats

You need a lifetime policy. If they have ( for example) a cat bite that gets infected and it's costs a packet, the won't allow it the next year. Even if it's different because it's same condition. One of my cats had a very bad case of gastroenteritis when in first 14 days of policy when we first got him and he is no longer covered for any gastrointestinal issues! They are sneaky bastards. You have 14 days I thinkmand can change it

Do you think this means it’s lifetime then?

I was more thinking lifetime meant I only put details in once then it stayed as is forever but think I’ve got the wrong end of the stick!

If it's the Premier cover then it is a lifetime policy. I went with Tesco to start with but the renewal after 1 year was quite a lot more so I changed over to Bought by Many

Yes that counts as a lifetime policy as it will renew the next year and give ongoing cover

Ahh great! Thanks very much for clarifying.

So glad that’s them sorted out and if anything happens to them we’re covered. I never ever thought that cats could be such close members of the family but they really are. We just adore them.

I’ll stick with Tesco and see how we go come renewal time. I do tend to shop around for insurance as they don’t reward you for loyalty at all!

The thing with Lifetime cover which makes it so important (and bumps the premiums up!) is that if your cat has an ongoing condition that will need treatment or drugs for life then that's covered. Without lifetime cover, if your cat develops say epilepsy or diabetes then after the first year the insurance will stop paying for the daily medicine the cat needs.

You've gone with the right policy OP. I'm a vet nurse and it just really is down to 'luck' or if you're 'unlucky' if you know what I mean?
One of my cats had no problems until he was 11. I paid out about £300 a year for him with pet plan.
Then he got cystitis, a blocked bladder which we did treatment for but he re blocked, we did a urethrostomy due to how life threatening a blocked bladder is. Then he had a wound on his hock from where they had clipped his fur but caught his skin and it became infected, so we did surgery to stitch it but it wouldn't heal so he had a bandage every 2 -3 days.
I noticed that when I'd lift him up he would cough, and that his respiration seemed more shallow and fast than usual so I took him in and did an X-ray only to find out that after all we'd put him through he had a mass on his heart :(

We couldn't give him steroids to extend his life because then the wound on his hock wouldn't heal. He very quickly deteriorated and we put him to sleep in March (although I personally would have done it straight away but my family wanted to hold on, which I'm still upset about )

Anyway! My point is that we quickly used up £4000 in the space of two months. I couldn't have afforded it without the insurance.

You never know what's going to happen but it is good to be able to do everything possible to make your pet better again. If you can.

Sorry for the ramble.

So sorry about your boy Elmo. Can’t imagine how difficult a decision that would be

I’m glad I’ve gone with the right policy. Never thought to check that you can use any vet. We use a really small local vet.

I have Tesco. They are excellent and we've had 17k of claims. Their limit renews each year. For chronic conditions.

Oh that’s good to hear about them but not great you’ve needed it so much!

I think it’s hard to believe how much treatment costs but when you think what we’d pay for or own medical care if it wasn’t for the NHS you can see why it’s so expensive as it’s the same thing really!

Yes you got the right policy. It seems expensive I know but we had a pet with cancer and we had no issues under his lifetime policy. Another very elderly rescue cat we had was uninsurable and cost us hundred and hundred of pounds. But you love them so pay. And I don't think vets bills are excessive, if we had to pay for our own medical bills they would be much more! Now relax and enjoy your cats!