Insurance for older cats

[thereinmadnesslies]

Has anyone with elderly cat cancelled their pet insurance, and how did it work out? We have 2 17.5year old cats. We’ve had insurance since they were kittens, and in that time we’ve claimed once for about £300.

It’s now at the point where insurance for the 2 cats is about £100/month and the excess is huge. They don’t leave the house so they are unlikely to have accidents. Given their ages, if they became seriously ill I would probably decline any invasive treatment in favour of a dignified death - they would be distressed spending long periods at the vets anyway.

Would I be foolish to cancel the insurance?

I think there does come a time in a cats life where you need to consider this.
But you need to ask yourself if you have the finances to cover a certain amount for an accident / minor ilness. For example if the cost would be a £600 bill and they would be ok could you pay that ? What is your cut off point ? ( I'm not expecting an answer , as it is a personal question )
What I would do is put a reasonable amount away each month ( What you are already paying now if manageable ) and be very strict with yourself about it being unavailable . Then if that time comes and you have the £££ to pay , then it's not a loss from your months outgoings.
Or if your beloved cat , passes quietly or needs to be pts then you have a nest egg to spend as you wish .

My premiums are £125. Mine are also
Indoor cats. But I've had so many issues with mine. That I can't afford to cancel it!

I completely agree about anything that would require a lot of treatment (that happens to be expensive) would probably not be suitable for an elderly cat.

Maybe put the £100 away every month in a different account to use if necessary.

Dental never seems to be included in insurance & that's the only things my cats have ever needed.

I lessen the cover as they get older and put more into a savings.
So I have the “shit something’s happened it’s going to cost £2000” insurance and the savings account as a backup for the squirrel bite and dental ones.

What I’d put them through at 15 is different to 5

My three indoor cats are insured but the premiums are low as they are young. However, I have a figure in my head that I will stop at and cancel all their insurance plans and just save up the money. I would not pay more than about £100 per month for the three cats combined, and it may well be less than that. I do have savings in the bank that I can use though, a few thousand.

Thanks all, it’s helpful to hear how others handle it. We could afford to pay reasonable vets bills without insurance but I guess the nightmare scenario would be if we cancelled the insurance then both cats needed £1000 treatment each the next month. I just feel that we wouldn’t put them through cancer treatment or attempt to keep them alive through kidney disease beyond diet and low level medication.
I hadn’t considered getting a basic policy with a low level of cover, I will look into that, thanks for the idea EvilPea

I have the same problem, my cat is 19 and the insurance is £100 just for her. I've decided to cancel it and put the money in my savings account for emergencies such as a broken leg or bladder infection.
The excess is £200 which is ridiculous.

@madcatladyforever that’s where I’m at, in the last couple of years they’ve had very minor stuff like an infected cut on a paw and a UTI, both of which came in under the excess anyway.

I haven't had insurance for a few years now for our eldest cat who is almost 21 yo. It's already costing us a fortune in medication for his kidneys and in cat litter as he's never out of his litter tray.

I think there comes a time when you have to draw a line because it could end up costing you a fortune.

Personally I cancelled and I will not be paying thousands of pounds if there's a problem. He's very lucky to be alive at his age.

That’s it the excess goes up every year and some of them ask for you to cover a percentage of the claim. So it gets pointless claiming for the little stuff (presumably the point!) and if your not going to claim there’s little point paying top wack for it.

I think animal friends did a decent looking basic one, if memory serves me right.