Insurance for older cats.

[ClaudineClare]

I am just wondering what other people pay for insurance for older cats. My beloved cat is 11 and the insurance renewal is £319 p.a which is about the same as the house insurance. This is for lifetime cover benefits and a limit of £7000 each year. I have done a few comparisons but the price is broadly the same from other providers for the same kind of cover.

I can afford it (and count myself fortunate for that) but I am starting to wonder whether it would be better to have a savings pot for possible future vet bills. But I bet you any money if I decided to do this something would happen (I have never had to claim on the insurance to date thankfully).

My cat is almost 12. She's still insured but only just as her premiums are huge! But she's had loads of expensive claims. So self insuring makes me nervous.

I have had several vets bills around the £1000 mark for the cat and £3000 for the dog 😬

I would say at the age of 12 it’s worth having insurance because of you were to put mine into a savings account each week it would take you a long time to save enough to cover a large vets bill. I wouldn’t want to be in the position where I couldn’t afford vet treatment and would then have to either get into debt or have my cat PTS.

£18/mth for my female cat (not lifetime coverage). Didn’t insure my male cat as they wanted £28/month!!

If you can afford it then do it esp for lifetime cover. My cat has been in and out of hospital since November and we still don't know what is wrong with her. Bloods, scans, biopsy, extra lab work on biopsy, urine samples, overnight stays, several more bloods, nevermind the various medications. No insurance. Its topping five grand atm and no end in sight. She still has some fun play days, not many but just enough to not put her to sleep and give her a chance, but its hitting us hard financially. She's only 8. Use my story as a warning and see that £300 is nothing for the peace of mind you will have.

@ClaudineClare I work at a veterinary practice for the hospital department and deal with insurance on a daily basis.

I would recommend either having a savings pot as you mentioned. You can also start a go fund me page if your cat does require treatment. There are so many amazing, generous cat lovers out there that would be happy to help. Also, the Blue Cross offers treatment and support as well so it's always worth contacting them.

It's also worth contacting your local cat charities as well as they will offer really good advice and might be able to offer support.

If your cat does need treatment, always be honest with the vet about your budget as they can make a treatment plan around that.

Hope you're kitty is well and stays well

£300 might seem a lot but when your cat starts to develop disease associated with ageing such as hyperthyroidism, heart disease or arthritis (which affects 90% of cats over the age of 11) then £300 will seem very little. A consultation and blood tests/investigations would come to more than that and then you have possible lifelong medication that could easily reach over £100 per month.
If you can afford to, keep the insurance. Now is the time you'll likely need it.

Thanks everyone! I will stick with the insurance for now as I can afford it. Have a lovely evening with your gorgeous cats (I lurk here sometimes for the photos).

Pet insurance is generally expensive because people are much more likely to use it regularly than their home insurance for example.

As others have said, £300 is a small sum if your cat needs blood tests or regular medication like many older cats do.

Please think very carefully before you cancel your policy. We recently lost our darling cat who was over double your cats age. He had a great quality of life but needed a number of medications over the last few years if his life which cost over £100 per month but I only had to pay a percentage of this as an excess.
His policy was about £44 per month. With the incredible treatments available now I would always have insurance to ensure that my animals could have the best care available.

My cat who is 4 was recently 1500 pounds for a infection

I couldn’t have paid that lucky we had insurance. He is young but 28 oo a month with Tesco

My one year old cat had a 6k op recently. I'd keep insured for as long as you can. I wouldn't have managed to save that much in a year puttinf money aside

My 13yr-old cat costs me around £30 per month in insurance. If I add up all the insurance money that I've paid over those 13 years, it's still less than I've had to claim back from them.

Your £319 per year wouldn't even cover a single overnight stay with our emergency vet.