Help me to understand pet insurance maximum limits, please

[stormwatcher]

😺Our lovely little rescue girl will be arriving soon, and I want to take out lifetime cover for her. She's 9, with no pre-existing health conditions. I've finally got my head around excess and 20% payments (which I will avoid), but what i would really like is words of wisdom re. how much cover i should be considering for veterinary fees.
Petplan and Agria both look good, but other providers will insure to a higher amount for a smaller monthly premium.
Any suggestions welcome xxx

I don't insure my pets but @toddlerteaplease and @bonfirebash can share tales of the size of their vet bills that will make you wince!

Mine is with ManyPets and has a £15k limit

I think my biggest bill was £4000 and that was only one out of hours trip plus treatment and a scan
I've insured my new cat with Tesco with a £10,000 limit than renews every year which I feel quite comfortable with

We are with Petplan. Not the cheapest to start with. But others lure you in with a cheap initial rate then hike it up. They have always paid within days and their customer service has been excellent. We got the max cover we could and lifetime cover - advances in veterinary science are so good that you can get so much treatment for things which would have previously been untreatable. And I hate the thought of not being able to do something to help our dog because we didn’t have the highest cover.

Petplan don't seem to hike the prices even if you claim every year.
Our ddog was insured for £4k per year which we claimed in full for 3 years.
With hindsight we should have insured her for much more.

Bearing in mind a complex operation plus specialist care at a hospital, then maybe physio, and you're looking at 5 figures for one accident. Then think about the meds needed if a cat gets a lifelong condition like diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease or hyper/hypothyroid, and that can easily be a couple of grand a year without even starting on the 6 monthly specialist checkups etc. I ran up a couple of grand in 4 months between Boycat being diagnosed with CKD and having to be PTS what with regular visits, blood tests, urine tests, appetite meds.

I would go for the most reputable and recommended company, and insure as much as you can afford especially if the cat will be going out (at least £15k if that's OK financially).

I know my vets gave a sigh of relief when they asked me who mine were insured with and I said PetPlan. They (and a couple of others like Tesco) have a reputation for paying the vets on time & not quibbling about every single cost.

My recommendations from myself & friends is PetPlan or Tesco.

Mine are with petplan, insured for 7k but really would recommend the higher one (think it's 12k) one of mine had a referral earlier this year and it was 3k just for diagnostics, really do rate Petplan, they pay out and make things easier

I'm with Tesco who have been brilliant. I claimed almost my maximum last year (£7500) for spinal surgery for my dog and my premium only went up £10 a month. (Admittedly I am paying £160 a month because she's had cancer, chemo treatment, and mast cell tumours removed over the years!)

I wish I'd gone for a higher level of cover, but they are extremely efficient, have never quibbled and I always get to talk to a person very quickly after calling them.

Petplan. I have 2 four year old cats who have run up £20k in surgery costs between them. Petplan has paid out with no questions each time. I have the top level of cover so up to £12k of vet costs a year. It’s currently about £60 in premiums a month for my two and worth every penny.

I'm with Tesco for all three of mine - they're insured for 10k a year on lifetime policies.

They're 8, 3 and 9 weeks and I pay around £50 a month for all three of them.

We have cover for up to £3k per insurance year which has been ok so far. We're with Petplan and they are brilliant. Only kicker is the 20% per year for each condition, but they consistently paid up for ongoing medical stuff with our previous Puss and they paid out straightaway for scans galore for our other cat so would always recommend them. We pay about £45 a month for our 14 year old cat,

Oh I should add the cover only covers non normal stuff. So none of the basic checkups are covered only the extras like blood tests and ongoing medication. Also we have the covered for life, which works very well once you hit the 3 different medications a day stage!

I don't think any insurers cover the basic check ups, jabs etc. You need a vet plan for that, where you pay a set amount a month and jabs, wormers, flea treatment, annual/bi-annual checkups are covered. There's also usually a discount for any food or meds you buy from them.

Worth having if you have cats who go out, I worked out that as mine are indoor so don't need monthly flea & worm treatment then it's not worth it for them.

Wow, thank you everybody for such helpful advice.
I had no idea how much vet costs could be, so this is incredibly helpful.
Will do some more research tonight, but it looks like Petplan or Tesco, tbh...
My son informs me I have officially transitioned to the role of strange cat slave lady-goodness only knows what I'll be like when she arrives 😻x

I would strongly advise you to get a plan that covers dental. I am with Many Pets and have the most comprehensive plan with lifetime cover. You have to cover 50% though with older pets.

My DD is a vet and sees many pets in constant pain because of teeth issues with owners refusing or unable to afford to treat.