Stressing out about pet insurance

[Cynthiaramsey]

I know posts about insurance have been done to death, but I just need a place where I can vent and get out my worries with other pet owners who understand.

I have a 5 year old cat and I usually pay around £300 a year for his insurance which covers him for 10k lifetime policy (last year it went up to £450 though which I paid) I had his renewal email come through today and it’s £980 for the year!! I can’t believe how much it’s shot up. I can’t afford that anymore and I’ve had to call them to bring his cover down. I’ve now got 5k cover for £400 but I feel so awful that I’ve had to half his limit! I’m worrying now about if something happens to him and it’s more than 5k, and I’m worried about the future because if this is the cost at 5 years old, it’s only going to get more expensive each year and I won’t be able to keep up with the rising cost. I have another cat as well plus a very old dog. I pay £220 for my other cat and £1,200 for my dog. So far everything is manageable but with my cats going up so much in now panicking.

I don’t know what I’m looking for here. Maybe just reassurance that it’s fine and I’m not an awful owner. And maybe how other people have dealt with the rising costs as their pets have got older? I know some people cancel and just save money into a pot but that’s risky. What if they get a lifelong illness that needs monthly meds for example 😢

There is a balance point. I currently pay £102 per month for a dog. He's a rescue and I've had him 2 years, so have paid in £2400.

He's just had an issue that was met with a £6000 bill. So currently, I am £4000 in credit. I expect this will even out over the next few years. Eventually, the premiums will rise to the point where it isn't worth paying, however at the moment, I would not have been able to find £6000 so it would have potentially ended up being the big injection for a problem that was solvable. For this reason, it is worth it for me for the moment.

I agree with PP about there being a tipping point. We recently cancelled insurance for our 8yo cat because it ended up costing us more money to claim and pay his monthly premium than we were claiming back.

I now just pay for his medication direct and have saved almost £50 a month which is going in savings for him just in case.

Ring them up. My premiums were huge, I phoned them and they reduced it.

I have reduced it but I’ve had to lower the amount of coverage. I used to pay £400 for 10k limit but now it’s only 5k limit 😔

Ours is £450 a year with Petplan (but it's the whole shebang). It's a lot but I feel like it's worth it as I feel like she will be getting into a lot of scrapes. She's already been to the vet twice with injuries after getting into fights (couldn't claim these back though). Who are you with. Bought by many are also supposed to be good. We only went with Petplan as she came pre insured with them with the cat charity.