Pet insurance experiences, new to pet ownership would love some reviews.

kissthisangel · Sep 15, 2015

Hi all,

I've had my fur - baby mojo for about 6 weeks. I'm now looking to get insurance for her, she's indoor only, vaccinated and will be de-wormed and had treatment for mites monday of next week. (due to a previous spot on type treatment the vet advised to wait). I actually work in travel insurance and am not a stranger to understanding claiming and terms and conditions of policies, however this is the first time I've ensured a pet.

I'm not requesting answers to what is the best insurance or anything like that because I know it's an individual thing you what you need/ want. I would just like to hear about experiences you may have had with UK based insurance companies, or if there is anything that has stung you that I should look out for. Ideally I'd like a life policy which *should* cover any conditions that she might get over the next few years of her life.

Other info;

Mojo is indoor only, and after she will be spayed and chipped at 6mo she may go out for walks on a harness after she gets to a year old. The vet advised this will bond her to us and the house.

Mojo eats a mixed wet and kibble diet specifically for kittens has no special dietry needs and no ongoing conditions.

Mojo is registered at a vet less than 1 mile away who are open 24 hours for emergencies and the office advise they accept all insurance.

EDIT: Mojo will never travel abroad and will be boarded with a proffessional boarders if we ever go away for more than 2 nights.

stephenq · Sep 17, 2015

Kissthisangel said:
Hi all,

I've had my fur - baby mojo for about 6 weeks. I'm now looking to get insurance for her, she's indoor only, vaccinated and will be de-wormed and had treatment for mites monday of next week. (due to a previous spot on type treatment the vet advised to wait). I actually work in travel insurance and am not a stranger to understanding claiming and terms and conditions of policies, however this is the first time I've ensured a pet.

I'm not requesting answers to what is the best insurance or anything like that because I know it's an individual thing you what you need/ want. I would just like to hear about experiences you may have had with UK based insurance companies, or if there is anything that has stung you that I should look out for. Ideally I'd like a life policy which *should* cover any conditions that she might get over the next few years of her life.

Other info;

Mojo is indoor only, and after she will be spayed and chipped at 6mo she may go out for walks on a harness after she gets to a year old. The vet advised this will bond her to us and the house.

Mojo eats a mixed wet and kibble diet specifically for kittens has no special dietry needs and no ongoing conditions.

Mojo is registered at a vet less than 1 mile away who are open 24 hours for emergencies and the office advise they accept all insurance.

EDIT: Mojo will never travel abroad and will be boarded with a proffessional boarders if we ever go away for more than 2 nights.

Good insurance companies don't have a max payout per condition or disallowed treatments or procedures. Good insurance companies have very little fine print and usually offer a max payout per year. You pick the deductible and the co-pay. Since youre UK based this site wont help you pick a specific plan, but it will let you compare the differences between good plans and poor ones.

None cover pre-existing conditions, most dont cover annual exams, wellness exams or vaccinations for good reasons (I can explain if it isn't clear). go to www.petinsurancereview.com and actualy i found a link there for UK based companies, some with great reviews and some with terrible reviews. See http://www.petinsurancereview.co.uk/

Note with our cats, we hedged our bets and rolled the dice and didn't insure them for about the first 7 years of live on the bet that they wouldn't get expensive illnesses early in life and it basically paid off saving us many years of premiums.

kissthisangel · Sep 18, 2015

StephenQ said:
Good insurance companies don't have a max payout per condition or disallowed treatments or procedures. Good insurance companies have very little fine print and usually offer a max payout per year. You pick the deductible and the co-pay. Since youre UK based this site wont help you pick a specific plan, but it will let you compare the differences between good plans and poor ones.

None cover pre-existing conditions, most dont cover annual exams, wellness exams or vaccinations for good reasons (I can explain if it isn't clear). go to www.petinsurancereview.com and actualy i found a link there for UK based companies, some with great reviews and some with terrible reviews. See http://www.petinsurancereview.co.uk/

Note with our cats, we hedged our bets and rolled the dice and didn't insure them for about the first 7 years of live on the bet that they wouldn't get expensive illnesses early in life and it basically paid off saving us many years of premiums.

Thanks for your reply I will certainly check those sites out. I'm guessing they wouldn't cover those things because they're costs you already knew you would have. It would be like going on holiday with a broken arm and expecting the insurance to pay for an x ray check up that was already booked.

I really can't afford to risk her not being covered, if she got a broken bone or something like diabetes ( I know she's really young for things like that) I wouldn't be able to afford the treatment outright.

I'll post again when I've read the reviews as well

OK so based on these reviews of pet plan ( who I was going to go with as they do have a very good reputation with a couple of friends) I am now not so sure. I spoke to Mojo's vet on her second set of vaccinations about some earwax she has. It doesn't smell isn't really thick or an odd colour or anything. The vet said it was a normal amount and if it began to cause discomfort or anything then take her back but she saw no problesm. But I'm now a bit concerned they might see this as an investigation into an ongoing condition. Also Mojo is not yet neutered, so that might prove to add a bit onto my pemium as well, she will be neutered and chipped within the next 2 months. I might wait until then and speak to the vet then as to what they noted on file about her ears, if anything.

stephenq · Sep 20, 2015

Kissthisangel said:
Thanks for your reply I will certainly check those sites out. I'm guessing they wouldn't cover those things because they're costs you already knew you would have. It would be like going on holiday with a broken arm and expecting the insurance to pay for an x ray check up that was already booked.

I really can't afford to risk her not being covered, if she got a broken bone or something like diabetes ( I know she's really young for things like that) I wouldn't be able to afford the treatment outright.

I'll post again when I've read the reviews as well

OK so based on these reviews of pet plan ( who I was going to go with as they do have a very good reputation with a couple of friends) I am now not so sure. I spoke to Mojo's vet on her second set of vaccinations about some earwax she has. It doesn't smell isn't really thick or an odd colour or anything. The vet said it was a normal amount and if it began to cause discomfort or anything then take her back but she saw no problesm. But I'm now a bit concerned they might see this as an investigation into an ongoing condition. Also Mojo is not yet neutered, so that might prove to add a bit onto my pemium as well, she will be neutered and chipped within the next 2 months. I might wait until then and speak to the vet then as to what they noted on file about her ears, if anything.

I use petplan and like them very much. They don't adjust the premium based on medical condition, they just don't cover pre-existing. Premiums do go up slowly with the animals age.

shayliba · Sep 20, 2015

Hello,

I signed up with Petplan about two years ago. In the spring my cat needed two teeth extracted. I paid a $200.00 deductible and 10% co-pay. Then about a month ago, my cat was diagnosed with an abdominal mass. Again, I paid a $200.00 deductible, only now it's a %20 co-pay because he is receiving specialist treatment. I only pay the deductible once per illness. So far, everything has been covered. I don't know if they are available in the U.K. I hope you find good coverage. I am so thankful I have the insurance because it looks like my cat will need Chemo, and there is no way I could have afforded all of these bills without insurance. Good luck!

Pet insurance experiences, new to pet ownership would love some reviews.

kissthisangel

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stephenq

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kissthisangel

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Thread starter

stephenq

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shayliba

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