Topic: pet insurance recommendation (Read 4905 times)

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #22 on:** March 14, 2007, 19:49:06 PM »

I think it's still a bit of a grey area re dentals as it's hard to distinguish between preventative treatment and necessary treatment due to disease. Most cats have some gingivitis so an insurer should accept it if a vet says the teeth need cleaning but I know some people - esp in the US - favour periodic dentals just to keep the teeth clean which I assume would not be covered. The vet told me Jaffa needed a dental when I took him for his vaccinations/health check in 2005. I got my money fairly easily but the claim form did ask for dental history over the past few years. The receptionist at the vets just put down the dates of his previous health checks at vaccination time and petplan did get in touch (very quickly) to say they needed a bit more information. I asked my vets to speak to someone on their vet line (they will only speak to vets - not to owners making claims) and my vets sorted it out, faxed something to them (I'm not sure what) and a few days later I got my money. When I first took the claim form into my vets they mentioned that someone else had recently made a claim to petplan for a dental and that they had got their money. They reassured me that they would make sure I got my money! So I think a lot of it may depend on how good the vets are at saying the right things to get the insurers to cough up.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #21 on:** March 14, 2007, 18:41:25 PM »

Well, the rescue's vet have had probs with PetPlan paying out - this was about the time Susanne got a payout though, so maybe there was a different reason for the other people?

CurlyCatz · « **Reply #20 on:** March 14, 2007, 18:33:25 PM »

gillian a few years ago when there werent nearly the amount of insurers available dentals was a grey area as it should be prophylactic treatment to prevent disease such as vaccines/neutering, however on here i have heard a couple of folk getting their dentals paid for, the likes of a fractured tooth etc would defo be ok but im still unsure on the majority of companies covering all dental work.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #19 on:** March 14, 2007, 17:57:57 PM »

My 4 are all with M&S, previously with Sainsburys who were very good. Only changed cos could get a better deal from M&S.

Claimed loads from Sainsburys and they were good, havent claimed from M&S yet.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #18 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:40:11 PM »

Quote from: Gillian (Ambercat) on March 14, 2007, 13:26:11 PM

Do the pet insurers pay for dental work? I don't mean routine dental cleaning - but if extractions are necessary?

Petplan do. I made a claim for Jaffa's dental (cleaning, pre-op bloods, couple of extractions etc) and they paid out in full minus the excess.

Christine (Blip) · « **Reply #17 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:39:16 PM »

Quote from: Gillian (Ambercat) on March 14, 2007, 13:26:11 PM

Do the pet insurers pay for dental work? I don't mean routine dental cleaning - but if extractions are necessary?

Ours did - Blip had three teeth out because of FORLs and they paid for everything except the home check-up visit I arranged (so as not to stress Blip any more).

Plus I changed to M & S last year and specifically asked them if they covered teeth extraction for illness and they said that they did.

Ela · « **Reply #16 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:33:44 PM »

My daughter has been asking for quotes for Jonty, she accidentally contacted Tesco twice and was given two different quotes.

Ela · « **Reply #15 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:31:21 PM »

Quote

Ela, for the vets who will allow direct payments, I think the cheque would be made out to them, so there is no chance of them not getting their money

Unfortunartely quite recently someone made a claim and asked for the cheque to be paid to the vet. Later they phoned the insurance company and asked for the cheque to be made payable to them., which they did.

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #14 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:26:11 PM »

Do the pet insurers pay for dental work? I don't mean routine dental cleaning - but if extractions are necessary?

Dawn F · « **Reply #13 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:20:25 PM »

I'm with M&S for two of mine but I just got the renewal though and it has gone up from £68 to £111, I think I might look around

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #12 on:** March 14, 2007, 13:18:04 PM »

Practically every single insurance company asks you if you want them to pay the vet direct, and most use this as a selling point. But, as Susanne points out, it is at the vets discretion, neither mine nor the out of hours vet will allow that, and the rescues vet only do it very occasionally, and mainly for very well known customers with a lengthy illness. So, it should be your vet you ask about that, dont take the insurance companies word for it. Ela, for the vets who will allow direct payments, I think the cheque would be made out to them, so there is no chance of them not getting their money - the prob is the owner still has to pay the excess, and I know with PEbbles first claim, it took about 5 weeks to come through, and about 4 phone calls - I shouldn't expect my vets to have to wait/deal with that. Plus there are some claims that are refused.
Dawn - I thought mine would have gone up, as they paid out over £500 for PEbbles in the first year of claiming, but it actually went down, as I had insured her when their prices were quite high, and they had reviewed them since.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #11 on:** March 14, 2007, 12:32:16 PM »

Quote from: Cheesecat on March 14, 2007, 12:17:38 PM

With pet insurance, if you claim does the policy price go up the following year? I dont really understand the ins and outs having never made a claim.

It tends to go up each year even if you don't make a claim as older cats generally cost more to insure than younger cats. With petplan I think the premiums are based more on total claims to the company than individual claims. If they pay out more then they need to take in more money in order to make a profit.

re paying the vet direct - yes some will make the cheque out to the vet but it's still up to individiual vets whether they will do that or whether they will insist the owner pay the bill in full there and then. It annoys me when insurers try to make a selling point of paying the vet direct because people are then lured into a false sense of security thinking they won't have to pay up front. Then they find themselves at the vets being asked to pay a £2000 bill that they weren't expecting.

Cheesecat · « **Reply #10 on:** March 14, 2007, 12:17:38 PM »

I am with M&S as they got a good review on CatChat. I can't give advice first hand as I have (thankfully) not had to use them so far.

With pet insurance, if you claim does the policy price go up the following year? I dont really understand the ins and outs having never made a claim.

That reminds me though, Doc needs insuring!

CurlyCatz · « **Reply #9 on:** March 14, 2007, 12:11:59 PM »

Some insurance companies do pay the vet direct, minus the excess of course.. the owners have to sign abit on the form for that but yes i knew of some who would only oay the owner aswell.

Ela · « **Reply #8 on:** March 14, 2007, 11:55:53 AM »

Quote

My vets dont deal direct with the insurer (they are a referral centre too so payments can be large) as they've had bad experiences in the past.

I think more and more vets nowadays are going this way and can you blame them? The insurance company makes out the cheque to the insured person and the insured person spends the money, but not on the vet bill. Unfortunately this kind of thing spoils it for the honest people.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #7 on:** March 14, 2007, 11:48:41 AM »

Just a point to emphsize re the paying vets/specialists direct - no insurance company can insist a vet receive direct payments so it's solely at the discretion of the vet whether they will do that or whether you have to pay up front then claim back. My vets dont deal direct with the insurer (they are a referral centre too so payments can be large) as they've had bad experiences in the past.

Millys Mum · « **Reply #6 on:** March 14, 2007, 11:42:32 AM »

M&S or Pet Plan, im with M&S and hear they are good. Iv got a claim going through with them at the mo so i shall find out

Im hoping they believe the vets when they ticked moving the cat from home was detrimental to his health

I didnt ask them to tick it as it was me who wanted a homevisit, id pay anything.

M&S cover £7000 per year (so this covers for life)
No excess for an approx extra £10 a year
Will pay a specialist direct (phew as george would have hit £2000!)
£200 a year towards special diets

chimpzoo · « **Reply #5 on:** March 14, 2007, 09:24:37 AM »

that's great, thanks for the tips, now i have a better idea what to look for, i'll do a search.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #4 on:** March 14, 2007, 08:51:18 AM »

Yes - do a search (and if you can access catchat it would be worth searchign on there - maybe google catchat pet insurance) as there were lots of threads about insurance over there. It's hard to recommend a company as premiums vary depending on the individual cat and where you live, so while one person may seem to get a really good premium and policy with a particular company they may not be so good for someone else.

Think Desley has pinpointed what to look for but I'd say you want max pay out to be per year not per condition - with per condition there's a maximum amount for each condition so if your cat gets a chronic condition they will eventually stop paying out. With per year they will keep on paying out up to the max each year for a chronic condition.

Best thing is to get lots of quotes online and then compare them but make sure you look in detail at the policy as you aren't always comparing like for like. Check the small print to ind out what, if anything, is excluded. Personally, I'd also say beware of deals that sound too good to be true. It's always possible that they lure you in with a low premium then raise it when you come to renew (and if you've made a claim it's hard to change companies as you may have an existing condition which will be excluded with most new policies).

M&S seem popular on here. I'm with petplan and have been very satisfied with them so far (have made 2 claims - both paid out promptly). The only thing I don't like is that their excess for older cats is rather high.

Rosella moggy · « **Reply #3 on:** March 14, 2007, 08:46:29 AM »

Mine are all with M&S. Some others on here are too - see thread.

http://www.chaptanservices.com/purrs/index.php?topic=1028.msg17008#msg17008

Noy saying they are the best but I really like the fact that they insure oldies and it is possible to go for no excess

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #2 on:** March 14, 2007, 07:53:56 AM »

You are best off searching here, and possibly CC for this one. Main rules are as high an amount per condition as you can, and lifetime cover, not a company that will only insure for a year per condition. I have to say that as much as I like my insurance company, I think there are others better for younger cats. One to stay clear of is E & L

chimpzoo · « **Reply #1 on:** March 13, 2007, 23:23:48 PM »

i really should get pet insurance sorted out for my 5 month old, with so many to choose from does anyone have any recommendations? or any to steer well clear of? thanks!

Author Topic: pet insurance recommendation (Read 4905 times)