The "MUST HAVE'S" in pet insurance...

[raelgrin]

Hi ya,
I am two weeks away from getting my first ever pair of kittens. I have been looking through pet insurance and you can get all different kinds with lots of different perks...
Please can someone who has experience of having to claim on pet insurance, explain to me what I should get within an insurance package???
Many thanks,
Rachel =)

[woofgang]

for me the must haves are
simple claim form
plain english t and c with no unreasonable requirements
helpful customer service
reasonable excess
decent annual payout limit
cover for life for any condition

[hc4361]

Go for the highest excess you can afford. It makes a massive difference to the cost.

[fredpuli47]

Watch out for the small print about reporting to the insurer. If your pet is unwell or injured the insurers won't pay unless you report that to them within a certain time of the animal being seen by the vet. This period can be extraordinarily short. Check carefully how long you have. It is quite easy to take the pet in for what seems minor and not do anything about claiming until a second or third visit, when it is apparent that expensive treatment is needed.By then it may be too late. (I'm indebted to my vet for pointing this out.She has experience of an insurer refusing, quite unreasonably, to pay out because of this)

[woozer]

I think you need to know who is going to pay your claims with the least hassle. I have three animals that I insure with Petplan because:-
This is the only company that my vet will bill direct so I dont have to find hundreds (and once thousands) of pounds at short notice. When I go to the vet I pay the excess fill in a claim form and the vet does the rest.
Yes they are more expensive than someinsurance companies but the vet says that they dont quibble over claims and so to me they are worth the extra as I would hate to have to deny one of my pets treatment because I didnt have the ready cash. So I suggest you find a vet and ask them which (if any) insurer they will bill direct.

[boxtops]

I endorse what woofgang and woozer say. Payment for life on long term conditions is vital, some pet insurers will only pay out for a year. I'm with PetPlan for our 3 cats and their claims process is very good. The only drawback (which may be common to other insurers) is that there is not only a £ excess but also a percentage of the total claim as the cats get to old age (e.g. £100 excess + 20% of claim for the 13-year-old) but it's well worth it, Rover's medicines costs three times p.a. what I am paying in premiums. The claim process is easy, you can download a form on-line on www.petplan.co.uk and I have found them really nice to deal with. you should get your insurance really cheaply with young kittens, you will find it helps if they have had their jabs etc and are microchipped (less chance of needing the lost pet section!).

The insurance won't cover routine checkups and vaccinations, you have to still pay for them, but our vet has their own PetPlus arrangement for that, we pay a small monthly fee to the vets which covers the cats' checkups and routine vaccines, and gives us 10% of all other treatments (e.g. flea/worm preparation) and food etc which we might buy there. That really helps - worth checking if your vet has a similar scheme.

[icemaiden]

Hi Raelgrin,

I have my two terriers with More Than pet insurance. I am extremely impressed with them. We have claimed an awful lot in such a short space of time and we have had no arguments at all. Yes we do have to pay up front but they are quick in sending out the cheque. Normally within 7 days. They also charge an excess of £60 + 10% of the amount. The monthly premium we pay is also a lot less than Pet Plan.

I would suggest you have a good look around. Depends upon how much you can afford per month as well. At the end of the day you only get what you pay for.