I consider all insurance a con. I too have a mongrel who was sold as a straight cross but clearly has a lot of another breed in her. I discovered that insurance is cheaper for a crossbreed and even cheaper for umpteen breeds.
Can't remember who the insurer was at the time but I discovered my cat had gingivitis and, over a period of time, had to have several teeth removed. After the initial diagnosis and first extraction the insurance paid out. But then I was refused on further claims being told it was 'dental' and 'something I could have avoided/prevented. Have they ever tried cleaning a cat's teeth?
I cancelled both cat insurances and opened a savings account to put the money into.
I’ve insured my dog with Animal Friends for the past 3 or 4 years. Not had a problem with them paying out; it’s the vet’s surgery I sometimes have to chase to make sure they’ve made the claim!
user7777 I am quite happy with Animal friends
Be aware though that very few pet insurers pay out for dental or any mouth problems
One of my cats has severe stomatitis,and has to have injections every few weeks at £15 a time
I'd had Petplan for years but I fell foul of their semantics five years ago, when I got my rescued Rommie.
His passport says "Crossbreed", which I entered, but then I had to specify which breeds were crossed. No idea, so I rang but was told I needed to specify or guess what he most looked like. I explained he was a mongrel but they wouldn't accept that category because the passport said crossbreed.
I suppose I can understand the semantics but to me as a lay person the two names are interchangeable. If I'd just decided to put "mongrel" on the form, any claim would have been disallowed, presumably.
With Animal Friends now. Haven't needed them yet but at least the telephonic registration was in normal language.
We cancelled our pet insurance in the summer and put money away each month for little pooch in case of medical needs.
The pet insurance companies are very sneaky with their provisos
A downvote for Petplan from me. They refused to pay for my old cat stating pre existing conditions but they took him on when he was 1 so they knew all about him. I now do the same as the OP and put £50 into premium bonds each month just in case. Given that I get £25 most months on a win, I’m doing well on this system.
Another vote for PetPlan. Not cheap but the pay up. Vets trust them so work directly with them. My spaniel just had her 6 monthly bloods and health check. She has hypothyroidism. The vet claimed directly. Pet Plan paid and covers the £16.99 a month her meds cost.
I had a dreadful time several years ago. My 10 year old dog has fits, brain scans, later cancer op. The 6 year old dog suddenly developed mobility problems which worsened dramatically over 24 days. X-rays, scans, bloods etc etc. inoperable tumour along his spine. He was helped to leave this world by our lovely vet, at home. These two brief periods of I’ll health cost over £15,000. Knowing I could just leave the vet surgery without having to pay bills whilst weeping helped.
About to insure a 3 year old cat. Best policy to get..... anyone know...
£40 a month is a lot of money for pet insurance I pay just over £8 for each of my 2 cats.was less but both are 14 now so gone up due to age.but a 20% on top for treatment .
I pay just over £11 for my dog who is 7,
I am with Animal friends and they pay my vet ,which I chose to do.which means I don't have to pay and claim it bsvk.
Never had any problems with.them
That’s ridiculous that’s the equivalent of saying if you had a cold 7 years ago you have a pre existing condition
I d cancel that pet plan as fast as I could
I use Sainsbury Pet insurance, excellent, never a quibble.
FannyCornforth
Pet Plan are the best in the business
Another vote for Pet Plan. My daughter finds them excellent in every way.
Sarahcyn, Thanks. I note Perfect Pet gets a thumbs down.
I've just found the email they sent when I queried their definition:
Please may I refer you to our policy wording definition of a 'Pre-existing condition':
Means any diagnosed or undiagnosed Condition and/or Associated Condition which has happened or has shown Clinical Signs or Symptoms of existing in any form before the Policy Start Date or within the Waiting Period.
Had we been aware of the history at the time of taking out your policy, we would have imposed the following exclusion:Ears with effect from 1 February 2020 (i.e. when I took this policy out)
@Caleo the insurers were Perfect Pet.
Avoid!!!
Pet Plan are the best in the business
An ear infection is an acute condition which becomes healed, not a chronic condition which endures over years.
Your insurer was dishonest. Please let us know the name of your insurer so we may avoid him.
Is anyone else getting fed up with pet insurance policies?
I took my dog, aged 9, to the vet's this year with an ear infection. I was paying something like £40 a month to pet insurers at the time so it seemed a good time to get something for insuring a very healthy dog.
But no. The insurers said that because he'd had an ear infection when he was about 2 years old it counted as a "pre-existing condition".
Call me ignorant but I would have thought that "pre-existing" meant a condition which the dog was suffering from at the time the policy was taken out - which was not so many years ago - rather than something that went wrong a long time ago and was cleared up. I totally understand that insurance premiums for a dog who is already suffering from a chronic condition should be higher than for a dog who is fit and well at the time of the policy commencement. But that's not what is happening here - the insurers are effectively saying that my boy gets one ear infection covered in his lifetime...and presumably if he stepped on a thorn and needed the vet to remove it, he'd have to use up his one sore paw allowance.
Imagine if this were true of car insurance. When my catalytic converter was stolen from under my hybrid car for the second time in 3 months - because the local gangs of thieves target certain cars and I hadn't had time to fit a catloc - LV paid up the second time with no arguments.
I have cancelled insurance policies for both my cat and my dog now. Instead I put a more than equivalent sum every month into premium bonds.
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