Solitary chicken - need advice

[Chillicat]

My beloved Elwood's (my 16 year old seal tabby Birman cat) insurance renewal letter came through this morning..............at a whopping £44.66 per month.

Last year it was £27.77 and they put it up to £35.72 half way through the year due to exceptional circumstances. I wouldn't mind if I'd claimed all the time but I haven't!

On top of that the excess is £190 plus 30% of the vet fees

I know its a matter of opinion, but I'm considering cancelling this insurance (knowing that I won't get insurance anywhere else)...............what would you do?

[Tessa the Duchess]

It's difficult. Elwood is at the age when he will most need the care of a vet, so you may be faced with really high vet bills in the future. Tbh I think I would go on paying for insurance, although it does seem a really high premium and the excess is

but as you say it is unlikely that you would be able to insure with another company, although it might be worth having a ring around just to see. I insure my dog and cat with Animals Friends Society who are lovely and non profit making, all profits go to animal rescue homes or similar.

 

Tessa

[jackiepoppies]

That quote is really extortionate () and I think they are using emotional blackmail

 

I would shop around and see if you can get a better deal elsewhere. However, at the end of the day, what price do we put on our pets welfare

 

Good luck.

 

Jx

Edited May 18, 2009 by Guest

[jackiepoppies]

I read your post to my OH and he suggested you cancel the insurance BUT make sure you put £30 a month into premium bonds or some other separate account, and then you would probably have enough saved for any vets bills. You also have to weigh up what a vet might advise if unfortunately Elwood had an incurable and/or debilitating illness.

 

Jx

[The Dogmother]

Sound advice from Jackie's OH.

 

I inherited a pet insurance many years ago with a lurcher I rescued, but the price escalated too and I cancelled the policy. I haven't had a pet insurance policy since.

 

I read your post to my OH and he suggested you cancel the insurance BUT make sure you put £30 a month into premium bonds or some other separate account, and then you would probably have enough saved for any vets bills. You also have to weigh up what a vet might advise if unfortunately Elwood had an incurable and/or debilitating illness.

 

Jx

[Chucky Mama]

This is a really tricky one. I work in the veterinary field and whilst the premium is high, so are potentially vets bills for elderly cats. For instance if any surgical procedure is required it is standard for blood test to be performed first to ensure that a patient is healthy enough to have an anaesthetic so costs can escalate. Unfortunately the advances in veterinary medicine are a double edged sword. It means that so much more can be offered in terms of treatment and of course this comes at a premium. I think you have to weigh up what you cash flow can withstand if you need to find money for a large vets bill. Also weigh up how valuable you have found your insurance policy so far. Had you put that money in a bank account would you have saved more than you have spent? Having to find 30% and £190 excess does not sound like a great deal to me but I dont know how healthy your cat is/has been.

[Aunty e]

Gosh that's high. I would self-insure - put the same amount of money aside each month into a savings account instead. You're still going to have to find a LOT of money if something does need doing, and it's just not worth it at that price. You could try shopping around a bit, I have mine with E and L, and couldn't afford anyone else's quotes for insuring an Egyptian Mau under one in Central London (around £30 a month). they charge me around a fiver per cat.

 

I don't insure Cleo anymore, her premiums got too high, and now she doesn't have a uterus, she's a distinctly more stay-at-home, sleep-all-of-the-time, be-healthy kind of cat. She has ongoing conditions, but I just pay for her medication and her annual checkup, it's cheaper than forty odd quid a month on insurance, which wouldn't cover those conditions anyway.

[Alis girls]

What are the circumstances they mention? If you've nt claimed then I would question it. I also think you should shop around for vets as if an animal is clearly not going to have a qualtiy of life putting to sleep is the kindness thing. i spent a fortune on sons rabbit and I know now I wouldnt do it again. some vets are more sensible than others like some drs and you have to stand your ground. My sons rabbit was very ill with abscesses and they rarely recover, we had her put to sleep, I cried buckets and she wasnt even a particularly nice animal - she bit me and only really softened towards me when I nursed her after her ops. the 2 we have now are lovely - although the female growls. i give off bad vibes to female buns I think. Good luck

[Guest]

we use 'animal friends' for molly.

 

No harm in ringing round to get other quotes until you decide what to do.

[Olly]

Ouch! Trouble is, I think very few pet insurers will take on a cat of that age as a new policy, especially a pedigree.

 

I've never insured - I would rather take the risk myself, but it's a tough decision. Could you meet the bills if she needed something major? I might not like paying for it, but I know I have the facility to meet a large bill (it would have to come out of the holiday fund or the new windows fund or similar) but if you would struggle to meet it then that's another issue.

 

At the risk of sounding callous, if I had a 16-year old cat then I would probably not consider major surgery or long-term treatment anyway. It's a good age, and I've had cats live to 17 or so, but unless it was something that could be cured, I would not want to go down the route of chemotherapy or long-term medication. That's a personal choice though, and you may well feel differently.

[Chillicat]

Thanks everyone.

Elwoods brother died just before Christmas with a suspected brain tumour and it cost me a fortune, even with the insurance excess and part payment towards the vet bill. He had all sorts of tests and we stopped before having to go through the trauma of sending him to London to have scans.

SO, despite all that, I'm going to cancel the policy and put the money away instead.

Thank you omleteers for your thoughts and reasoning.

[bellekatz]

It has cost my insurance company over £1700 this year for my 12 year old abyssinian. I couldnt have paid that for him to be treated without the insurance. Fortunately he is back to his old self and we hopefully have many more years with him. I would hate to think that he would have been PTS when he could have been and was cured.I have always got back whatever I have paid in to a policy for my animals over the years, maybe I have been lucky but I wouldnt like to have to make a decision based on the fact I didnt have insurance.