Best Insurance for Cats; Here are The Best Pet Insurance For Cats In 2023

The best insurance for cats; Can anything seem weirder than the fact that someone can actually get a health insurance plan for a cat?

Yes, you read that right I said a cat and I meant a cat. Well, some persons can actually be that crazy and we here @Pestclue love to give our guides on pests and also your pets and this is why we arranged the best insurance for cats suited for cat lovers.

As all pet owners — excuse us, paw-rents — can attest, there’s nothing like coming home to a wagging tail or a purring, biscuit-making ball of fluff.

That being said, there’s nothing as jarring as expecting to come home to said tail/ball of fluff, only to be greeted by a few whimpers accompanied by a limp, a puddle of vomit, or — even worse — unsettling silence. 

 

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When a pet isn’t acting like themselves, the last thing you want to be worrying about at the moment is how you’re going to pay for their emergency care.

That’s why pet insurance plans exist: They cover your pet’s medical care in the case of an unexpected health problem so you don’t have to choose between your pet’s well-being and your savings account.

Pet health insurance plans operate similarly to those for humans in that they usually charge an annual deductible, require you to pay a monthly premium — approximately $28 and $45 a month on average for cats and dogs, respectively — and involve filing a claim for benefits after coughing up some out-of-pocket costs.

And just like with human plans, you have tons of questions to ask a pet insurance company when you start shopping around for a policy: Do you want a plan that covers accidents, illnesses, or both?

Are there waiting periods after your policy’s effective date? Are the exam fees covered?

 

And what if your pet isn’t a dog or a cat?

Owners of older pets have to be especially inquisitive, as some plans don’t include coverage for chronic conditions and cancer treatments, or limit coverage after a certain age.

(Oh, and spoiler alert: Zero pet insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions, and hardly any cover wellness exams, routine care, cosmetic procedures like tail docking, or dental visits unrelated to injuries.)

Deciding whether or not to sign up for pet insurance is an important decision rooted in both finances and emotions. And to be sure, pet insurance isn’t for everyone.

For example, mutts are less likely to inherit genetic conditions (i.e., certain cancers, hip dysplasia, and heart problems) than their purebred counterparts, so you might be able to get away without insurance for your Dachshund/Chihuahua/Shih Tzu/Great Dane hybrid.

Maybe you feel more comfortable putting away $30 or so per month as an unofficial emergency fund for your pet.

Or maybe you’d rather gamble on the fact that the chances of your pet getting seriously hurt or sick are relatively slim, and wind up deciding that going sans insurance is worth the perceived risk.

It’s totally up to you.

If you do opt to go the route of pet health insurance, welcome!

You’re in decent company: There were more than 2 million pets insured throughout the U.S. and Canada in 2022.

That’s a teeny portion of the pet population at large, but a 17% increase in enrollments from the previous year.

This small-but-growing marketplace is currently inhabited by about a dozen different pet insurance companies, and each insurance plan offers coverage with different perks for different pets and different budgets. 

So. Which pet insurance plan is right for you? We were wondering the same thing, so we decided to go hunt down a bunch of customer reviews and scour providers’ websites for the best values for various needs. Here’s what we found.

But first, let’s start with the obvious question of them all, which is;

What Does Cat Insurance Cost?

The average annual premium paid for pet insurance by UK cat owners is around £150 – equating to £12.50 a month, based on one year’s worth of data from Bought By Many cat insurance policies.

But you might pay much more or much less than this, depending on 3 key factors that influence the cost.

Although it’s possible to insure a cat on a no-frills accident-only policy for as little as £5 a month, the cat insurance policies in our Top 10 list are likely to cost between £10 and £20 per month, as they are mostly lifetime pet insurance policies.

Lifetime cat insurance (or ‘yearly limit’) covers vet fees up to the stated limit every year.

This can be a good option if you worry about your pet developing a long-term or recurring illness.

So long as you renew a lifetime policy each year, the level of vet fees will reset to the full stated limits that you started with.

With a lifetime product, it is important to note that your premiums will increase each year at renewal.

This is different from a ‘per condition’ policy, where a particular condition can become excluded once the condition limit is reached.

Your excess is also likely to increase as your cat gets older.

The exact cost of a cat insurance policy will vary from cat to cat and owner to owner, depending on these factors:

  • Your cat’s breed. Pedigree cats are more expensive to insure than moggies.
  • Your cat’s age. Older pets cats typically cost more than kittens to insure.
  • Your postcode. Cat insurance costs more in the parts of the UK where vet prices are highest – particularly London & South East England.

Here is another obvious question

Is Pet Insurance Worth it for a Cat?

Well, this could be a very hard question to answer but many people would damn fucking say yes to this, and here is why…

  • Pet insurance is designed to cover the cost of unexpected vet treatment; whether you feel it is worth it will depend on a number of factors.
  • The cost of the coverage is likely to be a big consideration but it’s important not to forget the cost of vet treatment if you don’t have insurance.
  • The Association of British Insurers says the average cost of treating a cat with diabetes in 2022 was £1,060 and the average cost of treating a tumor for a cat was £687. According to the ABI, the costs of the average pet insurance claim topped £750 for the first time in 2022, and that insurers paid out a record £706m.
  • Cat vet insurance is usually cheaper than dog insurance, but it all depends on the age, breed, and health of your cat.
  • Premiums also depend on what the cat insurance includes. Cheap insurance may not cover the full cost of treatment, meaning you could end up paying for some of the vet fees on top of your annual or monthly premium. More comprehensive policies will cover more treatment for longer but they will cost more.
  • When thinking about whether pet insurance is worth it, consider the total amount you may pay towards unexpected vet fees during the life of your cat and whether cat insurance is likely to save you money.

Best Pet Insurance for Older Cats

As there’s more chance of senior cats needing vet treatment, many pet insurance companies won’t cover cats over eight years old.

But here’s a list of the companies that will insure older cats:

  • Bought By Many
  • Lifetime Pet Cover
  • MORE TH>N
  • John Lewis Finance Pet Insurance
  • Animal Friendse
  • E&L
  • Debenhams
  • Pet Insurance
  • Argos Pet Insurance

I think this is all about cat insurance and all you might need to know about it.

 

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