I sat down with a calculator and worked out exactly what I had spent in the last year
Giacomo has bee
n the most expensive of the cats, especially after his argument with a car a fortnight ago. (He's doing very well by the way. He's walking as normal now and really can't understand why he has to be confined in a cage or a room at all times. His tail has now stopped itching, as the hair is growing back, which has also improved his mood!)He has started physiotherapy again to build up his muscles after the accident.
In the last 9 months, since we got him, he has suffered from the following
Diarrhoea
£369.65
Hip Dysplasia
£514.09 here at Ash
£661.00 for physiotherapy
Respiratory Infection
£1642.01
Road Traffic Accident
£809.74 for initial treatment
£1336.30 for specialist surgery
This means I would have spent a total of £5332.79 in the first year of his life. However, because he is insured with Petplan, I have only spent the excesses of £60 per condition; a total of £240.
How much does his insurance cost? Well he has the Supercat Cover, which means that he is covered for up to £12,000 on each individual condition per year. We pay £13.89 per month; a total of £166.68 per year. This is the most expensive of the Petplan policies and cheaper monthly premiums can be arranged.
As well as covering you for illnesses and accidents involving your pet, Petplan also cover for other related problems. For example; we were supposed to be going to London to see a show the weekend that Giacomo had his accident. If we hadn't managed to cancel the travel and hotel we had arranged, they would have reimbursed us for that.
The other cats haven't been cheap either. Bellini has had the same respiratory infection which cost £2486.53 to treat. As this was a single condition, I paid only £60 excess on this treatment.
Rungo is slightly more expensive to treat. Because he's 12 years old, I have to pay the first £90 of treatment fo
r each condition and 20% of each claim after that.He has been treated for
Arthritis
£601.14 here at Ash
£551 physiotherapy
Oral Pain (including dental treatment)
£272.95
This is a total of £1425.09, of which I have paid £429.02
He has the Budget Plan insurance, which means that he is covered for up to £4000 treatment on each condition, and this costs £12.79 per month for a cat his age.
So as you can see, I'm very grateful to Petplan for the level of cover they provide for all my pets. If your animals are not insured, then it is well worth thinking about. How would you manage if you were faced with bills like these?
Insurance companies will not cover what they all pre-existing conditions. This means they will exclude diseases which your pet suffered from before you took out the policy. This is why we recommend insurance to everyone with a new pet. They will also charge an excess on any condition treated. However, even with these criteria, it's worth your while insuring your pet in most cases.
