Time to consult the hive mind.

I’ve just had a renewal quote through from Axa on the pet insurance for my two 13-year-old cats, and the premium has gone up from £14 each to £26 each per month! A bit of a p*ss take, so any recommendations for pet insurance for older cats?

we pay 14 quid a month for our 7yr old lab with direct line

A friend had his puppy insured along with his house, all under the same policy. That might be an option for you?
We’re with Tesco for our cats and we pay about £26 per month for both and they’re 9yrs old.

Read all the small print and make sure you understand what you do and don’t get.

Be careful if swapping insurance companies. Especially if you have had any health issues with the cats as they will be classed as pre existing and won’t be covered. They won’t tell you this at the time of taking out the insurance and your money. Only when you submit a claim.

It is why I recommend life term policies with one of the pet biased companies. Yes you have to stick with them but you are then covered.

At 13 you may have a high excess and a percentage of the bill as well. Lots of people stop insuring them at this age but it is also when stuff starts to go wrong with them too.

I’ve just had a renewal quote through from Axa on the pet insurance for my two 13-year-old cats, and the premium has gone up from £14 each to £26 each per month! A bit of a p*ss take, so any recommendations for pet insurance for older cats?

How much have you claimed, if any over the last few years?

When my dogs got to 10 years old I stopped our ‘normal’ policy. I took out a policy that had a 30% excess on it and it was much cheaper. http://www.eandl.co.uk

Both of the dogs are now 14 and I gave up paying for any type of insurance about a year ago.

If either of them become ill (and it is something major) then they are now of an age that I would not want them to go through any type of operation so would have them put down. Sounds cold but I would not want the old girls to go through any of that ( a lesson learnt after keeping my last dog going too long against the advice of family members).

I have to say I really struggled with E&L when it came to claiming – they wanted the excess plus a %age of the bill – ended up paying nearly half the overall bill (few hundred quid) rather than just my excess which was less than £100.

Wasn’t the easiest company to deal with and their lunar month payments were weird. 13 payments per year?!

We use PetPlan for our two cats – not the cheapest, but the coverage is excellent and they have always paid very quickly when we have claimed. Premium increase following claims have also been reasonably low.

I’ve had our two dogs with Petplan for years now.

I’ve had to make quite a few claims and they’ve always been quick and hassle free to deal with.

As mesh said, they’re not the cheapest; but I think they’re pretty much widely regarded as being the best.

A few other insurance posts here , here and here. They’re about dog insurance rather than cats, but the same companies cover putty tats as well.

I have to say I really struggled with E&L when it came to claiming – they wanted the excess plus a %age of the bill

This seems to be becoming more and more standard.

I’ve with More Than for my cat, pay about £8 a month for him, that gets £7k per condition. Excess is £75 (£150 once he’s over 9), and there’s 10% of the bill to pay too.

When I’ve claimed from them before (not with this cat) they’ve been really good to deal with, settling with the vet directly, rather than me having to pay then claim back. And they do a multi-pet discount.

Pet Plan, just forked out £2k for a knee opp for the dog, had some x-rays a 18 months ago and have to get more x-rays plus additional vet fees and hydrotherapy. I think I will be on the limit of my £4k this year so will up it to the higher policy next month when its up for renewal.

Absolutely brilliant and no hassle.I have another policy for my other dog who has had no vet bills also with Pet Plan but the peace of mind is great and they are genuinely really helpful.

Glad I went with them and din’t buy on price.

13? You’ve had value for money out of them. I’d call it a day.

Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance is very good (and you do / did get double nectar points)