Beware of cheap alternatives! (Pet Plan)

Member Name: eowyn3066

Product:	Pet Plan
Date:	03/06/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy claim process, Online claim progress, cover for life

Disadvantages: Expensive when compared to other policies.

Believe me if you have a pet that's as kamikaze as my siamese cat then decent pet insurance in absolutely essential!

I have used Pet plan for years, our old cat was 10 when she died and we had never had to make a claim, so when we got our new siamese kitten i ummed and arrhed about whether to bother. OMG am I glad I did!

Lets just say that my gorgeous cat is proving to be a bit of an "Eddie the Eagle" character, if he was human he'd be into extreme sports, just not very good at them!

At the age of five months, he jumped across from the landing bannister to the landing window, all well and good till he tried to jump back, didn't get a good enough grip on the rounded bannister and flipped down the stairwell. He then hit the bannister below. We heard the bang in the kitchen! Two minutes later he limped in dragging his back left leg behind him, it was horrible clear that cat's really don't always land on their feet!!!

A quick dash to the vet ensued. He was hospitalised, doped up to the eyeballs, x-rayed. His case was then referred to the orthopedic vet as he had broken his leg through a growth plate. He spent 7 days in hospital, had two lots of x-rays, and ended up with his leg pinned from hip to knee. The total cost £5700! Ouch!

As you can imagine, I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I filled in his Pet Plan claim forms, and suddenly the £20 per month we paid for his superior policy seemed worth every penny. Within two weeks of each claim my cheques arrived in the post. Perrrrfect!

Two years later my husband was made redundant, in my money saving extravaganza I looked at my Pet Plan policy and again ummed and arrghed about whether to keep it or not. At the last minute I decided to keep it (to this day I don't know why I didn't can it)!!

Within a week of making this rather monumental descision my stupid, sorry that's adventurous cat once again decided to test his extreme sport skills by skiiing off the upraised garage door!! He hit the car in the drive awkwardly and then limped into the house through his cat flap, this time dragging his back right leg behing him. This was at 4pm on a Sunday! So I made a trip to the emergency vet. Initially they thought it was muscular, so a massive jab of pain killer was given. The following Tuesday we still had one very unhappy cat so, headed off back to the vet.

Over the course of the next 4 weeks, he had two lots of x-rays, which again got referred to the orthopedic vet. They still insisted is was muscular, however, when after all this time he was still limping and obviously in pain we were referred to see the orthopedic vet in person. At this point the costs were at around £1200. The appointment alone was £200!! They then did another set of x-rays which proved he had broken his hip joint, with a spiral hairline fracture down his femur to his knee.

Four weeks cage rest was recommened. Bill now £3000! Our next appointment at the specialist and more x-rays showed that the break hadn't healed and he had to have an op to pin the bones back together, cost of op £2500, cost of seven days in the hospital £350, two more sets of x-rays £1200!

Four months later he is now well on the road to recovery. The total bill in the region of £7500!

Pet Plan have been fantastic, as a continuation claim they have turned round the cheques super fast, vital with my husband out of work and money in short supply.

They have a great new online account areas so you can check up the progress of your claim online. If you have any questions, the phone is answered promptly, the staff are friendly and helpful.

If you ask me if the policy is expensive, then yes if you compare it to other policies out there. But when you look at the small print you realise you get what you pay for! We have unlimited vet costs, he's insured for life and they don't limit long term illnesses to 12 months worth of payments as most policies do.

If you asked me if I will be cancelling my policy with Pet Plan the my answer is an emphatic NO! With a cat like mine I can't afford to!

Summary: Can you afford not to!