I don’t usually post about insurance here (I leave that to @fabien !) but I know he won’t mind me posting this as pet insurance is not something he does. And quite rightly as the vast majority of pet insurance policies are either astronomically priced or exclude just about anything vaguely useful.
But…daughter number 2 has had a run of AWFUL luck with cats, to the extent where the cats hide at the back of the cage at the SPA and say ‘please , please not me. I want to live. I’ve heard about you”…!
But joking aside, present rescue cat cost her over 200€ (from a bloody HAIRBALL) and the previous incumbent ended up in an oxygen tent for 48 hours (that cost ME 500€ thank you very much) and the poor thing didn’t even make it.
So she’s sensibly opted for pet insurance and has found a policy that seems reasonable. I’ve joined her, having calculated that our new rescue kitten Philby will cost me more than the first couple of years premiums in terms of vaccinations and sterilisation.
Here’s a picture of Philby for general Sunday cuteness and a link which if you use to sign up will give you one month free.
Interesting that you have found one useful. As I have almost exclusively cared for older dogs, pet insurance, if available at all, would be astronomical. I did once, just for fun submit my Greyhound and Breton Spaniel for consideration. Both, although only about 8 at the time rejected out of hand. I wouldn’t have paid anyway.
But when I adopted my lovely gentle, and aged, Rottweiler, Boss (my avatar on here) I was forced by the law to insure him 3rd party only. My long time (not any more) insurer, Aviva, refused point blank and I was eventually pointed to an outfit called ECA. They wanted €25 per month and that didn’t include vaccinations. The 3rd party element, all that I needed, was only €5, but they insisted on the massive extra €20 as well or no deal. Thank goodness our Maire, who was required by law to issue his permit, did not bother to insist on that for the 2nd year, dear old Boss’s last.
This is also similar to my experience. We don’t insure our current dogs, neither of which are yet regarded as ‘senior dogs’ (8 years+ ie expensive!) in insurance terms. However I set aside the money we would have paid in premiums (in France now and previously the UK) as a form of contingency reserve. We’ve been doing this now for about 12 years, with multiple dogs. Touching wood, the vets costs we’ve paid are substantially less than what we’d have paid in premiums.
I find vets costs to be much more reasonable in France than the UK. I suspect this is partly because Private Equity houses haven’t been buying up French vets practices in the way they have been in the UK, with drastic impacts on service levels and fees.
I’m paying 21,99 per month . @toryroo - the cheapest way to do it was sign up for the basic plan and then add bits. I can’t remember exactly how I did it but I do recall some fiddling around (as instructed by canny daughter!) as otherwise it came to around 30 per month. Good luck! X
Thanks Cat. So I’ve been quoted by our vet 170e for chip, vac, and chop so that would be around 8 months. As things are tight and he is young and healthy I think I’ll keep fingers crossed, or maybe put money aside. Last year Oscar had an operation, 2 nights in hospital, meds, 3 follow up visits for I think 260e. That was our first vet visit in 7 years.
First of all @cat I am sorry about the astronomical vet care bills you have had. I have had a run of these in the past and it is miserable.
I would just like to highlight this again. The big question is, with pet insurance will it go the way of the UK, which is ultimately US style healthcare for pets or be more like a mutuelle for French healthcare for people.
I can imagine private equity companies will be watching the evolution of this with interest.
I’m just surprised that the costs of this policy seem so high compared to UK prices (though when we were with our original insurer, they did the creeping increases too). Maybe that’s because it’s - so far - a niche market, unlike the UK.
I think pet owners should ‘appreciate’ French vet practices whilst they still can, in case what happened in the UK comes to pass in France.
In the UK, private equity and other corporate investors have acquired a majority of the 6,000 practices. Fees have increased for pet owners, more tests are carried out (generating additional fees), expensive experienced staff are eased out and replaced with cheaper, less experienced vet assistants. Complaints, including competition enquiries are also up. Yet its passed largely below the radar in terms of public opinion and media attention in the UK…
It’s already started. Where I used to live in the Creuse , 2 local vets from 2 practices recently retired , both were bought by investors and merged into one practice. A friend is the receptionist and she said prices are being "reviewed "
Well I can report back that little cat was operated on yesterday and all went very well. I’ve just uploaded my bill and feuille de soins (really!) and received an email back informing me that 100€ of the 158€ the operation cost me will be back in my bank account within 48 hours.
I don’t have pet insurance for Noire, a semi-wild cat I’ve been looking after for 16 years, and would like to know if anyone’s pet cat has had a cataract operation, and at what cost? I believe it’s hideously expensive. I see that in the UK it could cost £4,000 per eye!
She has minimal vision in one eye, but that won’t last. An operation on one eye would be sufficient, or being kept in a large enclosure if cost becomes an issue.
Talk to your vet. They may not recommend it - your cat is already a good age. You might find they recommend letting her cope as best she can. Our mutt is 15 ish and has very limited vision but can’t be operated on as he has a weak heart. He manages fine and happily walks our 30 minute walk because he knows it and his sense of smell is superb, so he knows where we are.
Noire lives on her own, and until now has managed well over the years, but she can’t jump up onto the table where the food is kept. Rats prevent me from putting food down for her at floor level. She is vulnerable and living with me at home isn’t an option. She either has an operation or is confined to an enclosure. I’d prefer that she has an operation if the vet, who I have yet to consult, agrees an operation is viable. But the cost will be the deciding factor.
How can a relatively simple cataract operation cost so much is what gets me! It costs more than my cataract operation!
I’m opting for a simple cage enclosure for my cat Noire asap for temporary use until I can get her seen by the vet - she is now completely blind. She’ll be safe and I’ll be happier. She’ll have a traceable collar in case of escape.
I’ve had a cat before who went blind due to a brain or optic nerve tumour and somehow she managed to get out of the house, and I found her lying in the rain on the edge of the chemin.
I don’t know if it’s the same for cats but we had our dog Agnes cataract op on one eye done by a surgical vet in Nîmes. Around €1,800 a couple of years ago. Plus a couple of specialist vet visits beforehand to ascertain it was operable cataracts and not something like retinal atrophy. Everything went smoothly and the young lady surgeon was lovely.
We don’t have insurance because the pups were already over 8 years old when we moved to France but I do believe it made Agnes’ life so much better than it might have been otherwise.
I’m prepared to spend up to 2,000 € for one eye if the prognosis is good and her general health is ok. I know several vets in town so will ask for estimates, but if the cost is ridiculous, then winter and summer enclosures will have to do.
I put her on a lead to see how well she could get about – she couldn’t! She’s feisty and dependant on me for food – she eats well - so I’m sure she’ll adapt to confinement. She’ll still have the sounds and smells she’s familiar with to keep her company.
I’m waiting to hear from my regular vet about cost!
