Average annual UK pet insurance by cat breed

 

Collage: Michael. Photos: Helmi Flick with her express permission.

It is complicated picking the right pet insurance policy for your cat. It is also complicated deciding whether to take out pet insurance in the first place. There are a plethora of different types of insurance policies and you have to work out whether the cost is worth it. It's about risk and peace of mind. It's a personal choice at the end of the day. Do you want to take the risk or buy some peace of mind. Just remember that the insurance companies are in it to make money and they will do so whatever it takes. I prefer self-insurance: save and put money aside for vet bills. This cuts out the insurance admin fees and broker fees if applicable. But this a very personal choice. It depends on you and your character - how risk-averse you are. Insurance companies provide a good service to the right person and their cat.

Without fail, the pedigree, purebred cats are more expensive to insure than random bred cats commonly called moggies in the UK. The montage above illustrates the cost of annual insurance for five major cat breeds in the UK. These are very well known breeds, particularly in America. I don't know whether these sorts of prices are payable in America (in US dollars). I suspect they might be. The snow Bengal cat has the highest premium payments because they are rare and expensive. Rarity and cost dictate the price of the premiums. All five of the cat breeds in the illustration are highly prized domestic cat companions. The four others are not particularly rare but they are desirable.

I suspect, actually, that you will pay premiums that vary from those stated in the illustration because the cost of purebred cats depends upon the quality of the cat and this is an individual-by-individual cat pricing in my opinion. Perhaps the insurance company doesn't know the difference in which case you might get a very good deal.

For example, the Moneysupermarket website (from which I got these details) have mis-described the Snow Bengal and called the breed the "Snow Leopard Bengal".

The price of the premiums will also vary across the country because the cost of veterinary care varies from region to region in the UK. I would expect the same variation in the USA. The big metropolises such as London are going to be more expensive and Scotland will be the least expensive or thereabouts. Pretty much everything is more expensive in London and cheaper in Scotland.

You have to pick your insurance policy carefully. For example you have to decide between a lifetime or annual policy. An annual policy lasts for 12 months. Your cat is protected for those 12 months and you will be reimbursed for veterinary costs incurred during that period. You might not be able to renew your policy if your cat develops a condition which goes into the next year. Lifetime policies are more expensive but of course there is no limit to the duration of the claim but there may be an upper limit to the cost you can claim, perhaps £5000.