For those who now know me on Ciao you will know that I am a house husband with 5 Children and 3 Cat's and when you mix the two occasionally there are accident's. Just the other day my 2 year old accidentally trod on one of the kitten's paw's and because the poor thing was limping we rushed her off to the Vets to get her checked out. At first I was really worried but as soon as the Vet took the kitten's temperature rectal she jumped up forgot about her paw and was fine amazing what a short sharp shock can do lol.
Then came the nasty bit because we were so worried we had taken her to the Vets at 9pm and when the bill was made up it was a whapping £74.19 just for a rectal temperature and the Vet to say everything was ok. I just couldn't believe it paid up and went home happy she was ok but very upset I had paid out £74.19 for nothing. My fault really maybe I should have seen how thing's were in the morning but even then just for a consultation it's £30.
We had taken out 12 day's previously Tesco pet Insurance on all three of our Cats but unfortunately because the 14 day cooling period was not finished I could not claim for the visit. I did ring Tesco and got a very polite reply but a negative reply all the same so had to stomach the loss and rest in
the fact that they would be covered in two day's time.
Today I had to take the same kitten Becks to the Vet again this time fighting with her sister she had received a nasty bite to the pad of her front paw and it had swollen and she could not walk on it. The Vet informed me that this happens a lot with Cats and the swelling should go down but I need to keep an eye out for any sign of infection. The bill then came in at £55 so in the space of a week we had paid out £129.19p in Vets fees.
With the Tesco policy we have to pay the money out initially and claim it back through Tesco this is not because of the policy but our Vet will not deal with the insurance company needless to say the Vet is losing a customer. I have the extra cover which has a £40 excess and for all my Cats to be covered it is just £18 a month. Not only that but I got £15 Tesco Gift card just for signing up and they were the cheapest I could find on the internet.
I am so glad I purchased the cover as I now know how expensive Vet bill's can be and although I have only saved £15 through the insurance so far I can see how it could save you an absolute fortune in the long run especially if you have loads of Cats like us. The cost of an average leg break for a Cat is £250 so that alone would save you £210 worth it just for the peace of mind and no worrying if your finances are tight one month.
THE POLICY
The policy itself like I said cost's me £18 a month for my 3 Cats however this may go up or down depending on your circumstances and even down to where you live so just go online for a free quote they are also doing a 5% discount for buying online and having just checked are still giving £15 for new policies on the Extra Cover and £10 for normal cover.
Extra Cover
Cover's you for any accidents or illness up to the cost of Vet £4000 this should cover nearly any condition your pet may have.
The other great thing about extra cover is that they cover the condition unlimited which mean's if you pet has a problem for life caused by the accident or illness it will be covered.
Standard Cover
Standard cover will only give you £2500 of Vet care and this can easily be used up should your pet have multiple injuries (Heaven Forbid)
This cover doe's only last for 12 month's after the accident or illness making it worthless should it be an ongoing problem for the future and the cost between the two types of cover for us was only £2.80 difference.
As with all Pet Insurance there are many extra's you can purchase for your particular need's such as residential care etc but none of which appealed to us and we did not feel they would be of any benefit.
Both Policies cover your money back should your pet die or disappear and reward's and advertising cost's should you lose your pet. The policy can be settled direct with your Vet however as with mine check to see if your Vet is one that deal's with Tesco Pet Insurance direct then all you have to find is the initial £40 excess or whatever you set yours at.
Should you be having trouble getting hold of a Vet especially in an emergency you can ring Tesco and they will find one for you as they have a list of approved Vet most of which deal with Tesco directly. As with most Pet Insurance you cannot claim for any birth related issues or if your Pet is pregnant as is our COCO at the moment.
You really don't notice how much Vets cost until you have to use one and that's usually the point at which people wish they had insurance so don't be one of those people and get your pet insured not just for their sake but for your pocket's sake as well as Vet bill's can be crippling even more so should you be a dog owner.
Should you want to look into these policies more please check out Tesco Finance and click Pet Insurance not forgetting they give a 5% discount should you do it all online. I have not gone into small print etc as this would take up the whole review and any factor's of small print such as pregnancy that I feel are majorly relevant I have brought up.
I hope this encourages you to take out Pet Insurance be it with Tesco or another company as you never really know how much you need it until it's to late and you have bill's for thousands of pounds.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comments about this review »
barbie69 04.04.2007 15:08
Good review. Just recently I have suffered the misfortune of not having pet insurance when two of my dogs had a little play-fight at 10pm on a Friday night which resulted in one of them requiring 8 stitches!!! It cost £125 on the night and then because he'd had something to eat not long before they couldn't sedate him to stitch him up so had to wait til morning and that cost £75! He's worth every penny though. Erica x
lizzie1963 07.03.2007 01:18
Good review, lots of info. will have to have a look at this...:)
missy0303 20.02.2007 21:56
I would think that as soon as you take out insurance for anything...as soon as you have signed for it then you are covered? I know I was with my life and home insurance policies. x
Advantages: 5% discount for online quotes, easy to apply, competitive premiums, helpful staff Disadvantages: need to get letter for NCD proof, (not available in R.O.I or Northern Ireland)
Connoisseur_Haggler 01.08.2001 (27.05.2003)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of TescoInsurance
Feb 13th, 2007
very helpful by (100%):
