Insuring your cat with a mutual insurance company allows you to take care of the health of your little companion throughout his life. It is of course fundamental to think of insuring it as soon as possible. Several types of contracts are offered by specialized insurance companies, which offers the possibility of choosing a cover perfectly adapted to the needs of the animal and the owner's budget. Let’s take a look at the role of cat insurance, and find out the criteria to take into account before choosing a contract.
Why insure your cat with a mutual animal health insurance?
Welcoming a cat into his home means offering him the best possible conditions of existence for him to live serenely and be happy with attentive owners. It is also essential to take care of your health by consulting a veterinarian regularly for a routine auscultation, a health check, basic care, vaccination or even sterilization. In the event of a hazard likely to seriously endanger the health of the animal, it must also be possible to have it treated as quickly as possible, even if it can be very expensive.
In France, veterinarians freely apply their rates. In the event of an accident or illness, the acts and medication can represent a significant sum that many owners cannot afford.
For example, if a cat is bitten by a dog, this involves consultation, analyzes, surgery, and the treatment protocol generally includes drug treatment. The total amount to be paid by the owner of the cat injured in this scenario is around € 950. It is a heavy expense, and moreover completely unforeseen, which it is sometimes impossible to cope with. In many similar cases, the masters give up, death in the soul, to have their animal treated. The consequences can be dramatic.
Taking out a cat insurance policy is the best solution to be reimbursed for part or all of the expenses incurred for veterinary care of any type. If he had taken the precaution of insuring his little feline with a mutual insurance company for cats, the owner of the cat injured by bite quoted in our example would have been reimbursed nearly 875 €. He could therefore have treated his little companion because he would have remained at his expense only a paltry sum.
What are the prices for veterinary acts for cats?
Here are some examples of veterinary rates charged for a cat.
Current consultation: 35 €
Emergency consultation: 75 €
Anesthesia: 50 €
Ultrasound: 80 €
Amputation: 360 €
Abscess surgery: € 100
Castration (male): 90 €
Sterilization (female) or ovario-hysterectomy: 150 €
Removal of a tumor: € 600
Euthanasia: 30 €
Coryza / Typhus / Leucosis / Rabies vaccination: € 80
The cost of surgery varies considerably depending on the complexity of the procedure.
What does a cat health mutual fund cover?
Taking out an insurance contract with a mutual animal insurance company is the best solution for dealing with expenses related to veterinary procedures following an accident or illness. The owner of an insured cat can therefore be reimbursed, in part or in full according to the formula he has chosen, for various acts such as for example:
Consultations,
Surgery,
Hospital costs,
The stay in a veterinary clinic,
Transport by animal ambulance,
The expenses inherent in the death of the animal (burial, cremation).
Anesthesia,
The details of support are always specified in the contract. You should read it before signing.
Cat health insurance: which formula to choose?
Insurance companies specializing in animal health offer tailor-made solutions so that each cat owner can choose the guarantees that best suit their little companion while being in line with their financial possibilities. There are generally three very distinct formulas, namely:
The basic formula: it's the most economical. It covers 40 or 50% of expenses for hospitalization, surgical procedures, analyzes, imaging examinations, following an accident.
The Comfort or Premium formula: this is an intermediate solution which allows the master to be reimbursed for expenses between 60 and 80%, whether for veterinary procedures linked to an accident or an illness. This type of contract covers surgery, checkups, analyzes and all types of exams, drugs.
The Optimal formula: it is the best in cat insurance since it offers extensive guarantees and excellent coverage in the range of 90 to 100% of expenses incurred following an accident or illness. It also covers the cost of euthanasia and burial, and some insurers pay a lump sum on the death of the cat so that its owner can acquire a new little companion if he wishes.
The Prevention package: it can be added to one of the proposed formulas so that the cat has better coverage. This package allows you to be reimbursed for expenses related to:
A health check,
The vaccination,
Descaling,
The purchase of deworming and pest control products,
Therapeutic food,
Sterilization.
it is easy to see that each of these protective devices guarantees a different level of care, which makes it possible to opt for the solution that best meets the animal's needs in terms of health. The master can thus allow his little companion to benefit from the best care in the event of accident or illness, and to be reimbursed all or part of the bill of the veterinarian, the clinic or the pharmacist. send all invoices to the insurance company which is responsible for reimbursing it by bank transfer.
What are the subscription conditions imposed by cat insurance?
To be insured, the cat must be identified either by transponder (microchip) or by tattoo. Generally, companies also require that he be up to date with his vaccinations. Some even impose an age limit.
With regard to the exclusions applied for cats, insurers are unanimous in:
Out-of-date vaccination against rabies, typhus, coryza and leukosis,
The AIDS virus.
So we start by consulting his veterinarian to update the animal's health situation.
Comparison criteria to take into account before purchasing cat health insurance
When choosing an insurance that will take care of the health of his cat at a lower cost, it is strongly recommended to compare several offers from different mutuals. It is certainly not always easy to find your way around. Between the different formulas, contracts with or without waiting period and deductible, exclusions, age limits and prices (very variable), looking for good health insurance for your cat requires a lot of attention from the owner. of the animal.
The criteria to be scrutinized are as follows.
The tariff
The cost of the health insurance policy for a cat varies according to the formula chosen and therefore the extent of the guarantees, the age of the cat, its breed too because some are more predisposed than others to serious pathologies. These breeds are therefore likely to cost more in terms of care. The price is certainly a factor of comparison that counts, but it should not be the only criterion of choice.
Choosing the cheapest insurance exposes you to the risk of being reimbursed for only 50% of the expenses incurred. Entry-level contracts often have countless exclusions and are subject to a substantial deductible or a relatively long waiting period. As for their reimbursement ceiling, it is necessarily much lower than that of a Comfort or Optimal contract.
Age limit
The majority of insurers agree to insure a cat from the age of 3 months. On the other hand, some of them set an age limit beyond which they no longer grant subscription, generally between 8 and 10 years. However, some mutual insurance companies are much less attractive since they cover senior cats and very old cats.
It is an important selection criterion because it allows the owner of an old cat to be reimbursed, at least in part, for heavy surgical procedures or even for palliative care allowing to soften the end of life of the small feline. . For less than € 20 per month, this cat insurance without age limit therefore covers the most expensive acts.
The exclusions
The contracts are annexed to a more or less substantial list of exclusions. You really need to read it before committing to verify that your cat is not targeted by one or more of them. They may relate to the most expensive veterinary procedures, certain recurrent diseases in cats, burial or cremation and many others. It is recommended to choose an insurer that limits the number of exclusions to be the best reimbursed possible.
Franchise
This is an amount remaining payable by the owner of the animal after reimbursement of expenses incurred. To benefit from a good coverage of veterinary costs, it makes sense to opt for a contract with a low deductible, or better still for a contract without deductible.
The waiting period
The period during which the insurance company does not reimburse any expenses related to illness or accident is called the waiting period. This period during which the contract is therefore not yet active varies from professional to professional, between two days and nine months. The insurer thus wishes to verify that the animal to be covered is in good health at the time of subscription.
It is easy to understand why it is highly preferable to choose a cat health insurance contract without waiting period. In the event of a problem, the master can be reimbursed for treatment upon subscription.
The reimbursement ceiling
It is recommended to opt for a fairly high reimbursement ceiling so that the cat can benefit from better care without this suffocating the budget of its owner. With a high-end contract, the reimbursement ceiling is around € 2,000 per year, while it is often less than € 700 for a basic contract.
The health certificate
Generally, before taking out a contract, the owner must produce a health certificate drawn up by a veterinarian or an attestation of honor certifying the good health of his cat to the insurer. In this case, he must complete a health questionnaire and attach it to his subscription request. This results in a reduction of the elimination period, or even its cancellation.
How to take out a cat insurance contract?
The easiest way to study cat insurance is to go through a mutual health insurance comparator for pets. This allows you to receive several quotes in a few minutes, free of charge and without obligation.
It is also useful if you want to be informed of the best deals of the moment. Let’s not forget that competition between animal insurance professionals is becoming increasingly fierce. Everyone therefore tries to attract the consumer through attractive offers such as the contract without waiting period and without deductible, cat insurance without age limit or simply by applying an attractive price.
You should always read the general conditions before subscribing, and if some of them seem to be missing or if the text concerning them is not sufficiently explicit, we do not hesitate to contact the insurer in order to obtain more informations.