Is Pet Insurance really worth it??

I have had pet insurance for my two Staffies since they were 2 months old!

When Mally passed away last year he was 3 weeks shy of 11 years old and due to his illness, his vet bill was in the region of £750!

Obviously, this is a huge amount of money but any dog owner will tell you this is the reason why you get insurance - peace of mind!

YEAH RIGHT.

When I claimed on Mally's insurance I nearly fainted when I saw the letter stating £330 had been paid back to me for my claim - What?? How??

After having a tantrum which closely resembled something my son might have the minute we walk into Tesco I called the insurance company and asked/demanded/screamed - can't quite remember which - 'How on earth have they justified not paying out more than £330 for a £750 bill'???

Here's how:

1.  25% is deducted due to the fact my boy was over 10 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!
2.  £150 excess was taken off
3.  Some random Vet contribution of 15% was taken off

Oh, and the 'extra' that if your pet dies they will pay out £300 - gets wavered....when your pet is over 10 years old!!

So, for 10 years I've been paying in approximately £25 a month to the insurance company in the safe knowledge that if anything goes wrong and I have a huge vet bill to pay - I'm covered - NOT!!

Needless to say in my complete tantrum mode I cancelled Athena's insurance ON THE SPOT.  I got asked "May I ask why you are cancelling" I shit you not I got asked that!!!

That was October.

Today Athena's vet bill came at £170.

If I use the insurance 'get out of paying' calculations above - I'd have ended up owing them money!

What I have been doing is putting Athena AND Mally's monthly insurance payments into a separate cash plus prepayment MasterCard since October 2013.  Safe in the knowledge that when I took Athena to the vets I had money on the card to cover the bill.

So ask yourself, is your pet insurance really working for you?  I highly recommend looking into a prepayment card.

We used one when we went on holiday and I now have one for Athena's bills.  I find them a great way to save.