Petplan Cat Insurance Review

With plenty of experience in the insurance market, Petplan boasts over 40 years experience since its establishment in 1976.  Not only would you benefit from choosing a reputable insurer but you’ll be choosing a company with good morals as Petplan works with over 1,200 charities in the UK and raised a staggering £3,168,548.32 for charities in 2015 as stated on their website.

Petplan specialises in several different types of pet insurances, such as: Dog, puppy, cat & kitten, rabbit, horse and exotic, but for this guide we’ll be focusing on the Petplan cat insurance scheme.

Available Cover Levels

Petplan cat insurance offers three levels of cover:

12 Months Essential – The lowest level of cover out of the three, however the cost of treatment for accidents and illnesses are still covered up to £3,000 per condition, full cover benefits are shown in the table below.  The price of this cover tends to be the cheapest Petplan offers.

Covered For Life Classic – Your cat’s health is not limited with the classic cover, on-going illnesses or injuries can be continued to be claimed for throughout your cat’s lifetime.  Cover amount is flexible as you can choose to be covered up to £4,000 or £7,000 of vet fees each year, making this cover the most popular among Petplan’s cat insurance policyholders.

Covered For Life Ultimate – As suggested by the policy name, ultimate cover is the most comprehensive level of cover offered by Petplan.  Vet fees are covered up to £12,000 each year which covers on-going illnesses or injuries to your cat.

Cover Benefit Levels

We’ve listed the cover benefits in a table of each of the cover levels mentioned above. 

	12 Months Essential	Covered For Life Classic	Covered For Life Ultimate
Covered For Life	No	Yes	Yes
Veterinary Fees	£3,000 per condition for 12 months	£4,000 or £7,000 per year	£12,000 per year
Veterinary Fees Excess	One of the following: - A fixed amount - A percentage amount of the treatment costs - A fixed amount and a percentage amount of the treatment costs	One of the following: - A fixed amount - A percentage amount of the treatment costs - A fixed amount and a percentage amount of the treatment costs	One of the following: - A fixed amount - A percentage amount of the treatment costs - A fixed amount and a percentage amount of the treatment costs
Complementary Treatment	£500 per condition for 12 months	£1,000 per year	£2,000 per year
Complementary Treatment Excess	Separate excess will apply, excess options will be one of the following: - A fixed amount - A percentage amount of the treatment costs - A fixed amount and a percentage amount of the treatment costs	Separate excess will apply, excess options will be one of the following: - A fixed amount - A percentage amount of the treatment costs - A fixed amount and a percentage amount of the treatment costs	Separate excess will apply, excess options will be one of the following: - A fixed amount - A percentage amount of the treatment costs - A fixed amount and a percentage amount of the treatment costs
Death From Illness	£1,000 optional extra	£1,500 optional extra	£2,000
Death From Injury	£1,000 optional extra	£1,500 optional extra	£2,000
Boarding Fees	£1,000	£1,500	£2,000
Advertising & Reward	£1,000	£1,500	£2,000
Loss By Theft Or Straying	£1,000	£1,500	£2,000
Holiday Cancellation	£1,000	£1,500	£2,000
Quarantine Expenses & Loss Of Documents	£1,000	£1,500	£1,500
Emergency Repatriation	£500	£500	£500
Multi-pet Discount	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pet Owner Support Package	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pet Bereavement Helpline	Yes	Yes	Yes
Legal Helpline	No	No	Yes
Policy Wording	12 Months Essential Policy Wording	Covered For Life Classic Policy Wording	Covered For Life Ultimate Policy Wording

If you’re unfamiliar with any of the benefits or terms used in the table, our guide will hopefully shed some light on the definitions.   If any of the policy covers in the table above is not suitable then why not compare quotes from a panel of different insurers.

Benefits Of Choosing Petplan Cat Insurance

Other than the level of cover provided by Petplan, there are several other benefits of choosing Petplan as your insurer:

Update details online – If you take out a policy with Petplan then you’re able to log in to their online system to make changes on certain things to your policy.  The details you can change online includes: your personal details, address, bank details, nominating someone to access your policy, sending in a document and requesting duplicate documents.

If you don’t feel comfortable making such changes online then you can still call up Petplan to make those changes, but it’s very convenient to be able to make those changes, especially if you have a busy schedule.

Track claims online – Once you’ve made a claim, you can track the progress of your claim online.  You can also make a claim online by submitting a claim form which can be obtained online, Petplan even offers a guide to completing a claim form. 

Tracking a claim online allows you to keep up to date with the progress of your claim rather than being left in the dark not knowing the current situation with your claim.  If however you prefer to speak to someone, then you can still contact their customer service department.

Easy to navigate around the website – If you are someone who prefers to D.I.Y because it’s probably less time consuming and more convenient then the website design is ideal as it’s really easy to navigate around and find what you’re looking for.

It can be really frustrating if you were looking for something like a claim form but its hidden somewhere on the website, but with the easy to use online system this makes it a lot easier.

Very convenient – Most of us have quite a busy schedule and having to call up companies with limited telephone operating hours can be such an inconvenience.  The telephone operating hours for Petplan is still open long enough for most people but online access is open 24/7.