The Best Cat Insurance for Older Cats: Which One To Choose

If you have adopted an old cat, or your cat has grown old and you have suddenly decided that now is the time to insure him, then you will have realised that getting pet insurance for old cats is not simple!

Old cats are risky for insurers because, well…they’re old!

---

In a rush?

The best all round cat insurance for older cats is PDSA, they will happily give old cats lifetime cover, offering up to £8,000 annually and their policies include plenty of very useful extras:

This article contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase through links on this page we may receive a commission, this helps us run the site – thankyou.

---

This means that they are more prone to diseases and illnesses which may result in a costly payout so they are therefore not an attractive prospect to insurers.

Many of them will either refuse to insure your senior cat, will not give them lifetime cover (this tyoe of cover is necessary for longer-term illnesses that require ongoing treatment) or they will charge obscenely expensive fees.

This is why we have put together this article of the best pet insurers who:

1. will insure old cats with lifetime cover.
2. and don’t charge disproportionately large fees because of their age.

The Age Of Your Cat

It is important to be aware of what age insurers consider your pet to be ‘old’.

As a general rule a cat over seven years old is a much greater insurance liability than a younger cat.

So if your cat is seven plus then this article is for you.

Other Factors To Consider With Senior Cats

It is important to be aware that as your cat ages your excess charge is likely to increase, some insurers may also ask you to pay 10-20% of the insurance claim.

It is also worth noting that it is rare to find an insurer that offers dental coverage, this is something that will become more necessary as your cat grows older so is worth bearing in mind when choosing your insurance.

Types Of Cat Insurance Suitable For Older Cats

Most pet insurance providers offer different levels of cover, not all levels of cover are suitable for an older cat:

• Accident Only Cover – Usually the cheapest option, however this is not a great options for older cats as it doesn’t cover your pet for ill health due to old age.
• Time Limited Pet Insurance – This usually covers you for 12 months, for example if you pay for a years cover then your insurer will cover all treatment your pet needs for 12 months from the date of their injory or illness appearing.For older cats who may develop more long term conditions this isn’t an ideal option as after the 12 months is over if the illness or injury stilll requires treament your insurer will no longer cover you for this particular condition.
• Lifetime Pet Insurance – This is typically the more expensive type of insurance this is because it will pay for your cats treatments for life (providing you renew each year of course), so even if your cat develops a long term condition you are covered. This is the best type of insurance for older cats.

The Best Insurer For Older Cats

The best all-round cat insurance provider for older cats is PDSA:

• is a good budget option for cats approaching their senior years as they will only insure your cat if they are under ten years old.

Senior Cat Insurance Reviews:

To keep things fair and impartial in each of our reviews we requested a which was:

• eleven years old
• female
• neutered
• indoor cat
• non-pedigree bicolour
• shorthair
• was purchased for £0.00 (from a rescue centre)
• has no pre-existing health conditions

We chose the lowest excess payment that we could for each of our quote requests and each quote is for lifetime cover as this is the best option for senior cats.

Below you will find our findings and recommendations based on this hypothetical cat.

Several insurers could not offer us lifetime insurance due to the age of the cat, these were:

• Argos – they won’t insure your cat if it is over 10 years old (unless of course you bought your policy before your cat turned 10).
• Pet Plan – they do not offer lifetime insurance policies to older cats, the best they can do is 12 months meaning they are not ideal for old cats which may develop long standing health conditions which require more than 12 months treatment.
• Agria – they offer insurance for some older cats but you will not be able to get a quote from them for a senior cat online. You will have to ring up to find out if they can insure your older cat, be aware that they will not insure some breeds.

Your cat may be older than our test cat, may have pre-existing health issues and may be an outdoor cat so bear in mind that these factors could all increase your insurance premium.

PDSA

PDSA offer four-lifetime cover options ranging from their Advance to Ultimate Plus cover.

The annual cover amount is reinstated each year so, unlike with a time-limited policy, you get up to £8,000 of cover every year to pay for treatment of your cat’s long-term condition.

If your cat is currently in good health then the Advance Plus plan would be a good choice, annual cover of up to £3,000 is plenty for the majority of cats.

Other Things PDSA Cover Includes

PDSA’s lifetime cover plans also include a huge range of extras:

• Death from illness or accident payouts of up to £1,500…and loss of pet from or straying payouts of the same amount.
• Third party liability legal excess of £250.
• Advertising costs of up to £250 and reward money of up to £1,250 if your cat goes missing.
• Boarding fee & holiday cancellation cover of up to £1,500.
• Up to 90 days overseas cover.
• Emergency expenses abroad of up to £150.
• Pet passport loss cover of up to £250.
• Quarantine cost cover of up to £150.

PDSA Pros:

• They will insure senior cats with lifetime cover
• Up to £8,000 cover
• Loads of extras

PDSA Cons:

• Relatively pricey (depending on which policy level you go with)

John Lewis Pet Insurance

John Lewis offer three-lifetime cover options ranging from their Essential to Premier policies.

The annual cover amount is reinstated each year giving you up to £12,000 of cover every year to pay for treatment of your cat’s long term condition.

If your cat is currently in good health then the Essential plan would be a good choice, annual cover of up to £3,000 is plenty for the majority of cats however the Premier plan is a good choice to completely put your mind at ease.

John Lewis pricing for this level of cover is very competitive and is amongst the cheapest in the industry, while it doesn’t include many extras as some insurers do it offers a lot of financial cover for a relatively small monthly fee.

Other Things John Lewis Pet Insurance Cover Includes

John Lewis’ lifetime cover plans also include:

• Dental care treatment cover.
• Accidental damage cover of up to £750.
• Complementary treatment such as physiotherapy of up to £2,000.

John Lewis Pros:

• Lifetime cover for senior cats
• Much cheaper than other options
• Up to £12,000 annual cover

John Lewis Cons:

• Not many extras

Argos Pet Insurance

Argos offer one-lifetime cover option with three different price levels:

Giving you up to £7,000 of cover annually Argos Pet Insurance is a good budget choice, it is notably cheaper than some competitors however a big part of the reason for this is that they don’t insure cats over the age of ten years.

For that reason, we can’t recommend Argos as a good insurer for senior cats.

However, if your cat is approaching ten then Argos is a good budget-friendly choice with low monthly fees and reasonable excess charges (be aware though that their excess charges do increase with age).

If your cat is currently in good health then the second-tier Lifetime plan would be a good choice, cover of up to £3,000 is sufficient for most cats.

Other Things Argos Cover Includes

Argos Pet Insurance lifetime covers plenty of other things beyond basic vet fees including:

• Death from accident or illness
• Dental cover
• Complementary treatment cover
• Physiotherapy cover
• Overseas vet fees cover
• Cremation/burial costs
• Finding your pet cover
• Loss by theft or straying cover
• Hospitalization/boarding fee cover
• Quarantine costs
• Loss of healthcare certificate cover
• Emergency pet expenses abroad

Argos Pros:

• Cheap monthly fees
• Lots of extras

Argos Cons:

• They do not cover cats over 10 years old.

More Th>n

More Th>n offer one lifetime cover option this is their Premier policy.

£12,00 annual cover reinstated every year is very comprehensive, they also offer a cheaper version of their Premier plan which gives up to £4,000 worth of annual cover.

It is worth noting that while More Th>n offer payments of up to £2,000 for death by accident or illness this does not apply to cats over 9 years old.

Other Things More Th>n Cover Includes

More Th>n Premier plan also include:

• Farewell cover, .
• Accidental damage up to £2,000.
• Pet travel insurance cover.
• Lost and found cover – up to £1,000 to cover the cost of advertising locally if your cat goes missing.
• The cost of your cat (up to £2,000) if they permeanantly go missing.

More Th>n Pros:

• Lifetime cover for senior cats
• Good range of extras included
• Up to £12,000 annual cover

More Th>n Cons:

• Payouts for death by accident or illness do not apply to cats over 9 years old.