I will move to Belgium next year and am currently looking up various pet insurance options (cats). As a foreigner, however, I am unsure if some of them have a bad reputation or not.
Which one would you recommend, and which one should I avoid?
None in my opinion, also looked into it when i got my cat and they’re grossly overpriced. Unless your cat would ever need some crazy treatment you will loose money on it. Vet’s aren’t that expensive over here.
I had Santévet, paid the premium rate for our three cats (90€ per month!) and they barely ever reimbursed anything. Each time they’d come up with an issue. Of course, it was a nightmare also to cancel it. We lost more than 1000€ for nothing. You’re better off opening a savings account for your kitty and put some money on there each month.
I can definitely see the issue if they always come up with excuses to avoid paying. I did see Santévet claiming they pay back between 60 to 100% depending on the formula you pick. It's a bummer they're scam artists.
My vet told us we’re way better off just opening a savings account specifically for our disabled cat, put a bit of money in it and the end/beginning of each year (we did 250) and use when there are big expenses, it would be cheaper than insurance and you have more control. Even for a severely disabled cat this was the best solution
Edit: we lost her last august after another surgery, it was the first time it was a bit of a financial ‘burden’ but more so because of the cremation and little urn we wanted
None unless you have a large breed that has a higher genetic risk for hip dysplasia but it is possible that insurances exclude certain genetic disorders, edit: I forgot many of them have a limit on how much they pay back, just never get an insurance it’s not worth it
I have a dog with hip dysplasia. Still happy I don’t have insurance as it is considered a disease that’s been there since birth. So insurance wouldn’t have covered anything anyway.
Thank you for clarifying that, I was just thinking bout surgery for it I think it can be like 8k eur? Anyway best solution is putting money aside. Hope your dog will stay stable. Hydrotherapy has good results with hip dysplasia.
I understand, I adopted 2 neglected abused rescue dogs and they cost me 10k in 2,5 years time (mostly surgeries and 1 time emergency care due to a lethal bacteria). It sucks but when I think what would you have rather done with that money the answer is nothing, taking care of them makes me the happiest.
And when they need surgery they never imburse the whole amount. And if turns out to be something that has been there since birth they don’t refund anything either. You also pay more for a stray dog because they can’t exclude certain known diseases that are related to a certain breed. It’s just not worth it.
We had two vets that failed to detect a tumor in our cat for almost a year, by the time it was too late. She vomited daily, dark vomit
The last vet we went to, on the night she was in bad condition, was even shocked that the other vets hadn’t caught it earlier. All they said was to try different brands of food.
I wouldn’t worry about insurance. I’d worry about making sure you have a good vet
Fyi my pet was at emergency care for almost 2 weeks, this cost 350 eur a day. This is a very rare scenario already. Just put a funds aside. I have a 3k emergency fund for my pets.
I have Santévet - and I must say I’m very happy about it…. My dog had quite severe health issues last year - and we were at the vets 15 times in less than two months…. They reimbursed almost everything without too many questions…
My vet sends the bills directly to them - so there is no paperwork involved at all…
And if your vet doesn’t have the direct line, they have a very simple app to submit claims.
Would I have saved more if I had put some money aside each month and then used it to pay vet bills ? Maybe…. But I’m very happy that I could take my dog to the vet so many times and not worry about the cost !!!!
Also - there is a maximum amount they reimburse - I think it’s around 2000 euros yearly… so if you’ve got a crazy expensive treatment - they might still not pay back everything…
None. Just save a set monthly amount, you'll be off much cheaper in the end and you won't have to worry about anything that's not covered by the insurance.
From all the pets I've had, the least expensive ones are the pet rock and the teddybear. If you do have to have real animals, only buy from a respectable taxidermist, preferably a local one.
None in my opinion, also looked into it when i got my cat and they’re grossly overpriced. Unless your cat would ever need some crazy treatment you will loose money on it. Vet’s aren’t that expensive over here.
I had Santévet, paid the premium rate for our three cats (90€ per month!) and they barely ever reimbursed anything. Each time they’d come up with an issue. Of course, it was a nightmare also to cancel it. We lost more than 1000€ for nothing. You’re better off opening a savings account for your kitty and put some money on there each month.
I can definitely see the issue if they always come up with excuses to avoid paying. I did see Santévet claiming they pay back between 60 to 100% depending on the formula you pick. It's a bummer they're scam artists.
My vet told us we’re way better off just opening a savings account specifically for our disabled cat, put a bit of money in it and the end/beginning of each year (we did 250) and use when there are big expenses, it would be cheaper than insurance and you have more control. Even for a severely disabled cat this was the best solution
Edit: we lost her last august after another surgery, it was the first time it was a bit of a financial ‘burden’ but more so because of the cremation and little urn we wanted
Thanks for the answer, I'm sorry for your loss.
Don't get insurance tbh. Just put aside 5-10€ every month for emergencies. Vets here are very affordable.
None unless you have a large breed that has a higher genetic risk for hip dysplasia but it is possible that insurances exclude certain genetic disorders, edit: I forgot many of them have a limit on how much they pay back, just never get an insurance it’s not worth it
I have a dog with hip dysplasia. Still happy I don’t have insurance as it is considered a disease that’s been there since birth. So insurance wouldn’t have covered anything anyway.
Thank you for clarifying that, I was just thinking bout surgery for it I think it can be like 8k eur? Anyway best solution is putting money aside. Hope your dog will stay stable. Hydrotherapy has good results with hip dysplasia.
She’s got two new hips now and I’m very broke. Totally worth it though! First hip was 5k, two years later the second hip was 6k. Price inflation…
I understand, I adopted 2 neglected abused rescue dogs and they cost me 10k in 2,5 years time (mostly surgeries and 1 time emergency care due to a lethal bacteria). It sucks but when I think what would you have rather done with that money the answer is nothing, taking care of them makes me the happiest.
Totally, mine is a rescue dog as well. Literally the most valuable thing in my house now.
I looked up insurance for my big dog, was around 1000€ per year 😱
Omg plus franchise! Never ever worth it, just put it some aside yourself every month
And when they need surgery they never imburse the whole amount. And if turns out to be something that has been there since birth they don’t refund anything either. You also pay more for a stray dog because they can’t exclude certain known diseases that are related to a certain breed. It’s just not worth it.
They’re expensive and have a lot of exemptions.
We had two vets that failed to detect a tumor in our cat for almost a year, by the time it was too late. She vomited daily, dark vomit
The last vet we went to, on the night she was in bad condition, was even shocked that the other vets hadn’t caught it earlier. All they said was to try different brands of food.
I wouldn’t worry about insurance. I’d worry about making sure you have a good vet
None. It’s not worth it. Maybe just save €20 a month for the pet’s care, so you have your own “insurance.”
On dutch TV, they did a report about it. I assume it’s not that different in Belgium: https://youtu.be/AsuY50qUgcs?si=cGdqWSmSloI3VIdt
A familial
Huh?
If your pet causes damage to a third party, always get a familial with a pet.
That is not the insurance OP is asking about.
It is in my eyes the only insurance you should take with a pet.
Fyi my pet was at emergency care for almost 2 weeks, this cost 350 eur a day. This is a very rare scenario already. Just put a funds aside. I have a 3k emergency fund for my pets.
I have Santévet - and I must say I’m very happy about it…. My dog had quite severe health issues last year - and we were at the vets 15 times in less than two months…. They reimbursed almost everything without too many questions… My vet sends the bills directly to them - so there is no paperwork involved at all… And if your vet doesn’t have the direct line, they have a very simple app to submit claims.
Would I have saved more if I had put some money aside each month and then used it to pay vet bills ? Maybe…. But I’m very happy that I could take my dog to the vet so many times and not worry about the cost !!!!
Also - there is a maximum amount they reimburse - I think it’s around 2000 euros yearly… so if you’ve got a crazy expensive treatment - they might still not pay back everything…
None. Just save a set monthly amount, you'll be off much cheaper in the end and you won't have to worry about anything that's not covered by the insurance.
From all the pets I've had, the least expensive ones are the pet rock and the teddybear. If you do have to have real animals, only buy from a respectable taxidermist, preferably a local one.
None. When you put get sick you just eat it. It’s easier and cheaper