Generally, the cost to insure a one or two-year-old cat is much less than the cost of insuring an older cat.
Things do change as your cat gets older. For example, your insurer may also ask you to pay a co-payment once your cat turns nine.
Co-payments are a fixed percentage you pay towards your pet's treatment. We calculate this percentage from your vet bill minus the excess.
With us, you can choose to pay a 10% or 20% co-payment when your pet is under nine years old to lower your insurance price.
But you must agree to a 20% co-payment when your pet is nine or over at renewal.
Like fixed excesses, co-payments help to make the insurance price more affordable. Learn more about co-payments and excesses on our explainer page.
Many people see the cost of their cat insurance increasing over time, and feel that the insurance company is acting unfairly – but higher costs for older cats reflect the fact that visits to the vet are more likely.
Some owners opt to 'self-insure' by paying a fixed amount into a savings account each month, so that there is a reserve to draw on if their cat gets sick, instead of continuing to pay the insurance premium. The risk is that you may need vet treatment before your savings have built up or the cost of treatment will be higher than what you've saved.