Am I Entitled To Take Out 2 Insurance Policies For My Cat?

With increasingly high veterinary costs and ever more advanced medical treatments to cure our pets, we are witnessing a real boom in cat insurance in Europe.

Very widespread in Nordic countries like Norway or the United Kingdom, cat health insurance has a bright future ahead of it and continues to gain ground from year to year among feline owners.

Moreover, France remains the favorite country of cats. Unless it’s the other way around, and therefore the French who love cats. In fact, almost a third of French inhabitants own at least one cat.

So, when we love our cats with all our heart, we insure them. But can we push this good reflex to have two cat insurance policies for a single feline, hoping to be reimbursed twice as much? Decryption.

Is Cat Insurance Compulsory?

In France, only civil liability is compulsory for your cat. This means that you are directly responsible for any damage your cat may cause to others. You are the owner of your cat, it is in this sense under your responsibility and you must answer for the damage whether it is in your custody or not at the time of the events. In fact, your own civil liability, included in your home insurance contract, covers you for your cat. You therefore have no particular steps to take, except to notify your insurer of the arrival of a new pet in your home.

On the other hand, the health of your animals has no obligation to be covered by a contract. However, the lack of food or the lack of care is simply akin to animal abuse, punishable by law. It may therefore be wise to take out mutual insurance for your feline, in order to be able to meet its veterinary needs throughout its life. Indeed, this type of insurance covers all or part of the costs incurred for the health of your cat.

Why Take Out Cat Insurance?

On average, it is estimated that a cat costs between 500 and 1,000 euros per year to its owner. Half of this budget is dedicated to his health, which is far from negligible. Also, these numbers are only averages. A cat in poor health, an intrepid cat prone to accidents, or simply an elderly cat, could reach a health budget of several thousand euros in a single year.

In this context, having cat insurance is useful for two reasons:

• For prevention: an insured cat is a cat regularly followed, who sees the veterinarian every year for his routine visit, who receives his reminders of vaccines on a regular date, who receives appropriate treatments against parasites,
• For the management of finances: veterinary costs are covered, even if according to the formulas it is only partially, this security helps the owner to be calm in the event of a health problem.

Finally, if you insure your cat when he is young, you will be able to keep the benefit of his health contract for his old age, whereas you will not be able to subscribe if your cat is already old.

Two Insurances The Same Cat, Is It Legally Possible?

From the point of view of the law, nothing prohibits the accumulation of insurance, but it is necessary to respect certain conditions to benefit from it. It is Article L121-4 of the Insurance Code which governs this possibility.

Thus, it is necessary, in order to take out two insurance policies for the same cat, to:

• • Immediately notify each insurer of the existence of the other insurer when several policies are taken out for the same interest and against the same risk,

• • Give each insurer knowledge of the contract of its competitor, in order to know the limits and existing ceilings of guarantee.

This same article of law specifies that if the two cat insurances are contracted without respecting these preconditions, they are deemed to be null and void because of their fraudulent or fraudulent nature. Understand by this that your contract could produce no effect in the event of insurance fraud, and that the insurer could even claim refunds as well as damages from you.

On the other hand, if the two insurances of your feline were contracted in a legal way, then each of them produces its effects within the following limits:

• • Each insurer cannot go beyond the guarantees provided for in the contract,

• • The insurance is compensatory and therefore cannot enrich the insured.

In other words, you can contact the insurer of your choice in the event of a claim for your cat, and possibly claim a supplement from the other insurer. But in total, a veterinary bill of 500 euros can never be reimbursed for more than 500 euros.

Two Cat Insurance, Is It Financially Worthwhile?

Two cat insurances will undeniably cost you more, but will not guarantee you better. Indeed, the accumulation of cat insurance is subject to the following double clause:

• • Subsidiarity clause: the two policies can intervene if they are complementary to each other,

• • Grandfather clause: only one policy intervenes if it covers the same damage.

One could therefore think that it is interesting to take out insurance in the event of an accident for your cat, and another insurance in the event of illness, for example. However, health contracts for pets are most of the time progressive. This means that a contract covering illness systematically covers the accident.

It therefore does not seem interesting to take out two different cat insurance policies. It is better, from the start, to choose the best contract to ensure the health of your cat.

Choose Your Cat’S Health Contract

Prefer to subscribe to a single contract to protect the health of your cat. You can choose to cover the accident, but also illness and surgery. You can also benefit from a prevention package for the recommended annual care.

It will be more profitable to have only one contract, guaranteeing the desired items of expenditure, than to combine the contracts. Not only will the operation be less costly for your wallet, but it will also give you greater clarity on the health costs that must come out of your pocket and those that will be covered by the insurer.

You can also choose to change insurer if your contract no longer satisfies you. But before proceeding to terminate the contract, find an insurer who accepts your cat with its medical history, age and characteristics. In addition, contact your current insurer, who may have a solution to offer you in terms of insurance formulas or tariff adjustments.