Welcome to our website for Pet Insurance. Compare many different policies from the major pet insurance companies in one place.
Please Read This Page Before Choosing Your Pet Insurance Policy
This is a brief guide to stuff you NEED to know.
There’s a lot more information in our BUYER’S GUIDE
Like you, we are pet owners and, like you, we have insured our pets. Sometimes the cover we chose was excellent and sometimes it left a lot to be desired. To be honest, it takes an awful lot of looking around to find the right pet insurance cover. So we decided to create our website “Pet Insurance Compare” to list as many insurance providers as we could that deal with pet insurance. We understand that your requirements may not be the same as ours so we don’t make recommendations.
What we do know is that vet bills can escalate rapidly and pet insurance can save you huge expense. But you do need to compare the offerings. Some pet insurers may have very cheap premiums but offer cover that is much less than you need. We had a puppy that was ill and we were quoted over £10,000 for an operation! That's a lot of money to find. Luckily, most pet insurance providers cover smaller pets, like dogs and cats, and a few cover exotic animals too. Horse insurance tends to be slightly more specialised, which is why it's on a seperate page.
But it's not just vet's fees that you need to consider. Your pet may go missing. Some pet insurance companies cover the cost of reward or advertising for your pet's return. Many pet policies cover the replacement value of your pet if it should die. Will your pet insurance cover third party liability if your pet injured someone or damaged property? Compare the cost of pet insurance against what the legal bill might be.
What we have done is to list what we think are the important facets of pet insurance. You can compare the policies for yourself from our quick reference tables. Where we have been able to arrange it you can also click through directly to each pet insurance website to get more information or to buy online. For most pet insurance you'll get a discount for buying online!
For smaller animals, e.g. cats and dogs, there are 3 main types of pet insurance policy and, most importantly, you will need to make a decision about which type of policy you need. Compare the basics in the following table:
Pet Insurance Annual Policy – normally comprises
Pet Insurance Per Condition Policy – normally comprises
Pet Insurance Lifelong Cover – normally comprises
Fixed Amount per condition
Condition no longer covered once limit is reached (or 1 year elapses from onset)
Cannot claim for same condition again
Not suitable for long term illness
Fixed Amount per condition
Condition no longer covered once limit is reached, irrespective of how long it takes.
Cannot claim for same condition again
Not suitable for long term illness
Fixed Amount per Year
Total amount claimed is limited for each year. This annual limit may change on renewal.
You can usually claim for the same condition again.
Suitable for long term illness
Accident Only and Third Party Liability
We are finding that there are companies that now offer ‘Accident Only’ policies that will cover your pet in the event of an accident but not for illness. Similarly, there are some companies that offer a third party liability cover for dogs. We cannot recommend either of these because the majority of policies incorporate these items within a full accident and illness cover. However, there is at least one company that offers a ‘no frills’ policy that only covers illness and accident e.g. no loss, holiday, death, etc. cover.
Other things you may want to consider:
Is replacement cost of pet covered in the event of death? If so, is it only in the case of accident or is illness covered too?
Are behavioural problems covered?
Are ‘alternative’ treatments covered, such as acupuncture, homoeopathic remedies, herbal remedies, etc.?
Will the cost of advertising for a lost pet or the cost of a reward for a pet’s return be covered?
Is dental work covered?
What are the excess fees payable on a claim?
Will the pet insurance company pay the vet directly or do you have to pay and be reimbursed?
Is there a discount (or some other special offer) if you buy online? (Often a reduction in the first year’s premiums)
If there isn't a discount check to see if the quote is cheaper overall.
Is there a discount if you insure more than one animal?
Is there holiday cancellation cover?
Is there third party liability cover?
Is travel overseas covered?
Are offspring covered on your pet insurance policy? For example, if your dog has puppies are they covered until they reach a certain age?
Is your animal used for breeding? Or do you show it? Some policies count these activities as 'working' and don't provide cover. Check the policy carefully if this applies to you.
Are boarding costs covered? For example if you had an accident and couldn’t look after your pet would it be covered for going into kennels or a cattery until you were better?