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You don’t legally have to insure your pets, but it’s a good idea.
Most cats and dogs will unfortunately need treatment for an illness or injury at some point in their life and veterinary treatment can be eye-wateringly expensive.
Therefore it’s worth asking yourself, without insurance, what you would do if you were faced with a vet bill for hundreds or thousands of pounds a year?
Pet insurance can give you peace of mind that you’ll be able to cover the costs of medical treatment should something happen to your pet.
Cats and dogs, young and old can all benefit from the right pet insurance. You can even get cover for your horse or rabbit.
Cover for your hound, whatever the shape or size. This insurance can cover injuries, illness and third-party losses.
Protect your pampered Persian or cuddly moggy. Cat insurance can be taken out for indoor or outdoor cats, to cover all sorts of scenarios that might end in a vet visit.
Equine insurance for horse and rider. You can get policies that go beyond medical treatment for your horse and also cover loss of use, and theft of or damage to your riding equipment.
Specialist policies can cover small animals too. Treating injuries and illness in rabbits can sometimes cost just as much as for cats and dogs – so find the right cover to give you peace of mind over your bunny’s treatment.
There are four main types of pet insurance, so it can be hard to decide on the right one for you and your pet.
Think about what you want from your pet insurance. Accident only or time-limited cover is better for expensive, short-term incidents and illnesses. Lifetime and maximum benefit can help cover the cost of treatment for single conditions that go on for many years.
Lifetime pet insurance pays for injuries or illnesses with no time limit on each condition. There’s usually a limit on the amount you can claim in a year for each condition though.
As long as you keep renewing your policy, you’ll get continuous cover for the illness or injury each year that your policy is in place.
You’ll only be covered for new illnesses or injuries, not pre-existing ones.
Accident-only pet insurance helps cover the cost of treatment if your pet is involved in an accident.
It doesn’t cover illnesses, diseases or have any other benefits.
If your pet has a pre-existing condition, it won’t be covered either.
If you pick a time-limited policy, there'll be a cap on how much you can claim for treatment and a time limit too - usually 12 months.
You can’t claim again for a condition after the 12-month period is up, or if you reach the cap on treatment costs - whichever comes first.
Pre-existing conditions aren’t covered either.
This covers your pet for each injury or illness up to a specified limit.
The limit doesn't reset each year, so there’s no time limit on how long you can claim, like with an annual policy.
This means you can keep claiming for the same condition until you reach the limit, for as long as you keep renewing your policy.
It depends on the type of policy you go for, but as well as veterinary treatment for accidents and/or illnesses policies often cover:
Click “Get started” and pop in some details about you and your pet – name, age, address, cover type, medical conditions and so on.
Compare the features and prices of different policies to find one that works for you.
Choose the cover you like and give your pet the protection they deserve.
For dogs aged one-five, the average cost of insurance works out at just £19.68 a month. For cats it's £10.84.[3]
As your pet ages, the insurance costs are likely to go up. It's not just age that determines your premium though. Insurers use a host of factors including:
Try our top tips to get those premiums down:
Make sure your pet’s vaccinations are up to date, get them microchipped and feed them a quality diet. Healthy pets visit the vet less, which means less chance of needing claim which could push up future premiums.
Put your pets on one policy to see if you can get a better deal
Pet co-insurance can keep premiums affordable for older pets
Always shop around to find a great deal
If you can pay a higher excess towards each claim, your premiums should be cheaper. Be careful though – make sure the excess is still affordable for you if you do need to claim.
Some cheaper policies might not cover pets over a certain age, which could end up costing you more in the long run
If you pay monthly you’ll usually get charged interest, making cover more expensive. So it can be most cost effective to pay for your insurance in one go
Standard pet insurance almost always excludes pre-existing medical conditions.
If you’re trying to insure a pet with a pre-existing condition, some specialist insurers will cover them if they haven’t shown any signs of the illness for some time.
If you buy a lifetime policy when your pet’s young, and you keep renewing, you’ll be covered for future chronic health problems.
The alternative is to exclude the condition from your policy and cover any medical treatment yourself. You’ll still be able to claim for other new conditions your pet develops.
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Page last reviewed: 14 September 2023
Page reviewed by Holly Thomas
[1]Gocompare.com introduces customers to Stickee Technology Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Gocompare.com's relationship with Stickee Technology Limited is limited to that of a business partnership, no common ownership or control exist between us. Please note, we cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites and by using the links stated to access these separate websites you will be subject to the terms of use applying to those sites.
[2]As of January 2023, there are 34 active pet insurers on the panel at Stickee Technology.
[3]Average (median) monthly price for dogs and cats aged 1-5 based on all quotes generated through Stickee Technology in Jan 2023.