Dog Insurance

If your dog were to become ill or injured, with rising veterinary costs, treating them could cost the earth. This is why moneysupermarket.com has teamed up with the top UK dog insurance providers to help you find the best deal for your pooch.

With dog insurance, your pet will be able to get the best care possible without it breaking the bank. Use our list of insurers below to find a dog insurance quote ideal for you and your dog's needs.

Read our guide to pet insurance

  • Vet fees
  • Accidental damage
  • Third party liability
  • Death benefit
  • Different policy types available
Read our guide

Our directory of dog insurance providers
Big name companies including pet-insurance.co.uk, Sainsbury's and Argos and more

Up to £4,000 vet's fees cover and premiums from £3.65 per month. Lifetime dog and cat cover from £5.00 per month with up to £4,000 vet's fees cover per policy period. Quotes include a 25% online discount and a further 10% discount if you insure more than one pet. With no excess on most sections of cover you can be sure of a great deal on pet insurance from pet-insurance.co.uk - we love pets.

Pet-Insurance
Go to Churchill

Count on Churchill for 20% online discount! Choose affordable dog cover with Churchill Pet Insurance - vet fees up to £3,000 per illness or injury for up to 12 months from the first date of treatment. Plus up to £1,000 in advertising and reward fees if your pet is lost or stolen. (Discount applies to the first 12 months).

Go to Churchill
Go to Argos

£7.95 a month - that's how little it could cost to insure your dog with Silver Cover from Argos! So, click and get a personal quote. You'll get a choice of three levels of cover to suit your budget, and up to £7,000 towards vets' fees with our Platinum cover. You'll even get access to expert veterinary advice, thanks to new Argos vetfone, our 24/7 FREEPHONE hotline. So protect your pooch and save 10% online today.

Go to Argos
Go to Sainsbury's

Choose Sainsbury's Pet Insurance to cover your best friend. 12 months cover for the price of 9 for Nectar card holders - Online only.  Plus double Nectar points on Sainsbury's shopping for 2 years when you take out Option 2 cover. You'll still get a 20% online discount if you don't have a Nectar card. Up to £7,500 vet's fees per condition (with Option 2). Lower cost option with vets' fees cover up to £3,000 per condition (12 month limit). Cover has no upper age limit for vet's fees. Cover suits older and rescue centre dogs.

Go to Sainsbury's
Tesco Insurance

25% discount online for Clubcard customers. Non Clubcard customers get 20% online introductory discount. Available to new customers in yr 1 who give their Clubcard number
when they quote online and then buy the policy. Offer consists of 20% online introductory discount plus an additional Clubcard discount. Tesco Pet Insurance is provided by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc.

Go to site
Animal Friends

Dog Insurance from just £3.83 a month, 10% multi pet discount when you insure more than one pet, lifetime condition cover up to £40,000 and charity donations to animal welfare from our own profits; it's easy to see why we're the nations feel good insurer. So for a fair, competitive and honest dog insurance quote, visit Animal Friends today.

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Go to Healthy Pets

Healthy Pets Insurance is a specialist and independent UK pet insurer. We cover on-going conditions with up to £7,500 per condition available. 20% online discount available, 3 levels of cover and a choice of excess we can also pay your vet direct! Affordable premiums with no penalty charge if you make a claim. Visit our site to find the right policy for you and your pet!

Go to Healthy Pets
Helpucover

helpucover Dog Insurance offers 10% online discount and if you insure more than one pet you can receive one month's free premium each year for each pet
You can claim up to £6,000 a year and there is no time limit on how long you can claim for each illness or injury

Go to Helpucover
Go to More Than

Buy today and get up to 20% discount with MORE TH>N.
Winner of 2010 Best Pet Insurance Provider (Personal and Finance Awards).
Get a FREE-phone, 24/7 vet helpline service.
Up to £7,000 vets fees cover for each and every new accident and illness.

Go to More Than
Virgin

Virgin Pet Insurance gives you peace of mind so you no longer need to worry about unexpected vet's bills. With 3 levels of cover and a range of options to choose from, you'll get the purrfect cover to suit your pet and your pocket. Extra treats include access to three pet helplines, 15% off if you insure more than one pet and 10% off when you buy online.

Go to Virgin

Why dog insurance is so important


Regardless of whether you have a German Shepherd, a Cocker Spaniel or a Poodle the importance of dog insurance cannot be underestimated. Dogs especially are known for their mischievous nature and can find themselves in all sorts of trouble.

Each year dogs as well as other pets are abandoned due to their owners being unable to afford the high cost of getting their illnesses and injuries treated by a vet. For example it is said that the cost to treat a dog's broken leg can be up to £1,200 to put right.

For a young healthy dog, you can find a dog insurance quote from as little as £60 per year, whereas older dog insurance can cost up to £20 a month. Either way, this is a small price to pay in comparison to the high veterinary bills you would have to pay should the unexpected happen.

Not only will your pet dog be covered but you will also be covered should your dog cause any accidents or cause injury to a member of the public. Dog attacks have been quite a popular news item recently and you as an owner can be legally liable should your dog harm another person. Also if your dog was to run out into the road and cause a car accident, again you could be legally liable for damage and injury to third parties.

Dog insurance exclusions


When it comes to both dogs and puppies, there are a number of exclusions to be aware of.

First of all, some insurance companies will not insure a puppy who is under eight weeks old so always check the terms and conditions of any dog insurance policy for this stipulation.

Dogs that are listed on the dangerous dogs act will not be able to apply for insurance. Four types of dog that were identified by the act were the Japanese Tosa, a Dogo Argentino, a Fila Brasileiro and the more popular Pit Bull Terrier. Working dogs are also exempt from insurance such as police dogs, racing dogs and hunting dogs.

If you are a dog breeder, then it pays to know that your insurer may not pay out if your dog contracts a breeding or pregnancy related illness. This also applies to pre-existing or hereditary medical conditions.

In the event that the courts order your pet to be destroyed then most insurance companies will not cover this. It is also a good idea to check the terms and conditions of a policy to understand any exclusions that can apply if you take your dog out of the UK.

Finally, treatments such as worming, flea control and castration will not be covered under a pet insurance policy.

Your pet dog covered for life


Finding a cheap dog insurance policy is fairly easy however finding a policy that is right for you and your dog is much more difficult.

The cheapest dog cover may miss out certain levels of cover that may be important to you such as accidental damage, third party liability and dental cover.

There is one additional extra that you will need to think about carefully and this is 'lifetime cover'. Including life time cover on your policy will increase the annual premium but its advantages far out-weigh its disadvantages.

Diseases such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes and some cancers will require ongoing treatment therefore if your dog was to contract one of these diseases then a cheaper dog insurance policy will only cover the costs up until the policies end date. After that you would be left with the burden of paying the vet fees yourself.

There are three types of lifetime cover available to choose from.

  • Annual catch-all limit - This will cover a maximum amount of money for a number of diseases in one year. For example, if your dog picked up two illnesses and the policy offered £5,000 'catch-all' per year, then each illness would qualify for £2,500 for that year.
  • Per condition per year limit - This means that each condition your dog contracted would be covered up to a certain amount. For example, if you had a £2,000 a year cover limit, then you would only need to pay the excess and the insurer would cover the rest of the treatment up to the value of £2,000 for the rest of your pet dog's life.
  • Lifetime limit - This will offer an overall sum per condition. For example, if the agreed sum was for £30,000 then this is the maximum amount you could claim for that condition for the rest of your dogs life. The obvious disadvantage to this is that if you reach this limit and your dog is still going strong, then you will have to start paying the vet bills yourself.


Finally remember that with any claim, you will have to pay and excess payment that is agreed when you take the policy out. Set this at a level that you will be comfortable paying should the worst happen.

Dog insurance guide


Whilst we all want to find the cheapest pet insurance policy, it may not always turn out as the most ideal policy for us and our pets. Our pet insurance guide will help you understand what to look out for in a policy and ensure you find the best pet insurance deal for you and your dog.

Get pet insurance for some of your other pets on our homepage.

 

Find out more about pet insurance by reading our pet insurance guide.

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