Pet insurance

Yes, policies start straight away, but most insurers apply waiting periods before you can claim. Common waiting times are 48 hours for accidents and around 14 days for illnesses.

Avoid leaving insurance until your pet is already ill, as anything with symptoms before the start date will count as pre-existing.

Paying annually for pet insurance is usually cheaper because monthly payments often include interest or admin fees.

Yes, you will almost certainly have to pay an excess (a pre-set contribution to the costs) every time you claim on your pet insurance. Some insurers will ask you to pay a flat fee for the excess, whereas others will ask for a flat fee plus a percentage of the remaining cost. Check your policy for more details. 

Setting a higher excess can bring your premiums down, but will make claims less affordable.

Yes, you can get multi-pet insurance, where all your pets are covered under one policy.

Multi-pet insurance can make it easier to manage your pet cover. It can also be cheaper, because many insurers offer discounts if you cover more than one animal on the same policy.

Contact your insurer as soon as possible with your policy number, details of the illness or injury and copies of vet invoices or medical notes. You’ll need to fill in a claim form and submit evidence such as receipts, reports and test results.

Some vets can claim directly from insurers so you don’t have to pay upfront. Claims usually take from a few days to a few weeks to process, depending on how quickly documents are provided.

Talk to your vet about your financial situation. Some vets offer credit plans and are able to work with you to accommodate your situation, others may refer you to a less expensive vet facility.  

You can also shop around for medicines: you do not have to buy them through your vet.

Several charities also help lower-income households with some of their vet bills. The RSPCA, the Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and Cats Protection all run these sort of schemes.

No. Routine treatments such as vaccinations, flea and worming, regular check-ups, microchipping and neutering are not usually covered by pet insurance. These are considered everyday healthcare costs that owners are expected to pay out of pocket for.

Despite the expense, it's recommended to keep on top of routine healthcare for your pet, both for their wellbeing and because pet insurers may refuse to pay out for illnesses that routine vaccinations would have prevented.

Some vets offer payment plans or ‘pet health clubs’ that spread the cost of vaccinations, parasite treatment and check-ups into monthly instalments. These aren’t a substitute for pet insurance, but they can make routine care more affordable.

Most pet insurance policies only cover dental treatment that’s needed because of an accident or an illness. For example, insurers may cover treatment for a broken tooth after an injury, infections caused by trauma, abscesses, or extractions needed because of gum disease that wasn’t preventable.

What they won’t usually cover are routine dental check-ups, scale and polish treatments, or cleaning carried out to maintain good oral hygiene.

Despite the out-of-pocket costs, it's a good idea to pay for routine dental care for your pet. If dental disease develops because your pet hasn’t had regular care, insurers may also refuse to pay out.

Hereditary conditions (inherited from a pet’s parents) and congenital conditions (present from birth) are often only fully covered by lifetime pet insurance, and even then only if the condition had not shown symptoms before the policy began.

Time-limited and maximum-benefit policies may cover hereditary and congenital conditions that start showing symptoms for the first time while the plan is active, but only up to their set financial or time limits. Once you reach the cap - either the 12-month window or the maximum payout amount - the condition will no longer be covered. In contrast, many lifetime policies will continue to cover these conditions year after year, as long as you renew without a break.

Some insurers exclude certain conditions in high-risk breeds, such as breathing issues in brachycephalic dogs (squashed-face breeds like Pugs and Bulldogs) or joint problems in large pedigree breeds. In rarer cases, an insurer may refuse to cover a specific breed altogether because of the expected likelihood of claims.

It depends on the policy. Many standard pet insurance policies exclude cover if your dog is injured or causes damage while in a workplace, even if they are simply accompanying you for the day. Always check your policy wording, as insurers treat workplaces as higher-risk environments.

If your dog is working at your workplace — for example providing security, therapy, assistance or other services — you will usually need a specialist policy or an add-on that covers work-related injuries and liability. Standard pet insurance won’t cover this type of activity.

If you regularly take your dog to work, it's worth contacting your insurer to confirm whether your cover still applies and whether any additional protection is needed.

Yes, you can get cover for working dogs (like service dogs, police dogs, or farm dogs). However, you will need to declare this to your insurer and policies may cost more or have stricter terms because of the higher risk of injury.

Some companies also offer specialised working-dog policies.

Many pet insurance policies include some level of overseas cover, typically when you travel within Europe. This usually includes vet treatment abroad, loss of travel documents, and costs if your pet needs to be quarantined, delayed or repatriated due to illness.

However, cover varies widely. Some policies only include basic overseas protection, while others require you to add it as an optional extra. You may also need to meet certain conditions, such as keeping vaccinations, worming treatments and microchipping up to date, for your cover to remain valid while travelling.

If you plan to take your pet abroad, check your insurer’s policy wording carefully to confirm:
• which countries are covered
• how long you can travel for
• any exclusions or documentation requirements
• whether emergency return costs are included

If overseas cover isn’t included or isn’t sufficient, you may need to pay extra or choose a policy specifically designed for travel with pets.