Location
The cost of veterinary treatment varies depending on your location. Where you live is likely to have an effect on your premium.
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Find the right level of cover for you and your pet
When it comes to protecting your furry friend, it’s important for pet owners to shop around for the right cover that suits what you both need. We work with over 30 leading pet insurance companies, to bring you our best deals.
1Accurate as of August 2024.
Lifetime policies offer the highest level of coverage for your pet. It's designed to cover your pet year after year regardless of any conditions your pet may develop while it's covered throughout its lifetime, as long as you don’t cancel your policy or let it lapse at renewal.
Lifetime policies will usually cover both accidents and illnesses and the amount of money you use on claims each year resets every time you renew your policy.
A lifetime pet insurance policy offers comprehensive coverage for your pet throughout their entire life. This means that, as your pet ages and their health needs change, you'll have ongoing financial protection as long as you keep paying your premiums.
There are a number of things covered in a lifetime pet insurance policy including:
Vet costs
While routine visits, as well as preventative treatments, are not usually covered, cover for treatment for both injury and illnesses is. You will have an annual limit set in your policy that you can claim per year, that limit will reset when you renew your policy annually.
Lost or stolen pets
Your insurance might cover the cost of advertising a lost pet, help finance a reward, and, in some cases, pay a proportion of their value if they sadly cannot be found.
Kennels/cattery costs
Covers boarding costs for your vet if you have to go into hospital or have a family emergency. You usually have an annual limit to claim for this.
Euthanasia
If the worst should happen, pet insurance can cover the cost of your pet being painlessly put to sleep.
Routine dental treatment
Routine or preventative dental cover is not covered however, if your pet needs dental treatment as a result of an accident or injury, most dental treatments associated with either of those are likely to be covered in your policy.
Pre-existing conditions
Illnesses and injuries related to a condition that existed before you took out your policy will not be covered by your policy.
Excess and co-payment
The amount of excess you chose at the beginning of your policy will be the amount you need to pay by yourself every time you make a claim. Some lifetime policies also include a co-payment.
Cremation and burial
While most lifetime policies will include euthanasia in their policies, cremation, and burial costs are usually not included in your policy.
While lifetime insurance covers your pet throughout their entire life, it has a limit each year on either how much you can claim per condition, or the overall amount you can claim for all conditions.
Some lifetime pet insurance policies will give you a set amount that you are able to claim per condition that will renew annually rather than an annual limit for all conditions.
Be sure to watch out for age limits! Some lifetime policies have an upper age limit for older pets. This won’t apply to you if you have a pre-existing policy.
If your pet has any pre-existing conditions before you take out your policy, it is unlikely that your lifetime policy will cover treatments for those. This is why, it's best to take out a lifetime policy as early as possible.
With MoneySuperMarket you can get lifetime cover for £9.18ii a month. As lifetime insurance is the most comprehensive pet insurance cover, it is usually more expensive than other types of pet insurance. However, how much your premiums will cost depends on:
The cost of veterinary treatment varies depending on your location. Where you live is likely to have an effect on your premium.
As your pet ages, insurers see the likelihood of you having to make a claim for an injury or illness to increase, therefore, pushing up your premiums.
If your pet has a pre-existing health condition, the cost of your premiums will likely be higher as there is a greater likelihood that you will have to make a claim.
If you have made previous claims on the same pet, insurers see it as a higher risk, increasing the cost of your premiums.
Choose a higher policy excess, can reduce your premium. However, the amount of excess you choose is the amount you will need to contribute when you make a claim.
Typically, insuring a cat is cheaper than cover for a dog. As some breeds are more susceptible to certain conditions, the breed of your pet will also affect the cost of your insurance
The more comprehensive cover you choose, the more expensive your premiums will be. Decide what policy features you need such as covering your pup for illness or accidents, or overseas cover if you plan to travel with them
Insurers often offer a discount of between 5% and 10% if you insure more than one pet, so take advantage and insure your pets together
Paying a higher excess usually means you will be rewarded with a lower premium. Just make sure you can afford the excess in the event of a claim
It can often work out cheaper to pay for your policy upfront rather than in monthly instalments
Some pet insurance providers will offer additional policy features for your puppy, such as dental cover or alternative therapy treatments
Use our comparison tool to compare policies from a range of the UK's leading pet insurance providers
If budget is not an issue, lifetime cover is the most comprehensive pet insurance cover for your pet. Lifetime cover is typically seen as a premium option for pet insurance. As it’s the most comprehensive type of insurance policy, it also is the most expensive.
Cover for health conditions: Lifetime cover will cover chronic conditions as long as they develop while your pet is insured rather than a pre-existing condition.
Continued coverage: While annual policies stop covering a condition a year after the condition arises, lifetime policies will continue to cover it up to a pre-set annual limit.
Comprehensive: The most comprehensive pet insurance policy available
Expensive: Lifetime policies offer higher premiums than other pet insurance types.
Annual limits: There is an annual limit for conditions that you claim for. Once you reach that limit, you will have to pay for the remainder of the treatment yourself.
No fixed premiums: The policy price for your pet's entire life is not fixed. The price of your premium increases as your pet ages.
There are other types of pet insurance pet owners can choose from, each with different levels of cover and cost:
Usually the cheapest and least comprehensive option, accident-only policies only protect your pet if they are injured in an accident or suffer any health complications from an accident
Can be a lower cost option. Offers a fixed sum for each illness or injury your pet gets. Covers vet fees for up to 12 months from the date your pet’s illness or injury first appeared
Covers your pet for each new injury or illness up to a specified pre-set limit. You can keep claiming on a condition or accident/injury until you reach the financial cap
Lifetime pet insurance undoubtedly provides comprehensive cover, and can help mitigate the relative cost of insuring an ageing dog with a history of medical problems, for example. But this type of cover is pricey and it isn’t limitless. Watch out for those time and total cost maximums in particular.
Yes, pet insurance is an extra cost, but before deciding whether you can afford a pet it's important to consider the cost of potential treatment, and whether you decide to fund it yourself or take out an insurance policy.
Keep up to date and find out all you need to know with our latest guides.
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Yes, it's likely that you'll find that cost of your pet insurance policy increase when it comes to renewing your policy. As you pet gets older, it's normal to expect that your premiums will to. This is because, to an insurance provider, the older your pet gets, the more likely you are to claim for health issues.
Yes, lifetime pet insurance does cover accidents as well as injuries and health conditions that have started after you took out your policy.
The key difference between a max benefit policy and a lifetime one is that max benefit offer a fixed one-off amount per condition. However, since lifetime insurance offers more comprehensive cover, they usually cost more than maximum benefit policies and also allow a pre-set amount yearly amount per condition that will reset when you renew your policy,
No. Your lifetime cover will not cover any pre-existing conditions your pet has before you took out your policy. If your pet develops any health conditions while you are covered, your policy will continue to cover that condition up to a set amount per year.
After you take out a policy, you will have a 14 day cooling period where you can cancel your policy with no extra charges. After this period, if you are able to cancel your policy at any given time but depending on your policy, this may be subject to extra charges.
Lifetime pet insurance is available for cats and dogs through MoneySuperMarket.
If you are looking for a new policy, some providers have an age limit for older pets however, if you are an existing policyholder, this limit will not apply to you.
As long as the condition is developed while your pet is insured under your current policy, a lifetime policy will continue to cover the same conditions up to a pre-set annual limit.
Annual pet insurance covers your pet for a specific period, usually a year. If your pet develops a chronic condition, the coverage for that condition may cease after a certain period, typically a year. Lifetime pet insurance, on the other hand, covers your pet for its entire life, as long as you renew the policy annually. This means that if your pet develops a chronic condition, it will continue to be covered year after year, up to the annual limit set by your policy.
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