Why can’t you insure my pet?

With our Lifetime Plus policies, we’re proud to be able to offer pre-existing conditions cover. But not all pets will qualify, so please accept our apologies if we’ve not been able to offer cover for your cat or dog.

We can’t cover every illness. But we always listen to feedback and are looking for ways to improve. If we don’t currently cover your pet’s condition, please try to get a quote again in future.

It’s our goal to cover as many breeds of dogs and cats as we can. Hopefully, if we’re unable to offer cover for your breed now, we may be able to in future.

Be aware though that, like all pet insurers, we’re unable to cover any dogs listed by the Dangerous Dogs Act. See our excluded breeds page for more details.

If you get a quote for pet insurance for your cat or dog and you feel it’s too expensive, it can be discouraging. Here are some of the reasons why a quote may be high:

• If your pet is older, they’ll have a higher risk of needing treatment.
• Certain breeds are more likely to inherit conditions specific to their breeds.
• If we’ve confirmed that we’ll cover your pet’s pre-existing conditions, this will usually increase the cost.
• You might live in part of the UK with more expensive vet fees.
• If it seems expensive compared to your current policy with another provider, they may not be a like-for-like match.
• If you’ve added optional extras to the policy, for example travel cover, this tends to push up the cost of the premium.

If you want to bring down the cost of your premium, consider including an excess and/or bill share (co-payment) on your policy. Be sure not to set this at a level you cannot afford though.

To check if we’ll accept your pet’s breed, there are a few things you can do. First off, check out our excluded breeds page.

You can also find out when applying for a quote. We ask if your pet is a pedigree or non-pedigree. Then you can look up your pet’s specific breed. If you try to select an excluded breed, a notification telling you will pop up.

Still unsure? Contact our friendly and helpful customer team on 033 0058 5134. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

A bill share (otherwise known as a co-payment) is where you pay a percentage of the cost of the claim. This is after any excess has been deducted.

If you’re applying for a Lifetime Plus policy with us, this is completely optional. With our other lifetime policies, it’s optional up until your dog’s aged eight or above, or your cat’s aged ten or above. At this point, a minimum of 20% bill share will apply.

Pet owners may choose to include a bill share because:

• Offering to pay towards vet bills usually makes premiums more affordable. This is particularly the case with older pets, or pets with accepted medical conditions.
• The owner may be able to afford some but not all of the vet’s bill.

Here’s an example of how it might work out in terms of cost:

How much can be claimed for one condition: £800

Minus £100 excess is £700.

Minus 10% bill share of the remaining fee (£70) is £630.

In summary, here’s what you’d pay towards the claim, and what we would:

• You pay your excess (£100) then your 10% bill share (£70) = £170
• We pay the remaining amount of the claim (£800 – £170) = £630

Please note that while you pay your bill share for each claim, you just pay the one excess for the same condition each year.

Having trouble getting a quote online? Call our customer team on 033 0058 5134 and they’ll gladly help you out.