Dog Insurance: Our Pick Of The Best
When bringing a playful pug or loving labrador home, the cost of taking care of it may be the last thing on your mind.
However, vet treatment for dogs can be expensive, often running into the hundreds if not thousands of pounds.
That’s why dog insurance can be a useful financial tool. It helps cover vet bills, so owners can relax in the knowledge that their canines can be nursed to good health as soon as possible.
To help with finding the most suitable insurance cover for a dog, we’ve analysed the market (January 2024), comparing providers based on crucial factors such as monthly policy cost, level of cover per condition, and excess fees (the amount that is deducted from your claim payment). Find our top 10 policies below.
To find out more about how we arrived at the rankings, and the type of dog they were based on, refer to the Methodology section.
- EAT
- Best Dog Insurance Providers
- Methodology
- What does dog insurance cover?
- What might be excluded?
- How are premiums calculated?
- What does dog insurance cost?
- Can I insure a specialist breed?
- Can I insure a dangerous dog?
- Must my dog be microchipped?
- Can I insure more than one dog?
- Where can I buy cover?
Best Dog Insurance Providers
Methodology
Our data is based on a medium-sized mongrel dog, bought for £200 and born in January 2023. It assumes the dog is neutered, chipped with up-to-date vaccinations and has not been the subject of any complaints or legal action in the last five years.
We applied lifetime pet insurance policies to this scenario as this is the most common type among pet owners, and ranked the cheapest, we found, for the following:
- Monthly cost – the amount you pay each month for the policy
- Cover per condition – the amount covered for each medical condition claimed
- Policy limit – the total amount of cover provided on the policy per year
- Vet fees excess – the amount payable each time you claim for veterinary costs.
We also compared factors, such as the range of cover included as standard on the policy, any additional, optional cover, whether your vet can be paid directly and the co-payment levied on each claim, if applicable. (This is usually levied as a set percentage of the claim amount, once excess has been paid, and often applies as a dog grows older and more susceptible to illness.)
We then converted their total scores into Forbes Advisor star ratings.
All policies offer third party liability cover.
Data is accurate as of August 2024, and is intended as guidance only.
What does dog insurance cover?
As a rule of thumb, you can expect cover for consultation and examinations costs, tests, x-rays, scans, medication, surgery, and more long-term hospitalisation.
Beyond this, policy offerings can vary. For example, if your dog goes missing – or, worse, is stolen – some insurers will pay towards the cost of advertising or to meet the cost of a reward.
And if you are unable to look after your dog for a period, your insurance may cover kennel costs – up to a specified limit in any year.
Some policies offer dental work as well as complementary treatment, such as hydrotherapy.
And if, like many dog owners, you like to take your dog with you on holiday some will include pet travel cover.
Comprehensive policies offer third party liability cover in case your dog accidentally causes damage to property or injury to another person.
What is and isn’t covered will depend on the kind of insurance you opt for and the conditions set out by the provider and policy.
What might be excluded?
As a rule, dog insurance policies won’t cover pre-existing conditions, which is why it’s a good idea to take insurance out while they are still a puppy.
Routine check-ups, flea, tick or worm treatments are not included, and neither are costs associated with pregnancy or giving birth.
Most insurers impose a 14-day window at the beginning of any policy which means medical problems that occur in that time will not be covered.
This applies whether you take out an insurance policy for the first time, or switch to a different one.
What does dog insurance cost?
You can pick up a policy offering a decent coverage for a healthy, young dog for around £10 to £25 a month, or £140 to £300 per annum. Because cover becomes considerably more expensive as your dog gets older, it makes sense to secure cover while it is still a puppy.
In fact, if your dog is more than seven or eight years old it may not be possible to take out a new lifetime policy (although you will be able to renew an existing one). A time-limited policy might be the best solution if you’re insuring an older dog for the first time.
Below, you can find what you may need to pay monthly for dog insurance depending on cover type. Prices are based on a four-year-old Golden Retriever that has been chipped, neutered, has up-to-date vaccines, and that has not been the subject of complaints or legal action.
Compare Dog Insurance Quotes
Source: Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited
Can I insure a specialist breed?
It is possible to insure a pedigree dog but policies will be more expensive than for crossbreeds. Not only are pedigrees more financially valuable, they are at greater risk of suffering from long-term conditions – and often have shorter lifespans.
Can I insure a dangerous dog?
There are currently four types of dog listed by the Dangerous Dogs Act – Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro – and you are very unlikely to find pet insurance that will cover any of them.
Moreover, as the Act refers to ‘types’ of dogs, rather than ‘breeds’ many insurers will refuse cover if your dog even shares any of their physical characteristics.
Must my dog be microchipped?
It is a legal requirement – as of April 2016 – for owners to make sure their dog is microchipped by the time it is eight weeks old.
Insurance companies may ask you whether your dog is microchipped during the application process, but it’s unlikely that they would refuse cover if your pet is not yet microchipped.
Can I insure more than one dog?
Some insurers offer multi-cover insurance for pets. They typically offer a discount of around 15% compared to taking out separate policies for each dog. But don’t buy without comparing the cost because this is not always the case.
This is what you could expect to pay monthly for multi-pet insurance, based on four-year-old Golden Retriever dogs and British Shorthair cats that are chipped, neutered/spayed with up-to-date vaccines, and that have not been the subject of complaints or legal action.
Source: Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited
Where can I buy cover?
There are dozens of dog insurance policies, with big differences in what they offer. Make sure you run a full online comparison to get the best one for you. And be clear from the outset what the policy you choose does, and does not, cover.
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