The best dog insurance in the UK - 2023 - Money To The Masses (2023)

FAQs

How much is dog insurance UK roughly? ›

The average monthly cost of dog insurance is £10.75. When you consider that an X-ray alone can cost more than £300 in vet fees, the price of pet insurance perhaps doesn't seem so bad. 51% of our customers were quoted less than £129.00 for their dog insurance in November 2022.

If you've ever wondered 'is pet insurance worth it? ' it could be worth checking typical treatment costs. Prices vary depending on your pet's condition and where you live, but according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the average pet insurance claim in 2021 was £848.

The best type of dog insurance is Lifetime cover, because these types of policies have limits that renew each year. Renewing limits protect against long-term or recurring conditions over the course of your dog's life. The next best type of cover is usually considered to be Max Benefit.

Admiral Group

The Admiral Group is the largest auto insurance company in the UK with 14% of the motor insurance market, underwriting policies through their Admiral, Bell, Diamond, elephant.co.uk and Gladiator brands.

The top dog breed in the UK in 2021, as measured by number of registrations, was the Labrador Retriever breed. Some 61,559 retrievers were newly registered in the UK in 2021. French Bulldogs and Cocker Spaniels rounded out the top three dog breeds in the UK that year.

RSPCA advice

Find out if you could be eligible for financial assistance. Other charities can also help. You could also consider pet insurance, which covers future unexpected vets' bills.

Even if your pet does not have any accidents or illnesses for months, you should continue to save. Without insurance, in the instance that your pet needs emergency surgery, you could owe anywhere from a couple hundred up to a few thousand dollars after just one veterinary visit or one procedure.

If you enroll, you may have to front the money for veterinary bills and then request reimbursement from the insurer. Many pet insurance companies will offer low premiums when your pet is young, but as they age, pet insurance rates may climb too.

What breeds of dogs raise your insurance? ›

According to HomeInsurance.org, “Dog breeds that are typically associated with higher insurance premiums include Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Akitas, and wolf-dog hybrids.” Forbes.com adds Chows, Great Danes, Presa Canarios, and Alaskan Malamutes to their list.

Is it worth insuring an old dog? If you signed up for lifetime dog insurance when your dog was young and healthy, it will usually be worth renewing the policy each year as your dog ages. While this isn't the cheapest option, it guarantees your dog is always covered, even for long-term illnesses.

Most recognizable insurance brands in the UK 2022

Aviva and Bupa completed the top three of the list, with 94 percent of brand recall, respectively. In terms of the UK insurance brand with the highest support, Direct Line was ranked sixth, with AA taking the first place ranking.

Every car in the UK is placed in an insurance group, but what exactly does that mean? Car insurance groups are broadly set by The Group Rating Panel and administered by Thatcham Research. These insurance groups range from group 1 (the cheapest cars to insure), all the way up to group 50 (the most expensive).

You can enter or return to Great Britain with your pet cat, dog or ferret if it: has been microchipped. has a pet passport or health certificate. has been vaccinated against rabies - it will also need a blood test if you're travelling from an country that is not 'listed'

The most loyal dog breeds who will always stick by your side have been uncovered— and German Shepherds top the list. According to Rover's study of 1,000 dog parents in the UK, almost half of British owners (57%) believe their four-legged friends are more loyal than their parents.

Every year the American Kennel Club releases our ranking of the most popular dog breeds based on AKC registration statistics for the previous year. The Labrador Retriever holds the top spot, and this friendly favorite has been No. 1 since 1991.

What are the largest pet insurance companies in the UK? ›

Petplan remains the UK's biggest pet insurer, helping more animals than anyone else.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the UK's favourite pet is the dog. More than a quarter of us (26%) own a dog, with an estimated 9 million dogs living in the UK. As well as countless cross-breeds, the most common pure breed dogs in the UK are: Labrador retrievers, cocker spaniels, springer spaniels and German shepherds.

How many people have pet insurance? According to the ABI, 4.3m pets in the UK are insured.

Costs are rising too, due to a combination of the latest drugs, diagnostic equipment and medical advances which allow vets to keep our animal companions living for longer. Crucially however, there is no free NHS equivalent for animals.

Prescription only Medicines

A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary. As from January 2022, the charges for issuing a written prescription are as follows: £25.50 (inc VAT) for the first item. £19.30 (inc VAT) for each and every subsequent item.

Most pet owners can expect to pay between $20 and $50 per month for an accident and illness plan with decent coverage.

Dogs. Dogs come in at number one, with48.3 million households owning dogs in the United States, making these four-legged friends one of the most popular pets around.

What is the most money left to a pet? ›

Conchita, a Chihuahua, was bequeathed $3 million plus an $8.3 million mansion in Miami by heiress Gail Posner. Trouble is a dog that was owned by Leona Helmsley, to which she bequeathed $12 million in a will that disinherited her two grandchildren.

The Sooner, the Better

You need to buy pet insurance the moment you take home your pet. At the very least, get one six months after adopting a new dog or cat. The reason for this is simple: no pet insurance covers pre-existing conditions.

Do all vets take pet insurance? Every pet owner should consider pet insurance. Even if you believe you have enough money to cover veterinary costs, pet insurance could still save you thousands of dollars if your pet gets sick or injured.

If you are looking to save on your pet's vet care but believe pet insurance is not for you, there are alternatives you should explore. The most popular pet insurance alternatives include veterinary networks, medical organizations, community pool funds, crowdfunding, etc.

The illness waiting period is 14 days. For coverage to start, each pet you are insuring must have visited a vet within the past 12 months. If you have a new pet or your pet hasn't seen a vet in the last 12 months, you can take your pet in during the waiting period without any loss of coverage.

Statistics show that the highest dog attacks by breed are from Pit Bulls. Their natural aggression and high provocation rate from humans cause Pit Bulls to have the highest attack rate in the United States when compared to other dog breeds.

Pit Bull

Out of all the dog breeds most commonly found in shelters, it's the Pit Bull that wins by a landslide. This breed is often abused, and neglected leading them to have a hard time trusting people. A huge amount of misrepresentation in the media and breed specific laws keep people from bringing a Pit Bull home.

Vets choose to partner with Petplan pet insurance

These awards were run by Webinar Vet and voted for by the veterinary community. We pride ourselves on our breadth of cover, paying 97% of all the claims we receive and this is why thousands of vets partner with us. We can also pay vets directly.

There are four main types of pet insurance – Lifetime, Annual (or time limited), Accident only and Maximum benefit.

What is better Max benefit or lifetime pet insurance? ›

While maximum benefit policies offer a fixed, one-off amount per condition with no time limit, lifetime cover offers a fixed amount per condition, which resets when you renew your policy each year. Because it offers more extensive cover, lifetime policies usually cost more than maximum benefit cover.

You can contact the RSPCA or Blue Cross to see if they can offer help, or your local vet may be able to offer you an affordable payment plan. We would recommend getting insurance, as this can be a big help with unexpected veterinary bills.

Petplan claims it can offer extensive cover for pets with over 97% of claims being paid and over 90% of customers renewing their policies each year. Petplan was voted 'Most Trusted Pet insurance provider' at the Moneywise customer service awards in 2017 and has a 2023 defaqto rating of 5 stars.

The "Death from Illness or Injury" section of pet insurance, when applicable, typically covers the purchase or donation price of your pet if it dies or has to be put to sleep by a vet as a result of an illness or injury.

Is it difficult to get insurance for a senior dog or cat? The older your pet, the more difficult it may be to find insurance. Pet insurers with maximum age limits for new policies often set them at 10 years old, so if your pet is older than 10, you'll want to look for a company with a higher age limit or no limit.

They are breaking the law if they do not register the puppy by the time they are eight weeks old. Breeders should also pass on correct microchip paperwork to the new owner when the puppy goes home. The law applies to dogs and puppies over the age of eight weeks.

Yes, lifetime pet insurance does cover accidents as well as injuries and health conditions that have started after you took out your policy.

Plans Available From Pets Best

Pets Best's BestBenefit Accident and Illness plan's annual benefit limits are $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, or unlimited. Deductibles range from $50 to $1,000 and reimbursement percentages range between 70% and 90%. You can pay premiums monthly, quarterly, or annually.

U.S. household pet ownership statistics

While dogs are the most popular pet overall—woof woof, keep it up—there is plenty of diversity in pet ownership. 70% of U.S. households (90.5 million homes) owned a pet as of 2022. 69 million U.S. households have a pet dog, compared to 45.3 million with a cat.