These policies generally offer the lowest cover level. In the event of an accident, treatment costs are covered by your insurer. There's normally a cap on how much you can claim per injury. If you reach this limit, you won't be able to claim for any further treatment for that injury.
Illnesses or pre-existing conditions aren't covered with this type of insurance, so you have to pay for any treatment for these.
Illnesses are covered as well as accidents, but there is a set period of time in which you can make a claim.
Your cover period is typically 12 months. During this you can claim for any condition your pet develops.
Once your policy ends, any conditions you've claimed for are considered 'pre-existing'. This means they aren't covered by any new policies you take out.
Maximum benefit policies cover injuries and illnesses for the duration of your policy, up to a set limit. There's no set time period in which you need to claim, unlike time limited policies. But, there is a cap on how much you can claim for each injury or illness.
Once you've reached this limit for a certain condition, you aren't able to claim for that condition again. So, if your pet requires further treatment, you need to pay for it.
These policies are designed to offer the most comprehensive cover and last for the duration of a pet's life, as long as it's renewed each year.
Unlike other policy types, lifetime pet insurance continues to cover conditions that you've already claimed for, as long as you renew your policy with the same insurer. If you take out a policy with a new provider, pre-existing conditions are unlikely to be covered.
Getting pet insurance quotes only takes a few minutes. Just follow these steps:
Tell us about your pet
Tell us what cover you need
Tell us about you
All pet insurance policies cover treatment costs for accidental injury. It's possible to get additional extras and cover, but this generally comes at a higher cost.
Exactly what's covered can differ from insurer to insurer, so check your policy documents to see what you can claim for.
The cost of pet insurance varies based on the level of cover you buy and the type of pet you're insuring. To give you an idea of how much you're likely to pay, here's the average monthly price pet owners pay for their insurance*:
| Policy type | Dog | Cat |
|---|---|---|
|
Accident only
|
£6.24
|
£4.15
|
|
Time limited
|
£16.04
|
£10.35
|
|
Maximum benefit
|
£15.70
|
£9.85
|
|
Lifetime
|
£21.88
|
£12.27
|
*Prices based on Confused.com data taken between June 2024 - August 2024. Costs shown are based on the average price paid for one pet with no pre-existing conditions. "Accident Only" cover across cats and dogs of all ages, breeds and in all locations. Correct as of October 2024.
How much you pay for your pet insurance is based on:
Like other insurance products, the price of pet insurance is based on risk. So, reducing your pet's risk for certain conditions can lower the cost of insurance.
Here are a few things that might help lower the price of insurance:
When you compare pet insurance quotes with Confused.com, you can choose the policy type and level of cover you want. So, you can tailor your quotes to suit your needs.
This means we're not owned by any insurance company. So, the quotes you see are our best available prices based on the information you gave to us, not who they're from.
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Page last reviewed: 24 October 2024
Reviewed by: Faith Tagg
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