We've looked at the latest independent research and reviews of pet insurance for dogs to bring you the Best UK Dog Insurance Companies for 2021.
We were voted Pet Insurance Provider of the year in the 2021 Moneyfacts Consumer Awards and we had more than 20,000 five-star reviews on Feefo in the last year. We offer up to £15,000 of vet fee cover, including dental cover, with our Complete policy.
We've transformed pet cover for dogs. Our policies are easy to understand and we have cover no one else offers, like the MoneyBack option, which pays back part of your premium if you don't claim.
Some more great reasons to consider us:
Instead of just comparing dog insurance costs, we reviewed expert research into the quality of dog insurance policies in the UK.
We used research from independent financial services review firms and awards given to the companies.
These services look at the quality of cover. For example, the level of vet fee cover, and ratings of the service customers receive.
We've also explained how to find the best policy for your needs. We'll explain why the cheapest policy isn’t always best when it comes to pet insurance for dogs.
If you've got other pets, take a look at our other reviews of the top policies and providers:
Here's how the top picks compare:
All policies come with at least £2m of third party liability cover. Bought By Many, More Than, John Lewis Finance and PetPlan have the highest level of liability insurance, with £3m of cover.
If you've never bought pet insurance for your dog before, you might understandably opt for the cheapest pet insurance you can find.
While this means you'll make short-term savings on the cost of dog insurance, price is not the same as value, and it can lead to nasty surprises when you make a claim.
For example, time-limited policies tend to be cheaper but don't cover a condition for the lifetime of your dog. But lifetime policies do, as long as you renew each year.
Cheaper policies may suit some owners but make sure you know what you're buying.
We understand pet insurance can be complicated so we've created guides to help owners make sense of it:
In general, services like GoCompare, Compare the Market and Moneysupermarket have been great for consumers.
Price comparison sites have:
But there have also been some negative consequences. Some insurance companies have created cheaper dog insurance policies that have low levels of cover, because they want to appear at the top of pet insurance comparison tables.
Price comparisons are a great resource. But if you use them, be sure to check the policies have enough cover for your pet and that you compare policies with like-for-like cover levels and features.
Animal Friends’ Basic pet insurance policy is available for dogs for under £10 a month. It provides £1,000-£4,000 of cover for vet bills – and as it’s a 'time-limited' pet insurance policy, it will only pay out for an illness for a period of 12 months. After that, you'll have to pay for treatment for that condition yourself.
There are similar limitations with cheap lifetime dog insurance policies.
With Helpucover’s Vital pet insurance there is no time limit on the payout but its £2,000 of vet bills cover is subject to a limit of £500 per condition per year.
By contrast, comprehensive lifetime dog insurance policies from established market leaders like Petplan, More Than, and John Lewis Finance Insurance can offer up to £12,000 of vet fees cover with no time limit or condition-related caps.
Some policies even include added value features like dental treatment cover, and complementary medicine.
Bought By Many's Complete cover is a lifetime policy that includes up to £15,000 of vet fees and dental work as standard. It's the most comprehensive policy on the market.
Lifetime (or ‘yearly limit’) insurance covers vet fees up to the stated limit every year.
This can be a good option if you worry about your pet developing a long-term or recurring illness. For example, Labrador Retrievers can be at risk of developing hip or elbow dysplasia, if their parent dogs carried the gene. As long as you renew a lifetime policy each year, the level of vet fees will reset to the full stated limits that you started with.
But it's important to understand that your premiums can change each year at renewal with lifetime pet insurance.
With a 'per condition' policy, a particular condition can become excluded once the condition limit is reached. That's wht many vets believe lifetime pet insurance cover is the best option for dogs.
Here's what vet Rory Cusack recommends: "Good quality means lifelong cover. Any of these policies that run year to year are hardly worth having, because you'll get an incident, there'll be an exclusion put on that for life and nobody else will touch it." (taken from the BBC story, Pet Insurance - Best Friend or will it bite you?).
There are dozens of companies that offer pet insurance but many of their policies are provided by a handful of insurers.
We've grouped policies based on the insurance company that provides the cover for your dog, rather than just the brand they are marketed and sold under.
Brands can put their own spin on cover levels and customer service, although it's not uncommon for companies with the same provider to offer similar policies.
| Pet insurance company | Brands |
|---|---|
| RSA | John Lewis Finance Plus, John Lewis Finance Premier, More Than Classic £8,000, More Than Premier, Argos Platinum, M&S Bank Premier |
| Allianz | Petplan Ultimate, Petplan Classic, Sainsburys Premier, Sainsburys Premier Plus, KBIS Select Plus, Pet ID Select Plus, The Co-op Insurance Select Plus, Animalcare Select Plus |
| BDML Connect | Aviva Platinum, Masterquote Gold, PDSA Premier, Petwise Health Insurance Gold, Protect Your Bubble Premier, LV= Premier |
| Zenith Insurance | esure Pet Plus, Debenhams Gold, Buddies Premier Plus, Asda Money Superior |
| U K Insurance Limited | Direct Line Pet Insurance, NatWest Private Pet Insurance, RBS Private Pet Insurance, Confidas Pet Insurance |
| Pinnacle | Helpucover Premier, Motability Premier, Post Office Money Premium Plus |
| Provided by other insurance companies | Animal Friends Insurance Prestige, Healthy Pets Insurance Gold, NFU Mutual Perm Health, Agria Pet Insurance, PetGuard, NCI Pet Insurance |
You might have noticed some similarities in the policy names.
The similarities go deeper than that. You can usually expect a similar experience from brands who share the same provider. For example, making a claim may involve a similar process with John Lewis Finance as it does with More Than, because they're are both provided by RSA).
Learn more about the best pet insurance companies and find out what their customers think by reading our expert reviews.
If you'd like to see reviews of Bought By Many's insurance and groups check out our Feefo page We're one of the few companies that publishes its claims reviews.
You can also read our reviews of other providers:
We've launched our unique cover in Sweden and the US. If you'd like to find out more go to our ManyPets Sweden site or ManyPets US site.
