Review: Homebase Pet Insurance
By
Ronny Lavie
Summary
Homebase is best known as a home improvement store and garden centre – part of Home Retail Group – but has recently branched out into the financial sector, offering a number of products including loans, credit options and insurance.
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Overview of cover provided by Homebase pet insurance
The company has teamed up with Royal & Sun Alliance (The other pet insurance brands RSA underwrites include John Lewis Insurance, MORE TH>N, Argos, Tesco, M&S, and the RSPCA) to offer a range of pet insurance products for cats and dogs, which are designed to provide good cover at a reasonable price.
There are two types of Homebase pet insurance cover – Homebase dog insurance and Homebase cat insurance. Homebase offers three levels of cover for dogs, and two levels of cover for cats.
For Homebase dog insurance, there are platinum, gold and silver policies available.
Platinum cover is the most comprehensive, and offers up to £7,500 in vet fees per year, no time limit on claims, cover for hereditary conditions, £1,500 in kennel fees and £1,500 in loss or theft benefit.
Gold cover provides £5,000 worth of vet fees, a 12-month time limit on claims, cover for hereditary conditions, £750 for kennel fees and £750 in loss or theft benefit.
Silver is the most basic level of cover, offering £3,000 in vet fees, a 12-month time limit on claims, cover for hereditary conditions, £250 for kennel fees and £250 in loss or theft benefit.
Puppies can be insured from just eight weeks old, and Homebase will insure your dog up to any age, although death from illness does not apply to dogs over nine years old.
The top level of cover for Homebase cat insurance is the Cat Care Plus policy, which offers £2,500 in vet fees. The standard Cat Care policy offers £1,000. Homebase will insure your cat up to any age, but death from illness does not apply to cats older than 11 years old. Cat owners will also enjoy a £15 contribution towards having their pet micro-chipped.
Additionally, discounts are available for pet owners insuring two or more animals.
Regardless of the policy chosen, all customers will have access to a free 24-hour veterinary advice hotline.
See how Homebase pet insurance compares to other pet insurance policies for dogs and cats.
Homebase Rabbit Insurance
Homebase doesn't offer insurance for pet rabbits - to see the insurance companies who do cover rabbits, check out our Rabbit Insurance Comparison.
How much does Homebase pet insurance cost?
The cost of a pet insurance policy from Homebase will depend on a number of factors, including the age of your pet, any existing medical conditions it may have and how many animals you want to insure. However, Homebase advertises its Cat Care policy as starting from £3.84 per month, and its Silver policy for dogs as starting from £5.67 per month.
Customers buying a policy online will enjoy a discount of 10%, and those insuring two or more animals will benefit from a multi-pet discount of 10%. All customers can pay monthly without extra charge.
It’s also worth noting that unlike some pet insurance policies, the payable excess does not rise as the pet gets older, and remains constant no matter how much the claim is, which may prove beneficial in the long-term.
What do Homebase customers say?
s it is still relatively new to the insurance business, there aren’t a great number of Homebase pet insurance reviews available. However, customers on Money.co.uk have given Homebase pet insurance an overall 3.5 stars out of a possible 5, with 3.5/5 for customer service, 3/5 for flexibility and fairness, 4/5 for product features and 3/5 for value for money.
What do the experts say?
Again, given the recent arrival of Homebase pet insurance to the market, independent expert reviews of the product are sparse. However, Defaqto has awarded Homebase’s Cat Care Pluc cover five stars, making it “an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits”. Cat Care has been given four stars, making it “a standard product providing an average level of features and benefits”. Defaqto has not rated Homebase dog insurance.
