John Lewis is a British institution. Founded in 1864, the department store is well-known and widely respected, and the retailer now offers financial services, including home, pet and car insurance.
- John Lewis Finance offers three pet insurance cover levels ranging from £3,000 to £12,000 of vet fee cover. All are lifetime policies.
- It offers a 24/7 vet phoneline.
- There is a 10% discount when you buy online.
How does John Lewis compare to Bought By Many?
All Bought By Many pet insurance and John Lewis vet fee policies are lifetime, which means the vet fee cover level resets every year you renew so it can cover ongoing illness and conditions throughout the lifetime of your pet.
Bought By Many's Complete policy has £15,000 of vet fee cover, which is £3,000 more than John Lewis's highest cover level of £12,000.
Lower cover levels are available if needed. Bought By Many's Regular and Value policies provide £7,000 and £3,000 of cover respectively. With John Lewis you can choose £7,500 of cover on their Plus policy or £3,000 with Essential.
One of the differences between Bought By Many and John Lewis is that Bought By Many offer policies that can cover conditions that ended more than two years ago. It also has a policy that can cover pre-existing conditions as long as they haven't needed treatment or advice the three months before the policy starts.
Bought By Many has also removed the 14-day waiting period for claims for people switch to its policies. John Lewis, along with many other pet insurers, have a 14-day exclusion period before a claim can be made, even if someone has switched to their cover. Both providers have a waiting period for new customers who were not covered immediately before taking a policy.
Both John Lewis and Bought By Many's most comprehensive policies also include cover for dental accidents and illness, complementary therapies, loss, theft and death.
New John Lewis customers will have 10% discount automatically applied when they buy online. Bought By Many does not offer introductory discounts because it means loyal existing customers can end up paying more new customers for the same policy. It can cause customers to become frustrated when the discount is removed at renewal and their price jumps up.
Bought By Many has a 15% multi-pet discount (our multi-pet discount is not currently available on our Value 2k policy), which is higher than the 5% multi-pet discount provided by John Lewis.
If you're worried about your pet and need quick advice, John Lewis customers can access their free 24-hour vetfone helpline. Any question or concerns can be discussed with a UK qualified veterinary professional who will be available to help.
Bought By Many offers all customers free video calls with UK vets that can be made 24/7 through its partnership with FirstVet. Video calls let the vet see any issues with the pet so they can offer treatment recommendations or a referral to a vet.
We've compared the top levels of cover that we and John Lewis offer. The table uses our Complete policy in comparison to John Lewis's Premier policy.
| Bought By Many | John Lewis | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest level of vet fee cover | £15,000 (Lifetime) | £12,000 (Premier) |
| Access to free video vet appointments | Yes (24/7 video vet calls through First Vet) | No (Does have a 24/7 Vetfone helpline) |
| Claims waiting period is removed if you switch to the provider | Yes | No (14-day waiting period) |
| Lifetime cover | All policies | All policies |
| Excess payable | Once per year | Per new condition |
| Multi-pet discount | Yes - 15% (our multi-pet discount is not currently available on our Value 2k policy) | Yes - 5% |
| Cover for dental accidents and illness | Yes (Up to full vet fee limit) | No (Only accidents) |
How much does pet insurance from John Lewis Finance cost?
With almost all pet insurance companies, the cost of pet insurance varies widely depending factors like the age and breed of your pet, and which part of the UK you live in.
It's best to get a quote to see your price or read our guide to the cost of pet insurance.
John Lewis pet insurance promo code and discounts
We could not find any promo codes for John Lewis Finance online. However, new customers can get 10% off cover if they buy their policy online.
John Lewis pet insurance underwriter
John Lewis Finance pet insurance is one of a number of brands underwritten by RSA, one of the world's largest insurance companies. (The other pet insurance brands RSA underwrites include More Than, Argos, Tesco, M&S, and the RSPCA). As a result, the underlying features of the product may be similar to what you would get from other RSA-backed brands.
Does Buster the Boxer have John Lewis Finance Pet Insurance?
John Lewis are famous for their Christmas adverts. John Lewis' Christmas Advert in 2017 starred Moz the monster (who'd frankly struggle to get insurance), but the big star was Buster the Boxer the internet trampolining sensation, who featured in the 2016 Christmas advert. But was he insured?
Assuming Buster was 3 years old, neutered, and that his humans lived in South London, the cost of John Lewis Pet Insurance for Buster based on prices in March 2019 was:
Essential: £66 per month Classic: £103 per month Premier: £123 per month
(It's worth noting that Boxers are one of the most expensive breeds to insure.)
If Buster had hurt himself on the trampoline, it's possible that RSA (John Lewis Pet Insurance's underwriters) might have contested the claim under the following clause in the policy wording: "You must also provide proper care and attention to your pet at all times and take all reasonable precautions to prevent accidents, injury or damage."
Other Pet Insurance Reviews
This article on John Lewis Pet Insurance is one of a series of reviews of different pet insurance companies, and the policies they offer for dogs and cats.