Review: Tesco Pet Insurance

Ronny Lavie By Ronny Lavie

Key policy features

  • Tesco Pet Insurance has four levels of cover, from Accident & Injury up to Premier

  • It offers a range of discounts

  • All Tesco policies include access to the 24/7 Vetfone advice line

Get a quote from Tesco or find out if Tesco made it into our list of the Top 10 Pet Insurance providers in 2018.

Or, read on to learn more about:

What types of Pet Insurance does Tesco offer?

Tesco Pet Insurance has four levels of cover:

  1. Premier

    This is a Lifetime policy which includes £7,500 or £10,000 for vet fees, in the UK or abroad; dental cover (for accident, illness and injury); up to £1,500 cover for death from accident or illness; up to £200 if your pet needs to be put to sleep (includes burial or cremation); up to £1,000 for advertising and reward if your pet is stolen or goes missing; and up to £1,000 for kennels, cattery or pet minding for your pet if you are hospitalised for emergency medical treatment.

    Learn more about lifetime pet insurance policies here.

  2. Extra

    This is a Per Condition policy which includes £4,000 or £7,500 for vet fees, in the UK or abroad; dental cover (for accident only); up to £1,500 cover for death from accident or illness; up to £200 if your pet needs to be put to sleep (includes burial or cremation); up to £1,000 for advertising and reward if your pet is stolen or goes missing; and up to £1,000 for kennels, cattery or pet minding for your pet if you are hospitalised for emergency medical treatment.

  3. Standard

    This is a Time-Limited policy which includes £3,000 for vet fees, in the UK or abroad; dental cover (for accident only); up to £1,500 cover for death from accident or illness; up to £200 if your pet needs to be put to sleep (includes burial or cremation); up to £1,000 for advertising and reward if your pet is stolen or goes missing; and up to £1,000 for kennels, cattery or pet minding for your pet if you are hospitalised for emergency medical treatment.

  4. Accident and Injury

    This is a Time Limited policy which includes £3,000 for vet fees, for accident or injury only. Illness is not included and this policy only covers your pet in the UK. Dental cover is also included, for accident only.

    5. For more information about what Lifetime, Per-Condition and Time-Limited policies are, check out our Pet Insurance FAQs.

    All Tesco Pet Insurance customers get access to a 24/7 Vetfone advice line, as well as helplines for pet bereavement counselling and legal advice.

    All policies include cover for complementary treatment, physiotherapy, homeopathy, and hydrotherapy. Note that this is subject to the advice of a vet, and that the policy terms and conditions apply.

    Excess starts at £60, and customers can choose to increase this to lower premiums.

    See how Tesco Pet Insurance compares to other providers in our guide to the best pet insurance for Dogs and for Cats.

    Is Behaviour Training covered by Tesco Pet Insurance?

    No, page 8 of Tesco's policy wording states: "We don't pay for the treatment of, or training for diagnosed behavioural problems".

    However, the Vetfone line (which is included with Tesco Pet Insurance) can offer advice on behavioural issues from qualified vet nurses.

    All Bought By Many's Pet Insurance policies do cover training for behavioural problems - learn more here.

    Tesco and the RSA Vet Referral Network

    Like More Than and John Lewis, Tesco Pet Insurance is provided by RSA. As a result, all non-emergency treatment for pets insured with Tesco needs to be carried out by a vet in RSA's "Preferred Referral Network". If a Tesco Pet Insurance customer has their pet treated by a vet outside the network, they are liable for the first £200 of any successful claim (in addition to the policy excess).

    We've written a detailed guide to the RSA Referral Network which provides more information.

    How much does pet insurance from Tesco cost?

    For this review, we got example quotes from Tesco for a 3 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier in Milton Keynes. The prices were as follows:

  • Tesco Premier Pet Insurance, with £10,000 vet bills cover: £29.27 per month

  • Tesco Extra Pet Insurance, with £7,500 vet bills cover: £22.05 per month

  • Tesco Standard Pet Insurance: £12.75 per month

  • Tesco Accident & Injury Pet Insurance: £6.42 per month

However, do bear in mind that the cost of pet insurance is affected by many different factors, such as the type and breed of pet, the pet’s age and medical conditions, and the owner’s postcode.

You can find out how much your policy will cost by getting a quote from Tesco.

Are promotional codes available for Tesco Pet Insurance?

Although Tesco's online quote form for pet insurance includes a field where promotional codes can be entered, at the time of writing we were not able to find any working promo codes by searching online. Read this article for a list of the current pet insurance promo codes we're aware of.

However, Tesco Pet Insurance have several discounts available, including:

  • 10% multi-pet discount (see how this compares to other pet insurers in our multi pet insurance review)

  • 15% online discount

  • Tesco Clubcard holder discount

Tesco Pet Insurance Customer Reviews

On Reevoo, Tesco Pet Insurance is rated 9.0 out of 10 by 6,045 customers.

On Reviewcentre.com Tesco Pet Insurance has an average score of 2 out of 5 stars from 227 reviews, with 30% of customers saying they would recommend the service.

On Money.co.uk Tesco has 4 out of 5 stars from 63 reviews.

Expert Reviews of Tesco Pet Insurance

Independent financial researcher Defaqto has rated Tesco Pet Insurance’s Premier Cover policy as 5 Star, the company’s Extra Cover was rated as 4 Stars, their Standard Cover was rated as 3 Stars and their Accident and Injury cover was rated as 1 Star.

A Star Rating indicates where a product or proposition sits in the market based on the quality and comprehensiveness of the features it offers.

A 5 Star rated policy “has a comprehensive range of features and benefits”, a 4 Star rated policy “has a good level of features and benefits”, a 3 Star rated policy “has an average level of features and benefits” while a 1 Star rated product has “a low level of features and benefits”.

How to make a claim on Tesco Pet Insurance

Step 1: Use the primary vet of your choice or if the treatment is a non-urgent referral, chose from Tesco’s preferred referral network or call them on 0330 100 6460 to check whether you can use your preferred option from outside the list.

Step 2: Download the claim form from Tesco's website and fill it in.

Step 3: Return your completed claim form to Tesco by email, or post it to Tesco Pet Insurance, Freepost RSJG-ZJTB-GAGH, PO Box 15770, Birmingham, B2 2RB.

If you have questions about a new or existing claim, Tesco's pet insurance contact phone number is 0345 078 3860.

(Note that this contact information for Tesco's claims department is correct at the time of writing).

Tesco doesn't provide any information about the time it typically takes to assess and pay pet insurance claims.

Other insurance available from Tesco

As one of Britain’s most well-known supermarket chains, Tesco needs no introduction. However, not everyone is aware Tesco also offers a range of financial services, including current accounts. Insurance products available from Tesco are:

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