Pet insurance
On this page you'll discover whether you can bring a complaint about pet insurance to us and how we can help if you do.
On this page
Handling complaints about pet insurance?
What is pet insurance?
Pet insurance helps people cover costs for veterinary treatment when pets and other animals are ill or have accidents. Pet insurance cover may also include third party liability, the theft of the pet, holiday cancellation, and the death of the animal.
The different types of pet insurance policy include:
- annual policies – providing cover for a condition for a 12-month period and are renewed annually
- lifetime policies – providing cover for the lifetime of the pet, as long as the policy is renewed each year.
- accident and illness only policies
- trial cover – providing the same cover as a full policy but for a trial period, usually four weeks – they’re often free from a breeder or vet when you get a new pet and you can then decide whether to take out the full policy.
Find out more about pet insurance on the MoneyHelper website
Can I complain about pet insurance?
You can bring your complaint to us if you think your insurer has treated you unfairly. This may be because you believe:
- it was unfair for your insurer to decline your claim, for example, because they say:
- your pet was already suffering from a condition before you took out the policy
- a treatment – such as dental cover – isn’t included in your policy
- a time limit applies, or
- your pet is aggressive
- the policy was mis-sold
- the price of the policy has significantly increased
- the deductions for policy excesses, co-payments, or policy limits have been unfairly applied to the claims settlement
- exclusions have been added onto the policy either at the outset, or mid-term – that is after you bought it and before renewal – and then backdated
- the terms and conditions of a lifetime policy have changed.
How to complain about pet insurance
Our service is free and easy to use.
- Before bringing your complaint to us, you should complain to the company involved. If they don't send you a final response within eight weeks – or you're unhappy with their response – you can complain to us.
- Fill in our complaint form. If you're considering using AI to help you complete the form, read our guidelines on using AI before you start.
- As you complete the form, we'll ask a few questions about some of the things we need to know to get started.
- If we can help you, your case will be assigned to a case handler who will contact you when they start to investigate.
- To help us consider a complaint fairly, we may ask you for more information later.
How we settle complaints about pet insurance
We’ll assess what happened using evidence from you, the financial business and any relevant third parties. We'll also consider:
- the relevant law, any regulations and industry codes of conduct that applied at the time
- the terms and conditions of the insurance policy, including details on pre-existing conditions, exclusions, time limits, dental treatment
- whether the policy was described as ‘lifelong’ or ‘lifetime’
- how much information your insurer gave you when you took out the policy
- the information you gave your insurer when you took out your policy
- any medical evidence from your vet and your insurer's vet, especially clinical notes and written submissions.
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Your insurer may have declined your claim because they say:
- your animal already had signs and symptoms of the illness before you took out the policy, or
- the condition appeared within the first 14 days of you taking out the policy.
If so, we’ll look at:
- what your policy says and your pet’s medical history
- whether the condition you’re claiming for is the same or related to the condition the animal suffered from before, and
- what you knew or should’ve known when you took the policy out.
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If your insurer declined your claim because of a time limit, we’ll look at when they dated the time limit from and whether that was fair.
We’d expect a time limit to start from when a vet recommends investigation or treatment, even if you decide not to go ahead with the vet’s recommendation at that time.
If your policy expired before the end of the time limit, you may have needed to have renewed it.
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If your insurer has declined your claim because your policy doesn’t include dental treatment, we’ll look at:
- how the policy is worded, and
- what your insurer made clear to you when you bought the insurance
- whether the type of condition you’re claiming for could have appeared anywhere on your pet’s body
- the medical evidence.
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If your insurer declined a claim because they say your pet’s aggressive, we’ll look at:
- whether they told you clearly that they didn’t cover certain breeds or aggressive animals when you bought the cover
- the evidence they’re relying on to say your pet’s aggressive.
If the only evidence is from when your pet was being examined or treated by a vet, we may think it was reacting out of fear or pain, rather than being aggressive.
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If your insurer charged a higher premium or added a policy exclusion mid-term, they may say it’s because you gave them inaccurate information when you took out the policy.
We will ask them to show us that both:
- the questions they asked you were clear, and
- you answered incorrectly or without reasonable care.
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Insurers can’t normally change a ‘lifelong’ or ‘lifetime’ policy’s basic cover except when it’s renewed. But if they change your original cover significantly, we’re likely to uphold your complaint.
If they offer you a new or different policy, we’ll be likely to say this:
- should reflect the old policy’s terms and conditions, and
- include any conditions that would have been covered by that policy.
If they don’t offer you an option to renew, you will have lost your lifetime cover. And it’s unlikely a lifetime policy with a new insurer will cover any conditions your pet already has.
In this situation, we may tell your previous insurer to provide ongoing cover for any existing conditions your new policy doesn’t cover.
Once we’ve investigated, we'll tell you whether we believe you've been treated unfairly or not. And we’ll explain how we reached our decision.
If we think you've lost money, we'll tell your insurer to put things right.
We may also tell them to pay you compensation for any distress or inconvenience you have experienced.
Case studies
Rita and her pet insurer disagree over pre-existing conditions
Pet Insurance
Craig has his horse put down without waiting for his insurer’s consent
Pet Insurance
A cat surgery claim conflicts with Anna’s insurer’s policy time limits
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Insurer’s errors delay Shai’s pet insurance policy start date
Pet Insurance Distress and inconvenience Up to £300
Ibrahim’s pet insurer won’t compensate him for an admin error
Pet Insurance Insurance Distress and inconvenience Up to £100