Protecting your furry friend's well-being with Pet Insurance
Your pet is an essential part of the family, providing companionship and love.
Unforseen accidents and illnesses can strike at any time, and pet insurance provides financial assisstance during those moments, allowing you to focus on your pet's recovery rather than worrying about the costs.
3 reasons to take out pet insurance
Let's explore 3 reasons why you might want to consider purchasing pet insurance for your furry friend.
Modern vet care is extremely advanced - it can include complex surgery, chemotherapy and diagnostic tests.
But such advanced procedures can mean hefty vet bills for your dog or cat. The association of British Insurers reports that the average pet insurance claim was £668 in 2023.
When your pet is unwell, you want to give them immediate, professional vet care. If you want to focus on choosing the best care for your pet, and worry less about paying for treatment, you may find Pet Insurance is very useful in making your choices.
If your pet develops a medical issue and they are not insured, finding pet insurance can become tricky. The health concern will be classed as a pre-existing condition by an insurance provider and may not be covered under a new policy. The only way to avoid this is to take out pet insurance when your pet is healthy (i.e. before they develop any health issues).
The Purely Pets Promise
At Purely Pets, we understand the importance of pet health. Our insurance policies are designed to give pet owners peace of mind, ensuring that your pets receive the highest standard of care when they need it the most.
Why choose Purely Pets
Select your level of cover
So you have decided to get your pet insured. That's great news! Here at Purely Pets, we offer 15 levels of Lifetime Cover - allowing you to choose the policy that suits your budget and requirements.
Our Defaqto 5 Star Rating applies to our Silver and Gold cover levels providing vet fees of between £6,000-£15,000.
Lifetime Bronze
- Lifetime cover
- Vets fees from £1,000-£5,000
- Flexible Excess Options
Lifetime Silver
- Lifetime cover
- Vets fees from £6,000-£10,000
- Flexible Excess Options
Lifetime Gold
- Lifetime cover
- Vets fees from £11,000-£15,000
- Flexible Excess Options
How can I get value from lifetime pet insurance?
If cost is making you think twice about taking out pet insurance, here are some ways you could look to save on your premium:
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Spread the cost: Pay your premium monthly, with interest free payments. This could help spread the financial commitment.
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Make the most of 24/7 care: Instead of incurring costs by visiting the vets, speak to a professional vet, included in your insurance policy. Access unlimited 24/7 vet video calls for expert advice on your pet’s well-being, they’ll guide you on necessary steps and determine if a veterinary examination is needed. Enjoy support anytime with your Purely Pets Insurance policy.
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Stay on top of preventative care: Making sure that your pet is up to date with their vaccinations, flea treatments and has been spayed or neutered as recommended by a vet can all help keep your pet happy & healthy.
Why take out a pet insurance policy?
Jennifer Macindoe, BVMS MRCVS
Veterinary SurgeonPet insurance is important for many reasons, including ensuring pets receive the treatment they need and helping owners manage sudden, unexpected costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
As well as finding the best cover for your beloved pet, you’ll also want to find the best deal on cat insurance or dog insurance. And that means doing your research.
When you compare pet insurance, you’ll receive a pet insurance quotation that meet your pet’s needs. But first, you’ll need to provide the following information to the pet insurance provider:
- Your pet’s details: This includes their age, breed and size
- How much your pet cost: This only applies if you bought your pet, not if you’ve adopted your pet without an adoption fee (applies if you’ve adopted your pet and paid an adoption fee, the adoption fee will be the pet cost)
- Your pet’s medical history: Has a vet diagnosed any existing medical conditions? (information provided at the point of making a claim)
As your pet becomes older, it can be harder to get cover for them. Some pet insurance providers will not let you take out cover for pets over a certain age. At Purely Pets, we have no upper age limit on our pet insurance policies. This makes it simpler to find pet insurance to protect your older pet.
Having a pet is a long-term commitment which is why we offer three different levels of lifetime coverage for your dog or cat.
Lifetime insurance for your pet will provide coverage (upon approval) for your beloved companion for the duration of their lifetime, as long as the policy is renewed each year – just as the name suggests!
Here are some of the types of pet insurance policies available and what they all mean:
Lifetime insurance
These policies provide cover for the life of your pet and offer comprehensive coverage. They include cover for veterinary fees, third party liability, death from illness, death from accident, and more.
They may also offer additional benefits such as access to 24/7 vet video consultations or travel cover.
Here at Purely Pets, we love pets just as much as you do, and want to make sure they get the cover they deserve. That's why we only offer lifetime protection.
If you would like to talk to one our pet insurance policy specialists, you can get in touch with us on 0330 102 5748 to find out more about our pet insurance policies or to find out more about making hassle-free claims with Purely Pets.
Maximum benefit policies
With maximum benefit plans, you get a predetermined amount of funds for each medical issue that arises with your pet, and these funds will keep being used for treatments until the money is completely used up.
Once this limit is reached, there is no further cover for that condition.
Time-limited
Time-limited pet insurance policies will usually provide a fixed amount to pay for the treatment of any sickness or injury your pet may suffer from.
It will also come with a designated length of time for which this treatment will be covered - typically 12 months from the start of the illness or injury, or from the first date of treatment, as long as the policy is still active.
The time limit doesn't refer to the total duration of the policy, but the maximum amount of time that any given illness or injury will be covered for.
Accident only policies
Accident-specific policies provide a fixed amount to cover the medical expenses related to accidental injury sustained by your pet. However, any accidents that occurred prior to the policy's commencement will not be eligible for coverage.
For many pet owners, the idea of not having pet insurance can be worrying. Can you afford to pay for vet fees if the worst were to happen and your furry friend fell ill or had an accident?
Are you able to self insure against the risk of your dog causing injury or damage to someone else or their property through third party liability legal costs?
It's important to weigh up the possibilities as insurance might be the answer to providing you with peace of mind.
There are a number of factors that determine how much you pay for pet insurance for your pet dog or cat.
Each pet is different, and the cost of pet insurance premiums can vary accordingly. Luckily, there is bound to be a policy offering you just the right cover for your pet.
The cost of pet insurance can vary according to:
- Type of pet insurance policy
- Amount of cover required
- Your pet’s size and age
- The breed of your dog or cat
- Health of your pet
- Whether your pet has been neutered or spayed
- Where you (or more specifically, your pet) lives
- How much excess you want to pay (just make sure you can afford the amount you decide on).
When working out premiums for your cat insurance or dog insurance, a pet insurance provider will look at each of these factors and assign a risk rating for each one. The higher the collective risk, the more likely you will make a claim – and the higher your pet insurance premiums will be.
As a rule of thumb, the cheapest pet insurance options are accident only. But these also provide the lowest level of pet insurance cover. At the other end of the scale you have lifetime pet insurance policies, which provide the highest level of protection and give you a range of options should your pet require vet treatment at any time in their lives (providing the pet insurance policy has not lapsed, your policy has been renewed each year, and your premiums have been paid and are up to date).
You need to decide how much protection you want to give your cat or dog and decide on the level of pet insurance cover accordingly.
The cost of your pet's vaccinations aren't included on your insurance policy but they are an essential part of keeping your pet healthy.
If your cat or dog falls ill due to something that could have been prevented by a vaccine, your vet bills for treatment won't be covered by your policy.
Comprehensive pet insurance covers vet fees for illness and injury. It doesn't cover your cat or dog for routine, elective or preventative treatments, which include:
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Vaccinations
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Flea treatments
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Grooming
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Microchipping
Pet insurance doesn't usually cover veterinary treatment for pre-existing conditions. This includes any illnesses and injuries that developed or showed signs of developing before you took out your pet cover.
Yes, at Purely Pets, we believe that every animal deserves the best protection, which is why we provide cover from 8 weeks old.
Your beloved pet is entitled to similar policy benefits whether they are 8 weeks or years old. However, things such as death from an illness has an age restriction.
Cover from Purely Pets includes dental treatment for accident only in the first year of the policy, dental illness is covered from year 2 onwards.
If dental treatment is needed because of a new illness or injury, it will be covered from year 2 onwards. Routine dental care and pre-existing oral conditions aren't covered.
Read your policy and cover limits carefully to understand the level of dental cover included in your plan.
Multiple pets can be insured and their policies can be linked but each pet will have their own benefit limits. Therefore, any claims that may happen will not impact the other pet’s policy.
Why are visits to the vet important for our pets?
Jennifer Macindoe, BVMS MRCVS
Veterinary SurgeonRegular vet visits are important to ensure pets remain healthy and that any abnormalities are detected as early as possible. Many conditions, such as heart or eye disease, are only identified during a full physical exam.
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According to the Association of British Insurers report, the average cost of Pet Insurance in 2023 was £389 annually, whilst the average claim was £668 - nearly 50% higher than the cost of the average policy.
Depending on the type of pet cover you choose, you can be covered for vets bills for accidents, illness, or both up to a fixed monetary amount. Many policies will give you added benefits such as cover for dentistry, loss of pet, third party liability and overseas travel.
Pet insurance doesn’t normally cover you for any conditions that already exist before you purchase, so always check this if are looking to move to a new provider or if you are taking out insurance for the first time but your pet has pre-existing medical conditions.
There will also generally be an excess (a fixed amount that you contribute to any claim) or a co-payment excess (normally a percentage of the total claimed amount that you will contribute to any claim) on your policy that you will have to pay.
Other common exclusions for pet insurance are breeds listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, cover for elective, routine or cosmetic treatment and cover for illness or accidents within a specified waiting period.
We offer 15 levels of Lifetime Cover at Purely Pets to suit you and your pets needs. This allows you to find a policy that can suit your requirements and budget.
These policies offer cover for accidents and illnesses for the pet’s lifetime. This is dependent upon you renewing the policy each year and keeping up to date with premiums. These are usually the most expensive policies, because they provide the most comprehensive cover. All of our Lifetime policies offer you a pot of money per year that will cover all accidents and illnesses. We only offer Lifetime cover to our customers as we believe it is the most comprehensive cover available. Like humans, our pets are more likely to be affected by illness as they get older. This means that every year your insurance premium will increase even if you haven’t made a claim. This increase will be significant if you have claimed.
Purely Pets can provide you with an online quote for your pet in minutes. With a range of lifetime options available offering vets fees cover from £1,000-£15,000 and the option to choose your excess we can help you find the right cover for you and your pet at a price that suits you. We also have a specialist Pet Insurance team that you can call to get a quote or discuss your options in more detail on 0330 102 5748.