How do I find the best pet insurance?
With a huge variety of pet insurance policies on the market that pay out in vastly different ways, finding the right cover for your pet can be difficult.
So, Which? is here to help.
Our experts have analysed the details of 70 policies from the major insurers, and scored them, allowing you to compare the best and worst policies.
In addition, we've created a unique customer satisfaction score, based on 1,824 responses from Which? members who've taken out policies with these insurers, so you can find the insurers that provide the best customer service.
This review reveals which insurers came out best for cover and for customer service, and which scored miserably - the worst-rated company got a customer score of just 54%.
We also reveal the best cat and dog insurance policies to help you find the best cover for your beloved four-legged friend.
Who are best and worst pet insurance companies?
In September 2019 we surveyed Which? members who have pet insurance.
The table below, based on 1,824 responses, shows which of the 14 pet insurance providers we were able to rate have the most - and least - satisfied customers as well as how they score for six different aspects of their service. We've analysed the policies of:
- Animal Friends
- Bought by Many
- Direct Line
- E&L
- John Lewis
- Legal & General
- LV
- M&S Bank
- More Than
- NFU Mutual
- Petplan
- Sainsbury's Bank
- The Kennel Club
- Tesco Bank
You can also click through into each individual insurer to see how their pet insurance policies stack up in terms of the quality of cover they offer.
Which? members can log-in to see the results of our analysis. If you're not a Which? member, take out a £1 trial to Which? Money for one month to unlock our reviews and see the benefits of a Which? membership.
| Provider |  | Ease of application | Clarity of policy | Quality of communications | Handling queries | Dealing with concerns or complaints | Reasonably Priced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84% | | | | | - | |
|
| 79% | | | | - | - | |
|
| 72% | | | | | - | |
|
| 72% | | | | - | | |
|
| 70% | | | | | | |
|
| 66% | | | | | | |
|
| 64% | | | | | | |
|
| 64% | | | | - | - | |
|
| 63% | |
| | - | - | |
|
| 63% | | | | | | |
|
| 62% | | | | - | - | |
|
| 59% | - | | - | - | - | |
|
| 55% | | | | - | - | |
|
| 54% | | | | - | - | |
Table notes: Customer score data based on a survey of 1,824 Which? members with pet insurance in September 2019. Customer score is calculated using a combination of overall satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the provider.
'-' represents where we have insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating.
Customer score sample size: NFU Mutual (53), Bought by Many (39), LV= (88), Direct Line (82), Petplan (545), Animal Friends (188), Tesco Bank (150), The Kennel Club (52), marks & Spencer bank (57), John Lewis (101), Equine & Livestock (40), Legal & General (40), More Than (62), Sainsbury's Bank (50)
What are the best cat insurance policies?
We've analysed more than 40 cat insurance policies to help you find the best cover for your feline friend, and rated them on eight of the most important features of cat insurance:
- vet-fee cover
- euthanasia
- cremation/burial
- dental cover
- kennel fees
- advertising and reward fees
- death by accident and illness cover
- policy fees
The table below shows the highest-rated policies for each of the four types of pet insurance: annual lifetime cover, per-condition lifetime cover, per-condition non-lifetime cover and time-limited non-lifetime cover.
Find out more about how pet insurance works in our guide to pet insurance explained.
Which? members can log-in to see the results of our analysis. If you're not a Which? member, take out a £1 trial to Which? Money for one month to unlock our reviews and see the benefits of a Which? membership.
| Type of pet insurance | Provider | Policy name | Vet fee cover | Maximum age limit | Which? policy score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual lifetime cover |
|
| £12,000 | No upper age limit |
|
| Per-condition lifetime cover |
|
| £6,000 | No upper age limit |
|
| Per-condition non-lifetime cover |
|
| £13,000 | 9 years |
|
| Time-limited non-lifetime cover |
|
| £3,000 | No upper age limit |
|
What are the best dog insurance policies?
We love dogs as much as we love cats here at Which?. That's why we've run more than 30 dog insurance policies through our rigorous analysis to help you find the best quality policies for your pooch. We've rated dog insurance across eight categories:
- vet fees
- third-party liability
- kennel fees
- euthanasia
- burials and cremations
- advertising and rewards
- death by accident
- policy fees
The table below shows the highest-rated policies for each of the four types of pet insurance: annual lifetime cover, per-condition lifetime cover, per-condition non-lifetime cover and time-limited non-lifetime cover.
Which? members can log-in to see the results of our analysis. If you're not a Which? member, take out a £1 trial to Which? Money for one month to unlock our reviews and see the benefits of a Which? membership.
| Type of pet insurance | Provider | Policy name | Vet fee cover | Maximum age limit | Which? policy score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual lifetime cover |
|
| £12,000 | No upper age limit |
|
| Per-condition lifetime cover |
|
| £6,000 | No upper age limit |
|
| Per-condition non-lifetime cover |
|
| £13,000 | 9 years |
|
| Time-limited non-lifetime cover |
|
| £3,000 | No upper age limit |
|
How we calculate the best pet insurance
The customer score is based on a survey of 1,824 Which? members are worked out using a combination of overall satisfaction and likelihood of recommending the provider to a friend.
If two or more brands show the same overall score, they are ranked to the next decimal place. Providers must receive a minimum sample size of 30 to be included.
