Best pet insurance providers 2025

Best pet insurance policies and providers compared

• Want the best pet insurance policy or insurer? Use our tables below, then go to Confused.com or another comparison site, or you can go direct to the insurer.
• Want the cheapest pet insurance policy or insurer? Follow the links to Confused.com, or another comparison site, to get a list of policies. Then check what the policies scored by searching our tables.

Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.

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Best pet insurance policies

In total, we named 40 cat and dog insurance policies as Best Buys. Here we've taken a deeper look at the top performers:

Agria Lifetime Premium

• 83% policy score for dog cover and 82% for cat cover This placed it second of 160 cat policies and joint-second out of 169 dog policies.
• 70% customer score This placed it top of the nine insurers we had customer scores for.  

We like: One of the highest vet fee limits available, at £20,000 per year. The cap includes costs for scans and also £750 for therapy provided by a behaviourist. 

We don't like: As with most (but not all) policies, conditions that started before the policy was taken out are excluded.

• Read our expert review of Agria pet insurance

Kennel Club Lifetime Premium

• 83% policy score for dog cover This placed it joint-second of 169 policies reviewed.  

We like: Administered and underwritten by Agria insurance (see above for its best own-brand policy), the Kennel Club's Lifetime Premium cover has the highest annual vet fee limit in the policies we rated, at £25,000 per year. Plus, customers have access to a 24-hour vet video call service at no extra cost.

We don't like: The policy offers £3,000 holiday cancellation cover – but you can only claim if your dog needs immediate emergency lifesaving treatment. With some other policies, the criteria allow for additional situations – for example, if the pet is 'seriously unwell', or goes missing.

• Read our expert review of Kennel Club pet insurance

What does pet insurance cover?

Not all policies will include all these types of cover, and limits and exclusions might apply. See our individual insurer reviews for more details.

Vet fees

• Most policies cover the cost of vet fees and certain medical expenses, and can range from £1,000 to as much as £25,000 a year. 
• Policies aren't likely to cover routine treatments, or expenses connected with pet pregnancy and giving birth.
• Most pet insurers offer cover if your pet needs dental work. Some policies cover treatment needed as a result of injuries or illnesses. However, some won't cover illness.

Overseas travel cover

• Most pet insurance policies will provide cover if your pet falls ill, is involved in an accident, or needs veterinary treatment when abroad.

Cattery and kennel fees

• If you are hospitalised and there's no one else to look after your pet, your pet insurance provider will pay for your pet to be put in a cattery or a kennel. You usually have to be in hospital for at least two to four consecutive days.

Missing pets

• Most pet insurance providers cover the cost of putting up posters and paying a reward if your pet goes missing.

Third-party liability (dog-only policies)

• If you have a dog, your pet insurance policy should pay out if your dog injures a third party or damages their property.

This covers legal costs, expenses and the claimant's expenses. Cats don't need third-party cover as legally they are considered 'free spirits'.

Death by accident or illness

• If your pet dies, you can claim for an amount reflecting what you paid or the financial value of the pet.
• Most pet insurance policies have an age limit for this part of the cover – around eight years is fairly common but it can be as low as five.

Find out more: pet insurance explained

 What are the different types of pet insurance?

Only lifetime policies can get our Best Buy recommendation, but we've rated all the different types of policy.

Lifetime cover pet insurance

Lifetime cover is the most comprehensive pet insurance. It pays out for ongoing issues your pet might have throughout its life.

• Annual cover has a maximum overall limit that includes all conditions your pet could experience (provided they're not excluded), which resets each year. Some policies might also have a lower maximum amount you can claim per year for any single condition.
• Per condition per year has a maximum limit for specific conditions that your pet might have, which resets each year.

Both types cover ongoing illnesses every year, unless you cancel your policy.

Non-lifetime cover pet insurance

Non-lifetime cover is less comprehensive and excludes certain conditions after you hit your claims limit.

• Per condition cover (also commonly referred to as 'max benefit' cover) pays a limited amount for each condition, and the condition is excluded from future payouts once the limit has been reached.
• Time-limit per condition cover has both a per-condition limit and a time limit, typically 12 months, before the condition is excluded.

With a time-limit policy, even if your cash limit for a particular condition wasn't reached, the condition would eventually be excluded after 12 months.

Accident-only pet insurance

This provides a fixed sum of money for each accidental injury to help pay for your pet's treatment. It's the cheapest type of pet insurance policy but entirely excludes cover for illness.

Get pet insurance right the first time

Dean Sobers, Which? insurance expert, says:

'When buying pet insurance, you want to make the right choice the first time round, as switching later on can mean sacrificing cover for conditions your pet has developed.

'The most weighty aspect of our analysis is what it will pay for vet bills – the fundamental purpose of pet insurance. But even this is more complicated than a headline figure, as some policies offer an annual allowance, while others give total limits for specific conditions. We only give our Best Buy recommendation to lifetime policies – those that commit to making an ongoing contribution towards all of your pet’s covered conditions throughout its life. Among our latest batch of Best Buys are policies offering between £4,000 and £25,000 a year. 

'We can’t tell you which policy will be the best fit for you. But our scores and reviews allow you to see which are the most comprehensive, how they compare in key areas, and what real customers have said about their insurer – all of which can help you to decide.'

Read: how to find cheaper pet insurance

More on pet insurance

Read more about cat insurance and dog insurance in our dedicated guides, or see these answers to frequently asked questions:

 About Which?'s pet insurance research

For cats

In November 2024, we analysed 160 insurance policies covering cats. We examined the amount they paid out in vet fees, as well as other benefits they provide, such as costs for holiday cancellation, dental cover, and advertising and reward  to help find your pet if it goes missing.

We compared 31 features of these insurance policies, plus the amount each pays in vet fees, to create a policy score. The higher the score, the more comprehensive the policy's cover.

Policies that we've named as Best Buys are all lifetime policies that did well in our analysis of cover, scoring at least 70%. In addition:

• Each will pay out a minimum of £2,000 per year in vet fees.
• Each will pay out a minimum of £1,000 for any single condition in a year, if an annual condition limit applies.
• They all also provide dental cover for both accidents and illnesses.

For dogs

In November 2024, we analysed 169 insurance policies covering dogs. We examined the amounts they paid out in vet fees, as well as other benefits they provide, such as costs for holiday cancellation, dental cover, and advertising and reward to help find your pet if it goes missing.

We compared 34 features of these insurance policies, plus the amount each pays in vet fees, to create a policy score. The higher the score, the more comprehensive the policy's cover.

Policies that we've named as Best Buys are all lifetime policies that did well in our analysis of cover, scoring at least 70%. In addition:

• Each will pay out a minimum of £2,000 per year in vet fees.
• Each will pay out a minimum of £1,000 for any single condition in a year, if an annual condition limit applies.
• They all also provide dental cover for both accidents and illnesses.

Customer service

In November 2023, we carried out a survey of 1,300 Which? members that own pet insurance. Customers were asked how satisfied they were with their provider, and how likely they would be to recommend it. We used answers to these questions to generate our customer score.

Claims scores are based on responses from 758 Which? members who have claimed on pet insurance in the past five years (survey carried out in November 2021). Respondents were asked how satisfied they were with their most recent claim and how likely they would be to recommend their provider based on its claims service.

Customer Score sample sizes: Agria (35), Animal Friends (127), Direct Line (53), John Lewis (58), LV (78), Many Pets (167), Petplan (364), Sainsbury's (42), Tesco Bank (74) 

Claims Score sample sizes: Animal Friends (86), John Lewis (36), LV (40), Many Pets (92), Petplan (288), Tesco (47). Where '-' given in customer or claims score columns, we didn't receive enough responses in our survey (30) to generate the scores.

We didn't receive enough respondents in our customer survey to provide customer or claims scores for each brand considered. This means we can't assess the levels of service for each Best Buy provider. However, we haven't included providers we were able to rate that received poorer-than-average customer or claims scores. We've additionally not included other providers that, at the time of the analysis, had a poorer-than-average complaints record with the Financial Ombudsman Service.

We've also examined data published by the Financial Conduct Authority on how often pet insurers have accepted claims and how often customers making claims complained to the insurer. We've not given our Best Buy award to providers shown to accept fewer than average numbers of claims or where 10% or more claimants made a complaint. 

More questions on pet insurance? Take a look at our guides:

• Pet insurance explained
• How to find cheap pet insurance