Why can’t you insure my pet?

Getting rejected for a pet insurance policy can be a frustrating experience, and you may wonder exactly why your cat or dog can’t be covered. Here, we explain some of the reasons why your quote may be higher than expected, or your pet can’t be covered by us. We also answer other common questions around quotes and how our cover works.

 

Table of Contents

• Why won’t you cover my pet’s pre-existing conditions?
• Why don’t you cover certain breeds of cats and dogs?
• Why is my quote so expensive?
• Where can I see a list of accepted or unacceptable pets?
• I’m confused about bill sharing, how does that help me if I’m paying more of the bill?
• What do I do if I’m having technical issues getting a quote online?

 

Why won’t you cover my pet’s pre-existing conditions?

We’re sorry to hear that your pet’s pre-existing conditions have been rejected. Unlike some of our competitors, we’re proud to be able to offer pre-existing conditions cover.

While we can’t cover every illness, we’re always listening to your feedback to increase the list of conditions we can insure and the level of cover we can offer. So please try applying for a quote with us again in the future.

 

Why don’t you cover certain breeds of cats and dogs?

Our mission is to be able to cover as many breeds of cats and dogs as we can, so we’re always reviewing and adding to our list of accepted breeds. This means that although we may not be able to cover your pet’s breed right now, we may be able to cover them in the future.

Please be aware that we aren’t able to cover any dogs listed under the Dangerous Dog Act. You can see the details of what breeds we can’t cover on our excluded breeds page.

 

Why is my quote so expensive?

It can be discouraging to see a quote for pet insurance for your dog or cat that you think is too expensive. Reasons for this may include:

• Your pet is older and has a higher risk of getting ill or needing treatment.
• Your pet’s breed is more likely to inherit breed-specific conditions.
• Your pet has pre-existing conditions which we have confirmed we can cover.
• You live in an area of the UK with more expensive vet fees.
• Your existing policy may not be a like-for-like match to a Petsure lifetime policy.
• You may have added optional extras to your policy (such as travel cover) which increased the cost of your monthly premium.

If you would like to bring down your monthly premium, you can choose to include an excess and/or bill share (co-payment) on your policy.

 

Where can I see a list of accepted or unacceptable pets?

There’s a few ways you can check if your pet’s breed is accepted by us.

Firstly, you can visit our dedicated excluded breeds page.

The second way is during the quote process, when you choose whether your pet is a pedigree or non-pedigree. After this, you can look for your pet’s specific breed using the search bar. Select the breed from the dropdown list – if it’s an excluded breed, a pop-up box will appear to say it can’t be covered by us.

If you’re still unsure, you can reach out to a friendly member of our customer team on 033 0058 5134 and they will be happy to advise.

 

I’m confused about bill sharing, how does that help me if I’m paying more of the bill?

A bill share is where you pay a percentage of the cost of a claim, after any excess has been deducted.

Other insurers call this a ‘co-payment’ and it is completely optional with a Petsure policy. Some of our competitors make it compulsory for certain products or when your pet reaches a certain age.

Some people choose to include a bill share on their policy because:

• It can make premiums more affordable, particularly for older pets or those with accepted medical conditions.
• They can afford to pay some but not all of a vet fee bill, and also want a cheaper monthly policy.

 

If you’re wondering how bill share works, here’s an example:

Valid claim amount for one condition: £700
> Minus £100 excess = £600
> Minus a 10% bill share of this remaining fee (£60) = £540

To summarise, here is what’s paid by you and us for the claim:

• You would pay your excess (£100) and your 10% bill share (£60) = £160
• We would pay the remaining amount of the claim (£700 – £160) = £540

Although you pay your bill share for each claim, you will only pay one excess for the same condition each year.

 

What do I do if I’m having technical issues getting a quote online?

If you’re having difficulties getting an online quote, call our customer team on 033 0058 5134 they will be happy to help.