insurance guide
Dog Insurance Guide
Why do you need insurance for your dog, and what features and exclusions are usually found in this type of pet insurance? Read our guide to find out more.
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Dog and puppy insurance to suit your pet.
Get a dog insurance quote from Healthy Pets, specialists in dog and cat insurance. Healthy Pets and Towergate are part of The Ardonagh Group.
Get a quoteCall Healthy Pets to talk directly:
Weekdays 8:30am-6:15pm, Saturday 9am-1pm
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Healthy Pets dog insurance covers vet fees; death due to injury; theft or straying; kennel fees; holiday cancellation payments; and third-party liability cover.
To make your dog insurance claim easier, Healthy Pets can pay any vet bills for your dog or puppy directly. This covers all reasonable costs for treatment of your pet by a vet due to accident, illness or disease, according to your policy cover.
Healthy Pets offer third-party liability cover as part of your dog insurance, with cover for legal liability available up to £1 million. When you're out and about with your dog, or if it is excitable or nervous when arriving in a new home, you can rest easy knowing any accidents are covered.
You can gain 20% off your dog insurance when you join Healthy Pets. Instant cover is available online. Healthy Pets pet insurance is bespoke for your dog or puppy, offering six levels of cover: Accident Only, Bronze, Silver, Gold Premium, Lifetime Extra and Lifetime Premier (details below).
| Accident Only | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Lifetime reinstatement: Extra |
Lifetime reinstatement: Premier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cover for accidents | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Cover for illness | • | • | • | • | • | |
| Vet's fees (breakdown below) |
Up to £1,000 per accident/injury | Up to £1,000 per condition | Up to £4,250 per condition | Up to £7,500 per condition | £2,000 in total in each period of insurance. £1,000 maximum for each illness or injury in each period of insurance. | £4,250 in total in each period of insurance. £3,250 maximum for each illness or injury in each period of insurance. |
| - Complementary medicine | £400 | £400 | £500 | £750 | £500 | £750 |
| - Cruciate ligament total | £500 | £1,000 | £1,500 | £1,500 | £1,000 | £1,500 |
| - Special diet | £100 | £100 | £100 | £100 | £100 | |
| - CT/MRI scans and associated costs | £500 | £875 | £1,875 | £875 | £1,875 | |
| - Dentistry as a direct result of an accident or injury | £1,000 | £4,250 | £7,500 | £2,000 | £4,250 | |
| Cover for ongoing conditions | Up to 12 months | • | • | • | • | • |
| Accidental damage | £500 | £500 | ||||
| Third-party liability | Up to £1 million (excess of £250) | Up to £1 million (excess of £250) | Up to £1 million (excess of £250) | Up to £1 million (excess of £250) | Up to £1 million (excess of £250) | Up to £1 million (excess of £250) |
| Death from illness | £500 | £1,000 | £500 | £1,000 | ||
| Death from accident | £500 | £1,000 | £500 | £1,000 | ||
| Advertising and reward | £500 | £1,000 | £500 | £1,000 | ||
| Theft or straying | £500 | £1,000 | £500 | £1,000 | ||
| Boarding kennel fees | £500 | £1,000 | £500 | £1,000 | ||
| Holiday cancellation | £500 | £2,000 | £500 | £2,000 | ||
| Overseas travel | 30 days | 30 days | 12 months | 30 days | 6 months | |
Healthy Pets know that if your dog or puppy is ill or injured it can be very stressful, so aim to make service as quick and easy as possible.
You do not need to tell Healthy Pets before your dog or puppy is treated, and payment can be delivered either to you or straight to your vet.
To make a dog insurance claim, complete and submit this online claim form request form. Healthy Pets aim to respond with a decision within 10 working days.
Healthy Pets will email you an easy-to-complete claim form to be filled in by you and your dog's vet, with a step-by-step guide.
Alternatively you can email and Healthy Pets will aim to reply within one working day, or call friendly staff who will be happy to help you:
Lines are open weekdays 8:30am-6:15pm and Saturday 9am-1pm.
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Our Maximum Benefit policies can pay up to the policy limit (£1,000, £4,250 or £7,500) for each condition, dependent on the cover selected. There is no limit on the number of conditions you can claim for over the policy lifetime. There is also no time limit on claiming for a condition, however cover for a condition will cease once the Maximum Benefit for it has been reached.
Our Lifetime pet insurance policies can pay up to the annual limit (£2,000 or £4,250) in each period of insurance. The Lifetime Extra policy is subject to a maximum limit of £1,000 for each condition in each policy year. The Lifetime Premier policy is subject to a maximum of £3,250 for each condition in each policy year. There is no limit to the number of conditions you can claim for over the policy lifetime.
Our Accident Only policy can pay up to the policy limit (£1,000) per accident over a 12 month period, subject to you renewing your policy with us and premiums being paid up to date. Cover for an accident will cease once the financial limit has been reached or after 12 months from the date of the first treatment, whichever comes first. There is no limit on the number of accidents you can claim for over the policy lifetime.
Yes. Our Maximum Benefit policies will cover your dog for its lifetime up to the maximum amount of benefit for each separate condition (£1,000, £4,250 or £7,500), subject to you renewing your policy with us and premiums being paid up to date.
Our Lifetime policies will cover your dog for its lifetime up to the maximum annual limit (£2,000 or £4,250) and the condition limit of £1,000 per condition pet policy year on the Lifetime Extra or £3,250 per condition per policy year on the Lifetime Premier.
Bronze, Silver and Gold Maximum Benefit policies will cover you for eligible ongoing conditions that start after the inception of your policy, up to the maximum benefit of your chosen level (£1,000, £4,250 or £7,500) and subject to you renewing your policy with us and premiums being paid up to date.
Our Lifetime policies will cover you for eligible ongoing conditions that start after the inception of your policy up to the annual condition limit of £1,000 on the Lifetime Extra cover or £3,250 on the Lifetime Premier cover with an annual limit of £2,000 or £4,250 dependent on your chosen level. The limits reinstate when the policy is renewed subject to the premiums being paid up to date.
Accident Only Cover provides £1,000 per accident for treatment costs for up to 12 months from the date of the first treatment after your pet is hurt in an accident, subject to you renewing your policy with us and premiums being paid up to date. Please see our Policy Benefits for more details.
If an alternative medicine or remedy is recommended by your vet to help treat your dog or puppy, then Healthy Pets will cover the cost, up to the complementary medicine limit of your chosen cover level.
Yes, by law your dog must be microchipped in order to be eligible for our dog insurance policies.
Healthy Pets' Bronze, Silver and Gold Maximum Benefit dog insurance policies will cover your dog for eligible ongoing illnesses or injuries that occur after your policy starts, up to the maximum benefit of your chosen cover level.
Healthy Pets' Lifetime Reinstatement dog insurance policies will cover your dog or puppy for eligible ongoing illnesses or injuries up to the annual limit. At renewal the limit is fully reinstated and the condition will continue to be covered.
If you have Accident Only Cover you are eligible for £1,000 per accident for your dog’s or puppy’s treatment costs, for up to 12 months from the date of the first treatment.
in all cases, cover is subject to you renewing your policy with Healthy Pets and premium payments being kept up to date.
No, insurance can be offered for puppies aged five weeks or older and your policy can continue for as long as your pet lives, subject to you renewing the policy each year and premium payments being up to date.
Healthy Pets will cover your dog’s veterinary fees throughout its lifetime and that of the policy.
Unfortunately, Healthy Pets cannot cover existing conditions which your dog or puppy has received treatment, medication or advice for, or suffered symptoms of, before your dog insurance policy began. However, any pre-existing conditions will not affect your premium cost.
Dogs and puppies aged less than five-years-old pay a fixed excess: £99.
Dogs between the age of five and six years pay a fixed excess of £99 as well as a 15% co-insurance fee.
Dogs aged six years or above pay a fixed excess of £100 excess plus a 20% co-insurance fee.
Co-insurance is a common feature in dog insurance, designed to lower the cost of premiums for aging dogs. You pay this as a contribution towards any amount claimed that is above the fixed excess.
For all dog insurance claims, you pay the excess for each illness or injury in each policy year. If one of your dogs receives treatment for the same injury or illness in separate policy years, Healthy Pets will deduct the fixed excess from the first claim(s) for each condition in each policy year.
If your dog or puppy is known to be aggressive, or has any third-party prosecutions pending, Healthy Pets are unable to offer insurance. Also, Healthy Pets cannot offer cover for any dogs that have been involved in commercial guard, security or racing activities.
Healthy Pets do not provide pet insurance for any breed that is not listed on the breed selection options when quoting.These include, but are not limited to, the following, including any dog crossed with one or more of these breeds:
| American Bandogge | American Bulldog | American Pit Bull Terrier | American Staffordshire Bull Terrier |
| Argentinean Mastiff | Bandogge Mastiff | Boerboel | Bully Kutta |
| Cane Corsos | Cao Fila | Czechoslovakian Wolfdog | Dogo Argentino |
| Dogue Brasileiro | Fila Brasileiro | Japanese Tosa | Korean Jindo |
| Lybian Desert Dog | Laika | Old Tyme Bulldog | Pit Bull Mastiff |
| Pit Bull Terrier | Sarloos Wolfhound | Tamaskan | Tosa Inus |
| Victorian Bulldog | Wolf Hybrid |
Healthy Pets and Towergate Insurance are both part of The Ardonagh Group. Healthy Pets, a trading name of Healthy Pets Limited (company number 3209135), and Towergate Insurance, a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group (company number 4043759) are registered in England at Companies House.
Healthy Pets Ltd and Towergate Underwriting Group are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and both companies are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority using the reference numbers 311749 and 313250 respectively. For more information visit the FCA website or contact the FCA on 0800 111 6768.