The best no or low pet insurance excess

We’ve researched some of the top UK pet insurers to find those that offer either no or low pet insurance excess.

No pet insurance excess:

• ManyPets - Regular: £0 option for pets under 9

Low pet insurance excess:

• M&S: £50

• Purely Pets: £60

• Paws and Claws: £60

• Tesco: £60

• John Lewis: £60

• ManyPets: Regular £69,  Complete: £69, Value: £69

Owners with pets under 9 have a choice of a £69, £99, £130 and £160 excess on a selection of our policies and a £0, £69 or £99 excess on our Regular policy.

When your pet is 9 you will pay 20% of each claim plus a £99 excess. On most of our policies excess is only paid once a policy year if you claim.

How did we conduct our research?

In February 2020 we updated our list of low pet insurance excess.

Information on the insurance providers from our list include sections that were accurate as of November 2018. We ran quotes for a Labrador Retriever and a Tabby Spotted cat to find the cheapest excess offered.

We used comparison websites and filtered for low excess, and also used our Best Pet Insurance article as a guide. This helped us find the widest range of insurers possible.

As part of our research we made sure all the policies and excess on offer were the same. We analysed policy documents, insurer websites and spoke with insurance representatives where necessary.

What is excess in pet insurance?

A policy excess is an amount you must pay towards a pet insurance claim. The amount can vary between insurers and you often have an option to pay a higher excess to reduce your premium. This is useful as it gives you the chance to control your costs.

You should remember that if you make a claim, the excess will be deducted from the total amount of the claim. So it might not be worth claiming for vet fees that are lower than your excess.

The excess is often applied to each new condition you make a claim for in a policy period. If you’re claiming for a continued condition in the same policy period it's likely the excess will only be applied once.

With ManyPets you only pay one excess per policy year, regardless of how many conditions you claim for.

Your excess is likely to increase once your pet turns 8 or 9. Insurers can also ask you to pay a percentage of each claim, known as a co-payment. This will be in addition to your excess payment.

Insurers can also remove the excess completely and ask that you pay a higher percentage; or alternatively that you to pay the higher of the two.

You should expect to see an increase in your excess as your pet gets older because they’re more likely to become ill, meaning higher claim payments for insurers. Insurers recoup losses made through claims through increased premiums and excess charges. These charges are passed onto pet owners of higher risk pets.

Pet insurance with no excess

ManyPets offers a zero excess on its Regular policy when you buy before your pet turns 9. It's a lifetime policy that offers £7,000 of vet fee cover that resets every year. You’ll pay no excess when you make a claim if your pet is under 9.

When your pet turns 9 you will pay 20% of each claim plus an excess of £99. Our £69, £99, £130, and £160 excess options are also available for pets under 9 and could help reduce your premium.

If you buy when your pet is 9 or over, your policy will have a fixed excess of £99, which is paid once a policy year if you claim, plus 20% of each claim.

You will be charged only one excess per year if you claim. After that, you can claim as many times as you like within that polilcy year and won't be charged an excess payment

Here are some more details of ManyPets's zero-excess option:

There is zero excess on all vet fee claims, up until your pet turns 9.

If you’ve added Travel Cover to your policy, there is no excess on claims, and your vet fee cover will be extended to the EU (please be aware, Brexit may change how cover in the EU works). You’ll also receive £1,000 of cover for other specified pet-related expenses.

If you’ve added Lost or Stolen cover, there is a zero excess, as is the same for Passing Away cover. Unfortunately, Passing Away cover is not available for pets over the age of 9 who pass away due to illness.

If you need to put your pet to sleep, be buried or cremated, there is £150 payable towards those costs. This cover is automatically included in your policy and there's no excess payable.

If you need pet minding due to an emergency, you can claim up to £1,000 towards these costs. Cover is included automatically in your policy and there will be no excess payable.

Finally, the only excess that will be applied will be £250 for legal cover relating to legal claims against you and your pet. In this case, you’re covered for up to £2,000,000.

ManyPets is the only pet insurer to offer a zero excess policy.

Pet insurance with low excess

The following five companies offered the lowest pet insurance excess on the market at the time of our research in November 2018.

M&S pet insurance: £50 excess

M&S offers three cover levels: Essential, Standard and Premier, covering vet fees ranging from £3,000 up to £7,000. The Standard and Premier are both Lifetime policies. M&S are also listed in our Best Pet Insurance for Dogs guide.

You can choose an excess of either £50, £100 or £150 which will be taken on each separate illness or injury condition claimed for.

If you choose a higher excess your premium will be lower. But remember it may mean you don’t get a lot of cash back on those smaller vet claims.

You will need to pay an excess of £250 for liability – damage to property, which was a standard amount on all the policies we examined.

You will also need to pay an excess of £50 for holiday cancellation cover where it applies.

You won’t be charged an excess if your pet is put to sleep by a vet, or for burial or cremation costs.

There is no excess if you need emergency vet treatment when you’re abroad and you’ve purchased a Premier policy. You also won’t be charged excess if you need to claim for travel expenses under the Premier policy.

Once your pet turns 9, your chosen excess will increase by another £100.

Tesco pet insurance: £60 excess.

Tesco offers Accident only, Standard, Extra £4,000 and Premier £7,000 which is a Lifetime policy There are 3 excess options: £60, £120 and £200 and it’s taken for each new accident or illness you claim for.

Tesco advises that the excesses won’t change as your pet gets older. However, your premium may increase. In this situation, you may choose to increase your excess, to reduce your premium.

You’ll need to pay a £200 excess if you visit a referral vet that’s not part of the Tesco referral network. However, if this is as a result of an emergency that threatens your pet’s life, then this charge won’t be applied.

Paws and Claws: £60 excess

Paws and Claws offers 6 policies ranging from £1,000 up to £6,000 per policy year, two of which are Lifetime. The excess is the same as Tesco’s, set at £60 and is payable per condition per year.

Once your pet reaches 8 years old you’ll also need to pay a 15% co-payment on top of your excess.

You’ll pay £250 excess for Third Party liability relating to dogs. The liability cover relates to property damage and personal injury or death caused by your dog, for which you are liable.

Purely Pets: £60 excess

Purely Pets offers five cover levels, starting from £2,000 up to £5,000 per year, two of which are Lifetime. The excess is £60 excess, which is the same as Tesco pet insurance, Paws and Claws and John Lewis.

The excess is applied for each new condition in a policy period.

Once your pet reaches 8 years, a co-payment of 15% is applied to each claim for vet fees. This is payable in addition to the standard excess.

As with the other insurers listed in this article, the excess for Third Party Liability cover is £250. This relates to personal injury, death or property damage caused by your dog.

Purely Pets and Paws and Claw’s policies are both underwritten by Ultimate Insurance Solutions Ltd.

John Lewis: £60 excess

John Lewis offers three cover levels, Essential, Plus and Premier ranging from £3,000 up to £12,000. All three policies are Lifetime cover. The minimum voluntary excess you can choose is £60. Other options of £80, £100, £140, £250 and £500 can also be chosen.

This policy offers the greatest choice of excess levels when compared to other insurers in the article. However, remember that if you choose a higher excess, it may not be worth claiming for lower vet fees.

The age of your pet doesn’t affect the excess until it turns 9. After this, you’ll pay either 20% of the claim or your chosen excess, whichever is the greater.

The excess for Third Party liability is £250. This is payable on claims paid if your dog damages property or causes personal injury or death.

ManyPets: Regular (optional £69), Complete £69, Value: £69

As well as the Regular £0 excess policy ManyPets also offers a range of other policies with the option of low £69 excess for pets under 9.

These include Complete, and Value. They are lifetime policies and excess is paid once a year for the first claim in a year and no other excess after within that year.

Regular's no-excess option is available to pets under 9. Once your pet turns 9 you will pay 20% of each new claim plus an excess of £69, £99, £130, and £160 whichever one you choose.

If you buy when your pet is 9 or over, your policy will have a fixed excess of £99, which is paid once a policy year if you claim, plus 20% of each claim.

Other insurers in our best pet insurance for dogs guide haven’t made it onto this list, because their excess is not the cheapest. These include insurers like Petplan and MoreThan

Which pet insurance companies don’t charge excess over 9 years old?

The only insurer who does not increase or change the excess for pets aged over 9 years old is Petplan. Instead, they change it when your pet reaches 10. However, Petplan does not offer the lowest pet excess on policies.

Petplan’s excess: £85

Petplan’s excess is not the cheapest. It charges £85 on its Essential policy and £110 on its Covered4Life. For Complementary Therapy, you’ll be charged £75, and for pet liability, you’ll be charged £250.

Once your pet is 10, Petplan will change the excess to 20% of your claim. If your pet is a breed with a higher risk of health problems, the excess will change when it reaches 7.

Pet excess and pre-existing conditions

ManyPets offers a policy for pets with pre-existing conditions. You'll receive £1,500 of vet cover for the first two years, and £7,000 for new conditions. Conditions that occurred in the three months before your policy starts can only be covered once they have been free from treatment, medication or advice for at least three months.

You can choose your policy excess, which ranges from £60-£160, which is payable once a year if you claim. Once your pet turns nine, you’ll pay a fixed excess.

You can also choose to pay a percentage towards any claims you make. This is known as a co-payment. The choices are 0% or 20%.

Once your pet turns nine you’ll need to pay 20% towards any claims.

ManyPets is the only insurer that will cover pre-existing conditions online. The rest of the insurers advise that customers should contact them to discuss their requirements and may not cover the condition at all.

Tips and advice on pet insurance excess

• When buying pet insurance, you should check whether the excess is charged per claim, per condition or per policy year.

• Some insurers offer various excess options – consider whether increasing your excess will save you money in the long run.

• Consider what you need your insurance for. If you want to claim for smaller bills, or if you’re only going to use your insurance for larger, more expensive bills, then this will help you to make a decision on which excess level to choose.

• Finally, as your pets get older, the excess can increase or you may be charged a percentage of a claim. Take time to calculate which option would be best for you, based on an estimated vet fee bill.