4Paws is NCI Insurance's pet insurance brand. NCI offers a range of insurance products, including pet.
NCI bought Axa’s well-established pet insurance division in 2014. The move attracted quite a lot of criticism from Axa customers, who were worried their premiums would go up, particularly for pets with existing medical conditions.
You can get a quote on the 4Paws website here.
More about NCI....
NCI previously traded under the name Vets4Pets, but that was changed in 2013.
4Paws offers three types of cover, each with a range of cover levels:
Time limited – A time-limited policy is designed to help with the initial costs of veterinary treatment. 4Paws offers £1,000, £2,000 or £3,000 in vet fees cover for up to 12 months per incident. It includes up to £1m in third party liability per year (for dogs only).
Maximum benefit – This is a per-condition and includes £1,000, £2,000, £3,000 or £7,000 of vet fees per condition. There are a number of other policy features such as public liability, cover for death and loss from theft or straying, and holiday cancellation.
Lifetime – As the name suggests, this is a lifetime policy and includes £1,000, £2,000, £4,000, £7,000 or £12,000 in vet fees per year, up to £750 per year complementary treatment cover, up to £1,000 per year for boarding fees and advertising and reward respectively, and up to £3m in third party liability per year (for dogs only).
ManyPets only offers lifetime pet insurance policies because we don't want your cover to run out while you still need it. Lifetime pet insurance gives you an annual vet fee limit that refreshes each year when you renew.
We offer a range of cover levels up to £15,000 with our Complete policy, which is higher than 4Paws highest level of lifetime cover. The Complete policy also covers dental illnesses as well as accidents. 4Paws says it covers dental accidents and illnesses "dependant on the cover level selected".
Find out more about types of pet insurance with our pet insurance FAQs.
4Paws doesn't offer a multi-pet discount. ManyPets offers a 15% discount for pets on the same policy.
| ManyPets | 4Paws | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest level of vet fee cover | £15,000 (Complete) | £12,000 (Lifetime) |
| Access to free video vet appointments | Yes (24/7 video vet calls through First Vet) | Yes (24/7 video vet calls through First Vet) |
| Claims waiting period is removed if you switch to the provider | Yes | No (14-day waiting period) |
| Lifetime cover | All policies | Some policies are time-limited or maximum benefit (per condition limit) |
| Excess payable | Once per year | Per new condition |
| Multi-pet discount | Yes – 15% (our multi-pet discount is not currently available on our Value 2k policy) | No |
| Cover for dental accidents and illness | Yes | Yes |
4Paws also offers insurance for rabbits. It provides up to £2,000 per year for veterinary fees, up to £750 per year for complementary treatment and up to £250 per year for boarding fees and advertising and reward, respectively. The rabbit has to be younger than seven at the time the policy is taken out, and an excess applies.
With almost all pet insurance companies, the cost of pet insurance varies widely depending factors like the age and breed of your pet, and which part of the UK you live in.
4Paws scores 4.5 out of five on Feefo in May 2022, but based on only 255 service ratings.
