Why you should renew your pet insurance with us

Almost a quarter of a million pet owners renewed their insurance policies with us In 2021.

The start of a new year is the most popular time for pet owners to buy or renew their pet insurance. And when your insurance policy comes up for renewal, it’s a perfect time to think about the cost and benefits of your policy.

When your renewal email drops into your inbox, you’ll probably think about whether you’re still getting good value for money or if you’d be better off cancelling.

Before you do, think about how you'd cope with a big vet bill.

Should I keep paying for pet insurance?

With other household bills to pay and the cost of living increasing, you might think that you can do without pet insurance to save a bit of money.

But for most of us the sudden shock of a big vet fee bill could cause enormous financial strain.

Figures from the (ABI) revealed that the average pet insurance claim was £817 in 2020, compared with £486 in 2010.

In fact, that’s one of the reasons pet insurance prices tend to increase each year – the cost of veterinary treatment is also on the up, which could make it even harder to pay for if you don’t have cover.

Self-insuring to cover vet bills

Some pet owners decide to ‘self-insure’ by saving a pot of money each month for vet fees. But it can take a while to save up enough spare cash, while accidents or illness can happen at any time.

There’s always the risk of not having saved enough money if you suddenly have a big vet bill to pay.

Here’s what one of our customers, Sheelagh in Manchester, said on Feefo in January 2022.

“We have had pet insurance for six years, not made any claim, and were thinking about stopping it as our little Cairn Terrier, Ruby was in great health. Then disaster, illness, x-rays, scans, an operation and four nights in a hospital. Total cost £4,500!

"It was a very, very, stressful week where the least of our problems, due to our insurance, was finance. We could discuss the best treatment for Ruby without the cost coming into it. What can I say, ManyPets were brilliant.”

Vets can do so much more for pets, but treatment costs can quickly mount up and it’s easy for pet owners to underestimate the amount of money needed.

In the long run, pet insurance can still work out cheaper than saving some money each month.

Insuring pre-existing conditions

If you become uninsured after not renewing and then take out a new policy later, make sure you understand how you’ll be covered for  previous health problems.

If your pet needs vet treatment for an illness you’ve previously claimed for, you’ll probably find you can’t get insured for the condition with a new company, as it will be excluded on the policy.

The benefit of renewing a lifetime pet insurance policy is that consultations or treatment for a condition will continue to be covered as long as you renew.

All of our policies are lifetime pet insurance. That means the limit resets to the full amount each year you renew. Our vet fee cover with our Complete policy is £15,000 – one of the highest on the market.

If you’re new to us, or you want to come back to us, we have a Pre-existing policy that’ll cover your pets pre-existing conditions up to £1,500 for the first two years.

And on all our policies we’ll cover your pet’s previous illnesses that ended at least two years ago, even if you’ve just switched to us or had a break in your cover where you didn’t renew.

Most other insurers will exclude all previous conditions, even if they ended long ago.

Unlimited, 24/7 video vet calls with FirstVet at no extra cost

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Pet insurance with perks

If you’re thinking of switching insurance or not having insurance anymore, don’t forget all the extras you might miss out on.

We have a flexible range of policies with lots of additional features and extras. We’ve made our claims process for customers as easy as possible and you can claim online without the fuss of filling out forms.

We give you unlimited online access to UK-registered vets, so that you can get fast, expert advice if your pet looks unwell or has an injury.  

Cat and dog owners voted us Pet Insurance Provider Of The Year in the 2021 Moneyfacts Consumer Awards and we were Best Pet Insurance Provider in the 2020 Insurance Choice Awards.

More ways to save money on your pet insurance

You can save a bit more if you have more than one cat or dog. Our multi-pet discount of up to 15% is one of the biggest multi-pet discounts in the UK.

And if you’ve felt in the past that you haven’t had good value from your insurance because your pet’s stayed healthy, our MoneyBack optional extra will give 20% of your premium back at the end of your policy year if you haven’t needed to claim. Just ask to add it at renewal time.

You can also sign up for our tailored monthly Flea, tick and worm plan delivered to your door at a discount. Each box contains essential preventative treatments to protect pets from fleas, worms and ticks. Each monthly delivery means you don’t need to visit your vet to get these treatments.

Price and cover levels are important factors to consider, but you should also think about the added benefits and features that come with your pet insurance too.

If your insurance is coming up for renewal, will you get the same additional features with a new company? And if you no longer want insurance for your pet, will you still be able to cover any unexpected vet fees in the future?

Pet insurance with up to £15,000 lifetime vet fee cover.

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