Understanding pet insurance renewal: key terms and tips

If you want your pet insurance cover to continue year after year, you’ll need to renew it – unless you decide to switch to another provider of course.

Often pet insurance renewal is an automatic process. Your insurer will write to you around 28 days before your pet insurance policy ends, tell you the renewal price and as long as you don’t cancel your renewal will just go ahead at the new price.

But renewal time is a good opportunity to consider your cover and whether there’s anything to change about your policy. Perhaps your personal circumstances have changed, or you want to adjust your cover level.

Key terms in pet insurance renewal

Before you have a conversation with your pet insurer, make sure you understand these pet insurance renewal terms.

Renewal premium

This is the amount you'll pay for the next year’s cover. It may differ from your previous premium due to changes in your pet’s age, health status, or adjustments in policy terms. It’s more likely to go up over time rather than down, we’re afraid.

Cover limits

These are the maximum amounts the insurer will pay out for each element of cover.

The main one will be your vet fee limit. At ManyPets we offer lifetime pet insurance which means you’ll have a vet fee limit that refreshes each year when you renew. Some other providers do things differently and have limits, for example, on each condition.

You may have separate cover limits on different types of cover as well, for example the limit for behavioural treatment might be lower than your overall vet fee limit. There might be a limit on complementary therapies, a separate limit on lost and stolen cover and so on. 

You should also check if these limits refresh upon renewal.

Exclusions

Certain conditions or treatments might be excluded from your policy. For example, most pet insurance policies won’t cover dental illnesses. 

If you are looking for pet insurance with dental cover, our Complete policy covers dental accidents and illnesses as long as your pet has regular dental check ups.

Always review exclusions at renewal to understand what isn’t covered. 

Pre-existing conditions

This is a really important one. Pre-existing conditions are health issues your pet had before the start of the policy and most pet insurers won’t cover them. 

Check how your insurer defines and handles these conditions at renewal. If you have a lifetime policy and the condition occurred while you had cover, the condition should still be covered after renewal.

But it’s a different story if you have a time-limited policy or the condition happened before you had a policy with that provider. It might not be covered, so renewal is a good time to check.

Unlike most other insurers, we can cover conditions that ended at least two years ago. We also have a policy that can cover more recent pre-existing conditions.

Excess

The excess is the amount you contribute towards the cost of a claim.

Sometimes your excess can change at renewal time, especially if your pet has reached a certain age where your insurer asks for a higher excess.

Most pet insurance policies have a co-payment clause for older pets. It’s an additional excess, typically of 20% of the claim value, that you’ll need to pay. It helps to keep the overall policy cost affordable for older dogs and cats.

Policy terms and conditions

Always read your renewal letter to understand any changes in the terms and conditions of your policy.

Your insurer should be stating any significant changes to your cover prominently in the renewal notice, so do make sure you read it carefully and don’t just look at the price.

Tips for straightforward renewal

1. Review your policy as soon as you get your renewal notice – don’t leave it until the last minute.

2. Update your information –check that all the details in your policy are up to date, including any new health conditions or your address if you’ve moved house.

3. Compare and contrast – look at other policies on the market to make sure you’re still getting the best deal for your needs. If you’re tempted to switch, just make sure you’ve thought about how that will affect cover for pre-existing conditions.

4. Consider changing policy types – If your pet’s needs have changed you might want to consider asking your insurer if you can switch to a different policy that better suits your needs. For example, one with a lower or higher vet fee limit.

5. Check for discounts – are you making the most of your insurer’s offers? For example, at ManyPets we have a multi-pet discount if you have two or more cats and dogs and our MoneyBack option refunds 20% of your premium if you don’t need to make a claim by your next renewal.

6. Ask questions – if you’re confused or worried about your renewal terms, get in touch with your insurer and ask them to explain.

Renewals at ManyPets

We hope you’ll be happy with your renewal letter and we always try to avoid jargon and make it as easy to understand as possible.

If you’d like to change your cover level, add optional extras or need to tell us about changes in details, just log into your online account, or get in touch.