Puppy insurance

We can cover puppies from just four weeks old. You can also choose the start date for your plan, so if you know the date that you’ll be welcoming your puppy home, you can get your insurance to start as soon as they arrive. Just remember: you can't claim for accidents in the first 48 hours or for illnesses in the first 14 days of your plan.

Your puppy can explore your garden straight away as long as it’s safe (check those fences!), and as long as your vet says it’s fine and the garden isn’t used by unvaccinated dogs. With that said, it’s a good idea to wait until a week after their second vaccinations before taking them out for walks.

It’s important to make sure you follow your vet’s advice on vaccinations and on taking care of your puppy before they’re fully protected. Diseases like distemper and parvovirus can be devastating for pet parents should they fall ill before they’ve been vaccinated.

Vaccinations aren’t covered by your puppy insurance plan because they’re classified as routine procedures. 

It’s a misconception about puppy health insurance that you won’t have to worry about cover for pre-existing conditions because they’re too young to have been poorly in the past.

Sadly dogs can develop an illness at any age, and some pups will be born with health issues. And as soon as they’re noted by a vet on your puppy’s veterinary records, they’ll become pre-existing conditions for insurance purposes if you don’t already have a plan.

That’s one of the reasons why we cover pups from four weeks old: we want you to have peace of mind from the moment they join your family.

If a vet has noticed a health condition in your pup before you have cover, the good news is we can still cover it in two ways:

1. A Complete Care, Standard Care or Essential Care plan won’t cover the condition until it's without signs, symptoms, treatment, medication or advice for two or more years before the policy start date.

2. If you’re insuring an older pup who’s had a health issue within this time, our Standard Care Pre-existing plan might be suitable. They just have to have been free from signs, symptoms, treatment, medication or advice for three months before your policy start date.

Some breeders and rescues send their pups to new homes with a few weeks’ insurance cover, but you’ll need to check any documents carefully to find out what you’re getting, and how long it lasts. If you arrange cover with us as soon as your free puppy insurance expires, you’ll be covered for most things after a waiting period of 14 days for illness and 48 hours for accidents. Check your policy wording for more details.

All of our plans have some lost and stolen cover, with Complete Care having up to £6,000 for advertising and reward costs.

A puppy’s breed is one of the factors insurers look at when working out your insurance price.

The most expensive puppies vary from year to year. But typically, you’ll find these breeds on the “most expensive puppies to own” lists:

• English Bulldog

• French Bulldog

• Golden Retriever

• Rottweiler

Good question! Here’s what we recommend early on:

• Register your puppy with a vet in the first couple of weeks

• Ask a vet to give your puppy a check-up, where you’ll discuss their history

• Make sure you vaccinate your puppy

• Get them microchipped (it’s a legal requirement)

• Provide your puppy with a healthy diet and make sure their nutrition is in check

• Exercise them appropriately

Yes – Standard Care, Standard Care Pre-existing and Complete Care plans include dental cover for accidents and illness.

But Essential Care doesn't cover dental illness, and has up to £1k for dental accidents.

Make sure you read your handbook carefully before getting a plan.