Direct Line Pet Insurance Review

At the start of the policy;

Your pet must be older than 8 weeks and younger than 10 years, and be in good health.

You must be the owner of the pet and it must live with you at an address in the United Kingdom.

You must take proper care and pay to have a dental health check every year and any other treatment recommended by your vet to prevent injury or illness.

Your pet must have no vicious tendencies.

Direct Line offer two different policies;

Essential - Covers vet fees up to £4,000 per condition, but limited to a maximum of 12 months.

Advanced - Covers vet fees up to £8,000 per separate condition.

This is a list of the most important exclusions. Direct Line Pet Insurance does not cover;

1. Your pet being used for commercial, guard, breeding, gun dog use, security or working purposes, or for
   racing.
2. Any claim caused by your pet worrying livestock of any kind, including horses whether kept for working
   or leisure purposes.
3. Any claim as a result of an illness that can be transmitted between animals and humans or that should be reported
   to an authority such as rabies.
4. Routine treatment, examinations, tests or diagnostic, procedures, prescribed general health supplements.
   Bathing, grooming or de-matting.
5. Routine vaccinations, flea treatment, wormers, nail clipping, spaying, castration, retained testicles.
6. Any treatment to do with pregnancy or your pet giving birth and any complications that may happen as a result.
7. The cost of medication, supplements or, pheromones to modify or manage your, pet’s behaviour, whether as a result of a
   condition or not, such as Zylkene, Feliway and Adaptil.
8. Treatment for behavioural problems, training or therapy, or for any conditions arising as a result.
9. Any prescription fees unless you have purchased your pet’s medication from Direct Line's preferred supplier, Pet Drugs Online, when the most Direct Line will pay is £15.
10. House/out of hours calls, or hospitalisation, unless the vet can confirm that it was absolutely essential.
11. Any form of housing (such as a cage or basket) or bedding.
12. Any dog listed under the dangerous dogs act 1991.
13. Any claim for death from illness for dogs aged nine years and older or cats aged 11 years and older.

Direct Line cover complementary treatments that included in the overall vet fees limit. Complementary treatments are classed as "Manipulative or other alternative therapies carried out by a suitable qualified person, specifically recommended by your vet.

The policy does have some inner limits which you should be aware of

1. Up to £110 towards additional out of hours, fees for each separate out of hours visit, needed as a result of the condition.
2. Up to £70 towards histology fees including, any handling and interpretation fees.
3. Up to £70 towards cytology fees including any handling and interpretation fees.
4. Up to £35 per session towards hydrotherapy and physiotherapy fees, up to maximum of 15 sessions per condition.
5. Up to £45 towards consultation fees per separate visit.
6. Up to £30 towards the cost of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) charges for any services they provide.

Neither policy covers the cost of Prescription food of any description.

The Essential policy covers dental treatment as a result of accidental external injury or illness, provided it can be proved as the direct cause of treatment and your pet has had a dental check in the last 12 months.

The Advanced policy covers dental treatment caused by tooth or gum disease, as long as your pet has had a dental check in the last 12 months.

Both policies cover MRI/CT Scans and Cruciate Ligament claims up to the vet fees limit.

The Essential Policy does not cover the cost of putting your pet to sleep.

The Advanced policy cover the cost of putting your pet to sleep, provided it has been recommended by your vet to prevent further suffering.

Neither policy cover the costs of cremation or burial.

If you have multiple four-legged friends, Direct Line lets you insure them all together on one policy with a combined monthly premium and one renewal date and enjoy a 12.5% discount in the process.

Direct Line Pet Insurance will not cover your pet's pre-existing medical conditions. These are described as any condition or symptom, signs of injury or illness, that existed in any form before the start of the insurance.

Direct Line specifically excludes any treatment in connection with pregnancy, or your pet giving birth or any complications that arise.

If you choose the optional benefit, cover can be extended whilst you take your pet abroad.

In addition to including emergency vet fees, the policy covers holiday cancellation up to £5,000, additional quarantine costs up to £1,500, Emergency Repatriation costs up to £300, Loss of passport up to £250, The cost of putting your pet to sleep whilst on a journey and reasonable costs of repeat tapeworm treatments.

Cover is for a maximum of 30 days per journey and 3 journeys per 12 month period and is only valid if all the criteria of the Government Pet Travel Scheme are adhered to.

Direct Line will not cover any illness that arose within the first 14 days of the commencement of the policy.

If your pet is lost or stolen, you are entitled to claim after 45 days have passed and your pet has still not been found.

You are required to pay the first £95 of any claim in respect of dogs and £80 in respect of cats.

Direct Line are one of the few Pet Insurers that do not insist on a % co-payment towards claims, as your pet gets older.

The website is modern looking and provides plenty if relevant information about their policies, including a comparison of cover, highlighted benefits and exclusions. You have access to some frequently asked questions, although the virtual assistant did not seem to understand specific questions.

However Direct Line do have live web chat which is extremely useful, although you have to answer several questions before being directed to an available agent. Waiting time was under one minute!

Unlike Direct Line travel insurance, The pet insurance quotation software is modern, well laid out and easy to use.

The policy wording is 28 pages long. All exclusions are printed in Red, so you can see easily what is and isn't covered. A summary of cover is provided, along with an index to help navigation. Useful contact numbers are provided at the back.

Although the layout is relatively simple, during tests the text scores for difficulty to read varied between 48.4 and 66.3 out of 100, which meant that some of the text was difficult to read and some classed as standard reading. The average reading age required to understand the policy was between 14 and 19 years of age.

The Direct Line brand is famous for the fact they don't appear on any comparison sites. Visit them direct to get a quote.

All Direct Line policyholders have free access to PawSquad, offering live chat and video calls with UK vets who can answer your questions, including 24/7 advice from a UK qualified vet wherever you are, video calls enabling vets to see your pet face-to-face and text chat with the option to upload images.

You also have access to Drugs Online, Find a vet, Bereavement counselling and legal advice.

Direct Line have partnered up with Reevoo to collate all verified customer reviews. Currently 2307 reviews have averaged a rating of 8.9/10 where the majority of customers are happy with the service that has been provided.

As a comparison Trust Pilot have received 4846 reviews. Although based on all types of insurance that Direct Line offer, the rating of 4.2/5 backs up the Reevoo reviews.

Direct Line do not make administration charges in relation to their Pet Insurance.

Direct Line are currently offering 12 months cover for the cost of 9 on both their pet insurance policies.

We awarded the Advanced policy 5 stars as having above average levels of cover.

According to our research Direct Line policies are in line when comparing similar levels of cover with the average cost of pet insurance. They become much more competitive, with the optional extras stripped out, so if you are really only bothered about the vet fees cover, then this could be a good policy to have a look at.

The vet fees section does have quite a few inner limits, such as consultation fees and prescription fees, so make sure you are aware of them when making choosing.

Direct Line are one of the few Pet Insurers that do not insist on a % co-payment towards claims, as your pet gets older. This could end up saving you money, if you needed to make multiple claims.