Helpucover Pet Insurance Review

You must be resident in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man
Your pet must be micro chipped and be taken for regular annual check ups and ensure your pet is vaccinated with licensed products as recommended by your vet. Any recommended advice from your vet must be carried out within 6 months.

For new quotes, your pet must be older than 8 weeks and younger than 8 years of age in respect of dogs (*certain dog breeds must be younger than 5 years of age) , younger than 10 years of age in respect of cats and 5 in respect of rabbits.

* Certain dog breeds means Beauceron, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bull Mastiff, Bulldog, Deerhound, Dogue de Bordeaux, Estrela Mountain Dog, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, Leonberger, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Old English Bulldog, Old English Sheepdog, Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Shar Pei, St Bernard, Standard Poodle, Tibetan Mastiff and Utonagan.

Helpucover offer six different policies:

Essential covers vet fees up to £1,000 per condition for a maximum of 12 months.
Standard covers vet fees up to £1,000 per condition with no time limit.
Standard Plus covers vet fees up to £3,000 per condition with no time limit. (Standard plus cover not available for cats)
Vital covers vet fees up to £2,000 per year (limited to £500 per condition) which can be reinstated annually.
Classic covers vet fees up to £4,000 per year (limited to £1,000 per condition) which can be reinstated annually.
Premier covers vet fees up to £6,000 per year which can be reinstated annually.

This is a list of the most important exclusions. Helpucover pet policies do not cover;

1. Routine, preventative or investigative treatments, tests, including pre-operative blood tests, unless these are required to diagnose a specific insured condition.
2. Cosmetic Surgery.
3. Spaying, Castration, or the removal of Dew Claws.
4. Treatment relating to retained testes if your pet is over the age of 16 weeks.
5. The cost of vaccinations or any complications arising from them.
6. Parasite control treatments, including flea treatments (unless used to treat a skin condition in which case Helpucover will pay for the cost of 1 treatment).
7. Grooming and nail clipping or any complications arising from these treatments.
8. Pregnancy, Giving Birth or breeding and or any related complications.
9. Out of hours treatment, house calls or ambulance fees, unless recommended by your vet.
10. Any treatment preventable by vaccine, but which you failed to vaccinate for.
11. Treatment for deliberate injury or illness caused by you or anyone living with you.
12. Claims because of your pet fighting where they have a history of treatments following fighting and or a fight between one or more of your pets residing at your address.
13. Transplants (including stem cell transplants), prostheses and any associated treatment, including the provision of a support and mobility aids.
14. The cost of more than one protective collar (or cone), protective dog boot (one per foot), protective shirt or harness per treatment.
15. Any claim arising from worrying or chasing livestock or where your pet has been used as a guard dog, gun dog, farm dog, emergency rescue dog or as a dog used for racing or for security purposes.
16. Any dog that is required to be registered under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or any American Bulldog, American Indian Dog, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bandog, Boerboel, Bully Kutta, Canary Dog, Cane Corso, Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, Dingo, Dogo Argentino, Dogue Brasileiro, Fila Brasileiro, Gull Dong, Husky Wolf Hybrid, Irish Staffordshire Blue Bull Terrier, Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Pit Bull Terrier, Saarlooswolfhound, Tosa, Tosa Inu, Wolf Hybrid, Wolfdog, or any dog crossbred with any of these breed.

All Helpucover Pet Insurance policies cover Complementary Treatments up to £750. The amount is below the industry average for this type of cover

Complementary treatments covers therapies such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, osteopathy, massage and healing, acupuncture or chiropractic treatment.

All policies cover up to 25% of the cost of clinical diets for a maximum of 6 months per treatable condition.

Any treatment must be recommended by your vet but excludes obesity or weight loss.

All policies cover dental treatments and any related conditions, but only if the treatment is to relieve suffering due to illness or accidental injury, was not recommended and undertaken within the first 2 years of cover.

MRI/CT Scans and Cruciate Ligament claims are covered up to the vet fees limit, depending on the level of cover chosen.

All policies cover the cost of euthanasia, as long as it was recommended or agreed by your vet.

Helpucover offer one month's free premium per policy per year, when insuring two or more pets.

There is no cover provided for existing conditions - Symptom or fully fledged condition that was investigated by a vet or known to you prior to the start of any insurance.

There is no cover for treatments or complications as a result of your pet's pregnancy, breeding or giving birth.

All policies cover you taking your pet abroad under the "PETS" scheme for a maximum of 90 days per policy year.

The policy will reimburse the cost of any pet treatment your pet has received whilst abroad, subject to the maximum benefit.

The policy does not cover Third Party Liability, Emergency Repatriation, Quarantine, or additional pet passport costs.

Your pet will not be covered for treatment in the event of accidental injury within the first 72 hours of the start of the policy.

Your pet will not be covered for treatment or if it is stolen or strays within the first 14 days of the start of the policy .

In respect of dogs the standard excess is £80, for cats it is £50 and rabbits £45.

In respect of public liability insurance the standard excess is £250.

When your dog turns 8, your cat turn 10 and your rabbit 5 years of age, you will be required to contribute an additional 25% of the cost of any claim.

For example if your pet was a dog and your claim was for £500, you would be required to pay £80 plus 25% totalling £185.

Although the website is quite basic looking, it is fully functional and provides plenty of information about helpucover's pet policies, including what's not covered, cover comparison, age limits and a comprehensive set of previously asked questions.

Helpucover do not operate live chat, but do provide a free phone number open monday - friday to contact them on.

Obtaining a quote is very quick. Prices are displayed with the level of vet fees benefit, although you don't get to compare the rest of the cover before making a choice. Access to the policy wording is provided.

The policy at 20 pages long is nicely spaced out, with each section headed in green and an index to help with navigation. A useful addition would have been a summary of cover to enable easy comparison of policies.

The Helpucover scored 53.8 out of a hundred and is classed as fairly difficult to read. Customers need a reading age of between 15 and 17 years of age to completely understand the policy.

Helpucover do not appear on comparison sites. Visit their site direct to get quotes.

As a policyholder you are entitled to free access to PetCall a 24/7 pet health helpline.

Helpucover have received 29 reviews from trustpilot with an average rating of 2.2 out of five. Upon review most complaints appear to be about increases in renewal premium, with a few that have a claims treated as pre-existing medical conditions.

Feefo have not received any reviews within the last 12 months.

Helpucover have some reviews on their own website, but the last review was in 2017.

There are no administration charges.

Helpucover offer a 10% discount when you buy online direct from their site.

According to our research Helpucover are competitive for the lower rated policies and for younger pets. The Premier policy is a bit more expensive compared to policies offering similar cover. Premiums tend to be less competitive the older the pet.

The cover for taking your pet abroad is minimal and there are better policies available if this is an important area of cover.

An unusual benefit is the 6 months waiver of premium cover, helpful if you become unemployed.

The additional contribution of 25% required when your dog turns 8, is high compared to many other pet policies.