The Insurance Emporium Pet Insurance Review

Your pet must be more than 5 weeks old.
Your pet must be owned by you and living in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
Your Pet must have a general health check and subsequent treatment recommended by the vet every 12 months, at your own cost.
Your dog must be kept in a secure area; any fences, gates and enclosures must be capable of restraining your dog and must be kept closed and locked at all times.
When Your dog is on a public highway, it must be on a collar and lead under control.
You must always take reasonable steps to prevent Accidents, Injury, Illness, loss and damage to your pet.
You must have your pet wormed regularly and protect it from infections or contagious disease by keeping it isolated.
You must also have your pet vaccinated against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus for dogs, kennel cough when entering a boarding kennel or show, and feline infections such as enteritis and cat flu for cats. You must also agree to have your pet vaccinated against any other disease your vet feels necessary.

The Insurance Emporium offer four different types of cover these are;
Accident Only policies - A benefit covering vet fees of £3,000 per accident or injury only. Claims are paid for a maximum of 12 months beginning on the date your pet first displayed clinical signs or until the benefit limit has been reached.
Time Limited policies - A choice of benefit levels covering vet fees from £1,000 - £6,000 per condition depending on the level of cover and the yearly or lunar monthly offer you choose. Claims are paid for a maximum of 12 months beginning on the date your pet first displayed clinical signs or until the benefit limit has been reached.
Maximum Benefit policies - A choice of benefit levels covering vet fees from £1,500 - £7,500 per condition depending on the level of cover and the yearly or lunar monthly offer you choose. Claims continue to be paid until the benefit limit has been reached, even if this is longer than 12 months.
Lifetime Policies - A choice of benefit levels covering vet fees from £2,000 - £8,000 per condition depending on the level of cover and the yearly or lunar monthly offer you choose. The benefit limit is for 12 months but is reinstated each year allowing continuous claims to be paid, provided you have renewed the policy.

Many complaints about pet insurance occur because a claim is refused or the settlement amount is less than the customer was expecting. Often this is due to a lack of understanding of the policy by the customer. It is essential that you read your policy wording carefully and understand the terminology.

We have produced a Pet Insurance Buyers Guide to help explain the different types of cover. We have also listed below the important exclusions that we think you should know about.

The Insurance Emporium does not cover;

1. The costs for Routine, Cosmetic, or Preventative treatment recommended by your vet.
2. Vaccinations, spaying, castration the removal of retained testicles or umbilical hernias.
3. Trimming, scaling, polishing or the removal of deciduous teeth.
4. Dematting, grooming or nail clipping.
5. The killing and controlling of fleas.
6. Any costs resulting from Your pet being overweight.
7. Claims or costs arising from your pets vicious tendencies or behavioural problems, or as a result of worrying livestock.
8. Costs incurred in undergoing diagnostic tests unless there is a clear symptom or clinical sign present.
9. Cost of buying or hiring equipment (including baskets, cages, bedding or litter).
10. The costs relating to prosthetic limbs and the fitting of prosthetic limbs except hip and/or elbow replacements, or your pet undergoing organ transplants.
11. An Injury, Illness or condition which could have been detected earlier if you had taken your pet for an annual checkup.
12. Death by illness or condition of any pet aged 8 years or over, (The Insurance Emporium will pay 50% for pets aged 6 years and over and 25% for neutered pets up to the age of 6 years.
13. Death following your pet being pregnant or giving birth.
14. Claims caused by your pet straying, escaping, damaging property, attacking the general public or other pets, if the pet has a history of doing this.
15. Any claim as a result of any sexually transmitted disease, rabies, Aujesky's disease, leishmaniasis, epidemic outbreaks whether vaccinated against or not, or any notifiable disease.
16. Your pet being used in any trade, profession or business.
17. The following breeds; Any Greyhounds used for racing, American Bandog/Bandogge Mastiff/Pit Bull Mastiff, American Pit Bull Terrier/Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Argentine Dogo/Dogo Argentino/Argentine Mastiff, Cane Corso/Italian Mastiff, Czechoslovakian Wolfdog/Czechoslovakian Vicak, Dogue Brasileiro/Brazilian Dogo, Fila Brasileiro/Brazilian Mastiff, Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa/Japanese Mastiff/Tosa Inu, Korean Jindo, Perro De Presa Canario/Presa Canario/Canary Dog, Raccoon Dog, Sarloos Wolfhound/Saarloos Wolfdog, Wolf Hybrids and any dogs that are cross breeds/types of the above.

All policies apart from Accident Only cover Complementary Treatments, described as acupuncture, homeopathic or herbal medicines, hydrotherapy (a maximum of £250), laser treatment, physiotherapy or ultrasound.

Note: all Complementary Treatment must be carried out by a vet or a qualified practitioner (who is a member of a recognised association) recommended by your vet.

All Insurance Emporium Pet policies apart from accident only policies will contribute 30p per cat and 60p per dog to assist towards the cost difference between your pet’s normal diet and any special diet prescribed by, and only available from,
a vet vet as part of the treatment to dissolve bladder stones or crystals in urine up to a maximum of £100 per condition.

There is no cover for prescription diets

They will also contribute up to £90 for house calls/out of hours calls if your vet confirms that your pet was suffering from a life-endangering Injury, Illness or Condition.
Up to £40 towards hospitalisation fees. Note: there will be a fixed deduction of 10% from any recoverable hospitalisation costs claimed for under the policy to account for the normal cost of pet ownership such as housing, bedding and food.
Up to £20 per occasion towards the cost of interpretation fees.
Up to £45 for the costs of consultation fees for each separate visit to/by the Vet as a result of the Injury, Illness or Condition. The limit is increased to £90 for referral Vets.

There is no cover for costs as a result of tooth or gum disease.

All policies provide cover up to the vet fees limit MRI/CT scans and cruciate ligament claims.

Note bilateral conditions (a condition affecting body parts of which your pet has two) are considered one condition and therefore subject to one vet fee limit.

All policies apart from accident only policies cover up to £200 for the costs of putting your pet to sleep, cremation and disposal.

The Insurance Emporium offer a discount of 10% (over and above any introductory discount) if you insure more than one dog or cat under the same policy.

The Insurance Emporium do not cover pre-existing conditions which are described as;

"An injury or illness which first showed clinical signs, happened or existed before the commencement date of your policy or is the same as or has the same diagnosis as
or is caused by, related to or results from an injury, illness or clinical signs displayed before the commencement date of your policy".

All policies exclude the costs arising from your pet being pregnant, or in relation to giving birth including false pregnancies
breeding and any claims arising as a result of these procedures.

Since leaving the European Union on the 1st January 2021, the Government PETS passport scheme is no longer valid. This has been replaced with an Animal Health Certificate, although the rules and regulations for taking your pet overseas are broadly the same.

The Insurance Emporium extends pet insurance to cover taking your pet abroad whilst in the continent of Europe for up to 100 days a year. Under this optional extension, vet fees cover is extended and additional cover is provided for quarantine expenses, loss of documents and emergency repatriation.

There is no cover for death, or costs for any illness or condition displaying clinical signs within 14 days of the commencement date of any new policy.

Each pet insurance policy has a fixed excess payable for each claim. They are as follows:
DOGS
Accident Only £75
Time Limited and Maximum Benefit Bronze £85
Time Limited and Maximum Benefit Silver £95
Time Limited and Maximum Benefit Gold £105
Lifetime Bronze £95
Lifetime Silver £105
Lifetime Gold £115
CATS
Accident Only £75
Time Limited and Maximum Benefit Bronze £95
Time Limited and Maximum Benefit Silver £105
Time Limited and Maximum Benefit Gold £115
Lifetime Bronze £115
Lifetime Silver £125
Lifetime Gold £135

In respect of all lifetime policies you are required to pay the fixed excess listed above and in addition a further 5% of any claim made.

For all types of policy, when your pet is 8 years of age or older you are required to pay an additional 15% of any claim made on top of the fixed excess.

The website offers users an explanation of the various levels of cover, together with a comprehensive comparison of cover and access to policy documentation.

There is a very helpful section on frequently asked questions. Although the Insurance Emporium do not operate live chat, you can phone, email or request a call back if you have any additional queries.

The quotation system is very simple to use and you are presented with all quote options and a breakdown of the cover and excess payable for each policy.

If you are a policyholder you will be able to log into your "Emporium Account" to view your policy, change your contact details and download a claim form.

There are separate policy documents for each type of cover and although they are short at 14 pages long, there is no summary of cover or index to help with navigation.

The layout is rudimentary with important words highlighted in black. In readability tests the policy wording scored 48.6 out of 100 and was classed as difficult to read with a reading age requirement of between 15 - 17 years of age. It is important that you read the policy carefully.

The Insurance Emporium is listed on all the main comparison sites. All the policies are available, although in tests we found some premiums a bit more expensive that could be found direct on the Insurance Emporiums own website.

The Insurance Emporium operate a 24 hour vet helpline which is a phone vet service that allows you to speak to UK qualified veterinary nurses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Policyholders also have access to a legal helpline, whose legal department will provide telephone advice concerning ownership of your pet.

The Insurance Emporium have received over 3200 reviews on trust pilot with an excellent rating of 4.5/5. Many of the five star reviews related to claims and were full of praise for the speed and ease of settlement.

If you pay your premiums by direct debit or credit/debit card and default on any payment, The Insurance Emporium will add a charge of £3.99 to your next payment.

If you wish to make a change to your policy after the first 14 days of policy inception or, if for any reason they reinstate your policy, a £10 administration fee applies to any amendments made. Any increase or improvement in cover will be subject to a 14 day deferment period.

Following the cancellation charge, no refund will be made of any amount equal to or less than £25.

The Insurance Emporium offer new policyholder a 20% discount when pet insurance is purchased online through their website.

The Insurance Emporium's polices are extremely competitive price wise across the board and feature heavily in our best insurance breed guides.

They operate a UK based claims department and although they cannot accept liability on a claim until they are in receipt of a completed claim form, and full medical history from your vet, the majority of customers appear to have received a high level of service in this area.

We should clarify the difference between Yearly and Lunar Monthly policies

Yearly - runs for 365 days from the commencement date and automatically renews annually. Sums insured and Premiums are a bit lower than the Lunar policy.

Lunar Monthly - runs for and premiums are collected on equal periods of 28 days. Policies automatically renews every 28 days, premium and sums insured are a bit higher, compared to the yearly policy.

We recommend comparing both types of policy for levels of cover against price, to decide which is more suitable for you.

Policy excesses are slightly higher than the market average and Lifetime policies do require a 5% contribution to claims in addition to the fixed excess, but this should be balanced against very competitive premiums.

Overall an excellent set of policies (Gold Maximum Benefit Lunar policy awarded five stars) and a good service provided by the company.