Insureyourpaws Pet Insurance Review

You must be over 18 years of age and a resident of the United Kingdom.
You must be the registered owner and keeper of the pet who must be kept at a UK address.
Your pet must be older than 8 weeks, but not more than 8 years in respect of dogs or 10 years in respect of cats.
You agree to maintain your pets health and take your pet for a yearly health check and dental examination and carry out any recommended treatment.

Your pet must be vaccinated (including any required boosters) against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus in the case of dogs; or against feline infectious enteritis, feline influenza
and feline leukaemia in the case of cats. Homeopathic nosodes are not accepatble as vaccinations.
When your dog is in a public place, it must wear a collar with a tag showing your name and address.
Your pet must not have an aggressive tendencies or been trained to attack.

Insureyourpaws offer three types and several different levels of cover;

Accident only covers vet fees up to £1,000, £1,500 or £2,000 in respect of accidents for up to 12 months.

Maximum Benefit covers vet fees up to £2,000, £3,000, £4,000, £5,000, or £6,000 for each covered illness or injury.

Lifetime covers vet fees up to £5,000, £7,500 or £10,000 per policy year, which can be reinstated when the policy is renewed.

This is a list of the important exclusions. Insureyourpaws will not cover;

1. Routine, Preventative or elective treatments, blood or urine tests and or examinations, including any complications that are caused as a result.
2. Routine vaccinations and micro chipping.
3. Spaying, castration, retained testes.
4. Claw clipping, dematting, grooming and dew claw removal, anal gland expression, ear plucking.
5. Cosmetic or aesthetic surgery including eye tacking and tail docking.
6. The killing or controlling of fleas, ticks or worms.
7. Breeding, pregnancy or giving birth.
8. Any costs connected to training classes, normal puppy training or socialisation.
9. Out of hours work, house calls or non essential hospitalisation, unless your vet confirms that not doing so would endanger life.
10. The cost of an Ambulance/taxi fees unless your pet is on a nasal/IV drip and is being transferred between a referral practice/emergency vet and your normal vet.
11. The cost of hiring or buying machinery or equipment such as cages; carts; Elizabethan collars, Buster collars, inflatable collars; surgical T-shirts; slings; harnesses, and sharps containers, any form of housing, or bedding.
12. Experimental treatments, or therapies; prosthetics or orthopedic supports or braces, open heart surgeries, cancer vaccinations, therapeutic antibody for dog and cat cancers, stem cell therapy, organ transplants, gene therapies, probiotics, dental vaccines, cold laser treatments, 3D printing and any unlicensed drugs or medicines.
13. Any claim as a result of a ‘notifiable’ disease, e.g. Rabies, or Avian influenza.
14. The use of your pet for commercial security purposes, or any form of racing, coursing or commercial breeding, hunting, gun dogs, working dogs, guide dogs or assistance pet.
15. The use of your pet in connection with any business, trade or profession. This includes taking your pet to a place of work.
16. Any dog registered under The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and or a dog crossed with any of these, including the American Pit Bull Terrier; Perro de Presa Canario; wolf or wolf hybrid; or a dog crossed with any of these.

Each policy cover complementary treatments between £250 to £750, depending on which policy you choose. All levels of sum insured are below the industry average standard for this cover.

Complementary treatment means acupuncture, behavioural therapy, chiropractic treatment, herbal medicine, homeopathy,
up to 10 sessions of hydrotherapy (per condition), physiotherapy and osteopathy recommended by your vet.

Cover also includes the cost of pheromone products to treat behavioural problems for up to six months.

The policy does not cover Matrix energy field therapy, Pulsed magnetic field therapy, shock wave therapy, myotherapy (including Galen therapy), the Bowen technique, reiki massage, faith healing.

Insureyourpaws only covers dental treatment in the event of accidental injury between £500 - £750 depending on the level of cover chosen. All other dental treatment is excluded.

Claims for prescription diet food are not covered, unless your vet has specifically prescribed diet food to dissolve urinary crystals.

MRI/CT Scans and Cruciate Ligament claims are covered under the policy.

Maximum Benefit policies cover up to £500 for MRI/CT Scans and up to £1,500 in respect of cruciate ligament claims.

Lifetime policies cover up to £1,000 for MRI/CT Scans and up to £3,000 in respect of cruciate ligament claims.

Claims for Cruciate ligament damage can be expensive and the inner limits for this cover are lower than industry averages.

Note there is no cover for Cruciate ligament claims that occur within the first 30 days of the start of the policy.

Insureyourpaws cover the cost of euthanasia, provided that it is to alleviate incurable and inhumane suffering, as confirmed by your vet.

You can cover multiple pets at the same time and qualify for a 10% discount.

Insureyourpaws do not cover your pet's pre-existing medical conditions. That is any illness or injury that occurred or first showed clinical signs, or was diagnosed before the start of your policy.

Insureyourpaws do not provide cover in respect of your pets pregnancy, breeding or giving birth.

Insure your paws covers trips that you may take abroad with your pet, under the governments "PETS" Scheme.

Cover is for a maximum of 30 days with the exception of Lifetime policies that cover 30 days per trip. You are covered for emergency vet fees, quarantine and emergency expenses, holiday cancellation and loss of your pet passport.

The policy does not cover any injury that occurs within the first 48 hours or illness within the first 14 days of the commencement of your policy.

The standard policy excess is £99 per claim for both cats and dogs.

Once your pet reaches the age of 5 years old, as well as the standard excess, you will be required to pay an additional 10% of any claim.

For example if your claim is for £750, you will be required to pay £99 plus 10% totalling £164.10.

The website is neatly put together, although not as comprehensive in providing explanations of cover and what is and isn't covered as other sites.

Insureyourpaws do not operate live chat, but you can email or phone them up with any queries. Some common questions have also been answered.

The quotation software is easy and you are presented with a full breakdown of cover and costs, allowing you to choose between the different levels of cover and sums insured. Sample policy documents are on hand to assist with the decision making process.

The 16 page policy wording is nicely laid out with different coloured headings and an index and compact summary of cover to help find your way around the document.

In tests the policy wording scored 36.2 out of 100 and was classed as difficult to read, with a minimum reading age requirement of between 21 and 22 years of age.

Insureyourpaws are listed on Go Compare, Moneysupermarket and Compare the Market.

During testing we found that not all the policies were available and our sample quotes were inconsistently priced across the comparison sites. Based on exactly the same information, some of the comparison site quotes were cheaper and some were more expensive, than those quoted by Insureyourpaws direct.

Insureyourpaws have a claims helpline.

Insure your Paws have received 1109 reviews on trustpilot and their overall rating is 4.4 out of 5. The majority of customers are more than satisfied with the service they have received.

A non refundable administration fee of up to £9.95 will be added to all insurance purchased online.

If you purchase a policy via their call centre you will be charged a non refundable fee of up to £11.00

A charge of £0.99 for providing information about a policy purchase (sent by text to your phone)

A charge of up to £4.50 for processing any changes made after the policy is purchased.

At the time of writing there are no special discounts or promotions.

Insureyourpaws premiums are about average for the levels of cover provided and the majority of customers are happy with the service they have received.

Complementary treatment, MRI/CT scans and Cruciate Ligament claim inner limits are lower than the industry averages and it's important that you make sure any policy you choose has adequate cover.

Once your pet reaches the age of 5, you will be required to pay an additional 10% co-payment charge on any claims.

Remember that you must notify Insureyourpaws of a potential claim within 60 days.