
Choosing the right Pet Insurance is extremely important, as the wrong choice now could have severe financial consequences later and comparing numerous policy terms and conditions can be daunting.
Once you have read this review of Marks & Spencer Pet Insurance and compared polices using our unique search facility, you will have all the information you need to make an informed choice.
Marks & Spencer was formed in 1894, when Michael Marks went into partnership with Thomas Spencer. They are probably one of the best known retailers in the UK.
After an attempted takeover by Arcadia Group in 2004, Marks & Spencer's sold of their financial services business arm M&S money to HSBC Bank Plc
Marks & Spencer Financial Services Plc now part of the HSBC Group, offer loans, credit card, savings and investments as well as numerous insurance products including Pet Insurance
Choose from three different policies, essential, standard and the 5 star rated Premier policy.
M&S Insurance is a trading names of Marks & Spencer Financial Services Plc and a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC UK Bank plc, authorised by the Prudential Regulatory Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority as an insurance intermediary and is permitted, acting on behalf of the insurer, to promote insurance products. M&S Pet Insurance is underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority as an insurance company and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Click on the website link to go directly to the insurance providers website. Visit Marks & Spencer Pet Insurance's Website and Get a Quotation direct
Click on the white bars on the right side of the policy boxes below. Expand the content to view star ratings of all policies offered by Marks & Spencer Pet Insurance.
You must be the owner and keeper of the pet and they must be older than 8 weeks and live with you either in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man or Channel Islands.
You agree to carry out any treatment your vet recommends to prevent injury or illness and to have your dog vaccinated against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus; have your cat vaccinated against infectious enteritis, cat flu and feline leukaemia.
You agree to provide proper care and attention to your pet at all times.
M&S Pet Insurance have three levels of cover;
Essential covers vet fees up to £3,000 per condition for a maximum of 12 months
Standard covers vet fees up to £4,000 in total with a maximum limit of £1,000 per condition, which can be reinstated each year
Premier covers vet fees up to £7,000 in total with no individual limit, which can be reinstated each year
This is a list of important exclusions M&S Pet Insurance does not cover;
M&S pet policies cover Complementary treatment up to £500 in respect of the essential and standard policies and up to £1,000 in respect of the Premier policy.
Treatment is described as chiropractic manipulation, hydrotherapy, osteopathy and physiotherapy carried out on the
recommendation of the treating vet. Policies exclude any herbal medicine not prescribed by a vet.
The Premier policy also includes cover of up to £250 for the treatment of behavioural, mental or emotional disorders.
The Essential and Standard policies do not cover food of any description.
The Premier policy covers food up to £200 used to treat a condition and recommended by a vet.
The Essential policy covers dental treatment as a result of an injury only.
The Standard and Premier policies cover dental treatment as a result of illness or injury. You pet must have had it's teeth checked within the last 12 months and any recommended work carried out.
All policies cover MRI/CT Scans and cruciate ligament claims up to the vet fees limit, depending on which policy you choose.
All three policies cover the cost of Euthanasia and help with burial and cremation costs. The essential and standard policies cover up to £100 and the Premier policy up to £200.
M&S pet offer a 5% multi discount for each additional pet insured under the same policy (cat or dog).
M&S pet do not cover any illness, injury or change in your pet's normal healthy state that you or your vet notice prior to the start of the policy.
M&S pet do not cover any vet treatment caused by pregnancy, giving birth or rearing puppies or kittens.
The M&S Pet Essential and Standard policies do not cover taking your pet abroad.
The Premier policy will cover taking your pet abroad 3 times a year for up to 60 days per trip.
In addition to the extension of emergency vet fees, the policy also covers, loss of healthcare certificate, repeat tapeworm treatment, quarantine costs and emergency repatriation.
You are unable to claim for any illness to your pet for the first 14 days of the policy.
The standard policy excess for cats and dogs is £100. This can be reduced to £50 (by paying a higher premium) or increased to £150 (and paying a lower premium)
The standard excess for third party liability claims is £250.
Unlike many pet insurance policies M&S do not charge an additional co-payment when your pet reaches a certain age. Instead they increase the fixed excess. When your pet reaches the age of 9, the standard excess increases to £200. This can be reduced to £150 (by paying a higher premium) or increased to £250 (and paying a lower premium).
The M&S Financial Website deals with a lot of products, not just insurance but credit cards, current accounts, loans etc.
The Pet Insurance section was easy to find and is functional in it's layout if uninspiring. There is plenty of information provided on the products they offer, including policy wording, product information documents and a side by side comparison of cover.
M&S do offer live chat, but sadly won't deal with Insurance related queries as we found out. The quote system is easy to use and relevant information is provided, before you make any decision.
The policy wording is 28 pages long and deals with all three policies. There is a useful summary of cover and an index of contents. Headings are colour coded and each section of cover is split helpfully into what is and what isn't covered.
The only issue is that each of the three policies have slightly different terms and conditions (some areas are covered by one policy and not the other) Each section of cover is therefore dealt with separately for each policy. All three policies have the same colour coded headings and it was time consuming scrolling up and down remembering which policy the section of cover was talking about.
In our reading test, the policy wording scored an average of 65.5 out of 100 and was classed as average reading, with a reading age of between 12 - 14 years of age required to be able to understand the terminology.
M&S Pet Insurance is listed on MoneySupermarket, Confused.com and CompareTheMarket.
All three comparison sites charged different premiums for exactly the same cover and criteria.
All policyholders have free access to VetFone a 24 hour freephone pet health helpline
We were unable to find enough reviews on M&S Pet Insurance to make any meaningful comments. A few complaints related to large increases at renewal.
There are no administration charges.
You can obtain a 15% discount if you purchase online through the M&S website.
We awarded the Premier policy 5 stars for the comprehensive levels of cover that it provides. Premiums are about average for the levels of cover provided. The Essential and Standard policies also have good levels of cover, and are slightly below average when compared to similar policies.
A big bonus for all three policies is that as your pet gets older, there is no percentage contribution to make in the event of a claim and the standard excess is flexible. On larger claims this could end up saving you a lot of money.
Note you only have 60 days to report any claim, for it to be considered.
That's Insurance have spent some time mystery shopping on marks-spencer-pet-insurance-review's website. The policy wording, website, customer service/buying process have been carefully reviewed and each section awarded a user friendly score, which you can see below.
Policy wording - Marks are awarded for Layout, Readability ,Terminology, Communication and Appropriate information.
Website - Marks are awarded for Layout/Navigation, Access to important information e.g. policy wordings, Clear Explanation/Comparison of policies, including limitations, Frequently asked questions.
Customer Service – Marks are awarded for the Buying process, Customer Service, Clear Quotations, Access to important information/Comparison of quotes.
The scores have been calculated as an overall percentage and shown on the three gauges. You can see how Marks & Spencer compares to the industry average. The higher the percentage the better the company performs in each area.
(layout, readability, terminology)
Awaiting user friendly score
(layout, navigation, access to information)
Awaiting user friendly score
(clear quotes, buying process, customer service)
Awaiting user friendly score
We've highlighted Pro's and Cons for Marks & Spencer, click on the white bars on the right side of the boxes below. Expand the content to view pros and cons of all policies offered by Marks & Spencer Pet Insurance.
We've listed below cover levels for policies offered by offered by To scroll through all policies, click on the arrows on the left and right of policy name section.
Listed below are some Sample Quotes offered by Marks & Spencer Pet Insurance
Top Picks
Insurance Provider
Excess
Primary Cover
Guide Price
Type:Dog
Cover:Lifetime Maximum Benefit
Age: 10
Breed: Jack Russell Terrier
Group: Terrier
100
Lifetime Maximum Benefit 7,000
Complimentary Treatment 1,000
Dental 7,000
Death from Accident 1,500
Death from Illness 1,500
Theft or Straying 1,500
Advertising and Reward 2,000
Third Party Liability 2,000,000
Type:Dog
Cover:Per Condition Time Limited
Age: 10
Breed: Jack Russell Terrier
Group: Terrier
100
Per Condition Time Limited 3,000
Complimentary Treatment 500
Dental 3,000
Death from Accident 600
Death from Illness 600
Theft or Straying 600
Advertising and Reward 1,200
Third Party Liability 1,000,000
Type:Dog
Cover:Lifetime Maximum Benefit
Age: 10
Breed: Medium
Group: Mongrel
100
Lifetime Maximum Benefit 7,000
Complimentary Treatment 1,000
Dental 7,000
Death from Accident 1,500
Death from Illness 1,500
Theft or Straying 1,500
Advertising and Reward 2,000
Third Party Liability 2,000,000
Type:Dog
Cover:Lifetime Maximum Benefit
Age: 6
Breed: Medium
Group: Mongrel
100
Lifetime Maximum Benefit 4,000
Complimentary Treatment 500
Dental 4,000
Death from Accident 600
Death from Illness 600
Theft or Straying 600
Advertising and Reward 1,200
Third Party Liability 1,000,000
Type:Dog
Cover:Per Condition Time Limited
Age: 6
Breed: Chihuahua (Smooth Coat)
Group: Toy
100
Per Condition Time Limited 3,000
Complimentary Treatment 500
Dental 3,000
Death from Accident 600
Death from Illness 600
Theft or Straying 600
Advertising and Reward 1,200
Third Party Liability 1,000,000
Type:Cat
Cover:Per Condition Time Limited
Age: 6
Breed: Moggie
Group: Moggie
100
Per Condition Time Limited 3,000
Complimentary Treatment 500
Dental 3,000
Death from Accident 600
Death from Illness 600
Theft or Straying 600
Advertising and Reward 600
Type:Cat
Cover:Per Condition Time Limited
Age: 10
Breed: Moggie
Group: Moggie
100
Per Condition Time Limited 3,000
Complimentary Treatment 500
Dental 3,000
Death from Accident 600
Death from Illness 600
Theft or Straying 600
Advertising and Reward 600
Type:Cat
Cover:Lifetime Maximum Benefit
Age: 6
Breed: Moggie
Group: Moggie
100
Lifetime Maximum Benefit 4,000
Complimentary Treatment 500
Dental 4,000
Death from Accident 600
Death from Illness 600
Theft or Straying 600
Advertising and Reward 600
Type:Cat
Cover:Lifetime Maximum Benefit
Age: 1
Breed: Moggie
Group: Moggie
100
Lifetime Maximum Benefit 7,000
Complimentary Treatment 1,000
Dental 7,000
Death from Accident 1,500
Death from Illness 1,500
Theft or Straying 1,500
Advertising and Reward 1,250
Type:Cat
Cover:Lifetime Maximum Benefit
Age: 6
Breed: Moggie
Group: Moggie
100
Lifetime Maximum Benefit 7,000
Complimentary Treatment 1,000
Dental 7,000
Death from Accident 1,500
Death from Illness 1,500
Theft or Straying 1,500
Advertising and Reward 1,250