Pet Insurance Renewal: What to Check Before You Auto-Renew

Why Pet Insurance Premiums Increase Every Year

Unlike car or home insurance (where your premium is primarily based on risk that changes relatively slowly), pet insurance premiums increase significantly with the pet's age. Older animals are more likely to need veterinary treatment, and insurers price this in at each renewal. It is not unusual for a dog's annual premium to double between ages three and ten, even with no claims history.

Under FCA pricing reforms introduced in January 2022, insurers must offer renewing home and motor insurance customers no worse a price than equivalent new customers. Pet insurance was excluded from these reforms. Pet insurers can therefore still apply a loyalty penalty at renewal, and the difference between new customer and existing customer pricing can be significant.

The Four Policy Types: What Matters at Renewal

There are four main types of pet insurance policy, and the differences matter enormously at renewal time, particularly if you are considering switching provider.

• Lifetime cover: pays out up to a set limit per condition per year (or per lifetime), and the limit resets each policy year. Conditions that arise while you are covered continue to be covered at renewal. The most comprehensive type.
• Maximum benefit (non-lifetime): pays out up to a fixed amount per condition, with no annual reset. Once the limit for a condition is reached, that condition is excluded permanently.
• Time-limited cover: covers each condition for 12 months from first treatment. After 12 months the condition is excluded regardless of whether the limit was reached.
• Accident only: covers accidents but not illness. The cheapest option, but excludes the majority of common claims.

Pre-Existing Conditions and Switching Provider

If your pet has been treated for a condition during the current policy year, that condition will almost certainly be treated as pre-existing by any new insurer and excluded from the new policy. This is the key reason why pet insurance is harder to switch than other insurance types.

Before switching, establish exactly what conditions your pet has been treated for and what a new insurer's pre-existing condition terms would mean in practice. For a pet with a known ongoing condition, the cost of losing cover may outweigh the saving from a cheaper premium.

What to Check at Renewal

Even if you decide to stay with the same insurer, review your renewal documents carefully rather than letting the policy auto-renew without checking.

• Check whether the annual or lifetime claim limit has changed: insurers sometimes reduce limits at renewal
• Check the excess: both the fixed excess and any percentage co-payment (typically 10 to 20 percent for older pets)
• Compare the premium increase against the previous year and check what the same insurer offers to new customers
• Check whether any new conditions have been added to the exclusions list
• Confirm the vet fee limit is still realistic for current veterinary costs in your area