At Petplan there are two main types of cover for your pet, Covered For Life® and Time Limited – but which one is right for you?
Firstly, the name doesn’t refer to the length of your insurance policy. This is a common misunderstanding. In choosing between lifetime and time-limited insurance, you are deciding how long your pet will be covered for each individual condition they develop: for life, or just for a limited period of time. Whether you choose lifetime pet insurance or time-limited, you will need to renew every year to make sure your pet is covered and you can cancel either at any time with no fees.
A lifetime policy will cover your pet’s injuries and illnesses for life, as long as you keep renewing the policy every year. Long-term conditions are illnesses that your pet might need lifelong care for, such as arthritis, diabetes and cancer. A lifetime policy could help cover the costs for these types of conditions, which often require regular treatment over many years.
Knowing they are covered gives you both peace of mind, to help your pet get the treatment and care that they need.
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Your Covered For Life policy provides a set amount for veterinary care and this refreshes each year when you renew your policy. You can choose the level of veterinary cover you want for your pet - either £4,000, £7,000 or £12,000.
If your pet develops an illness you can claim for the veterinary care that they need.
Many illnesses such as diabetes and eczema require ongoing treatment. With a Covered For Life® and Time Limited policy you can continue to claim for the same condition for the rest of your pets life as long as you renew your policy each year.
Time-limited policies cover your pet for a new illness or injury for – as the name suggests – a limited period of time. After that time has passed, you will need to find the money for any further treatment for that condition.
Owners who choose for Petplan’s time-limited policy, Petplan Essential, will have cover for each condition for a year after which any further costs wouldn't be covered by the policy. This policy does not have an upper age limit so may be chosen by owners of older pets who aren't eligible for lifetime cover.
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Your Time Limited policy provides cover for veterinary fees for 12 months or up to £3,000 whichever is reached first.
If your pet develops an illness you can claim for the veterinary care that they need but after 12 months this condition will be excluded from your policy and you will need to cover any further costs yourself.
Cover will be provided for any new illnesses or injuries that arise.
| 12 Month Cover i | Covered for Life® i | |
| 12 Month Cover allows you to claim for each condition for 12months, after which the condition is excluded. | Covered For Life® allows you to claim for the same condition year after year, so long as you renew your policy. | |
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Veterinary fees i
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Veterinary fees i
Including surgery, medicine and diagnostic tests such as
MRI and X-rays
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Up To
£3,000
Per illness/injury
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Up To
£12,000
Per Policy Year
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Ongoing treatment i
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Ongoing treatment i
How long you can claim for recurring conditions such as
skin conditions or arthritis
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12 months
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No time limitation
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Complementary treatment i
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Complementary treatment i
Including herbal medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy
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Up To
£500
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Up To
£2,000
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Behavioural conditions i
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Behavioural conditions i
Including separation anxiety and reactivity
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Congenital, hereditary, hip-related and dental cover i
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Congenital, hereditary, hip-related and dental cover i
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Find out more about Time limited Cover |
Find out more about Covered For Life® |
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We always offer these as standard:
Not all pet insurance policies are the same. At Petplan we design our policies to pay out to help customers get the best care for their pets. We pay 97% of all the claims we receive and with Petplan you wont pay more for claiming.
Find out about the advantages of Petplan cover and get a quote today
If you buy your insurance through the Petplan website, you will get at least 10% off your premium for your first year. We also offer a multi-pet discount so if you insure more than one of your animal family with us, you can save £12 per pet, per year.
If you received 4 weeks free Petplan insurance from your vet, breeder or an animal rehoming centre you will receive an additional month free if you continue your cover before your temporary insurance expires.
You can insure a cat, dog or rabbit from the time they are 6 weeks old.
If you want to take out our Covered For LifeⓇ policy, you need to do so before your pet reaches a certain age. This is 10 years old for cats, 8 years old for most breeds of dogs (for certain breeds this can be up to 5 years old) and 5 years old for rabbits.
For dogs and cats that are older than the above limits, you can still take out our Petplan Essential policy, which has no upper age limit.
With Peptlan you can cancel your cover at any time with no additional fees. Both our Covered For Life and Time Limited policies renew each year so being covered for life doesn't mean that you are tied in for life.
It is worth noting that many policies do not provide cover for pre-existing conditions so if you do cancel your policy you may not be able to get cover elsewhere for any illnesses or injuries your pet has already suffered.
We know that pet health is complex. For this reason, Petplan will assess any potential risks to your pet’s health at the start of your cover and will confirm whether any pre-existing conditions your pet has will be covered by your policy or not. You may have seen policies designed for pets with pre-existing conditions being offered by other insurers, but it’s worth checking the cover provided, because in
When you take out a policy with us, you must tell us about any previous or existing conditions, illnesses or injuries, and we will then confirm whether we can provide cover for these on a case-by-case basis. We may tell you that we can only insure a condition when your pet has been free from it for a certain amount of time, for example.
Since 2016, all dogs have been required by law to be microchipped by the time they are eight weeks old. Cats are not required to have a microchip, but many owners still choose to do so.
Microchipping is a simple procedure that can be done at the vets or a rescue centre among other places. It takes seconds, and usually costs between £10 and £30.
The main benefit of chipping your pet is that it can help you be reunited more easily if they go missing. Chips are scanned using a special device which will show the person scanning it how to get in contact with you. It is important that you keep your details up to date – this can usually be done online via the website of the database company your pet is registered with.
