Best Dog Insurance UK 2026: 8 Pet Insurance Providers Compared

The best dog insurance is the policy that will still be paying your vet bills when your dog is ten, not the cheapest quote on the day you collect your puppy. We compared eight UK pet insurance providers on the things that decide that: the type of policy, the vet fee limit, how the excess works, the age limits and the exclusions in the policy wording. Every figure was checked against the insurer's own website or policy documents on 8 November 2026. Companimal isn't paid by any insurer in this guide.

Best dog insurance UK: the short version

Pet insurance prices depend on your dog's breed, age and postcode, so no pet insurer is cheapest for everyone. Use this list to shortlist two or three, then get quotes for the same level of cover from each.

How we compared dog insurance policies

We read each insurer's dog insurance page, its policy wording or insurance product information document (IPID), and its Trustpilot profile, and recorded the same details for each one:

• the policy types on sale for dogs, and whether the vet fee limit is per year or per condition
• the excess, and any co-payment for older dogs
• the youngest and oldest age a new policy can start
• what's covered as standard: third-party liability, dental, behavioural treatment, complementary therapy, video vet calls and paying the vet directly
• exclusions, including breeds an insurer won't cover
• independent ratings from Moneyfacts and Trustpilot. Defaqto ratings are as each insurer states them, because we couldn't check them on Defaqto's own site

We didn't compare prices, because a quote for a Labrador puppy in Durham tells you nothing about a ten-year-old Cockapoo in London.

The best pet insurance providers for dogs in the UK

Petplan: best for long-term lifetime cover

The UK's best-known pet insurer, Petplan is underwritten by Allianz. Its Covered for Life policy has an annual vet fee limit of £4,000, £7,000 or £12,000 that resets every year you renew, plus up to £2,000 a year for complementary therapies. Its Essential policy is time-limited: £3,000 per condition for 12 months.

• Good to know: Petplan pays your vet directly, includes free video consultations, covers behavioural treatment and covers dental illness if your dog has an annual dental check. Third-party liability is £2m.
• Puppies: cover starts from 6 weeks, and breeders can give buyers 4 weeks of free cover.
• Watch out for: Covered for Life has to start before your dog is 8, or 5 for some breeds. A 20% excess is usually added from age 10, or 7 for some breeds, with at least a year's notice.
• Ratings: Moneyfacts 2026 gives Covered for Life 5 stars and Essential 3 stars.

ManyPets pet insurance: best for high vet fee limits

Formerly called Bought By Many, ManyPets offers lifetime dog insurance with annual vet fee limits up to £20,000 on Complete Care. You pay one excess per policy year rather than one per condition, which matters if your dog has several problems in the same year.

• Good to know: Standard Care Pre-existing can cover a condition that hasn't needed treatment for at least three months. It's one of the few UK policies that will look at pre-existing conditions at all.
• Puppies: cover starts from 4 weeks.
• Watch out for: behavioural treatment is only on Complete Care, and Essential Care covers dental accidents only. Older dogs can have a 20% co-payment added at renewal, so check the current policy wording for the age it starts.
• Ratings: Moneyfacts 2026 gives Complete, Standard and Pre-existing 5 stars.

Animal Friends: best for choice of policy type

Animal Friends sells all four types of dog insurance: lifetime with an annual limit from £1,000 to £18,000, lifetime with a limit per condition, maximum benefit, time-limited and accident only. That makes it easy to compare cover levels side by side from one insurer.

• Good to know: free 24/7 video vet calls through Joii, complementary therapy on every policy and dental cover on most. Its average dog vet fee claim in 2025 was £1,019.
• Puppies: cover starts from 4 weeks.
• Watch out for: a co-payment applies from age 8, and there's no multi-pet discount. Pre-existing conditions aren't covered.
• Ratings: Moneyfacts 2026 gives its £5,000, £10,000 and £18,000 lifetime policies 5 stars, and it has the most Trustpilot reviews of any insurer here.

Agria Pet Insurance: best for breeders and puppies from a breeder

Agria is a specialist animal insurer that only sells lifetime cover, with annual limits of £3,000, £6,500, £12,500 or £20,000. It also runs the Royal Kennel Club's free puppy cover.

• Good to know: breeders in Agria's free Breeder Club can give each puppy 5 weeks of free cover, including £5,000 of vet fees. Agria policies include direct vet payment, 24/7 video vet calls, dental illness and injury and £3m third-party liability.
• Puppies: cover starts from 8 weeks.
• Watch out for: the multi-pet discount is only 5%, and several breeds are excluded, including the American Bully and Cane Corso.
• Ratings: the highest Trustpilot score in this list, and Moneyfacts 2026 gives its Lifetime, Plus and Premium policies 5 stars.

Perfect Pet Insurance: best for older dogs and every type of cover

Perfect Pet Insurance is a Salisbury-based pet insurer that has been trading for over eight years and says it has insured more than 350,000 pets. It sells every type of dog insurance: accident only, time-limited (Essential), maximum benefit (Vital) and lifetime (Elite). Elite lifetime limits run from £1,000 to £5,000, refreshing each year you renew, and Elite Premium gives £7,000 or £10,000 per policy year across all conditions.

• Good to know: there's no upper age limit to start cover, even on lifetime policies, so it's worth a quote if your dog is older. Every policy includes a 24/7 vet nurse phone line, direct vet payment where your vet accepts it, complementary treatment and third-party liability of up to £2.5m.
• Puppies: cover starts from 4 weeks.
• Watch out for: a 15% co-payment applies from age 8, dental illness isn't covered and behavioural treatment is excluded. Breeding, pregnancy and whelping are excluded too. Perfect Pet's pages describe the Elite limit both per condition and per year, so ask which applies when you get a quote.
• Ratings: Moneyfacts 2026 gives Elite Extra Plus 5 stars and Elite Extra 4 stars. Rated 4.6 on Trustpilot from over 17,000 reviews.

NowPet: best for simple, low-cost lifetime cover

NowPet is Perfect Pet's sister brand, run by the same Salisbury company, Tedaisy Insurance Brokers, and underwritten by the same insurer. It keeps things simple: lifetime cover only, in five levels with an annual vet fee limit of £1,000 (Start), £2,000 (Plus), £3,000 (Premier), £4,000 (Premier Plus) or £5,000 (Platinum). The limit refreshes each year you renew.

• Good to know: you pay the excess once per policy year, from £99, then a 10% co-payment on the rest of each claim. Every level includes £1m third-party liability, a free 24/7 vet nurse line, complementary treatment, a 15% multi-pet discount and 0% interest on monthly payments.
• Puppies: cover is available from over 4 weeks old, so it can be in place from the day you collect your puppy.
• Watch out for: the top limit of £5,000 a year is lower than most insurers here, so it suits owners on a budget more than breeds with costly health problems. Dental cover is for accidents only, behavioural treatment is excluded, and the breed exclusion list is long, including the Akita, Husky, Great Dane, Chow Chow and XL Bully.
• Ratings: rated 4.6 on Trustpilot from over 2,000 reviews. We couldn't find a Defaqto or Moneyfacts rating.

Waggel: best for flexible monthly cover

Waggel has been selling pet insurance since 2018 and only offers lifetime cover. You choose your annual vet fee limit, from £1,000 to £15,000, and your excess, from £0 to £500.

• Good to know: you can cancel any time and cover runs to the end of the month you've paid for. Video vet calls, behaviour and nutrition consultations are free, and dental, behavioural and complementary therapy each have a £1,000 limit. Third-party liability is £2m.
• Puppies: cover starts from 8 weeks, with no upper age limit.
• Watch out for: breeding animals and pregnancy are excluded.
• Ratings: Moneyfacts 2026 gives the £10,000 and £15,000 levels 5 stars.

Purely Pets: best for fine-tuning your vet fee limit

Purely Pets sells lifetime cover in 15 levels, from £1,000 to £15,000 a year in steps of £1,000, so you can pick exactly the limit you want.

• Good to know: there's no upper age limit, it pays vets directly and includes 24/7 video vet calls. Third-party liability is £1m on Bronze and £2m on Silver and Gold.
• Watch out for: more than 50 breeds are excluded, including the Rottweiler and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Dental illness is only covered from the second year.
• Ratings: Moneyfacts 2026 gives Silver and Gold 5 stars, but its Trustpilot score of 3.9 is the lowest in this list.

Types of pet insurance for dogs explained

There are four main types of pet insurance, and the type of policy matters more than the insurer. It decides whether a long-term condition, such as allergies, arthritis or diabetes, is still covered in year two.

Lifetime pet insurance is usually the best dog insurance for a puppy, because cover starts while your pet is young and healthy. Conditions that start young, like skin allergies or hip problems, can need treatment for the rest of a dog's life, and only lifetime cover keeps paying year after year.

Best puppy insurance: what new owners should check

Arrange cover as part of bringing a puppy home, so it starts on day one. Any illness that shows signs before the policy starts, or in the first 14 days, is treated as a pre-existing condition and won't be covered.

• Ask the breeder about free cover. Many breeders give buyers 4 or 5 weeks of free insurance through Petplan, Agria or the Kennel Club. Check the end date on the cover note and have your own policy ready before it runs out.
• Check the minimum age. Licensed breeders in England and Scotland can't sell a puppy under 8 weeks old. NowPet, Perfect Pet, Animal Friends and ManyPets cover from 4 weeks, Petplan from 6 weeks, and Agria and Waggel from 8 weeks.
• Keep up with routine care. Insurers expect your puppy's vaccinations to be up to date, and illnesses a vaccine would have prevented may not be covered.
• Choose a limit you'd actually need. A single operation or a few months of treatment can cost thousands. A £1,000 annual limit is cheap, but it won't go far if your puppy needs surgery.
• Think about the breed before you buy. Some breeds cost more to cover and a few are excluded altogether, so check before you choose from the puppies for sale near you.

Best dog insurance for older dogs

Most UK dogs live to between 11 and 13, according to our research into how long dogs live, so the policy you choose may need to last more than a decade. An older pet costs more to insure, and most insurers add a co-payment from around age 8, so you pay a share of every claim on top of the excess. If your dog is already older:

• Look at insurers with no upper age limit for new policies, such as Perfect Pet, Waggel and Purely Pets.
• Check the co-payment age and percentage: 15% from age 8 at Perfect Pet, 20% from age 10 at Petplan. ManyPets can also add a 20% co-payment for older dogs.
• Don't cancel an existing lifetime policy to switch insurer. Anything your dog has been treated for will become a pre-existing condition with the new insurer.

Is pet insurance worth it for a dog?

For most dog owners, yes. Pet insurance claims in the UK averaged £685 in 2024, and a single operation, scan or long-term condition can cost several thousand pounds. If you couldn't pay a vet bill of £2,000 to £3,000 at short notice, dog insurance is worth having. If you could, some owners save a set amount each month instead, but that money won't cover a condition that needs treatment for years.

Taking out pet insurance while your dog is young matters most. A lifetime policy started for a healthy puppy covers conditions that would be excluded as pre-existing if you waited until later.

How much does dog insurance cost?

UK insurers paid out a record £1.23 billion in pet insurance claims in 2024, according to the Association of British Insurers, and £933 million of that was for dogs. The average claim was £685. Animal Friends' own average dog vet fee claim in 2025 was £1,019.

What you pay depends on your dog's breed, age and where you live. MoneySuperMarket's customer quotes from August to October 2026 put the typical monthly premium at £9.31 for dogs under one and £19.14 for dogs over seven. Flat-faced breeds usually cost more because of their breathing and other health problems: one insurer's average claim for breathing surgery is over £2,300 for a French Bulldog.

All UK pet insurance premiums include Insurance Premium Tax at 12%.

How to get cheaper dog insurance

• Compare like for like. Compare the best pet insurance policies at the same vet fee limit and excess, not the cheapest quote from each insurer.
• Choose a higher excess if you could comfortably pay it, as that usually lowers the premium.
• Use a multi-pet discount. NowPet and Perfect Pet take 15% off for more than one pet, Agria 5%, and Petplan £12 per pet per year.
• Don't drop to a cheaper type of cover. Cheap pet insurance is often time-limited or accident only, and won't pay for a long-term condition after the first year.
• Check your renewal price. If it has gone up, ask your insurer why. Think carefully before you switch pet insurance providers, as anything your dog has been treated for becomes a pre-existing condition with a new insurer.

What pet insurance for dogs doesn't cover

• pre-existing conditions, and anything that shows signs in the first 14 days
• routine care: vaccinations, flea and worm treatment, and neutering
• breeding, pregnancy and giving birth, on most standard policies
• some or all dental treatment, depending on the policy
• breeds the insurer won't cover. Most insurers here exclude dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act, including the XL Bully, and several exclude other large or guarding breeds

Insuring a litter: cover for breeders

Standard pet insurance usually excludes breeding, pregnancy and whelping, including NowPet, Perfect Pet and Waggel. If you're planning a litter, Agria sells optional breeding risks cover that pays litter vet fees until the puppies are sold or reach 14 weeks. Agria's Breeder Club and Petplan's breeder scheme let you give every new owner free cover for the first 4 or 5 weeks, which is a reassuring extra to mention when you're advertising your puppies.

Choosing the best pet insurance for your dog

1. Decide on the type of cover. For a puppy or young dog, choose lifetime cover.
2. Pick a vet fee limit that would cover a major operation, not just a course of antibiotics.
3. Check how the excess works: once a year or once per condition, and when a co-payment starts.
4. Read the exclusions in the policy wording, especially for your dog's breed and for dental and behavioural treatment.
5. Get quotes for the same level of cover from two or three insurers, and check what each will do at renewal.

Dog insurance: frequently asked questions

What is the best age to get dog insurance?

As young as possible: ideally before or on the day you collect your puppy, usually at 8 weeks. The younger and healthier your dog is when cover starts, the fewer conditions are excluded as pre-existing.

How soon is my dog covered by pet insurance?

Accidents are usually covered within a few days and illness after 14 days. Perfect Pet, for example, has a 5-day wait for accidents and 14 days for illness, and Purely Pets a 48-hour wait for accidents.

How much should I insure my dog for?

Choose a vet fee limit that would pay for a major operation and a few months of follow-up care. As a rough guide, we'd look at £4,000 to £5,000 a year or more, and higher for breeds with known health problems.

Can I switch my dog's pet insurance provider?

Yes, but the new insurer will treat anything your dog has already had treatment or signs of as pre-existing. If your dog has an ongoing condition, staying with your current lifetime policy is usually safer.

Who is the best dog insurance provider in the UK?

There isn't one best dog insurance provider for every dog. Petplan, ManyPets, Animal Friends and Agria all have 5-star lifetime policies from Moneyfacts, Perfect Pet suits older dogs because it has no upper age limit, and NowPet is a simple low-cost lifetime option. Compare the same level of cover for your dog.

What is the best insurance for an elderly dog in the UK?

Look for an insurer with no upper age limit for new customers, such as Perfect Pet, Waggel or Purely Pets, and compare the co-payment each one charges for older dogs.

Is lifetime pet insurance worth it for a puppy?

Usually, yes. Lifetime cover is the only type that keeps paying for a long-term condition year after year, as long as you renew without a break.

Can I insure a puppy at 8 weeks?

Yes. Every insurer in this guide that publishes a minimum age covers puppies from 8 weeks old or younger, and several start from 4 weeks.

Does dog insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

Most policies don't. ManyPets has a pre-existing conditions plan for problems that haven't needed treatment for at least three months, and Petplan assesses some conditions case by case.

Is dog insurance a legal requirement in the UK?

No. Pet insurance is optional, but third-party liability cover, included in most dog policies, protects you if your dog injures someone or damages property.

Does pet insurance cover dental treatment?

It depends on the policy. Petplan, Agria and ManyPets' higher levels cover dental illness, while NowPet and Perfect Pet only cover dental accidents.

Figures were checked on 8 November 2026. Insurers change their cover and prices, so always read the policy wording before you buy. This guide is general information, not financial advice.