When choosing pet insurance, one of the biggest decisions is how much cover you need for veterinary fees.
A higher vet fee limit can provide greater financial protection if your pet becomes seriously ill or injured, while a lower limit may cost less. So how do you decide what’s right for you and your pet?
There isn’t one amount that’s right for everyone. The key is understanding what the limit means and thinking about how much of an unexpected vet bill you’d be comfortable paying yourself.
What is a vet fee limit?
Your vet fee limit is the maximum amount your pet insurance can contribute towards eligible veterinary treatment, subject to the terms of your policy.
For example, Scratch & Patch Lifetime cover is available with different annual vet fee limits. Choosing a higher limit means there’s potentially more cover available if your pet requires costly or ongoing treatment.
However, the way that limit works also depends on the type of pet insurance you choose.
How do different types of cover affect my vet fee limit?
It’s important not to compare the £ amount alone. A £5,000 limit can work differently depending on the type of policy.
Lifetime cover
With Lifetime pet insurance, your chosen vet fee allowance refreshes each year when you renew.
This can make Lifetime cover particularly useful for eligible ongoing or recurring conditions which require treatment over several years, provided you maintain continuous cover and remain within the policy terms and limits.
Maximum Benefit cover
With Maximum Benefit, you have a set amount available for each eligible condition.
There isn’t usually a time limit on claiming for the condition, but once its maximum financial allowance has been used, further treatment for that condition won’t be covered.
Time Limited cover
With Time Limited insurance, eligible conditions are covered for a set period and up to a specified financial limit.
Cover for that condition ends when either the time period or financial limit is reached, whichever comes first.
Accident Only cover
Accident Only insurance is designed specifically for eligible accidental injuries rather than illnesses, with cover available up to the limits specified by the policy.
Related guide: What type of pet insurance is right for me?
Is a higher vet fee limit always better?
A higher limit provides more financial protection, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s the right choice for everyone.
Higher levels of cover can cost more, so it’s worth balancing the protection you’d like against the premium you’re comfortable paying.
Rather than simply choosing the highest or lowest limit available, think about the financial impact if your pet required significant veterinary treatment.
For example, if you selected a lower vet fee limit and your pet’s eligible treatment exceeded it, would you be comfortable funding the remaining costs yourself?
If the answer is no, you may want to consider a higher level of cover.
How expensive can veterinary treatment be?
Veterinary costs can vary considerably depending on what’s wrong with your pet and the treatment they require.
A relatively straightforward visit may involve consultation fees and medication, while more complex conditions could require diagnostic tests, specialist consultations, surgery, hospitalisation, medication and ongoing follow-up treatment.
Some conditions can also require treatment over a much longer period.
That’s why it’s useful to think beyond “What might one trip to the vet cost?” and instead consider “What protection would I want if something more serious happened?”
What should I consider when choosing my cover level?
There are a few useful questions to ask yourself:
- How much could I comfortably pay towards an unexpected vet bill myself?
- Would I want protection against potentially expensive or ongoing conditions?
- How much can I comfortably afford to spend on my insurance premium?
- How does the vet fee allowance work — annually, per condition or for a limited period?
- What excess or co-payment would I need to contribute when making a claim?
These considerations can be more useful than choosing a policy based purely on its headline vet fee limit.
Don’t forget about your excess and co-payment
Your vet fee limit isn’t necessarily the amount an insurer will pay towards every claim.
An excess is the amount you’re required to contribute towards an eligible claim. Some policies may also include a co-payment, where you contribute a percentage of the remaining eligible claim amount.
For example, Scratch & Patch offers both 0% and 20% co-payment options on it’s cover levels.
When comparing policies, consider the vet fee limit, excess and any co-payment together. This gives you a much clearer picture of the protection you’re actually buying.
Does my pet’s age or breed affect how much cover I should choose?
Every pet is different, and it’s impossible to predict exactly what veterinary treatment they’ll need in the future.
However, factors such as age and breed may influence the types of health problems a pet is more likely to experience. Older pets may also be more likely to require veterinary treatment.
That doesn’t mean a particular breed or age automatically requires a particular level of insurance. Instead, these are useful factors to consider alongside your budget and attitude towards financial risk.
Can I just increase my cover later if I need it?
It’s better not to choose cover on the assumption that you can simply increase it after your pet develops a condition.
Changes to cover may be subject to an insurer’s terms, and a condition or symptoms that have already occurred could potentially be treated as pre-existing under new or amended cover.
That’s why it’s worth thinking carefully about the protection you want before you need to make a claim.
Choosing the right balance
Ultimately, the right amount of pet insurance cover is the level that gives you an appropriate balance between financial protection and affordability.
Rather than asking “What’s the biggest policy I can buy?”, a more useful question might be:
“If my pet needed significant or ongoing veterinary treatment, how much of the cost would I want my insurance to potentially protect me against?”
Once you know that, it’s much easier to compare your options.
Choose your cover with Scratch & Patch
Scratch & Patch offers a range of cover types and vet fee limits, giving you the flexibility to choose a level of protection that works for you and your pet.
Our options include Lifetime, Maximum Benefit, Time Limited, and Accident Only cover, with different levels of vet fee protection available.
Take a look at the options, compare the benefits and limits, and choose the cover that best suits your circumstances.
Ready to explore your options?
Explore our cover | Get a pet insurance quote
