Lifetime pet insurance
Prime, Premier and Premier Plus are our lifetime pet insurance plans. They protect your pet from any accidents and eligible illnesses. These policies reinstate the full cover limit for all covered conditions at renewal each year.
What is lifetime pet insurance?
Our lifetime pet insurance covers all new medical conditions after the policy has started up to the cover limit.
It allows you to claim for the same condition year after year. If you reach the cover limit then the cover will stop for the remainder of the policy year but the limit will be reinstated upon renewal.
We have 3 lifetime plans offering vet fee cover up to £2,500, £4,000 or £8,000.
We call these plans
Prime
Premier
Premier Plus
Lifetime pet insurance doesn’t cover any pre-existing conditions your pet may have.
Importantly, due to the long-term nature of a lifetime policy, if you choose not to renew, you may find it difficult to find alternative cover for any conditions you have already claimed for as they will be classed as pre-existing, and you might not be able to claim for them again.
Premier Plus
Complete protection lifetime cover
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Up to £8,000
Up to £8,000
Up to £8,000
Up to £8,000
From £125*
From £125*
Dogs under 8: £125
Dogs over 8: £275
Cats under 10: £125
Cats over 10: £275
Please check the policy wording to understand excess levels.
MRI / CT scan: £2,000
Alternative treatment: £1,000
Dental treatment: £8,000
Diet food: £100
Behavioural treatment: £500
Up to £8,000
Up to £8,000
- Cruciate Ligament: £2,000
- MRI / CT scan: £2,000
- Alternative treatment: £1,000
- Dental treatment: £8,000
- Diet food: £100
- Behavioural treatment: £500
From £125*
*Excess varies according to pet age.
- Dogs under 8: £125
- Dogs over 8: £275
- Cats under 10: £125
- Cats over 10: £275
- Please check the policy wording to understand excess levels.
Premier
Peace of mind lifetime cover
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Up to £4,000
Up to £4,000
Up to £4,000
Up to £4,000
From £125*
From £125*
Dogs under 8: £125
Dogs over 8: £275
Cats under 10: £125
Cats over 10: £275
Please check the policy wording to understand excess levels.
MRI / CT scan: £1,500
Alternative treatment: £750
Dental treatment: £4,000
Diet food: £100
Behavioural treatment: £250
Up to £4,000
Up to £4,000
- Cruciate Ligament: £1,500
- MRI / CT scan: £1,500
- Alternative treatment: £750
- Dental treatment: £4,000
- Diet food: £100
- Behavioural treatment: £250
From £125*
*Excess varies according to pet age;
- Dogs under 8: £125
- Dogs over 8: £275
- Cats under 10: £125
- Cats over 10: £275
- Please check the policy wording to understand excess levels.
Prime
Lifetime cover
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Up to £2,500
Up to £2,500
Up to £2,500
Up to £2,500
From £125*
From £125*
Dogs under 8: £125
Dogs over 8: £275
Cats under 10: £125
Cats over 10: £275
Please check the policy wording to understand excess levels.
MRI / CT scan: £1,000
Alternative treatment: £400
Dental treatment: £2,500
Diet food: £100
Behavioural treatment: £100
Up to £2,500
Up to £2,500
- Cruciate Ligament: £1,000
- MRI / CT scan: £1,000
- Alternative treatment: £400
- Dental treatment: £2,500
- Diet food: £100
- Behavioural treatment: £100
From £125*
*Excess varies according to pet age.
- Dogs under 8: £125
- Dogs over 8: £275
- Cats under 10: £125
- Cats over 10: £275
- Please check the policy wording to understand excess levels.
Tail wagging benefits
24/7 Vet careline
Expert advice, day or night, 365.
We've got you covered
Support when it matters most
10% multi-pet discount
More pets, more savings.
Switching made simple
Immediate cover if you’re already insured.
What our cover protects against
Lifetime pet plans cover vet fees for injuries caused by accidents and illnesses. Our Prime plans are based on a lifetime cover limit of £2,500. Premier plans have a cover limit of £4,000 per year. While Premier Plus plans increase that cover limit to £8,000. All of which are reinstated annually.
Lifetime plans can provide a cost effective way of insuring cats and dogs who have more complex chronic health conditions requiring ongoing treatment.
What's not covered
Any pre-existing conditions that your pet may have will not be covered under a lifetime plan.
There are also some exclusions on our policies, such as specific dog breeds and treatment types. For full details see our policy exclusions.
Lifetime Cover FAQs
What is a Lifetime policy?
A Lifetime policy (Premier Plus, Premier, Prime), our most comprehensive pet insurance, seeks to provide veterinary fee cover for illnesses or injuries your pet may have throughout its lifetime, as long as you keep the policy running. All accepted conditions are covered until the overall vet fee cover limit is reached, for each policy year. Once the limit is reached, no further claims can be paid, however the ‘pot of money’ is topped back up again at renewal. Learn more …
You can choose the plan that suits you best by comparing all our policies here.
How can I check what I am or am not covered for?
You can see what you are and are not covered for by reviewing our Policy Documents. You can also check your Policy Schedule by logging into My Account. This provides details of your excess, co-payment and inner limits applicable to the policy cover.
Please ensure that you have also checked our full list of policy exclusions, including our excluded breeds list and rules, before proceeding to purchase a policy with Scratch & Patch. If your dog is found to be an excluded dog, we may cancel your policy, refuse all claims, keep any premium you have paid and charge you a cancellation fee.
Some of the other key policy exclusions are:
- We will not cover the amount of the excess(s) applicable for any claim.
- Death from accident or illness – cover is restricted to dogs aged under 8years, or cats aged under 10years, at the date of loss or death.
- Euthanasia is excluded under Bronze, Silver and Gold policies.
- Third party liability cover is restricted to Dogs Only.
- Loss and recovery – cover restricted to dogs aged under 8 years, or cats aged under 10 years, at the date they go missing.
- Vet fee limits and policy limits apply.
- We will not pay for advertising and reward incurred without our prior consent.
- Any condition first showing clinical signs in the first 14 days of the policy unless you had a prior pet insurance policy.
- Your pet must be at least 5 weeks old when your policy starts.
- Dangerous dogs and excluded breeds cannot be covered. Please note that if you have declared the incorrect breed when taking the policy out, you may not be covered when making a claim.
The full list of policy exclusions can be seen here.
Do you cover pre-existing conditions?
Our current policies and cover levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Prime, Premier and Premier Plus) do not cover pre-existing medical conditions.
This means that we will not pay:
- Any claim for or as a result of a pre-existing condition.
- Any claim for or as a result of an illness which, in the first 14 days of your pets cover with Scratch & Patch,
- first showed clinical signs,
- has the same diagnosis or clinical signs as an illness that showed clinical signs or
- is caused by, relates to, or results from a clinical sign of an illness that was noticed,
This 14-day exclusion does not apply if your pet was insured for veterinary fee’s under another policy of insurance up to the start date (inception) of the first period of insurance with Scratch & Patch and you provide proof of this to us.
A pre-existing condition is any injury or illness that:
- Happened or first showed clinical signs,
- Has been identified or investigated by a vet,
- Has the same diagnosis or clinical signs as an injury, illness, or clinical sign your pet had,
- Is caused by, relates to, or results from, an injury, illness, or clinical sign your pet had,
- or is otherwise known to you,
before the start date of your pet’s first period of insurance (inception) with Scratch & Patch, or before the date the cover level on your policy was increased. No matter where the injury, illness or clinical signs are noticed or happen in, or on, your pet’s body.
Do you cover dental?
We do not provide cover for the cost of dental or gum treatment which is not directly resulting from an accident or injury. We also exclude routine, preventative or cosmetic procedures, including but not limited to scaling and polishing.
What is an inner limit and how do I know what my policy’s inner limits are?
An inner limit is a cap on certain specified items such as treatments, investigative procedures, medication, or specific conditions. This means that whilst there is an overall cover limit, there are certain things we will only pay a maximum amount for. Each type of cover level will vary in the maximum amount we provide, and this information is available throughout our sales journey prior to your policy purchase. These limits are also stated specifically within your Policy Schedule document and can also be viewed on our website here.
What is the difference between excess and co payment?
An excess is a compulsory contribution you are required to pay towards the cost of your pets treatment you are claiming for and applies to each separate illness or injury (condition), per policy year. If your claim is accepted, the excess will be deducted from any settlement amount we pay to either you or your vet.
A co-payment is what you have chosen to include when purchasing a new policy, or at renewal stage as a contribution towards the cost of your pets treatment should you ever need to claim. It is applicable to every claim you make and is calculated as a percentage (chosen by you when purchasing or renewing your policy) of your claim after other deductions.
What pets and breeds aren’t covered?
Our policies are designed to provide cover for domestic cats and dogs. That means we don’t cover any pet used for trade, profession or business or any type of pet used for guarding, racing, coursing or beating. We also exclude any pet used for breeding.
There are also a number of specific breeds that we aren’t able to cover. You can see the full list here. Please note that if you have declared the incorrect breed when taking the policy out, you may not be covered when making a claim.
Is my pet covered straight away?
Any new illnesses starting within the first 14 days of your policy are not covered. This is called a waiting period. However, if you switch your cover from another insurer we won’t enforce a waiting period and you will be able to claim for illness starting in the first 14 days. If you make a claim within the first 14 days we will ask you to provide evidence of your previous continuous policy. We don’t have a waiting period for accidents or injuries.
Please note that we do not offer pre-existing conditions cover for new customers. You can still switch to us, but any pre-existing conditions will be excluded from cover.
