When comparing pet insurance, you’ll usually see an overall vet fee limit – for example, £3,000, £5,000 or £10,000.
But within that overall amount, your policy may also have inner limits for certain types of treatment or specific conditions.
Understanding the difference is important, as an inner limit can affect how much your insurer will contribute towards a particular treatment – even if you still have money remaining within your overall vet fee limit.
What does an inner limit mean?
An inner limit is a maximum amount your pet insurance policy will pay towards a particular condition, treatment, procedure or benefit.
It sits within your policy’s overall cover limit rather than providing additional cover on top of it.
For example, imagine you have a pet insurance policy with an overall annual vet fee limit of £10,000, but the policy has a £5,000 inner limit for cruciate ligament treatment.
If your pet needed eligible cruciate ligament treatment costing £6,000, the most the policy could contribute towards costs covered by that inner limit would be £5,000 – even though your overall vet fee limit is £10,000.
Your excess, co-payment and any other applicable policy terms or deductions would also need to be taken into account.
How is an inner limit different from my vet fee limit?
Your vet fee limit is the overall amount of veterinary fee cover available under your policy, according to the type of insurance you have.
An inner limit places a further cap on the amount available for a particular area of that cover.
Think of your overall vet fee limit as the main pot of money available for eligible veterinary treatment, with some treatments or conditions having their own smaller limits within that pot.
An inner limit therefore doesn’t increase your overall cover. Any amount paid towards an inner limit also counts towards the applicable overall vet fee limit.
Related guide: How much pet insurance cover do I need?
What types of treatment can have inner limits?
This varies between insurers and policies, which is why it’s important to look beyond the headline vet fee limit when comparing pet insurance.
With Scratch & Patch, inner limits can apply to areas such as cruciate ligament treatment, MRI and CT scans, BOAS treatment, alternative treatment and behavioural treatment, depending on the cover selected.
There can also be more specific limits within the policy. For example, specialist or referral vet consultation fees and individual sessions of treatments such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and acupuncture have their own applicable limits.
The amount available varies according to your chosen Scratch & Patch cover level, so you should always check your Policy Schedule and policy documents for the limits that apply to you.
What is an example of a Scratch & Patch inner limit?
Let’s take Lifetime £10,000 cover as an example.
The policy provides an overall vet fee limit of up to £10,000 per policy year for eligible injury and illness. Within that overall amount, some treatments have their own limits.
For example, eligible cruciate ligament treatment has an inner limit of £5,000, while an eligible MRI or CT scan has an inner limit of £2,500.
So, having £10,000 of overall vet fee cover doesn’t mean that the full £10,000 is necessarily available for every individual type of treatment.
The applicable inner limit may determine the maximum amount available.
Do inner limits vary between cover levels?
Yes. Just as the overall vet fee limit can change depending on the cover you choose, inner limits can also differ between policies and cover levels.
For example, Scratch & Patch’s current Lifetime policies have cruciate ligament inner limits ranging from £1,500 on Lifetime £3,000 to £5,000 on Lifetime £10,000.
Other inner limits also vary according to the cover selected.
This is one reason why it’s useful to compare the detail behind the headline vet fee limit, rather than assuming two policies offering the same overall amount of cover necessarily provide the same protection.
What happens if treatment costs more than the inner limit?
If the eligible cost of treatment exceeds the applicable inner limit, you’ll be responsible for costs above that limit.
For example, if an eligible treatment costs £3,000 but your policy has a £2,000 inner limit for that treatment, the maximum amount available under that particular inner limit would be £2,000.
Your applicable excess, co-payment and any other policy deductions would then also need to be considered when calculating the amount your insurer pays.
This means your own contribution could be more than simply your excess or co-payment if the cost of treatment exceeds an inner limit.
Related guides: What is an excess in pet insurance? and What is a co-payment in pet insurance?
Do inner limits apply in addition to my overall cover?
No. This is an important distinction.
An inner limit is part of your overall cover, not additional cover on top of it.
If your policy has a £5,000 vet fee limit and a £2,500 inner limit for a particular treatment, a £2,000 eligible payment towards that treatment would also count towards the relevant £5,000 overall limit.
You don’t receive a separate £2,500 pot in addition to your £5,000 of vet fee cover.
Why should I check inner limits when comparing pet insurance?
The headline vet fee limit is important, but it doesn’t always tell you the complete story about the amount of cover available.
When comparing policies, look at:
the overall vet fee limit • inner limits • excess • co-payment • exclusions • how the overall limit operates
This can give you a much clearer picture of the protection you’re actually buying.
A policy advertising a high overall vet fee limit could still have substantially lower limits for particular treatments, so understanding those limits before purchasing can help avoid unexpected costs if you later need to claim.
Where can I find my Scratch & Patch inner limits?
You can see the key limits across our different cover options on our Our Plans page and in our Policies Compared guide.
For the full terms, limits and exclusions that apply to your individual cover, you should always refer to your Policy Schedule and policy wording.
If you’re an existing Scratch & Patch customer, your policy documents are also available through your customer portal.
Understanding your pet insurance cover
Inner limits don’t need to be complicated. The simplest way to think about them is:
Your vet fee limit tells you the overall amount of cover available. An inner limit tells you the maximum amount available for a particular treatment, condition or benefit within that cover.
Understanding both can help you make a more informed comparison between pet insurance policies and have a clearer idea of what your policy could contribute if your pet needs treatment.
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