Pet Insurance - Excess Fees

You will find that unfortunately, there is no such thing as no excess pet insurance as almost all insurers charge an excess fee of some sort.  The nearest you will get to that is to a fixed or ‘flat’ amount charged by your insurer but at least you’ll know what this amount is each time you make a claim.  For example, your insurer may charge a flat £60 excess on each claim made.

Just as with other types of insurance policy your pet insurance is subject to excess fees. Excess fees are basically the financial contributions that you would need to make in the event of lodging a claim on your insurance. The amount you pay varies depending upon the type of excess fees that apply - but you will always need to pay them when making a claim, generally as the first 'x' amount of the claim. These vary from one insurer to the next and come in a range of differing forms so you will need to read the terms and conditions of your policy carefully and compare excess fees for a range of insurers before deciding upon your provider.

All insurers apply excess fees to their insurance products. It is a way of eliminating the potential for numerous small claims that, if processed, would cost the insurer a significant amount of time and money. Without excess fees insurance premiums would be much higher than they are.

Compare Pet Insurance Excess Fees
Insurer	Policy Name	Excess Fee Type	Excess Fee Amount	Excess Fee Description	More Info
	Value	Fixed & Percentage	£75 Cats - £90 Dogs	Excess fees are fixed + 10% of rest of the claim for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over incur fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.
	Standard	Fixed	£65
	Superior	Fixed	£65
	Essential	Fixed	As per schedule	Fixed one off excess for each new condition.
	Advanced	Fixed	As per schedule	Fixed one off excess for each new condition.
	Essential	Fixed	£60
	Premier	Fixed	£60
	Standard	Fixed & Percentage	£75 Cats - £90 Dogs	Excess fees are fixed for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over incur fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.
	Premier	Fixed & Percentage	£50 Cats - £70 Dogs	Excess fees are fixed for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over incur fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.
	Pet Saver	Fixed & Percentage	£75 Cats - £90 Dogs	Excess fees are fixed + 10% of rest of the claim for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over incur fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.
	Standard	Fixed & Percentage	£50 Cats - £70 Dogs	Excess fees are fixed + 10% of rest of the claim for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over are fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.
	Option 1	Fixed & Percentage	As Per Schedule	Excess fees are fixed for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over incur fixed fee or 15% of claim, whichever is the greater. Choice of 3 fixed fees are available ranging from £50 to £200 depending on policy type, dog breed and age of pet.
	Option 2	Fixed & Percentage	As Per Schedule	Excess fees are fixed for pets under 9. Pets 9 and over incur fixed fee or 15% of claim, whichever is the greater. Choice of 3 fixed fees are available ranging from £50 to £200 depending on policy type, dog breed and age of pet.
	Accident & illness	Fixed & Percentage	As Per Schedule	Excess fees are fixed for pets under 7. Pets 7 and over incur fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.
	illness Extra	Fixed & Percentage	As Per Schedule	Excess fees are fixed for pets under 7. Pets 7 and over incur fixed fees + 20% of rest of the claim.

Types of Pet Insurance Excess

Excess fees charged will differ by insurer, and also by the type of excess being charged. There are basically four types of excess fee that pet owners should be aware of when taking out pet insurance.

1. Fixed Fee Excess
2. Percentage Excess
3. Annual Excess
4. Variable Excess

Fixed Fee Excess

The fixed fee excess is a commonly used charge levied on those making a claim through their pet insurance policy. It is a set amount that must be paid by the claimant, regardless of the claim amount. Therefore, if a claim was made for £2,000 and the fixed excess was £100 then the claimant would be obliged to pay that £100. If that is the only excess that applies to the claim then that is all the claimant would end up paying out of their own pocket.
 
Fixed fee excesses can be both mandatory and voluntary. For voluntary excess fees you can elect to pay a higher excess on claims in return for a lower insurance premium. Whether this suits or not rather depends upon the general health and well-being or your pet.

However, bear in mind that the situation can change as your pet ages.  You will find that most insurers will see a ‘senior’ pet as a higher risk than a younger animal and will require an increased excess fee as your pet reaches a certain age.  Also, some insurance providers may move from a fixed excess fee to fixed plus percentage of claim amount as your pet ages.  This is known as ‘mandatory co-insurance’ and means that you pay the flat excess fee, say £60 plus a percentage of the amount claimed after the excess has been deducted from it.
 
As an older animal is more likely than a younger one to require veterinary treatment, which means more claims, and at a greater expense then your insurance provider will insist that you foot part of the claim yourself.

Percentage Excess

This is normally an excess charge that is based on a percentage applied to the claim amount. Sometimes the percentage is fixed regardless of the amount claimed. More often however the percentage applied changes on a sliding scale or banding of the claim amount, the highest percentage charge being applied to the smallest claim amounts.

Insurance companies tend to use the percentage excess fee as an additional charge atop a fixed fee excess. Therefore, when making a claim, both excesses will have to be paid.

Annual Excess

This type of excess fee is particularly relevant in case of life time cover. An annual excess may be applied to certain conditions / ailments on your pet insurance policy where the treatments overlap different policy years. It is designed to limit the insurer's risk on long-term illnesses or where successive claims may be made over two or more policy years. If claims for a condition do run over into a second year then the annual excess will have to be paid twice.

Variable Excess

Some insurers apply additional excesses to claims that are based on where the pet lives and how old the pet is. If a pet is deemed to live in an area where it is at a higher risk of injury or disease, then such an excess may apply. Also, the variable excess may apply to claims on individual conditions for animals that are above a certain age.

Excess fees whether fixed or percentage based can apply to third party liability – if you are a dog owner and other related benefits such as boarding kennels/cattery fees, quarantine fees, travel costs, accidental damage and emergency repatriation. So, check the wording of your policy very carefully.