Staffie Insurance: Which UK Insurers Cover Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and the Crosses That Catch People Out

The Staffordshire bull terrier is one of the most common dogs in the UK. A Royal Veterinary College study using VetCompass records found it was the second most common purebred dog under UK vet care in its 2016 data. The same study found Staffies were less likely to be insured than other dogs: 9.7% against 13.6%.

Part of the reason may be confusion. Owners hear that some insurers will not cover "Staffies", and some won't. But most of the exclusions are aimed at other breeds with similar names. We checked the excluded breeds list and policy document of every insurer in our guide to the best pet insurance to find out exactly who covers what. We have no policy to sell you, and no insurer pays us.

The short answer

• Nine of the ten cover the Staffordshire bull terrier. The one that does not is Purely Pets, which excludes Staffies and their crosses from the whole policy.
• The breeds that do get excluded are the Irish Staffordshire bull terrier and the American Staffordshire terrier. Several insurers exclude both, along with any dog crossed with them. If your dog's paperwork or advert said "Irish Staffie", that matters.
• For an allergic Staffie, check the food cover. Skin allergies are the problem the breed is most clearly prone to, and four of the ten insurers will not pay towards prescription food for them.

Who covers a Staffie, and who excludes its relatives

This is what each insurer's excluded breeds list or policy document says, checked in November 2026. Every insurer also excludes banned types under the Dangerous Dogs Act, such as the pit bull terrier, and any dog crossed with one.

Insurer	Staffordshire bull terrier	Related breeds it excludes, with their crosses
Agria	Covered	None of the Staffie breeds. Its claims-against-you cover excludes the American bull terrier, American bully and American pitbull terrier
Petplan	Covered	Pit bull terrier and other banned types only
ManyPets	Covered	American Staffordshire terrier (Amstaff), American bull terrier, American bully, and any dog that appears similar to a banned type or meets the XL bully definition
Animal Friends	Covered	American and Irish Staffordshire bull terriers
Waggel	Covered	American and Irish Staffordshire bull terriers, and any breed that does not appear in its quote form
Petgevity	Covered	American Staffordshire terrier, American bully and its pocket, standard and classic types
Perfect Pet	Covered	American Staffordshire terrier, Irish Staffordshire bull terrier
Purely Pets	Not covered	Staffordshire bull terrier, Irish Staffordshire bull terrier, and around 50 other breeds
Post Office	Covered	American Staffordshire terrier, Irish Staffordshire bull terrier, Irish Staffordshire blue bull terrier
Pets at Home	Covered	American Staffordshire terrier, American bull terrier, "bully" types, and any dog with a parent or grandparent on its list

Why crosses are where Staffie owners get caught

A pedigree Staffordshire bull terrier with Kennel Club papers is straightforward. The risk is the dog whose background is less certain:

• A dog sold as an "Irish Staffie". Animal Friends, Waggel, Perfect Pet, Post Office and Purely Pets all exclude the Irish Staffordshire bull terrier and its crosses, so declaring the breed your dog was sold as can rule out five of the ten.
• A rescue Staffie cross. If the other half of the cross is unknown, some insurers can ask for proof. Animal Friends' excluded breeds page says that if it is unsure, it will ask for a DNA test at your cost and will not look at claims until it has the result. If the test shows more than 50% of an excluded breed, it voids the policy back to your last renewal. For a banned breed, any percentage counts.
• A Staffie that looks like something else. The RVC study notes that Staffies can be hard to tell apart from pit bull types by appearance alone. That matters because ManyPets excludes dogs that "appear similar" to a banned type, and because the Dangerous Dogs Act defines a pit bull by its look rather than its paperwork. A typical Staffie is not affected, but a big, heavily muscled cross could be. Our guide to XL bully insurance covers the XL bully definition.

The fix is simple, if not always comfortable: declare the breed accurately, and if your dog is a cross, name both halves if you know them. An insurer that finds the breed was given wrongly can refuse a claim or void the policy. Perfect Pet's policy, for example, specifically mentions a pet whose breed "has not been declared to Us correctly".

What Staffies see the vet for

The RVC study compared the vet records of 1,304 Staffies with more than 21,000 other dogs. It found no evidence that Staffies have more health problems overall than other dogs, and no difference in the odds of aggression. It did find four conditions recorded more often in Staffies:

• Atopic dermatitis (skin allergies). Staffies had 1.88 times the odds of other dogs. The authors say this is the finding to put most confidence in, and that the true rate may be higher than recorded because allergies are hard to diagnose.
• Skin lumps. 1.80 times the odds, with 3.76% of Staffies recorded with one in a year. The authors note that Staffies have a documented predisposition to mast cell tumours, a skin cancer that usually shows up as a lump.
• Seizures. 2.06 times the odds, but based on only 18 dogs, and the authors say it should be read with caution.
• Stiffness, which the authors suggest may point to joint problems in a breed known for not showing pain.

Staffies were less likely than other dogs to be recorded with a slipping kneecap, dental disease, anal gland problems and heart murmurs.

The study also notes three inherited conditions the Kennel Club reports in the breed: hereditary cataracts, L-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L-2-HGA) and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous. At the time of the study, Kennel Club assured breeders had to DNA test or eye test breeding dogs for them, so ask a breeder for the parents' results.

What that means for the policy you choose

Allergies need lifetime cover, and food cover helps

Skin allergies are not cured. They are managed, often for life, with medication, special shampoos, vet checks and sometimes a prescription diet. That makes lifetime cover, with a limit that resets every year, the right type. A time-limited policy stops paying after 12 months, which is no use for a condition that lasts ten years. Our guide to whether lifetime pet insurance is worth it explains the difference.

Food is where the ten policies differ most for an allergic dog. A vet may prescribe a hypoallergenic diet to find or manage the cause, and those diets are not cheap:

Insurer	Prescription food for skin allergies
ManyPets	Up to £500 a year on Complete Care, £200 on Standard Care
Pets at Home	25% to 45% of the cost, up to £100 to £500 a year depending on cover level and breed group
Agria	50% of the cost, up to £250 for each illness for as long as your dog is insured
Petgevity	Up to £250 a year on Lifetime Plus, £100 on Lifetime
Post Office	25% of the cost, for up to six months per condition
Petplan, Animal Friends, Purely Pets	Only for food to dissolve bladder stones or crystals
Waggel, Perfect Pet	No food cover at all

One excess a year suits a dog with a long-running condition

Allergies mean repeat visits. On most policies you pay the excess once per condition each year, which is fine for one allergy. ManyPets and Pets at Home charge it once a year in total, however many conditions you claim for, which helps if allergies come with ear infections and skin infections that might count as separate conditions.

Lumps and the "same condition" rule

A skin lump usually means a vet check, a needle sample and sometimes removal. On a lifetime policy with an annual limit, that is straightforward. On Perfect Pet's limit per condition, it is worth knowing that any lump with the same diagnosis as an earlier one is treated as the same condition, so a second mast cell tumour shares the first one's £5,000 limit for that year.

Get the timing right

Insure before the first allergy shows. Itchy skin, red paws or chronic ear trouble noted by a vet before the policy starts will normally be excluded as pre-existing. If you are getting a puppy, our guide to puppy insurance covers how to keep cover running from the breeder's free policy.

Rescue Staffies. Staffies are common in rehoming centres, and an adult dog may come with a vet history. Ask the centre for it before you choose a policy. Most insurers will exclude anything already on record, but ManyPets' pre-existing plan covers up to £1,500 a year for conditions that have not needed treatment for three months, and Petgevity's Lifetime Plus can cover a condition you declare if it agrees to.

Dogs that have ever bitten. This applies to every breed, not just Staffies: ManyPets will not cover a dog that has ever been in a fight, been aggressive, or attacked or bitten anyone, and Pets at Home has a similar rule. If your dog has any such history, declare it and check before you buy.

Before you buy

1. Check the insurer covers the Staffordshire bull terrier, and if your dog is a cross or was sold as an Irish Staffie, check those too.
2. Declare the breed exactly as it is, including both halves of a cross if you know them.
3. Choose lifetime cover with a limit that resets every year.
4. If your Staffie has, or is likely to get, skin allergies, compare the prescription food cover in the table above.
5. Insure before the first vet check notes anything about the skin or ears.

Sources

• Pegram C, Wonham K, Brodbelt DC, Church DB, O'Neill DG. Staffordshire Bull Terriers in the UK: their disorder predispositions and protections. Canine Medicine and Genetics, 2020 (Royal Veterinary College, VetCompass data from 2016)
• Excluded breeds lists: ManyPets, Animal Friends, Waggel, Petgevity
• Policy documents: Agria lifetime dog policy, Petplan Covered For Life, ManyPets handbook for plans starting or renewing from 1 October 2026 from its handbooks page, Animal Friends £10,000 and £18,000 lifetime booklet, Waggel policy wording V22, Petgevity Lifetime Plus (July 2026), Perfect Pet lifetime policy wording (July 2026), Purely Pets policy wording, Post Office (P3324v9)
• Pets at Home: Pets Insurance policy wording (PETSPWLT0626), supplied by Pets at Home on request in October 2026

Excluded breeds lists, policy documents and health sources checked on 7 November 2026. Insurers change their lists often, so always check before you buy.