How we rank pet insurance

We rank pet insurance the way we would choose it for our own dogs. We want them to get the best treatment when something goes wrong, without it wrecking the bank balance, and we assume you want the same. So we judge every policy on one question: what happens when the vet bill arrives?

Nobody pays us

There are no affiliate links on Floofers and we earn no commission from any insurer. No insurer has paid to be listed, and none has paid to be ranked higher. The order in our guide to the best pet insurance comes from the policies alone. If that ever changes, this page and every page affected will say so first.

What we score

These are the things we look at, most important first.

1. What happens when you claim. The annual vet fee limit, whether it resets in full every year, and the insurer's published claims record.
2. When you start paying more of each bill. The excess, any co-payment, and the age a compulsory co-payment starts. A policy that looks cheap can cost you hundreds per claim once your dog gets older.
3. Who can join. Age limits, breeds the insurer will not cover, and how it treats conditions your dog already has.
4. What customers say. Trustpilot scores and how many reviews sit behind them, plus Which? and Defaqto ratings where they exist.
5. The small print. Claim deadlines, caps on everyday costs like anaesthetics and out-of-hours fees, and the exclusions most people only find when a claim is turned down.
6. The extras. Dental cover, video vet calls, multi-pet discounts and other perks.

We do not score price. Quotes depend on your dog's breed and age, your postcode and the cover you choose, so no single figure would be fair. Where an insurer is usually cheaper or usually dearer, we say so.

We read the whole policy

Every insurer publishes a one-page summary. The rules that decide your claim sit in the full policy booklet, usually 25 to 55 pages long. We read the full booklet for every insurer we rank, and when one is not published online we ask the insurer for a copy. That is where the "small print, in short" box on each review comes from: the catches and the hidden perks, in plain English.

Keeping it up to date

Every detail is checked against the insurer's own website and policy documents, and each review shows the date it was last checked at the bottom of the page. Insurers change their policies often, so we re-check when we find a change, and we update the ranking if the facts no longer support it.

What we are not

We are not insurance brokers or financial advisers, and we do not sell insurance. Our reviews are information to help you choose, not personal advice. Always read the policy documents before you buy.

Spotted something out of date?

If an insurer has changed something we have missed, tell us and we will check it and fix it.