Illustration of a cat, dog and rabbit on pet insurance excess explained

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Insurance is insurance, and there will likely be an excess to pay at one point or another. Pet Insurance is no different.

But with different types of excess, cover types having their own excess terms, your pet&#39;s age and when you bought a policy, we know how confusing excess is. So, to help demystify pet insurance excess, here&#39;s a guide to how we do things at Everypaw.

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Insurance is insurance, and there will likely be an excess to pay at one point or another. Pet Insurance is no different.
But with different types of excess, cover types having their own excess terms, your pet's age and when you bought a policy, we know how confusing excess is. So, to help demystify pet insurance excess, here's a guide to how we do things at Everypaw.

An excess is an amount you pay when you submit a vet fees pet insurance claim. The frequency and amount you pay will depend on your policy and the excess available when you buy a policy.

Here at Everypaw, when you take out a policy, we want to give you the flexibility to choose a policy and an excess that suits you and your pet. Everypaw has two types of excess, and they are:

<ul>
	<li>A set excess</li>
	<li>A set excess plus a voluntary % excess/+ percentage excess</li>
</ul>

A voluntary % excess/+ percentage excess, also known as a co-payment, co-insurance or claim contribution, is an additional excess you can pay to help make your policy more affordable. If you&rsquo;re buying a policy for an older pet, it&rsquo;s automatically applied to your policy.

A set excess is also payable for third party liability claims; however, it&rsquo;s not the same amount as the vet fees set excess.

example image of pet insurance set excess or overage percentage excess

If you're registered for the Everypaw Pet Portal, you can make a vet fees claim online for new conditions as well as continuation claims for ongoing ones. You can also access and download all the claim forms relating to the benefits of your policy.

If you bought your policy before 13th March 2024, your excess will change when your pet reaches the upper age of their policy. It will change to either the set excess OR a percentage of the claim amount.

<ul>
	<li>For cat and dog policies, it will be either the set excess or 25% of the claim amount, whichever is more.</li>
	<li>For rabbit policies, it will be either the set excess or 15% of the claim amount, whichever is more.</li>
</ul>

example image of pet insurance set excess plus voluntary percentage excess for overage pets

The Set Excess PLUS Voluntary % Excess/+ Percentage Excess

For policies with a voluntary % excess/+ percentage excess, the excess may change at renewal after your pet reaches a certain age. This depends on the % excess chosen when the policy was bought.

If you bought a policy on or after 13th March 2024, the excess you need to pay would depend on the options selected when you bought your policy.

<ul>
	<li>For cat and dog policies with only a set excess, the excess payable would be your set excess plus 25% of the claim amount.</li>
	<li>For policies with a set excess and a % excess of 25% or less, the excess payable would be your set excess plus 25% of the claim amount.</li>
	<li>The excess will remain the same for policies with a set excess and a % excess of 30%.</li>
	<li>For rabbit policies, your excess will be the set excess plus 15% of the claim amount.</li>
</ul>

Your + percentage excess will be payable on each claim.&nbsp;

When your pet reaches a certain age, their excess may change. This depends on when you bought your policy, your pet, how old they were when you bought your policy, and the excess options available to you at the time. The ages the change can happen are:

<ul>
	<li>For cats,&nbsp;at the renewal after their 10th birthday</li>
	<li>For most dog breeds, at the renewal after their 8th birthday</li>
	<li>For the dog breeds listed below, at the renewal after their 5th birthday</li>
	<li>For rabbits, at the renewal after their 5th birthday</li>
</ul>

Beauceron, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bulldog, Bullmastiff, Deerhound, Dogue de Bordeaux, Estrela Mountain Dog, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, Leonberger, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Old English Bulldog, Old English Sheepdog, Poodle (Standard), Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Shar Pei, St Bernard, Standard Poodle, Tibetan Mastiff, Utonagan.

For Lifetime Pet Insurance policies, the excess is payable per condition, per year. You need to pay the excess on your policy for each condition you claim for. And if it&#39;s an ongoing claim over two, three or four+ policy years, you&#39;ll need to pay the excess again every policy year you claim for that condition. The excess is payable per condition for Max Benefit or Time Limited policies.

If your claim is for an ongoing condition and your excess is the set excess plus voluntary % excess, the voluntary % excess will be deducted from every continuation claim.

Max Benefit and Time Limited policies are only available through price comparison websites. Please be aware that the excess may differ when bought through price comparison websites. The price of the excess is subject to change.

Yes, your pets can have different excesses. Whether you&#39;re looking to take out insurance for multiple pets in one or have a new pet looking for Everypaw Pet Insurance, you can choose the excess that suits you and your different pets.

Perhaps you feel your dog&#39;s policy is OK with just the set excess but select a set excess plus a voluntary % excess for your cat. Depending on the options available to you when you take out a policy, you might want all pets with a voluntary % excess, each with a different percentage.

While voluntary % excess may take a while to understand, it&#39;s there to give you flexibility when it comes to your policies.

Why does my excess change as my pet gets older?

As your pet gets older, the risk of them having to go to the vet more often increases. This can lead to more claims, which can have an overall impact on the price of your insurance. Adding this change of excess to your policy can reduce your policy’s price and make cover affordable for older pets.

You can&#39;t change your excess once you have taken out a policy. That&#39;s why it&#39;s essential to review the excess amounts thoroughly and choose the amount that works for you now and in the future.

Will I need to pay an excess for other claims?

You won&#39;t need to pay the excess if you need to claim for one of our additional benefits that isn&#39;t covered by vet fees, e.g. Theft and Straying or Finding Your Pet. If you need to make a claim for Third Party Liability, you will need to pay an excess of &pound;250. The remaining amount will be paid towards the costs of any compensation or the fees for damage your dog has caused to someone else&#39;s property.

Some providers may offer pet insurance no excess policies but do your research. If a policy has little to no excess, the price will likely be more expensive costing you more money in the long run.
If no excess works for you, great. But do your research first and make sure you have the right cover for you and your pet.

Do I need to think about my pet's breed when it comes to excess?

The best thing to do when it comes to covering your pets is to do your research. It is not just about the insurance cost or the excess on the policy but also about your pet&#39;s breed.

A strong and hearty breed can mean fewer trips to the vets and fewer claims. Some breeds suffer from breed related issues and are more likely to suffer health issues. If your breed is robust with few common conditions, you might find a policy with a high excess might work for you as there may be less of a need to make a claim. If your breed is known to suffer health conditions, a simple set excess may help.

You will find your excess on your Certificate of Insurance and in the Everypaw Pet Portal.

The Set Excess + Percentage Excess for Older Pets

If you bought a pet insurance policy for your pet and they were already older than our upper ages, your excess will be as follows:

<ul>
	<li>For older cat and dog policies with a set excess and + percentage excess of 25% or more, your excess will remain the same as the set excess plus your chosen percentage of the claim amount.</li>
	<li>For older rabbit policies with a set excess and + percentage excess of 15% or more, your excess will remain the same as the set excess plus your chosen percentage of the claim amount.</li>
</ul>

The + percentage excess will be payable on each claim.

example image of pet insurance set excess

A set excess is a fixed amount you will pay when you claim. The amount you pay will depend on the options available when buying a policy.

If there are multiple set excess options, you can choose a high set excess to lower the price of your policy. This will reduce the cost of your policy, but you will pay more if you need to make a claim.

example image of pet insurance set excess plus voluntary percentage excess

A voluntary % excess is an amount you can select that can lower the price of your policy. The percentage amount can vary depending on the options available when you buy a policy. Choosing a higher voluntary % excess will reduce your premium, but you will pay more if you need to make a claim.

When you need to make a claim, you will pay the set excess plus your selected voluntary % excess. We calculate the percentage of the voluntary % excess after we&#39;ve deducted your set excess.

Pet Insurance Excess Explained | Everypaw

Pet Insurance Excess Explained

Link to How to Our Guide to Keeping Your Pets Safe at Halloween

Link to log in to the Everypaw Pet Portal

Link to get a quote for Everypaw Pet Insurance 

Link to retrieve a previous Everypaw Pet Insurance quote

Zoomies to Senior Snoozes, We've Got Them Covered

The benefit values featured in the table may vary across the different levels of cover and will depend on the cover you choose. Please check your cover before purchasing. Be aware, for some breeds of dogs we do not provide our &pound;8k and &pound;10k Lifetime cover. 
 
All policies and features are subject to special conditions and exclusions of the insurers, please click the link to read about&nbsp;<a href="/Home/pet-insurance-policy-exclusions.html" title="Link to Everypaw's Pet Insurance Exclusions page">our policy exclusions.</a> 
 
Excess is applicable to all vet fees claims. When your pet reaches a certain age, the excess payable may change. The excess will be your set excess plus a percentage of your claim amount.

Getting your furry friend covered shouldn&#39;t just come down to cost. There&#39;s a lot more to it than that, so take the time to do a pet insurance comparison. Think about their breed, the level of cover they might need, and what would be important to you. After all, insurance is there for both of you.

One of the best ways to do that is to compare cover levels. This will give you an idea of how much your pet insurance will cost, how much you can claim against vet bills, as well as the policy benefits. It&#39;s all about finding the Lifetime Pet Insurance that works best for you and your pet.

*Based on Everypaw claims data from February 2024 to March 2025

An older dog for pet insurance for older pets

As our furry companions age, they&#39;re more likely to suffer from ailments and illnesses here and there. And we want you to be able to look after your pet well into retirement. That&#39;s why we don&#39;t have age limits on our policies. Our <a href="/Home/pet-insurance-for-older-pets.html">pet insurance for older pets</a> can help you do the most important thing &ndash; looking after your pet.

What about younger pets? We also offer <a href="/cat-insurance/kitten-insurance" title="Link to Everypaw's Kitten Insurance page">kitten</a> and <a href="/dog-insurance/puppy-insurance" title="Link to Everypaw's Puppy Insurance page">puppy insurance</a>, covered by our cat and dog insurance. No matter how old or young your purr-fect pet is, our pet insurance can give you all-important peace of mind.&nbsp;

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Whether you are looking for a playmate for your pet or if your house is more like a <a href="/dog-insurance" title="Link to Everypaw's Dog Insurance page">dog</a>, <a href="/cat-insurance" title="Link to Everypaw's Cat Insurance page">cat</a> and <a href="/rabbit-insurance" title="Link to Everypaw's Rabbit Insurance page">rabbit</a> smallholding, you need multi-pet insurance that works for you. Everypaw&#39;s policies are just that and give you a discount on every pet too. No matter how many pets you have, from glorious <a href="/dog-insurance/dog-breed-guides/golden-retriever-insurance-care-and-health-advice" title="Link to Everypaw's Golden Retriever Dog Breed Guide page">Golden Retrievers</a> and majestic <a href="/cat-insurance/cat-breed-guides/maine-coon-cat-insurance-care-and-health-advice" title="Link to Everypaw's Maine Coon Cat Breed Guide page">Maine Coons</a> to lovely <a href="/rabbit-insurance/rabbit-breed-guides/lionhead-rabbit-insurance-care-and-health-advice" title="Link to Everypaw's Lionhead Rabbit Breed Guide page">Lionheads</a>, it&#39;s there for every single paw.

Link to the Everypaw Multi-pet Insurance page

How Does Pet Insurance Work: Getting a Quote

Our pet insurance quote form takes just 3 minutes to fill out. Here&#39;s how it works:

<ul>
	<li>Select which type of pet you&#39;re looking to insure and enter their age, breed and sex</li>
	<li>Enter basic personal details about yourself including your email and home addresses</li>
	<li>Select your vet fees limit</li>
	<li>We&#39;ll give you a pet insurance price! And we&#39;ll show you what the cost is for the year, plus what your monthly instalments will look like if you choose to pay that way</li>
</ul>

Will my pet insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

Ever found the urge to discover what the best dog breeds to train are or maybe you want to get to the bottom of your pet&#39;s worm problem.&nbsp;<a href="/Home/all-things-pet.html" title="Link to Everypaw's All Things Pet blog">Everypaw&#39;s All Things Pet blog</a>&nbsp;has the content to keep you informed.

Most Popular Celebrity and Royal Pet Names 2025

Link to the UK's Most Popular Celebrity and Royal Pet Names 2025

Link to Our Guide to the 2025 Everypaw Awards

The 2025 Everypaw Awards

Link to The UK's Top 15 Strangest Pet Names 2025 blog article

The UK's Top 15 Strangest Pet Names 2025

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Link to Everypaw Pet Portal information page

Everypaw Pet Portal policy management icon

For that extra peace of mind when your pets get up to mischief, there&#39;s Everypaw. Our pet insurance is for cats, dogs and rabbits, and every policy comes with unlimited 24/7 access to vet nurses and vets. So, if you ever feel a bit &#39;for pet&#39;s sake&#39;, know Everypaw is here for you and your pet when you need us most!

Why Choose Everypaw for Pet Insurance in the UK?

<a href="https://www.everypaw.com/multi-pet-insurance" title="Link to Everypaw's Multi-pet Insurance page">Insure multiple pets</a>&nbsp;for a multi-pet discount

99% of claims paid in 5 working days*

Unlimited 24/7 access to UK vet nurses and vets with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.everypaw.com/petcall" title="Link to Everypaw's Petcall vet page">Petcall</a>

Manage your UK pet insurance policy online in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.everypaw.com/pet-portal-info" title="Link to Everypaw's Pet Portal Information page">Pet Portal</a>

Three animals for Everypaw's Multi-pet Insurance

Choosing the right pet health insurance isn&#39;t always easy. We know that. And we also know that a key part of deciding is knowing what&#39;s not covered. That way, at least there are no nasty surprises in terms of coughing up for bills that you thought were going to be taken care of by your policy.

So, here are a few of the main exclusions on our pet insurances:

<ul>
	<li>Treatment for any pre-existing conditions</li>
	<li>Treatment for poisoning or any accidental injury that occurs in the first 3 days of your policy*</li>
	<li>Treatment for any illness that occurs in the first 14 days of your policy*</li>
	<li>Treatment related to vaccine-preventable conditions</li>
	<li>Treatment related to breeding, pregnancy or birthing</li>
	<li>Treatment on baby teeth if your pet is over 16 weeks when your policy starts</li>
</ul>

*Switching to Everypaw Pet Insurance? If you can prove your previous insurance runs up to the policy start date, we can waive this for you.

Please see our <a href="/Home/pet-insurance-policy-exclusions.html" title="Link to Everypaw's Policy Exclusions page">exclusions page</a>&nbsp;for further details.

Fingers crossed, you never have to! We want to reassure you that claiming on your pet health insurance is as hassle-free as possible. That&rsquo;s why we have Vet Pawtal. A direct platform for vets so they can submit claims and leave you to care for your pet.

Vet Pawtal is the fastest and most efficient way to claim. There&rsquo;s no more paperwork for you, and we&rsquo;ll keep you updated every step of the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

If your vet can&rsquo;t submit the claim, don&rsquo;t worry; you can still submit it in the <a href="https://petportal.everypaw.com/register#login" target="_blank" title="Link to the Everypaw Pet Portal">Everypaw Pet Portal</a>. It&rsquo;s straightforward; just log in and follow the instructions. Alternatively,&nbsp;you can <a href="https://www.everypaw.com/downloads-2020/everypaw-claim-form.pdf" target="_blank" title="Link to download an Everypaw claim form">download a claim form</a>, but this can take longer.

Please refer to the guidance in your policy documents for Third Party Liability claims.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

For more information, head to our <a href="/Home/claims.html">Pet Insurance Claims information page</a>.

We know pets are just as much a part of your family as any human. So, we know how important it is to you that they&#39;re protected. Choose Everypaw for pet insurance in the UK and give yourself that priceless peace of mind.

We know things can be tough right now, with many people facing money worries. If you have such concerns, please get in touch with us, as we may be able to offer some options to help, which could include reducing your cover or increasing your excess.

If you wish to find out more and your eligibility for any options, please call <a href="tel:03445431009" title="Call Everypaw Customer Services and Claims">0344 543 1009</a>.

Two levels of our Lifetime Pet Insurance cover have been rated 5 Stars by independent financial business, Defaqto, for 8 years in a row.

Deciding which pet insurance your furry bundle of fun needs can be tricky, especially if you&#39;re a new fur-parent. That&#39;s why here at Everypaw.com, we&#39;re trying to keep things simple, we&#39;re all about&nbsp;<a href="/Home/lifetime-pet-insurance.html" title="Link to Everypaw's Lifetime Pet Insurance page">Lifetime Pet Insurance</a>.

Our Lifetime cover is available for your cats, dogs and rabbits. And if you&#39;re looking to cover your cat or dog, there&#39;s a range of cover levels to choose from. Lifetime covers your pet up to a set vet fee limit, and the limits reset for every year of cover.

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Link to the Everypaw Petcall information page

Dog Insurance

Cat Insurance

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Link to the Everypaw Rabbit Insurance page

Pet Insurance Excess Explained

How Does Pet Insurance and Excess Work?

The Set Excess

The Set Excess Plus + Percentage Excess

Pet Insurance Excess for Overage Pets

The Set Excess OR Overage Percentage

The Set Excess PLUS Voluntary % Excess/+ Percentage Excess

The Set Excess + Percentage Excess for Older Pets

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find my excess

How often is excess paid on claims?

Can my pets have different excesses?

Why does my excess change as my pet gets older?

Can I change my excess?

Will I need to pay an excess for other claims?

Can I get pet insurance with no excess?

Do I need to think about my pet's breed when it comes to excess?