Like many insurers, we cannot cover your pet against pre-existing conditions. This means that if before this policy starts your pet is already ill, injured or showing signs of illness, injury or being unwell or has been this way before, you will not be able to make any claim under your policy for anything that is connected in any way to the pet’s medical history.

Also, your pet will not be covered for any illness in the first 10 days or any accident in the first 48 hours of your policy starting.

Your policy only covers your pet for dental treatment that is the result of an accident. E.g. extracting a damaged tooth or reconstructive work. We cannot reimburse you for routine dental work such as tooth cleaning or for the treatment of periodontal disease (gum disease).

You will pay a veterinary excess of £65 for each separate incident. If you have Silver or Gold cover, you will pay this excess once for each incident. If you have Platinum cover, you will pay this excess once for each incident in each period of insurance that you make a claim.

When you’re taking out your policy you can choose to pay an extra voluntary excess of £25, £50 or £100, in addition to the £65 veterinary fee excess. By choosing to pay a voluntary excess you could cut the cost of your insurance premium.

When you make a claim for 3rd party liability (dogs only) or accidental damage, your excess is £100.

There are two ways to pay the vet. Either you can pay the vet and then make a claim so we send the money to you. Or, if the vet is happy for us to, we can pay them directly so that you’re not out of pocket at any point.

Yes! If you have more than one pet – whether it’s two cats, four dogs or a family of cats and dogs – you’ll get our 10% multi-pet discount off your premium for every extra pet you insure with us (so you pay full price for the first pet, then get 10% off each pet after that).

You can protect a maximum of 10 pets on a single policy. If you had 12 pets we would put 10 on one policy and two on an additional policy. (This wouldn’t affect your discount – you would pay full price for the first pet, then get 10% off the remaining 11 pets).

We’re happy to insure cats and dogs.

When you get a quote and fill in your pet’s details, you will be asked to select their breed from a drop-down list.

If the breed of cat or dog that you want to insure is not on our list, please call our Customer Services team on 0345 078 7500. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Mon to Fri, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

Yes we can still insure your pet if they have a pre-existing condition, but that insurance will not cover the pre-existing condition itself.

In addition, the insurance will only cover your pet for any changes in their health or behaviour that you or your vet notice after the first 10 days of the start of your policy.

Unfortunately neutering or spaying is classed as a routine treatment and therefore is not covered by your policy.

Yes, they are covered as long as you or your vet did not notice the first signs of the condition before the start date or within the first 10 days of your policy.

This cover only applies to dogs and means that we could reimburse you for the damages and costs incurred if your dog is held legally responsible for harming a person or damaging their property.

No matter how old your pet is the excess will remain the same, unless you choose to add a voluntary excess.

Please see question Q3 ‘What are the veterinary excess fees?’ for further information on our policy excesses.

No matter how old your pet is the excess will remain the same, unless you choose to add a voluntary excess.

Please see question Q3 ‘What are the veterinary excess fees?’ for further information on our vet fee excesses.

You can choose to pay your premium annually or monthly. Unlike some other insurers, if you choose to make 12 monthly payments, we will not charge you a penny in interest.

You can spread the cost of your premium by paying in monthly instalments for no extra charge, or pay your premium in full when you purchase your policy. There’s no advantage to doing it either way, it’s simply down to which option suits your needs best.

If you no longer need to cover your pet or you are thinking of changing insurer, please give our Customer Services team a call on 0345 078 7500. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Mon to Fri, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

When you first get a cat or dog it can be difficult to know if you need pet insurance, so we’ve put together a handy guide to help you decide.

If you need to make a claim or you’re wanting details about an on-going claim, please call our Claims team on 0345 078 7500. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Mon to Fri, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

To make sure you’re getting the best price, please check that all your details and your pet’s details are correct. You can also call our Customer Services team on 0345 078 7500 to see if there is a different cover level or excess amount that better suits your needs. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Mon to Fri, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

Yes, this tends to be the case. Older pets tend to need more visits to the vet as their health may deteriorate and may they need additional care.

Yes, we will cover your pet if you take it abroad under the Government’s Pet Travel Scheme.

The length of cover depends on the level of insurance cover you have – Silver cover gives you a maximum of 90 days’ protection in each period of insurance, whilst Gold and Platinum cover has no limit on the number of days we will cover your pet abroad.

When you take out a policy you’ll be asked what date you want the cover to start. Please note that you can’t claim for vet treatment related to illness in the first 10 days of your policy start date, or for the death or injury of your pet in the first 48 hours of your policy start date.

You don’t have to have them vaccinated or micro-chipped at the moment to get insurance, but after April 2016, it will become compulsory for you to microchip your dog.

If your pet becomes ill from something that could have been vaccinated against, we won’t be able to cover your claim.

As with any other insurance, claims can lead to a higher renewal premium because we base it on your pet’s claim history, amongst other things. Our experience tells us that pets with previous claims are more likely to claim again in the future.

Your renewal premium takes into account a number of things:

• Where you live – because the cost of vet treatment varies depending on where you live in the UK
• Your pet’s age – because as a pet gets older, it becomes more susceptible to illness. Some insurers do not offer certain types of vet fee cover to new pets that are over the age of eight
• The risk of future claims.

One of the most important factors we consider when calculating your premium is the inflation affecting the cost of vet treatment. In recent times, vet fee inflation has considerably increased the cost of pet insurance claims each year. We have seen both a rise in the numbers of claims we get and also a rise in the costs of the vet treatment carried out.

Vet fees have risen because veterinary surgeons can offer a much larger range of services to their customers’ pets. Local veterinary practices are able to offer treatments and diagnostic services, like in-house blood testing, complex x-rays or ultra sound scans.

There is now a wider choice of specialist veterinary practices, which offer referral services to local veterinary surgeons. These specialists can access the latest technical advances in veterinary care and have the right equipment to treat or even save the life of a much-loved pet.

Vet’s fees vary throughout the country, so a change of address can affect your premium.

Yes, we do cover pets over the age of nine. However, you should be aware that if your dog dies from an illness aged nine or above (or aged 11 years or above for cats) then we will not pay the purchase price or cremation fee.

We normally take a payment in the month the policy starts and then on your next chosen Direct Debit date. If your policy starts towards the end of the month, and your chosen Direct Debit date is towards the start of the month, this can sometimes result in the first two payments coming out on the same day or very close together. You will still only be paying 12 instalments.

No. Rest assured, if you end up missing a payment for any reason, your credit rating will not be affected.

Whilst a new quote may include an introductory discount, you will not be covered for any existing medical condition that your pet may have had when your old policy was in force.

The following exclusions automatically apply when taking out a new policy:

• Your pet’s pre-existing conditions will not be covered
• Your pet will not be covered for any illness in the first 10 days of the policy start date
• Your pet will not be covered for any accident in the first 48 hours of the policy start date.

We aim to assess your claim within five working days but it can take up to 15 working days if we need any more information from you or your vet.

When we receive your claim form we’ll send you a text telling you that we’re completing assessment of your claim and we’ll contact you again in writing within the next 5-10 working days.

Please ensure that you provide your mobile number on your claim form.

There are some things that your policy doesn’t cover. Food recommended by a vet to treat a condition is not covered by Silver or Gold policies, but it is covered for up to four weeks by Platinum cover only and is reinstated every year providing you renew your policy.

Our Silver and Gold policies cover each incident for up to 12 months from the start of treatment, or until the financial limit is reached – whichever happens first.

Although you have not reached your vet fee limit, the 12 month treatment period for this condition has now ended, so we’re unable to cover any further costs.

We only cover cremation fees if your dog was under the age of nine (or under the age of 11 for cats), or if you start your policy and lose your pet after 48 hours from an accident or after 10 days from illness.

If you have a printer, the quickest way to get a claim form is to download it from How to Claim. You can also email us at claims@argospetinsurance.co.uk or call our Claims team on 0345 078 7500 and we can post one to you. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Mon to Fri, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

If you have our Silver or Gold cover you pay an excess once for each condition claimed. If you have our Platinum cover then we take an excess for each condition in each year you claim.