Cat Insurance

You can start your Post Office Cat Insurance policy when your cat is 8 weeks old, right up to their 10th birthday.

Once insured, you may continue your cat's cover for life if you keep paying your premiums.

Contact the rescue centre, as most reputable centres will vaccinate their cats and should be able to tell you for certain. If they haven’t vaccinated your cat or don’t know its vaccination status, we recommend taking it to the vet. They’ll be able to tell you what course of action is recommended.

Yes. The excess you pay will depend on factors like your cat's age and the condition being treated. If you have a Lifetime policy, your excess will be fixed for each yearly period and reviewed annually. Your fixed excess could change if your circumstances change during a fixed period (e.g., moving to a new area).

Up to the time your cat is 10 years old, your excess will be a defined amount that we'll tell you following each annual review. After this time, it'll change to a newly defined amount or a percentage of your contribution – whichever is greater.We’ll always write to you to let you know a year in advance of any change.

Your cat is covered against accidental injury after the first 3 days of the policy. Illness, including poisoning, is covered after the first 14 days of the policy.

These policies offer cover per condition with a time limit on claims. A particular condition will become excluded under the policy either when the maximum amount has been paid out or 12 months from first date of treatment, whichever is sooner. 

These policies impose a maximum benefit per condition. For example, once the maximum benefit is reached for an ongoing illness such as diabetes or dermatitis, that condition will be excluded from further claims, and you’ll need to be prepared to fund ongoing treatment yourself.

It's the most comprehensive form of Cat Insurance and covers vet fees up to a maximum amount, which is reinstated each year. If your cat develops a long-term chronic illness such as diabetes or an ongoing skin condition, provided it didn't pre-date the policy, it'll be covered for the rest of your cat's life.

Cat insurance policies vary. A Post Office Cat Insurance policy will typically cover:

• vet fees
• death from an accident or illness
• holiday cancellation in the event your cat is unwell
• advertising fees and reward money if your cat goes missing, is stolen or strays
• boarding fees if you have to stay in hospital
• overseas travel
• access to a veterinary helpline

You’ll find more information on the levels of cover for each of the above and exclusions in the policy document.

The way claims are processed depends on how they are submitted.

Claims submitted by your vet in Vet Pawtal go through the following steps:

1. Claim submitted: Once your pet has received treatment, your vet will submit the claim in Vet Pawtal. 
2. Claim received: Your vet will have provided us all the information, medical records and invoices to process the claim.
3. Pending approval: Our assessors will review the claim and come to a decision. On average, it takes 5 days to assess a claim.
4. Claim processed: Once your claim is processed, we’ll let you know the outcome. 

When you submit a claim in My Account Pet, it goes through 5 steps before it’s completed. Our summary below outlines our online vet fees claims process:

1. Claim submitted: Once your pet has received treatment, you can submit your claim. All you will need to do is answer a few questions, give us your vet's details, and tell us who we need to pay.
2. Awaiting vet completion: We'll contact your vet to confirm the treatment and costs. On average, vets come back to us in 8 days, depending on your vet. We'll chase your vet at days 5, 10, and 15 if we haven't had a response.
3. Claim received: Your vet will have supplied us with information we need to move forward.
4. Pending approval: Our assessors will review the claim and come to a decision. On average, it takes 5 days to assess a claim, but sometimes this can take longer if we need more information.
5. Claim completed: Once your claim is fully assessed, we'll let you know the outcome. If you submit a paper vet fees claim form, the process is different and can take longer. Once you’ve downloaded and completed your part, you will need to pass it to your vet to fill in. Once they have completed their section, they will post it to us to review.

If your claim is submitted via Vet Pawtal or in My Account Pet, you can track it straight away in our Claims Tracker. For paper claim forms, you will only be able to see their progress in the Claims Tracker once we’ve received it and uploaded the information to our system.

If you’re signed up for SMS, we’ll also send you text messages with claim updates.

For customers who receive their documents in the post, we’ll keep you updated by letter. However, if your claim was submitted by your vet in Vet Pawtal, we will update you with text messages and emails because Vet Pawtal claims can be processed so quickly. Please be aware, this doesn’t affect your chosen preferences for all other communications.

Visit our Pet Insurance support page

No, we're unable to cover pre-existing conditions that are known before you take out your policy.

When you get a quote, we’ll ask if your cat has seen a vet for any reason other than their annual health check, routine vaccinations or other preventative care. We’ll request a few details about their condition from you and your vet and explain what we’ll cover and any exclusions that might apply on the policy.