Dog Insurance

You can start Post Office Dog Insurance from 8 weeks up to their 8th birthday. However, for certain breeds of dogs (see below), insurance can start from 8 weeks up to their 5th birthday.

Dog breeds: 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.

Once insured, you may continue your dog’s cover for life, provided you continue to pay your premiums.

Contact the rescue centre, as most reputable centres will vaccinate their dogs and should be able to tell you for certain. If they haven’t vaccinated your dog 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.

This is the most comprehensive form of Dog Insurance and offers vet fees cover up to a maximum amount, which is reinstated each year. If your dog 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 dog's life.

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

• vet fees
• death from an accident or illness
• holiday cancellation in the event your dog is unwell
• advertising fees and reward money if your dog 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.

Yes, and it will depend on several factors, like your dog's age, breed 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 dog is 5 years old or 8 years old, depending on its breed, your excess will be a defined amount that we'll tell you following each annual review. After this time, it will change to a newly defined amount or a percentage of your contribution – whichever is greater.

In every instance, we'll write to you to let you know a year in advance of the change.

The dog breeds for which your excess calculations change at five years old are 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 and Utonagan.

When you make a claim, it goes through 5 steps before it's completed. Our summary below outlines our online vet fees claims process:

1. Claim submitted: Once your dog has received treatment, you can submit your claim. All you 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. If they haven't responded, we'll chase your vet on days 5, 10, and 15.
3. Claim received: Your vet will have supplied us with the 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 claim form, the process is different and can take longer. Once you've downloaded and filled in your part, you'll need to pass it to your vet to complete. After completing their section, they'll post it to us for review.

If you submit your vet fees claim form online, you can track it with the My Account Pet claims tracker. For paper claim forms, you can only 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 notifications, we'll send you text messages with claim updates.

For customers who prefer paper-based communication, we'll keep you updated via letter.

Make a claim online

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 dog 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.