STAMP STATUS

How Does Pet Insurance Excess Work? (UK, 2026)

How Does Pet Insurance Excess Work? (UK, 2026)

Last updated: June 2026

A pet insurance excess is the fixed amount you agree to pay towards a claim yourself, with the insurer covering the rest up to your policy limits. It works much like the excess on car or home insurance. When your vet bill comes in, the excess is deducted first, and the insurer pays the eligible balance. Get the excess right and you control both your premium and what you owe at claim time.

This guide explains what the excess is, the main types you'll see, a worked example with the actual maths, and how to choose a level that suits you.

The basics

• An excess is the part of a claim you pay yourself before the insurer pays the rest.
• Most UK policies use a fixed (compulsory) excess; some add a percentage co-payment on top.
• A higher excess usually means a lower monthly premium, and the other way round.
• On many lifetime policies the excess applies per condition, per policy year, so it can be charged more than once if your pet has separate problems.
• Always check whether your policy adds a percentage co-payment, because that changes what you pay on bigger bills.

What is a pet insurance excess?

The excess is your share of an eligible claim. Say your policy has a £100 excess and you make a claim for £600 of covered treatment. You pay the first £100, and the insurer pays the remaining £500, assuming the claim is within your annual limit and the treatment is covered.

It exists for two reasons. It keeps premiums lower than they would be if the insurer paid every penny of every claim, and it discourages very small claims that cost more to process than they're worth. The trade-off is simple. The more of the risk you agree to carry through a higher excess, the less the insurer charges you up front.

One thing to watch: an excess only applies to claims that are actually covered. If a treatment is excluded, for a pre-existing condition for example, you don't pay an excess on it because there's no eligible claim in the first place. You just pay the whole bill yourself.

The main types of excess

UK pet insurance excesses come in a few flavours, and a single policy can combine them. Here are the ones you'll meet.

Fixed or compulsory excess

This is the flat amount set by your policy, the same on every eligible claim it applies to. It's the most common type. If it's £100, that £100 is deducted before the insurer pays. You usually can't remove a fixed excess, though many insurers let you choose the level when you set the policy up.

Voluntary or selectable excess

Some insurers let you pick your excess from a range. Choosing a higher one lowers your premium, choosing a lower one raises it. This is the main lever you have over your monthly cost.

Waggel, for example, offers a selectable excess from £0 to £350, so you can set it to nothing if you'd rather pay a higher premium and claim from the first pound, or set it higher to bring the premium down. With Waggel the excess is charged per condition, per policy year, and a bilateral condition (something affecting both sides of the body, like both hips) counts as one condition with one excess rather than two. You can read more about how Waggel's excess works on its own page.

Co-payment or co-insurance

A co-payment is a percentage of the remaining bill that you pay after the excess has been taken off. It's sometimes called co-insurance. Unlike a flat excess, it scales with the size of the claim, so on a large bill it can add a meaningful amount.

Co-payments are often a feature of policies for older pets, and on some insurers they become compulsory once a pet reaches a certain age. It varies a lot between providers, so check the wording. Waggel takes a different approach: its 20% co-payment is optional at any age, chosen by owners who want a lower premium, and it's applied to the amount left after the excess. There's no mandatory older-pet co-payment.

Per-condition versus per-year excess

This isn't a separate charge so much as a rule about how often the excess applies. On many lifetime policies the excess is charged per condition, per policy year. That means if your pet is treated for two unrelated conditions in the same year, you could pay the excess twice, once for each. At renewal, an ongoing condition typically attracts the excess again for the new policy year. Knowing this matters, because two excesses on two conditions is very different from one.

A worked example: how the maths actually works

Numbers make this clearer than any definition. The figures below are an illustrative example to show the method, not a quote.

Imagine a £900 vet bill for an eligible, covered condition. Your policy has a £100 fixed excess, and you've selected an optional 20% co-payment to keep your premium down. Here's how the bill splits.

1. Start with the eligible bill: £900.
2. Take off the excess first: £900 minus £100 leaves £800.
3. Apply the 20% co-payment to what's left: 20% of £800 is £160. That's your share.
4. The insurer pays the rest: £800 minus £160 is £640.

So you pay £100 (excess) plus £160 (co-payment), which is £260 in total. The insurer pays £640. The order matters: the excess comes off first, then the percentage is worked out on the remaining amount, not on the original £900.

Now compare that with the same bill and the same £100 excess but no co-payment selected. You'd pay just the £100 excess, and the insurer would pay £800. That single decision, taking the optional co-payment to lower your premium, costs you an extra £160 on this particular claim. That's the trade-off in a nutshell: a lower monthly cost in exchange for paying more when you actually claim.

How to choose your excess level

There's no universally right answer, because it depends on your budget and how you'd rather carry the risk. A few practical points.

A higher excess (and a co-payment, if offered) lowers your premium, but you pay more out of pocket each time you claim. A lower excess and no co-payment raises your premium, but claims cost you less when they happen. Think about which you'd find easier: a steady higher monthly cost, or a lower monthly cost with bigger one-off bills if your pet needs treatment.

Consider how often you're likely to claim. For a young, healthy pet you may rarely claim, which can make a higher excess and lower premium attractive. An older pet, or a breed prone to ongoing conditions, may claim more often, and on a per-condition, per-year basis those excesses add up, so a lower excess can work out better overall.

Run the numbers on a realistic bill, the way the worked example above does, before you commit. And remember the excess interacts with your annual limit and any co-payment, so look at the whole policy rather than the headline premium alone. This is general information about how excesses work, not financial advice; if you're unsure which policy structure suits you, compare a few quotes and read each policy's wording.

For the record, Waggel is FCA-regulated and its policies are underwritten by Red Sands Insurance Company (Europe) Limited, which is the sort of detail worth checking on any insurer you consider.

FAQ

Is a higher excess cheaper?

A higher excess usually means a lower premium, so yes, your monthly cost is typically cheaper. The catch is that you pay more yourself whenever you claim. It's only cheaper overall if you claim rarely or for small amounts. If your pet needs frequent or expensive treatment, a higher excess can cost you more across the year.

Do I pay the excess once or every year?

It depends on the policy. On many lifetime policies the excess is charged per condition, per policy year, so you can pay it more than once if your pet has separate conditions, and again at each renewal for an ongoing condition. Some policies charge it differently, so check whether yours is per condition, per year, or per claim. Waggel charges its excess per condition, per policy year, and treats a bilateral condition as one condition with one excess.

What's the difference between an excess and a co-payment?

An excess is a fixed cash amount taken off a claim, the same regardless of the bill's size. A co-payment is a percentage of the remaining bill after the excess, so it grows with the size of the claim. Many policies use just an excess; some add a co-payment as well. On a £900 bill with a £100 excess and a 20% co-payment, you'd pay £100 plus £160, totalling £260.

Does the excess apply to every claim?

The excess applies to eligible, covered claims, but not always to every single one in the same way. Where it's charged per condition, you pay it once per condition in a policy year rather than on every individual invoice for that condition. It doesn't apply to treatment that isn't covered at all, such as a pre-existing condition, because there's no eligible claim to deduct it from. You'd simply pay those costs in full yourself.

Can I change my excess later?

Often yes, usually at renewal rather than mid-policy, if your insurer offers selectable levels. Raising it lowers your future premium; lowering it raises the premium. Bear in mind that changing your policy can affect how conditions are treated, so check the wording or ask the insurer before you switch your excess around. With a selectable range like Waggel's £0 to £350, you have room to adjust as your circumstances change.

The bottom line

The excess is the part of a covered claim you pay yourself, and it's the main dial you turn to balance your premium against what you'll owe at claim time. Learn how your policy charges it (a flat excess, a percentage co-payment, or both, and whether it's per condition or per claim), run a realistic bill through the maths, and pick the level that fits how you'd rather carry the cost.

Last updated: June 2026

Alternative titles

• Pet Insurance Excess Explained: How It Works (UK, 2026)
• What Is a Pet Insurance Excess? A Clear Guide (UK, 2026)
• Pet Insurance Excess and Co-payments: How the Maths Works (UK, 2026)

Meta description

What a pet insurance excess is, the types (fixed, voluntary, co-payment), a worked £ example and how to choose your level. UK guide, updated 2026.

PROUD TO WORK ALONGSIDE THE US POSTAL SERVICE

Trademarks and copyrights used herein are properties of the United States Postal Service
and are used under license to American Partnership for Pets. All Rights Reserved