The short answer
The excess is the part of each claim you pay before the insurer pays. On the 2024 average UK claim of £685 (ABI), a £99 excess leaves the insurer paying £586. A 20% co-payment, which most policies add from a set age, cuts that to £468.80.
What is pet insurance excess?
The Excess: The fixed amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays. Depending on the policy it applies to each claim or to each condition per year.is the amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays anything. The PDSA's guide to pet insurance describes it as paid in addition to your premium when you claim, "usually for each condition you claim for". If the bill is smaller than the excess, the insurer pays nothing.
For scale, the Association of British Insurers reported an average pet insurance claim of £685 in 2024, across 1.8 million claims and £1.23 billion paid (ABI, May 2025). Our average vet bill guide shows what individual treatments cost.
Fixed excess and co-payment: what is the difference?
A fixed excess is a set amount, such as £99, whatever the size of the bill. A Co-payment: A percentage of the remaining bill you pay after the excess. Some policies add one once a pet reaches a set age.(also called co-insurance) is a percentage of the bill that is left after the fixed excess. The PDSA describes co-insurance as "an additional excess on top (usually a percentage of the claim amount)".
| Fixed excess | Co-payment | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A set amount in pounds | A percentage of the bill after the fixed excess |
| Grows with the bill? | No | Yes: the bigger the bill, the more you pay |
| When it applies | Usually from the start of the policy | Often only from a set age; on some policies at any age |
| Typical size | Set by the insurer or chosen by you | Most policies charge 20% (Defaqto, June 2024) |
When does co-payment start?
The ratings agency Defaqto found that 74% of dog policies and 72% of cat policies apply a compulsory co-payment from a set age, and that most charge 20% on top of the usual excess (Defaqto, June 2024 data). The most common starting age was 8 to 9 for dogs and 10 for cats.
| Co-payment starts at | Dog policies | Cat policies |
|---|---|---|
| Any age | 12% | 12% |
| 4 to 5 years | 10% | 6% |
| 6 to 7 years | 13% | 13% |
| 8 to 9 years | 38% | 13% |
| 10 years | 1% | 27% |
A co-payment that starts at renewal changes what every later claim costs you, so check the age in the policy wording before you buy, not only when your pet reaches it. Our guide to insurance for older dogs covers this in more detail.
Does excess apply per condition or per claim?
It depends on the policy. The PDSA says the excess is usually charged for each condition you claim for. Other wordings charge it on every claim, so a condition that needs several vet visits can cost you the excess several times. Some wordings charge a per-condition excess once per policy year, so treatment that runs into a new policy year can mean paying it again.
Here is the difference on three bills for one condition in a single policy year (£400, £300, £250; £950 in total) with a £99 excess and no co-payment:
| Excess applies | You pay | Insurer pays |
|---|---|---|
| Once per condition per year | £99 | £851 |
| On every claim | £297 | £653 |
How much excess would you pay? Worked examples
Illustrative only, not quotes. The excess, co-payment and £4,000 limit are example inputs, not any insurer's terms. The £685 bill is the ABI's 2024 average claim.
The 2024 average claim, fixed excess only
Bill £685, excess £99, co-payment 0%, limit left £4,000.
- Bill after the excess
- £586
- Co-payment
- £0
- Insurer pays
- £586
- You pay
- £99
The same claim with a 20% co-payment
Bill £685, excess £99, co-payment 20%, limit left £4,000.
- Bill after the excess
- £586
- Co-payment
- £117.20
- Insurer pays
- £468.80
- You pay
- £216.20
A small bill under a high excess
Bill £180, excess £250, co-payment 0%, limit left £4,000.
- Bill after the excess
- £0
- Co-payment
- £0
- Insurer pays
- £0
- You pay
- £180
A large bill that passes the limit
Bill £5,000, excess £99, co-payment 0%, limit left £4,000.
- Bill after the excess
- £4,901
- Co-payment
- £0
- Over the limit
- £901
- Insurer pays
- £4,000
- You pay
- £1,000
The last example shows that the excess is not the only thing you can end up paying: once the vet-fee limit is used up, the rest of the bill is yours. Which type of cover resets that limit is explained in lifetime vs annual pet insurance.
Work out your own claim
An illustration of how excess, co-payment and limits add up. Your policy wording decides what is actually paid. Some policies apply the excess per condition, others per claim.
Insurer pays
£1,120.80
You pay
£379.20
How it adds up
- Bill £1,500 minus excess £99 leaves £1,401.
- Co-payment of 20% on £1,401 is £280.20.
- The insurer's share is £1,401 minus £280.20 = £1,120.80. That is within the limit left of £4,000, so the insurer pays £1,120.80.
- Your share: excess £99 + co-payment £280.20 = £379.20.
This uses no real insurer's terms. Policies can also have sub-limits, for example for one condition or for dental treatment, and claims for a condition can be declined under the policy's exclusions.
The same calculator has its own page: the pet insurance claim calculator.
How does the excess affect your premium?
Some insurers let you choose a higher voluntary excess in return for a lower premium. The trade-off is that you pay more on every condition you claim for, and bills smaller than the excess are not paid at all. The PDSA lists the things premiums are calculated on as your pet's age, breed, your postcode area and any claims history, and notes that older and pedigree pets may cost more.
One way to see the trade-off for your own pet is to ask for quotes at two excess levels, then run a typical bill through the calculator above at each level. Our guide to cheaper dog insurance covers what else lower-cost cover tends to leave out.
What is the average excess on pet insurance?
No industry body publishes an average pet insurance excess, so we do not quote one. What is published: most co-payments are 20% (Defaqto), older pets' owners may pay "up to 25%" of each claim (Which?, September 2024), and the average claim was £685 in 2024 (ABI). Your own excess is in your policy schedule.
What to check in the policy wording
- Is the excess per condition, per condition per policy year, or per claim?
- Is there a co-payment now, or from what age? What percentage?
- Can you choose a different excess, and what does it do to the premium?
- Is the vet-fee limit per year or per condition, and are there sub-limits, for example for dental treatment? See what pet insurance covers.
- What counts as a pre-existing condition? See pre-existing conditions.
The answers are in the policy wording and the insurance product information document (IPID). Pawwala does not recommend insurers. For how policies compare on limits and excess, see our dog insurance and cat insurance guides.
Getting quotes
A comparison site shows quotes from several insurers at once, and most let you change the excess to see how the price moves. Comparison sites do not cover the whole market.
Not advice. Pawwala earns a fee if you get a quote through this link. Read the policy wording before you buy.
How we researched this · 5 sources, checked 21 October 2026ShowHide
What we did
What we did not do
Sources checked
- Association of British Insurers: insurance payouts for pets top £1 billion for third year in a row (2024 data) (May 2025) · 21 October 2026
- Insurance Business UK: report of the ABI's 2024 pet insurance figures (27 May 2025) · 21 October 2026
- Defaqto: your pet's birthday could cost you (co-insurance by age across UK pet policies) (June 2024 data) · 21 October 2026
- Which?: record numbers take out pet insurance, 5 questions to ask before choosing a policy (22 September 2024) · 21 October 2026
- PDSA: A guide to pet insurance (leaflet) (August 2017) · 21 October 2026
Prices and terms change. Confirm on the retailer's page before you buy.
Questions
What is the average excess on pet insurance?
No industry body publishes an average excess for UK pet insurance, so we do not quote one. The excess is set by each insurer and often by the level you choose, and many policies add a co-payment from a set age. Defaqto found in June 2024 that most policies with a co-payment charge 20% on top of the usual excess.
How does pet insurance excess work?
When you claim, you pay the excess first and the insurer pays the rest of the bill up to the policy limit. If the policy has a co-payment, you also pay a percentage of what is left after the excess. On the 2024 average claim of £685 (ABI), a £99 excess alone leaves the insurer paying £586; add a 20% co-payment and it pays £468.80.
What does excess mean in pet insurance?
The excess is the part of each claim you pay yourself. The PDSA describes it as paid in addition to your premium when you claim, usually for each condition you claim for. It can be a fixed amount, and some policies add co-insurance, a percentage of the claim, on top.
How much excess should I pay on pet insurance?
Pawwala cannot advise on that, because it depends on your pet and your finances. As information: a higher excess usually lowers the premium but means you pay more on every condition you claim for, and small bills under the excess are not paid at all. Ask for quotes at two excess levels and compare the difference in premium with what you would pay on a typical claim.
Does pet insurance go up if you claim?
It can. The PDSA lists claims history among the things premiums are calculated on, together with your pet's age, breed and postcode. Check the renewal price each year.