Pets at Home adds insurance via Compare Market
Pets at Home has entered the pet insurance market with a new product range called Pets Insurance, launching exclusively through price comparison site Compare the Market. The retail chain’s move into insurance brings three lifetime cover options — core, plus, and max — that let customers pick the annual vet fee limit they want.
What the new policies actually cover
Every policy includes cover for accidents, illnesses, and dental treatment as standard. The company also says the policies are designed to be simpler than many existing products.
Additional benefits like hydrotherapy, behavioural therapy, prescribed diet support, and missing pet cover are included across all tiers rather than sold as add‑ons.
Claims will be handled directly with veterinary practices through a dedicated online vet portal that’s open to any UK practice.
The proposition is available on Compare the Market now.
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The product rolls out to the Pets at Home website and app in September.
Why pet owners find insurance confusing
The launch comes with research attached. A survey of 1,014 UK pet owners conducted between October and November 2025 found that only 19% knew what pre‑authorisation means, 16% understood co‑pay, and 13% were familiar with the phrase “no inner limits.”
The lack of understanding is a real problem. If people can’t understand the terms, they can’t meaningfully compare policies or know what they’re buying. The industry has spent years adding complexity — multiple excesses, condition limits, endless exclusions — and the result is that a lot of owners just pick whatever looks cheapest or stick with what they already have.
Whether the retailer’s stripped‑back approach actually changes that remains to be seen, but it’s a sensible bet that simpler products will resonate.
Matt Poll, managing director of Pets Insurance, acknowledged the confusion directly. “Pet insurance can often feel confusing and difficult to understand,” he said. “We’ve listened to what pet owners want and developed three easy to understand products designed to give greater confidence and peace of mind.”
Poll added that the simpler structure helps owners “focus on their pets rather than paperwork.”
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Compare the Market’s take on the partnership
Helen Phipps, commercial director at Compare the Market, said the partnership gives customers products that are “simple to understand and easy to compare.” She noted that protecting a pet is “an emotional decision as much as a practical one” and that clearer cover helps owners take that step with more confidence.
For Compare the Market, the exclusive deal brings a well‑known retail brand into its insurance offering. For Pets at Home, it’s a natural extension of the services the retailer already provides through its stores and vet practices.
The firm is one of the UK’s most trusted providers of pet care services, and insurance has long been seen as a logical add‑on for such businesses — the question was always whether they could build something that didn’t just replicate what’s already on the market.
The product avoids some of the industry’s most criticised practices, including per‑condition limits and multiple excess charges.
But for now, the market has a new entrant backed by one of the most recognised names in UK pet care, and it’s aiming squarely at the confusion that drives so many pet owners away from buying cover at all.
