The fast enlargement of alternative within the UK pet insurance coverage market is making it more durable, not simpler, for shoppers to know what they’re shopping for, in line with new analysis from Shopper Intelligence.
The report, Closing the Worth Hole: Pricing, Behaviour and the Way forward for UK Pet Insurance coverage, exhibits that the variety of pet insurance coverage merchandise obtainable to shoppers has elevated by 111% since August 2023, pushed by a proliferation of extra constructions, co-payments and veterinary price limits. Whereas supposed to sharpen competitors, this development in alternative is more and more creating confusion on the level of buy and dissatisfaction on the level of declare.
The findings come as pet insurance coverage information the very best upheld grievance charge of any basic insurance coverage product, with 52% of instances present in favour of the client by the Monetary Ombudsman Service.
“Competitors has completed precisely what it was imagined to do, it has created extra alternative,” mentioned Ian Hughes, CEO of Shopper Intelligence. “The issue is that the market hasn’t stopped to ask whether or not prospects can nonetheless perceive what they’re shopping for.”
Complexity with out readability
Shopper Intelligence’s shopper analysis exhibits that many pet homeowners are unable to appropriately determine the kind of cowl they maintain, a niche in understanding that usually solely turns into seen when a declare is made. As veterinary charges rise and product constructions grow to be extra intricate, the implications of this confusion have gotten extra acute.
“When prospects don’t perceive their cowl, the connection breaks down at declare,” Hughes mentioned. “At that time, it’s not a documentation challenge, it’s a belief challenge.”
The report argues that rising alternative with out corresponding enhancements in readability dangers undermining truthful worth outcomes beneath Shopper Responsibility, significantly the place coverage limits and exclusions materially have an effect on claims expertise.
Structural pressures intensify the problem
The analysis additionally highlights a market beneath pressure from conflicting pressures. Veterinary inflation and consolidation have pushed claims severity upward, whereas intense competitors, significantly on value comparability web sites, has pushed new-business pricing down.
On the identical time, insurers face robust incentives to compete aggressively at level of sale, significantly in lifetime insurance policies the place early acquisition is important. The result’s a fancy product panorama that prioritises value visibility over comprehension.
A sign to simplify with goal
Somewhat than calling for much less competitors, Shopper Intelligence argues the findings level to a necessity for extra purposeful simplification, aligning product constructions, naming conventions and documentation with how prospects naturally interpret cowl.
“Alternative solely works when it helps prospects make higher selections,” Hughes mentioned. “When it turns into noise, the market stops working correctly.”
The report concludes that insurers capable of simplify product design, talk limits extra clearly and deal with claims as a second of earned belief will probably be higher positioned to satisfy Shopper Responsibility expectations and unlock sustainable development in a maturing market.
Closing the Worth Hole: Pricing, Behaviour and the Way forward for UK Pet Insurance coverage is a Shopper Intelligence report printed in December 2025. It attracts on Shopper Intelligence’s proprietary pet insurance coverage value benchmarking knowledge, alongside bespoke shopper analysis carried out in October 2025 amongst 589 UK canine and cat homeowners.
The analysis explores insurance coverage penetration, pricing perceptions, coverage understanding, claims expertise, digital adoption and willingness to share pet well being and site knowledge. Findings are weighted to be nationally consultant of the UK pet-owning inhabitants and meet Shopper Intelligence’s requirements for statistical robustness.