The speedy enlargement of selection within the UK pet insurance coverage market is making it more durable, not simpler, for customers to know what they’re shopping for, in keeping with new analysis from Client Intelligence.
The report, Closing the Worth Hole: Pricing, Behaviour and the Way forward for UK Pet Insurance coverageexhibits that the variety of pet insurance coverage merchandise out there to customers has elevated by 111% since August 2023, pushed by a proliferation of extra constructions, co-payments and veterinary price limits. Whereas meant to sharpen competitors, this development in selection 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 price of any normal insurance coverage product, with 52% of circumstances present in favour of the client by the Monetary Ombudsman Service.
“Competitors has achieved precisely what it was imagined to do, it has created extra selection,” stated Ian Hughes, CEO of Client 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
Client Intelligence’s shopper analysis exhibits that many pet homeowners are unable to accurately establish 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 turn into 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 stated. “At that time, it’s not a documentation subject, it’s a belief subject.”
The report argues that growing selection with out corresponding enhancements in readability dangers undermining truthful worth outcomes beneath Client Responsibility, notably 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, notably on worth comparability web sites, has pushed new-business pricing down.
On the identical time, insurers face robust incentives to compete aggressively at level of sale, notably in lifetime insurance policies the place early acquisition is vital. The result’s a posh product panorama that prioritises worth visibility over comprehension.
A sign to simplify with function
Moderately than calling for much less competitors, Client 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.
“Selection solely works when it helps prospects make higher choices,” Hughes stated. “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 Client 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 Client Intelligence report printed in December 2025. It attracts on Client Intelligence’s proprietary pet insurance coverage worth 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 Client Intelligence’s requirements for statistical robustness.
