Direct Line offers pet insurance for dogs and cats. The insurer says that as no two pets are the same, its Essential and Advanced cover options can both be customised to suit each animal. What’s more, it also offers a 12.5% discount for insuring more than one pet under a pet policy. Here’s what else we think you should know.
Direct Line began in 1985 and sold car insurance. Since then, it has branched out to pet, van, travel, landlord and home insurance.
This award-winning company’s Advanced cover is 5-star Defaqto-rated when purchased with all the optional extras on offer.
| Cover benefits | Essential cover | Advanced cover |
|---|---|---|
Veterinary fees for each condition | Up to £4,000 | Up to £8,000 |
Time limit for each condition | 12 months from the date of the initial treatment | No time limits applied |
Accidents, injuries and disease cover (including dental accidents) | ✓ | ✓ |
Dental disease cover | X | Up to £1,000 |
Complementary treatments | ✓ | ✓ |
Euthanasia | X | Up to £100 |
Online chat and video services with vets 24/7 | ✓ | ✓ |
Legal advice and helpline for bereaved pet owners | ✓ | ✓ |
Direct Line has several general exclusions that could result in you being unable to make a claim. Some of these include:
Your excess is the amount of money you’re expected to pay if you have to make a claim on insurance.
For example, to cover veterinary fees, you may need to pay an amount towards the cost of treatment for each illness or injury.
Check your own policy document to see if any excess applies.
To make a claim, there are three ways to get in touch with Direct Line. To make a claim over the phone, call 0345 246 8496. Lines are open 8am-6pm every week day and 9am-5pm on Saturdays. To claim online, visit the Direct Line website and complete the online claims form. You can also download and print the claims form, complete it and post it back to:
Pet Claims
Leeds Processing Centre,
42 The Headrow
Leeds,
LS1 8HZ
Alternatively, you can scan the form and email it back to petclaimreturn@ukipartnerships.com
It’s vital that you let your insurer know about a claim as soon as possible. Failure to do this could result in a delay or a rejected claim later on.
Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.
To find out more, read our full methodology.
All user-submitted reviews must meet our review guidelines. These set out our standards and expectations, including that the review is from by a genuine user of the relevant product or service and that it is honest, authentic and respectful. We explicitly prohibit fake or otherwise misleading reviews and we check all submissions, but we make no guarantee as to the authenticity of any published review or reviewer. Some reviews may be submitted (regardless of sentiment) in exchange for entry into any competition(s) for which we are the promoter.
See the full results of our independent customer satisfaction survey of 1,010 pet insurance customers. Find out who is top dog.
Pets can end up costing you a pretty penny if they’re not covered. See how to get the best pet insurance for your furry family members here.
Find out how you could lower your pet insurance premiums and be the cat that got the cream.
See the full results of our independent customer satisfaction survey of 750 pet insurance customers – who’s the top dog?
On the hunt for pet insurance? Find out what maximum benefit pet insurance will cover and compare quotes too.
Need pet insurance? Read our review and check out what Legal & General offers.
A list of popular pet insurers, A to Z.
Looking for pet insurance? We explain whether E & L pet insurance has the right deal for your furry or feathered friend.
Compare multi-pet insurance deals and find out how much covering your pets will cost.
Are you looking for pet insurance that’ll give you peace of mind? Compare and review 4Paws Pet Insurance and see if their policies are right for you.