Petgevity pet insurance review
Last updated
Verdict
Petgevity is the insurer to shortlist when the usual suspects say no. There is no upper age limit at sign-up, the Lifetime Plus tier can cover declared and accepted pre-existing conditions, and every policy includes unlimited 24/7 FirstVet video calls. Cover is unusually tailorable — vet-fee limits from £1,000 to £15,000 and an excess you set anywhere from £0 to £500, charged once per condition per year. The trade-offs: the standard Lifetime tier applies a compulsory 20% bill share once a dog turns 8 or a cat turns 10, dental illness is a paid add-on, and claims run through a web portal rather than a polished app. A genuinely differentiated choice for older pets and pets with medical history.
Get a quote at Petgevity →At a glance
- Founded
- 2021
- Underwriter
- Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited (Munich Re group)
- Cover style
- Lifetime (Lifetime, Lifetime Plus)
- Vet-fee limit
- Up to £15,000 per year
- Excess from
- From £0 (you choose £0 to £500)
- Dental cover
- Partial
- Behavioural cover
- Yes
- Mobile app
- No
- Direct vet payment
- Yes
- Multi-pet discount
- £1 off per pet, per month (up to 8 pets on one policy)
- Max new-policy age
- No upper age limit at sign-up
Limits change. Always confirm current figures on the Petgevity website before buying.
Pros and cons
Pros
- + No upper age limit when you take out a new policy
- + Lifetime Plus can cover declared and accepted pre-existing conditions
- + Excess fully tailorable from £0 to £500, charged once per condition per year
- + Unlimited free 24/7 FirstVet video vet calls with every policy
Cons
- − Lifetime tier applies a compulsory 20% bill share once a dog turns 8 or a cat turns 10
- − Dental illness cover is an optional paid add-on rather than standard
- − Claims run through an online portal — no polished mobile app
The full review
Who Petgevity is
Petgevity launched in 2021 as Petsure and rebranded in March 2025. It is part of the Staysure Group — the travel insurer that built its name covering older travellers and medical conditions the mainstream market turned away. Petgevity applies exactly that playbook to pets: no upper age limit at sign-up, and a tier that can cover pre-existing conditions.
Underwriting sits with Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited, part of the Munich Re group. That is a heavyweight balance sheet behind a young brand — the same reassurance structure as several better-known UK pet insurance names.
What you actually get
Two tiers: Lifetime and Lifetime Plus. Both are true lifetime products — the vet-fee limit (you choose £1,000 to £15,000) resets every policy year, so ongoing conditions stay covered as long as you renew. The excess is unusually flexible: anywhere from £0 to £500, and it is charged once per condition per policy year rather than per claim.
The tier choice matters more here than at most insurers. Standard Lifetime applies a compulsory 20% bill share once a dog turns 8 or a cat turns 10 — you pay a fifth of every bill on top of the excess. Lifetime Plus removes any compulsory bill share at any age (an optional 0–30% is available to cut the premium), carries higher limits for behavioural and complementary treatment, and is the tier that can cover declared and accepted pre-existing conditions. Every policy includes unlimited 24/7 video calls with FirstVet's UK-registered vets, third-party liability for dogs, and dental accident cover; dental illness is a paid add-on capped at £5,000.
Claims experience
Claims are filed through the My Petgevity web portal — upload the invoice and clinical history and the team liaises with your vet from there. Direct vet payment is available, so at participating practices you only settle your excess and any bill share. Petgevity's own 2025 claims data reports an average processing time of 3.5 days and an approval rate just under 90%, which is competitive with the app-first challengers. What you do not get is a slick mobile app — the portal is functional rather than polished.
Pricing
Headline prices start from around £8.50 a month, but treat that as the marketing floor — it reflects young, healthy cats on low limits. Where Petgevity gets interesting is the other end of the market: for a 10-year-old dog or a cat with a managed condition, it is frequently one of the only realistic quotes available, and the tailorable excess and optional bill share give you real levers to keep the premium workable. Multi-pet households get £1 off per pet per month, up to 8 pets on one policy, each with its own limits.
Customer service
Service runs through the portal, email and a UK phone line, with the FirstVet video line covering out-of-hours worries. Trustpilot sentiment is strongly positive, with reviewers repeatedly citing claims being paid without drama — the metric that matters most. The brand is young, so the long-term renewals track record is still being written; the Staysure parentage and Munich Re underwriting are the counterweights.
Veterinary perspective
"The pets that most need insurance are the older ones and the ones with a history — and they are exactly the pets most of the market refuses. A tier that will take on declared pre-existing conditions changes the conversation I can have with those owners. My advice: read the acceptance terms carefully, and if your pet is approaching the bill-share age, price Lifetime Plus before you default to the cheaper tier."
Dr Avron Taitz, BVSc, veterinary advisor, PetCoverPro
Who Petgevity is best for
- +Owners of older pets — there is no upper age limit when taking out a new policy, which is rare in the UK market.
- +Pets with pre-existing conditions — the Lifetime Plus tier can cover conditions you declare and Petgevity accepts, which almost no mainstream rival offers.
- +Owners who want to tune the premium — vet-fee limits from £1,000 to £15,000 and an excess anywhere from £0 to £500 give unusual control over price.
- +Multi-pet households with mixed needs — up to 8 pets on one policy, each with their own limits, with £1 off per pet per month.
Who should look elsewhere
- ×App-first households should look at ManyPets or Napo — Petgevity claims run through a web portal.
- ×Owners of senior pets on the standard Lifetime tier should note the compulsory 20% bill share once a dog turns 8 or a cat turns 10 — Agria has no equivalent age-triggered bill share.
- ×Owners who want dental illness covered as standard may prefer Napo or Waggel.
Frequently asked questions
Who underwrites Petgevity?
Does Petgevity really cover pre-existing conditions?
What is the Petgevity bill share and how does it work?
Is Petgevity the same company as Petsure?
Does Petgevity have an upper age limit?
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