The surge in choice across the UK pet insurance market is making it more difficult for owners to understand their cover, according to new research from Consumer Intelligence.
In its report, Consumer Intelligence found that the number of pet insurance products available has risen by 111% since August 2023.
The expansion has been driven by more complex excess structures, co-payments and varying veterinary fee limits, all intended to sharpen competition but increasingly linked to confusion at purchase and dissatisfaction at claim.
The research lands in a market that is still expected to grow strongly, with separate analysis forecasting that UK pet insurance could more than double in size by 2030 to around US$5 billion, supported by rising veterinary costs and increased ownership.
The findings from Consumer Intelligence come as pet insurance posts the highest upheld complaint rate of any general insurance line. According to the Financial Ombudsman Service, 52% of pet insurance cases are being decided in favour of customers, underlining a growing misalignment between expectations and contract terms.
“Competition has done exactly what it was supposed to do, it has created more choice,” said Ian Hughes (pictured above), CEO of Consumer Intelligence. “The problem is that the market hasn’t stopped to ask whether customers can still understand what they’re buying.”
Consumer Intelligence’s research indicates that many pet owners cannot correctly identify the type of cover they hold, such as lifetime versus time-limited or maximum benefit. That gap often only becomes apparent when a claim is made and veterinary costs are higher than anticipated or capped in ways the policyholder did not expect.
“When customers don’t understand their cover, the relationship breaks down at claim,” Hughes said. “At that point, it’s not a documentation issue, it’s a trust issue.”
Pricing trends are adding further tension to perceptions of value, with recent data showing that average premiums in early 2025 were more than 5% higher than in March 2024 as veterinary fee inflation, broader economic conditions and underwriting shifts fed through to rates.
Affordability concerns have already prompted some owners to cancel or not renew, with around 12% of pet owners reported to have stepped back from cover, intensifying scrutiny of product clarity and fairness.
The Consumer Intelligence report argues that increasing choice without corresponding improvements in clarity risks undermining fair value outcomes under Consumer Duty, especially where limits, co-payments or exclusions materially affect claims.
Structural pressures are compounding the challenge, with veterinary inflation and practice consolidation driving claims severity upward while intense competition on price comparison websites pushes new-business pricing down, particularly for lifetime policies.
Rather than advocating for less competition, Consumer Intelligence frames the results as a call for more deliberate simplification. It points to the need for product structures, naming conventions and documentation that better match how customers naturally interpret cover and assess risk for their pets.
“Choice only works when it helps customers make better decisions,” Hughes said. “When it becomes noise, the market stops working properly.”
The report concludes that insurers which simplify product design, explain limits more clearly and treat claims as a moment to earn trust will be better placed to meet Consumer Duty expectations. Those firms, it suggests, will also be better positioned to capture growth in a maturing pet insurance market.
