Waggel's lifetime cover is one policy with an adjustable limit (up to £15,000) and an excess you choose when you set it up. Petplan's Covered For Life plan comes in three limits (£4,000, £7,000 or £12,000), and it typically adds a 20% excess to claims for older dogs, usually from the dog's tenth birthday, on top of the fixed excess.
Both say they will keep paying for an eligible ongoing condition in later policy years, provided you renew without a break.
Waggel | Petplan | |
Cover type | One lifetime policy | Covered For Life (lifetime), plus a 12-month Essential option |
Annual vet fee limit | Up to £15,000, you choose | £4,000 / £7,000 / £12,000 |
Limit refresh | Refreshes each year while the policy stays active | Refreshes each renewal, with no break in cover |
Dental | £1,000 sub-limit (accidents and illness) | Included, with an annual dental check-up and treatment within 6 months |
Complementary therapy | £1,000 sub-limit | Up to £2,000 a year (hydrotherapy capped at £500 per illness or injury) |
Excess | You choose your excess | Fixed excess, plus a 20% excess added as dogs age, usually from age 10 |
Claims | Made through your account; a dedicated Customer Champion handles it | Can pay your vet directly; pays 97% of claims received |
Extras | Unlimited free video vet calls; UK vet nurse | £12 discount per pet every year when you insure more than one; never charge you more for claiming |
Third-party liability | Up to £2 million | Up to £2 million |
The headline number is the annual limit, because it decides whether a heavy year is covered or only part-covered. A £12,000 ceiling against a £15,000 ceiling rarely matters, until the year it does.
Sub-limits are quieter and just as real: they are caps inside the annual limit. Inside Waggel's limit, dental treatment stops at £1,000 and complementary care at £1,000; on Petplan's plan, pet therapies run up to £2,000 a year, with hydrotherapy capped at £500 per illness or injury.
Then there is claim-day maths. Petplan's 20% excess for older dogs applies on top of the fixed excess, which it says helps keep premiums affordable as a dog ages. On a £3,000 specialist bill for a dog aged 10 or over, that adds £600 to what you pay.
At Waggel, the claim-day cost is the excess you chose at quote stage, with nothing age-based added automatically. Neither approach is free; they place the cost in different spots. Price the difference before you decide, not after, and ask both for a worked example on a bill you can picture.
One practical point up front: both providers say they can pay your vet directly, so in many cases you will not have to find the money first. Not every practice accepts direct payment from insurers, so check with yours. Petplan says it pays 97% of the claims it receives, with 90% paid within five working days.
Waggel runs claims through your account: you log in, describe the visit, and Waggel contacts your vet. A dedicated Customer Champion handles the rest and keeps you updated. Where a practice does not accept direct payment from an insurer, you settle the bill first and claim it back.
If the deciding factor is the size of the annual ceiling, Waggel's £15,000 top limit is the bigger number. If your priority is an insurer with a long track record (over 45 years, in Petplan's case) and set limits to pick from, that is Petplan's territory. If your dog is nearing ten, run the claim-day maths on both; the difference grows at exactly the age when claims cluster. And Waggel includes round-the-clock video access to a vet as standard.
Five checks to run:
There is no blanket answer: premiums follow your pet's breed, age and where you live, so the same pair can swap places from one household to the next. Compare quotes at the same limit and excess to get a real answer. What differs by design is structure: Petplan's 20% excess for older dogs, and Waggel's adjustable limit and excess.
Yes. Both say they will keep paying for eligible ongoing conditions year after year, while the policy stays active and is renewed without a break.
Yes. Waggel says it can pay vets directly, as does Petplan. Not every practice accepts direct payment from insurers, so check with your vet before you rely on it.
Set the same limit on both quotes, price one realistic claim, and read the wording that will apply to your pet. That settles the question faster than the headline numbers do.