Write a review

Newsletter

Go to business site

John Lewis: Pet insurance reviews

Name: Pet insurance
Rating: 2.83 (50 reviews)

View other John Lewis products

2.83

Based on 50 reviews, last reviewed 15th Sep 2026

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

200% increase in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

14%

78%

Latest highest rating:

5

Paid out nearly £12k in 10 months. Great service I had a completely different experience than most other reviews. Been insured for nearly 3 years., 2 cats for £240 per year and £360 the second year. ... Read more Reviewed on: 11th September 2026

Latest lowest rating:

1

LIFETIME COVER - WHAT A CON! I have used John Lewis to insure my pet dog Sid for several years. The premium started off quite reasonable. After the first year the premium almost d... Read more Reviewed on: 15th September 2026

Read all reviews Write a review

About this product

John Lewis pet insurance is provided by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Ltd.

There are six levels of vet fee cover and excess options with John Lewis pet insurance so you can pick what’s best for your circumstances. If your pet is over nine years old, you’ll need to pay 20% of the remaining vet treatment costs, on top of your excess.

John Lewis pet insurance reviews help you find out what it’s really like to be a customer. If you’ve used John Lewis before, you can also leave a review and share your experience.

Review John Lewis: Pet insurance now

Help others make smarter decisions by sharing your own experience.

Write a review

John Lewis Pet insurance reviews (50)

Avoid like a plague

Please Please stay clear of John Lewis pet insurance. They are happy to take you're money but won't pay anything back. Been with this company 3 years now. Vet made my very first claim and they have refused. Totally ignorant on the phone also. Please use another company John Lewis is a joke Reviewed on: 13th July 2022

Fifty percent premium hike

Got my renewal offer from JL for my one year old Bichon Frise with no claims. Premiums have increased by exactly 50%. Outrageous. The customer service advisor I called didn’t even try to explain or defend it but tried to get me to increase the excess to £500 to “reduce it slightly”. I have cancelled and taken out a new lifetime policy with More Than at a reduced premium for better cover - and still with RSA. I thought the practice of penalising existing policy holders was illegal? Reviewed on: 23rd February 2022

No value of existing customers

Premiums rise rapidly each year even if no claims made.. no hope of discussing this if yoy notice after new policy year has started. I looked and if i eas a new customer looking to take out same insurance on same dog as a new customer policy eas about £30 pound cheaper than i was paying as an existing loyal customer .rip off cancelled and eent elsewhere and saved £40 pound watch carefully your yearly premiums Reviewed on: 12th February 2022

Try leaving them!

A lot of positive reviews for JL pet insurance are around initial set up. That and their customer service (bar when you try to leave them) are great. However.... Every year you will be stung with huge premium increases even if you make no claims/ the claims you make are for one-off (not ongoing/ lifelong) issues. I was an idiot and kept paying it for 12+ years (ending on £95pm to insure a Yorkie that I've paid 95% of the vet's bills myself) because they cover your pet for life. Believe me this gains you no grace with them - they will never budge on the cost because they know they're one of the only providers who offer life-time. But when you look at what you can claim back for a life-long illness be aware; you have to pay quite a lot yourself first - luckily my pup didn't have a lifelong issue but had she it would have rendered the policy nigh-on worthless, depending on the ongoing costs. Their claim-back process is stuck in the 90's, none of it's truly online, you have to print things out and email everyone yourself trying to get back any money you want (after their hefty excess -which also sneakily increases some years) ... it's tiresome to the point you have to question whether any claim is worth your time. Then, when you finally can't afford to be with them and you try to leave - good luck! I cancelled my policy on 12/8/20 by email, no reply by 09/09/20 so I called to cancel. I got an email the same day replying to my email of the 12th asking me if I wanted to cancel in language that made no sense 'please let me know so I can do the needful' (?) and as I had cancelled by phone already and my email clearly stated I wished to cancel I disregarded it. If you cancel a policy by email a provider's response should not be to ignore you for a month, for you to repeatedly chase to then reply asking you if you want to cancel. 4th Jan 21 and my bank text me about an account I no longer use saying I'm being charged for unauthorised use because JL have been taking £95pm for the last 5 months after my policy was cancelled by email and phone. I called JL - on hold for 30 mins to get through, got through put on hold for another 5 mins when I did, got cut off, no call back. I called again, on hold for 30 mins to get through and the lady said that they need to check with their underwriters that they can refund me - even though they can see I emailed to cancel, and there is a call with no notes on the day I called to cancel. I will have to wait for 48 hours to find out if the underwriter's accept my cancellation and will back-date the money owed to me. All because JL didn't cancel my policy as requested by me. £500 for their mistake and rather than refund me and accept the loss if the underwriter says no - I have to accept the loss if they do? I've spent about £10k with them and this is the goodbye I get. Imagine if I went into a JL store and helped myself to £500 worth of stuff and on being stopped by security said 'You'll need to wait 48 hours while I check with my friend if you can have it back'. JL would have me arrested. They will happily steal from you and say that though. If you take a policy out with them it will be the most boring, expensive, experience of your life - you have to get everything in writing and be spot on with your own admin because they cannot be trusted. Reviewed on: 4th January 2021

Avoid!

They have just increased my annual premium by £400 I failed to notice this last year but they now want £1500 to ensure two mongrel dogs aged 5 and 6. I am appalled. Reviewed on: 5th February 2019

Premium Rip Off

5 years no claims. Massive premium hikes year after year. Another £200 this year. Decision taken to change saving of £400 for identical cover! Thought John Lewis was a trustworthy company but now realise they are like all insurance companies if you auto renew they rob you blind. On principal will never insure with them again. Be warned! Reviewed on: 18th January 2019

Purrfect

The initial set up was easy, straight forward and very clear. We have had no further calls pushing us to buy other products and we can rely on the service when we need. Reviewed on: 4th July 2017

sick cat

what i like about john lewis pet insurance,is you have the option to speak to a vetinary nurse who can often save you time and money,rather than going to the vet itself.and we all know how expensive they are! Reviewed on: 15th September 2016

Helpful friendly service

One of our cats recently went missing for a couple of nights, which is highly unusual. I called John Lewis and they said my policy covered advertising and a reward. I started to take them up on this offer and the gentleman on the call was extremely helpful and understanding of the situation. Fortunately a couple of hours later i found the cat trapped down a hole a few streets away, so i didn't need to use the advertising or reward money offered by my policy. Just knowing it is there and can be used in this instance is very good and the staff were extremely friendly. Reviewed on: 22nd August 2016

Don't get fooled by the fantastic price when you first take out policy. Started out at £19.00 pm, now paying £64.00 pm.

My husky suffers with Rhinitus, it's an on going thing requiring steroids and antibiotics maybe twice a year. If I try to change companies, I will not be covered for this as it is pre existing illness. Only way is to take a policy with another company, but when we need the steroids and antibiotics, get vet to write prescription and buy online. Reviewed on: 26th November 2015

Do you have a different John Lewis product?

Share your experiences with products to help others make smarter financial decisions and learn more about different products available. Write a review

Are you a business? Get insights, reply to reviews, invite customers and understand their needs

Alternative products

Pet Insurance
from Sainsburys Bank 3.68 from 35 reviews
Pet Insurance
from Co-op Insurance 2.25 from 41 reviews
Pet insurance (discontinued)
from helpucover (inactive company) 3.58 from 7 reviews

Want to see more from John Lewis?

Travel Insurance
from John Lewis 4.08 from 4 reviews
Breakdown Insurance
from John Lewis 4.03 from 1 reviews
Car insurance
from John Lewis 2.69 from 33 reviews

View all products

Join Smart Money People

Keep up to date on ratings of your favourite businesses. Find out about our awards and write new reviews with ease

Create an account

News, guides and insight from our team

View resource hub