Pet insurance payouts top £1bn for third consecutive year

Pet insurance payouts reached a record £1.23bn in 2024, new data from the ABI has revealed.

The latest figure, which was published today (27 May 2025), showed that payouts were up 4% on 2023 and have more than doubled since 2014.

Dog-related payouts accounted for £933m (76%) of the total value, with cat-related payouts accounting for £232m (19%) and other pets making up the remaining £61m (5%).

This came as the volume of claims reached a record high in 2024, with 1.8 million requests for payment being made across the year, averaging 4,900 per day.

The average claim value also rose 3% year-on-year to reach £685, driven in part by expensive treatments for common maladies such as the ingestion of poisonous foods (£4,000) and elbow dysplasia, also known as forelimb lameness (£50,000).

Jonathan Purvis, senior policy advisor for general insurance at the ABI, said: “Insurance provides peace of mind that costs will be covered if your pet is ill or injured, allowing ‘pawrents’ to focus on caring for their pet at what is already a stressful time.”

Claim value

Meanwhile, a record number of policies were taken out across the year, up 3% on 2023 to a total of 4.6 million policies.

Purvis said: “You can’t pull a rabbit out the hat when it comes to paying for veterinary bills, so it’s promising to see more people making sensible choices to protect themselves and their pets financially.”