Fixed Excess: This is the amount you must pay for each separate injury or illness in each policy year when you make a claim for your pet. Your Healthy Pets policy will cover the remaining cost of the claim or any other eligible claims for the same condition within that year, up to the benefit limit. If your pet receives treatment for the same injury or illness in separate policy years, then we will apply the excess to the first claim in each policy year.
Co-insurance fee: This is the portion of the vet fees that you are responsible for paying, in the event of a claim, once any fixed excess has been deducted. Co-insurance is commonly used in the pet insurance industry, and it helps us to reduce the cost of your pet insurance premium.
You’ll find information about the fixed excess and co-insurance fee that is applicable for your pet each policy year in your schedule of insurance. These amounts may change at renewal so it’s important to check your schedule should you need to make a claim.
Here’s an example of how it all works
Let's say you make a claim for £500 relating to treatment for your pet for a new condition, firstly the fixed excess is applied - for this example we’ll say it’s £125. Once this has been deducted the remaining amount of £375 would be subject to a co-insurance fee. In this case, you would be responsible for paying 20% of that £375, which is £75, so your contribution for the treatment would be £200 in total (£125 fixed excess + £75 co-insurance fee). The remaining costs of £300 would be covered by your policy, up to any benefit or inner limits.
You then make another claim for £500 for further treatment related to the same condition in the same policy year. In this scenario there would be no fixed excess to pay as  the claim is related to the same condition, so you would be responsible for paying the co-insurance fee of 20% of the total amount of £500, which is £100. Subject to any benefit or inner limits your policy would then cover the remaining costs of £400.