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In this Scratch and Patch Pet Insurance review we take a closer look at this popular UK pet insurer to help you decide if they are the right choice for you and your beloved pet.

Before we review Scratch and Patch* in full, let’s highlight a few ‘good to know’ points about the company. 

• Scratch and Patch offer Pet Insurance for both Cats and Dogs
• The company runs a 24 hour, 7 days a week helpline
• Scratch and Patch’s Premier Policies hold a 5 Star rating from Defaqto
• They offer a 10{1652eb1ffa4184925f6a63a9c04ea6b421acb7a78117241e7d4325cdca8339fa} Multi Pet Discount
• You won’t be charged interest if you choose to pay monthly  

Now you’ve seen a few key points about the company, let’s carry on with our full Scratch and Patch review.

Who are Scratch and Patch?

Scratch and Patch are a trading name of Only Pets Cover Limited. These are an appointed representative of URIS Group Limited. Their policies are underwritten by the well-known insurer Hiscox. 

Scratch and Patch started life back in 2016 and have since built up a good reputation within the industry. Some of their pet insurance policies hold 5 Star Defaqto ratings. (Defaqto are an independent ratings agency).

The company is based in Doncaster and they are fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Types of Cover Offered by Scratch and Patch

The first thing to note is that Scratch and Patch offer Pet Insurance cover for both cats and dogs.

To ensure there is a policy right for nearly every budget Scratch and Patch* offer 6 different policy types. Let’s look at these levels of cover more closely now, going from the lowest to the highest level of cover. The policy benefits are broadly the same for both cats and dogs with each level of cover.

The excess payable on all policies is between £100 and £275 depending on the level chosen and age of the animal.

Bronze Cover – Accident Only

Scratch and Patch’s Bronze Accident Only Cover is their most basic level of cover for those with a lower budget. 

The Scratch and Patch Bronze Cover* comes with £2,250 of veterinary fees cover. This includes £250 of cover for dental (accident/injury), alternative treatments, loss & recovery, emergency boarding/pet minding fees and accidental death. The cover limit applies per accident.

For dogs only there is also £1,000,000 of third party liability cover. 

The Bronze level of cover is time limited to 12 months. This means that cover for an accident or injury will end 12 months from the first date of treatment or when the policy ends, whichever is first. 

To keep the cost of the cover down, Scratch and Patch’s Bronze cover does not cover illness. It only covers vet fees for accidents and injuries.

Scratch and Patch’s policies are all covered in the UK / EU PETS Scheme Area.

Silver Cover – Time Limited Pet Insurance

The Scratch and Patch Silver level of cover is a slight upgrade on their Bronze policy. The one major difference is that it includes cover for illnesses after the standard 14 day waiting period. 

The Scratch and Patch Silver Cover* comes with £3,000 of cover for veterinary fees. This includes £100 for diet food and £300 for alternative treatments. It also includes £500 for cruciate ligament, MRI/CT scans and death by accident or illness. 

There is £750 of cover included for loss & recovery, emergency boarding/pet minding fees and holiday cancellation. There’s a big jump in the amount included for dental cover to £3,000 when compared with the bronze cover.

It’s worth noting that holiday cancellation cover is also included at this level up to £750.

For dogs only there is £1,000,000 of third party liability cover.  

This cover is time limited to 12 months. This means that cover for accident or injury will end 12 months from the first date of treatment or when the policy ends, whichever is first. 

Scratch and Patch’s policies are all covered in the UK / EU PETS Scheme Area.

Gold Cover – Maximum Benefit Cover

With Scratch and Patch’s Gold level of cover, we again see an upgrade compared to Silver and Bronze policies. 

The first thing to know is that the Gold cover is a maximum benefit policy. This means that cover for an injury or illness ends once the maximum benefit has been reached. It is NOT time limited!

The Scratch and Patch Gold Cover* comes with £4,000 of veterinary fees cover. This cover includes £100 for diet food and £400 for alternative treatments. There’s also £1000 for cruciate ligament, MRI/CT scans and death by accident or illness. 

There is £1000 of cover included for loss & recovery, emergency boarding/pet minding fees and holiday cancellation. There’s another small jump in the amount included for dental cover (accident/injury) to £4,000 compared with the silver cover.

For dogs only there is £1,500,000 of third party liability cover. This is £500,000 more than with their silver and bronze cover. 

Scratch and Patch’s policies are all covered in the UK / EU PETS Scheme Area.

Prime Lifetime Cover

A recent addition to the Scratch and Patch line up is their Prime Lifetime cover*.

The beauty of a lifetime pet insurance policy is that you can claim for a condition that occurs after you have taken out the policy year after year, as long as the policy is kept running. Your vet fee limit will be reinstated each year, so you can claim up to this amount every year.

It’s important to choose a provider you are happy with for this kind of cover, as you may run into problems if you want to switch provider at a later date. This is because any conditions that occur with your pet while the policy is in place will then be classed as a pre-existing condition if you want to change pet insurance provider in the future.

The vet fee and dental cover limit on a Scratch and Patch Prime Lifetime policy is £2,500. This includes inner limits of up to £1000 for cruciate ligament work and MRI / CT scans. There’s £2,500 for dental treatment, £400 for alternative treatment and £100 for diet food and behavioural treatment.

Payments for death, loss and recovery, emergency boarding and holiday cancellation payments are limited to £1000 with Prime Lifetime cover.

Premier Lifetime Cover

Now we come to Scratch and Patch’s Premier Lifetime cover.

As with the Prime Lifetime cover reviewed above, the annual limit for vet fees is fully reinstated at each renewal.

The Premier Cover* comes with £4,000 of cover for veterinary fees. This includes £100 for diet food and £750 for alternative treatments. There’s £1500 for cruciate ligament, MRI/CT scans and death by accident or illness (with £100 for euthanasia). 

£1500 of cover is included for both loss & recovery and holiday cancellation. While there’s also £1000 for emergency boarding/pet minding fees. Dental cover (accident/injury) with this cover remains at £4,000.

You’ll also get cover for behavioural treatment (£250) and accidental damage (£500).

For dogs only there is £1,500,000 of third party liability cover available.

Scratch and Patch’s policies are all covered in the UK / EU PETS Scheme Area.

Premier Plus Cover

Let’s now look at Scratch and Patch’s top level of cover, Premier Plus.

The Premier Plus Cover* is again a lifetime policy. On renewal of the policy the annual vet fee limit is fully reinstated.

Scratch and Patch’s Premier Plus cover comes with £8,000 of veterinary fees cover. This includes £100 for diet food and £1000 for alternative treatments. There’s £2000 for cruciate ligament, MRI/CT scans, with £1500 for death by accident or illness (£150 for euthanasia). 

You’ll get £1000 for emergency boarding/pet minding fees, £1500 for loss & recovery and £2500 for holiday cancellation. Dental cover (accident/injury) with this cover doubles to £8000 from what you get with the standard Premier plan.

There’s also an increase the amounts available for behavioural treatment (£500) and accidental damage (£750).

For dogs only there is £2,000,000 of third party liability cover.

Scratch and Patch’s policies are all covered in the UK / EU PETS Scheme Area.

A Simple Overview

Here is a simple chart to show the benefits on offer with each level of cover!

Scratch and Patch Reviews

TrustPilot now rate Scratch and Patch as excellent – 3.7 out of 5 – based on 636 reviews. There are always a few negative reviews to be found for pet insurance providers as there will inevitably be cases where claims aren’t eligible to be paid, which tends to leave people angry even if the decision was justified.

Summary

We hope you’ve found this Scratch and Patch Pet Insurance review useful. As we have seen, the company have a variety of cover options available to suit a range of budgets. If Scratch and Patch sound like a good choice for you then you can easily get a quick quote* to see how much it might cost.