Bought By Many are one of the newest pet insurers in the UK and have become one of the most popular insurers for pet owners across the country. Since they began selling policies in 2017 they’ve expanded to Sweden and created Many Pets which focuses on cover for exotic animals.

• Cover types
• Vet fee cover limit
• Inner limits
• Excess and coinsurance
• Claims stats
• Fees and costs
• What’s not covered
• Customer reviews

If there’s anything else you think we can add to improve this review, please contact us on hello@gathercover.co.uk.

Bought By Many started in 2012, but didn’t actually begin selling pet insurance policies until 2017. Before this they worked with existing pet insurers to educate, inform and review what insurance was on offer. This allowed them to build up a good understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of existing cover and what was important to pet owners. 

Since 2017 they’ve grown to insure over 185,000 pets and picked up numerous insurance awards. 

Bought By Many are one of a few suppliers that offer lifetime pet insurance only. They offer 6 levels of lifetime cover, but each with their own features or nuances that make them slightly different. 

Lifetime pet insurance is also known as reinstatement policies, they have an annual policy limit for all claims which is then reset each year assuming that you choose to renew. More information on lifetime cover. 

The full list of 6 policies that Bought By Many provide are shown below, broken down by the annual limits each one offers.

Cover name	Maximum Vet Fees Per Condition in 12 Months	Total Vet Fees Payable in a 12 Month Period	Maximum Vet Fees Per Condition For Life of Pet
Value 2k	£2,000	£2,000	Unlimited
Value	£3,000	£3,000	Unlimited
MoneyBack	£7,000	£7,000	Unlimited
Pre-Existing	£7,000	£7,000	Unlimited
Regular	£7,000	£7,000	Unlimited
Complete	£15,000	£15,000	Unlimited

 

Bought By Many have pretty comprehensive cover on most of their policies, mainly due to the fact that they only offer lifetime cover – the best on offer. Even the vet fee limits on their lifetime policies are generally pretty comprehensive with the lowest limit at £2,000, and the highest at £15,000. Having said that, like all policies there will be limits within the plan that you should be aware of. We’ll dive into those next.

Dental Cover

Dental treatment is covered on all of the policies offered by Bought By Many as standard and is there to protect you for costs incurred from both dental illnesses and accidents. You can claim up to the vet fee limit on your policy ranging from £2,000 to £15,000 depending upon the policy you choose.

In order to make a valid claim under dental cover you’ll need to be aware of a couple of exceptions which are:

• They won’t pay out for crowns unless they are needed because of an accident.
• They will not cover you for routine dental treatment such as scale and polish as these could have been prevented by annual dental check ups.

Behavioural treatment

Similarly to the dental cover, Bought By Many offer behavioural treatment for your pet within the overarching vet fee limit determined by your policy – so that could be anything from £2,000 or £15,000.

You’ll need to ensure that any behavioural treatment required is diagnosed or recommended by a vet and a referral is given to a behavioural specialist. The treatment must be given by a member or have one of the following qualification:
• A Certified Animal Behaviourist (CCAB)
• A member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC)
• A member of the Canine and Feline Behaviour Association (CFBA)
• A vet

If your pet does develop any behavioural problems during the life of your policy you should inform Bought By Many as changes may impact the cover you have.

Find out more about how behavioural treatment works.

Complementary Treatment Cover

Bought By Many provide as standard cover and support for 7 types of complementary treatment your pet may require.

Complementary treatments do have inner limits relevant to specific cover levels, they are as follows:

Cover Name	Complementary Treatment Limit
Value 2k	500
Value	500
MoneyBack	1,000
Pre-Existing	1,000
Regular	1,000
Complete	2,500

This covers treatment for hydrotherapy, homeopathic and herbal medicines, acupuncture, physiotherapy, osteopathy or laser therapy. Similarly to behavioural treatment, you’ll need to make sure that the treatment is carried out by someone who is a member of the following organisations.

Physiotherapy

• Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy (ACPAT)
• Institute of Registered Physiotherapists (IRVAP)
• International Association of Animal Therapists (IAAT)
• National Association of Veterinary Physiotherapists (NAVP)

Chiropractic

• International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA)
• McTimoney Chiropractic Association.

Hydrotherapy

• Canine Hydrotherapy Association (CHA)
• National Association of Registered Canine Hydrotherapists (NARCH).

In addition to the 7 types of complementary treatment, Bought By Many could also be supported for stem-cell treatment, gene therapy, transplant surgery with pre- and post-operative care, and prosthesis so long if your vet recommends it.

Importantly, you won’t be covered for any complications that may arise out of treatments that were not prescribed by a registered professional.

Accidental Damage Cover

Accidental damage protection can cover you in the event that your pet causes damage to your, or someone else’s, property.

This is an area that Bought By Many don’t perform well in because they do not provide cover for this under any of their policies.

Around 50% of all UK pet insurers do tend to offer cover against accidental damage to property belonging to a third party, while just 2 providers offer cover for accidental damage to your own property. If this feature is important to you then you’ll need to look at either NFU Mutual or Saga for cover.

If you still prefer a Bought By Many policy then check out our guide to accidental damage cover to understand how you can prevent your pet from exhibiting destructive behaviours.

Public Liability

In the event that someone brings legal action against you and your dog (this cover only applies to dogs), Bought By Many can provide help to cover the costs that may arise as part of this. This is a rare event but legal action usually results from injuries, deaths or damage to property that your pet may cause.

Cover ranges from £1,000,000 on the Value policies and grows to £3,000,000 on the most comprehensive Complete policy.

The payouts can be used to cover legal expenses and compensation due and the damages awarded to the third party. Just be aware that your excess payment for third party liability claims are £250 per claim.

Importantly, because of the nature of these claims if and when you become aware of a legal case being brought or you suspect that one will be you should contact Bought By Many as soon as possible.

Furthermore, there are some exclusions that you should be aware of which include any incident that occurred whilst someone else was looking after your pet, if any claim involves your family, work or someone that lives with you.

You’ll also not be covered for any claims where you have admitted fault.

Pre-Existing Condition Cover

Bought By Many are one of a few providers who do offer pre-existing conditions cover under their ‘Pre-existing’ policies.

They define a pre-existing condition as anything your pet has had treatment, medication or advice for in the last 24 months. This includes advice to include anything a vet observed and recorded in your pet’s clinical history.

Importantly, pre-existing conditions that have not occurred or been treated within the previous 2 years will be covered under their standard policies so to find cover for conditions that occurred 3 years or longer ago you can look at any of Bought By Many’s policies.

Bought By Many’s specific pre-existing policy covers:

There are a couple of things to be aware of in regards to what their pre-existing policy will not cover, which are:

For more information on pre-existing conditions and how they work, take a look at our guide to pre-existing conditions pet insurance.

Holiday Cover

Holiday cover is excluded on Value 2k and Value policies, and included as standard on only the most comprehensive Complete policy.

For the remaining policies it is an option that you are able to select to include it. You’ll be asked during the online quote process and you can add it for a small monthly fee. Importantly, it can only be added at the point at which you take the policy out or, when you come up for renewal.

The cover protects you if your pet requires emergency vet treatment abroad, and cover extends the vet fee limit worldwide. This ranges from £7,000 to £15,000 depending upon the policy you hold.

in addition to this you will also be allowed to claim for an extra £1,000 (MoneyBack, Regular, Pre-Existing) and £2,500 (Complete) of cover per year to help with unexpected costs. These include:

• Bringing your pet home: You’ll be covered for the increased costs of bringing your pet home if your pet passes away abroad. You can also claims for costs incurred for bringing your pet home if they are unable to travel home in the same way they left due to illness or injury.
• Cutting your trip short: If you need to come home early due to your pet, and cancel travel and accommodation plans, you can claim for the costs that you cannot get refunded elsewhere.
• Cancelling or rebooking your trip: Should you need to cancel your holiday because of your pet suffering a life-threatening injury or illness. You’ll be covered for any change in costs if you need to rebook.
• Delays: Bought By Many can help to protect you if you are delayed due to your pet, including the costs of extra quarantine, repeat treatments for your pet, replacement documents needed for your pet and extra accommodation and transport for you. Equally, if your journey is delayed by something that is unrelated to your pet, you are also covered for extra quarantine kennelling and repeat treatments.

Like everything with pet insurance, there will be restrictions to this cover which you should be aware of, these include:

• Maximum costs of accommodation: You’ll only be covered for 14 days of accommodation at a set rate of £50 per night.
• Illness or injury that started before travelling: You’ll not be covered for treatment of illnesses that you know about before you travel or if your pet was showing signs of a change in health.
• Length of trip: Cover applies to trips of 90 days or less and a maximum number of 90 days abroad within the policy year.
• Not following rules: If you have not followed local rules on taking your pet abroad or those from the UK government you might find that claims are rejected.
• Restricted destinations: If you travel to a destination that is not recommended by the UK government then your cover will not apply.

Find out more about how overseas travel works for pets.

Farewell cover

In the unfortunate event that your pet passes away, either from an accident, illness or being put down you can claim for costs to cover the procedure, burial and cremation costs from Bought By Many.

Farewell cover is only unavailable on the Value 2k and Value policies. It is included as standard on Complete policies and an optional extra that you can select on MoneyBack, Regular and Pre-Existing policies.

Cover ranges from £1,500 (MoneyBack, Regular and Pre-Existing) up to £6,000 (Complete). The payout you receive is based on the cost price of your pet. Make sure you keep your receipts from the purchase of your pet otherwise Bought By Many will have to work out a value based on the market price of your pet at the time. You’ll not have an excess payment to make in the event of your pet passing away.

If your pet is buried or cremated after they pass away then you’ll also be able to claim up to a maximum of £150 to cover the cost of this.

Other limitations include if your dog or cat is over the age of 9 years old when they pass away from an illness then this will not be covered. However, cover will remain if they pass away from an accident.

Finally, a nice benefit which Bought By Many offer is access to a dedicated pet bereavement support line to help chat through with professionals from Blue Cross and get any emotional support you need.

Lost and Found

Lost and found cover comes as standard on Bought By Many’s Complete policy and is available on all the others as an option for you to select. It covers the cost of advertising for and rewarding the recovery of your pet, and also provides cover if your pet cannot be found within 30 days of them going missing.

Cover for loss and recovery, advertising and reward vary depending upon the policy you choose, the table below will show you what you can claim for under each policy.

Policy name	Loss and recovery	Advertising limit	Rewards limit
Value 2k	£200	£200	£200
Value	£200	£200	£200
MoneyBack	£1,500	£1,500	£1,500
Regular	£1,500	£1,500	£1,500
Pre-Existing	£1,500	£1,500	£1,500
Complete	£6,000	£6,000	£6,000

There is no excess you need to pay for the loss and recovery of your pet.

Important things you should be aware of include: 

• If your pet is lost or stolen, we will pay up to twice its original cost as a reward for its return.
• If your pet is lost or stolen but you did not pay for your pet, we will pay up to twice its market value as a reward for its return. You must get our approval before offering this reward.
• We will not pay if your pet is lost or stolen while someone else was being paid to look after it.

Find out more about how lost and found cover works.

Excess

Excess payments are those that you need to pay each time you make a claim, or each time you claim for the same condition over different policy years you’ll need to pay the excess again.

By default, your excess will be set at £99 for older pets and there’s no flexibility to amend this. However for younger pets – those aged 9 or below – you can choose your excess payment from either £69, £99, £130 or £160.

The higher you select your excess the more you’ll save on your monthly premium, but be prepared to pay the excess in the event you need to make a claim.

The excess for specific third party liability claims rises to £250.

Find out more about how pet insurance excess works.

Coinsurance

Coinsurance is a percentage of the value of the claim that you as a pet owner must contribute when claiming, this is usually set at 20%. 

For pets under 9 years old, there is no coinsurance added as standard (unless you are looking for pre-existing cover and claim for a pre-existing condition – in which case your coinsurance will be 20%) however you will have the option to add a coinsurance of 20% to your policy should you wish. This can help to bring down the monthly cost of your premium. 

A compulsory coinsurance kicks in for both cats and dogs once they turn 9 years old. This is set at 20% except where you select the pre-existing policy, if you claim for a pre-existing condition then the coinsurance increases to an eye-watering 40% for those pre-existing conditions. 

Find out more about how pet insurance coinsurance works.

Submitting claims too late.
Bought By Many have one of the most impressive claims stats around. In 2020, they paid 97% of claims submitted to them making them and Agria the best in the industry for paying claims.

The only thing to consider, which we have seen through the customer reviews, is that sometimes claims can take up to 5 weeks to be paid, but in the majority of cases they’ll be looking to pay claims within 7 days. 

As a Bought By Many customer you can submit claims using their online system meaning that submission is instant and you don’t have to worry about paper forms. They also operate a fairly generous timescale for submitting claims where you have 1 year from the date of treatment to claim for vet treatment.

Importantly, Bought By Many do not pre-authorise claims so you’ll only be told whether you’re making a valid claim once a claim has been submitted and received by them.

Find out how direct vet payment and pre-authorisation works.

Some pet insurance companies will charge you for setting up, changing, cancelling or renewing your policy.

These costs are in place to cover the costs of administration or to cover additional insurance risks that changes may pose, such as moving address. 

Bought By Many charges and fees are shown below: 

• Cancellation fee: £0
• Adjustment fee: £0
• Replacement policy documents fee: £0
• Set up fee: £0
• Renewal fee: £0

So, we’ve looked at specific exclusions to sections of cover, but in addition to those there are some general exclusions you should also be aware of.

Policyholder Requirements

Bought By Many policyholders must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Live in the United Kingdom
• Be the registered owner of the pet
• Have the pet living with you at your address
• Not have ever been declined insurance for your pet or had an insurance policy for your pet cancelled by an insurer.
• Not have any unspent convictions for i) any kind of offence involving dishonesty or fraud or ii) any crime under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or the Animal Welfare Act 2006

Age Limits

Your pet must be at least 4 weeks old at the time the insurance begins.

Pre-existing conditions

Bought By Many do not offer cover for pre-existing conditions on any policy except their specific pre-existing policy. Therefore any costs resulting from a pre-existing illness or injury will not be covered under those policies.

Waiting period

Bought By Many will not pay out:

• For any accident that occurs or is treated within in the first 48 hours of the policy.
• If your pet passes away due to illness in the first 14 days of the policy.
• For any vet’s fees caused by illness within the first 14 days of the policy.

The waiting periods below do not apply if:

i) Your pet was insured by another insurer up to the date this policy starts. If this is the case, we’ll ask you to give us details of your previous insurance to confirm there was no gap in cover.

ii) You are renewing your policy.

Excluded pets

Cover will not be applicable to:

• Pets where you are not the owner and keeper
• Pets that have ever been in a fight, or attacked or bitten anyone or another animal
• Pets that have been trained to attack.
• Claims if you earn money from your pet or your pet is used in connection with any business.
• Pets that are used for guarding, racing, coursing or fighting.

You will not be able to get cover for:

i) Dogs or cross-breed of dogs listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. The act considers Pit Bull Terriers,Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro and any dogs that appear similar to these dogs to be dangerous dogs.In addition, we do not cover Czech Wolfdog, Saarloos Wolfhound or other Wolf hybrids.

ii) We are not able to cover dogs that must follow any instructions from a court as part of a Contingent Destruction Order.

Routine and preventative care

Importantly, Bought By Many insist that your pet has its annual check-up, a dental check-up every 12 months, and vaccinations so they remain healthy. Claims may be turned down if you have not kept up with this preventative care. 

Claims caused by you

A claim will not be paid in the event that:

• You deliberately put your pet at risk, or neglect your pet’s health and safety.
• You deliberately harm or neglect your pet.

Pregnancy

Any conditions or complications arising from breeding or pregnancies after your pet’s first litter, will not be considered.

Claims

Claims submitted after a year from the treatment date will not be considered.

Now that we’ve reviewed the cover itself, let’s take a look at what Bought By Many’s customers are saying about their policies.

Broadly speaking the customer reviews for Bought By Many’s pet insurance policies are positive, with solid ratings across Feefo (4.7/5) made up of over 24,000 verified reviews and a Trustpilot score of ‘Great’ (4.2/5) from approximately 2,000 reviews. Most of the positive reviews generally highlight easy claims processing and competitively priced premiums. Negative comments mainly relate to delays in communication and claims payouts and very expensive renewal premiums. 

Below we’ve taken the latest 4 reviews from Trustpilot. These were created on 8th November 2021.