Pet lifetime insurance premiums fell by 4.7% during Q1 2026, according to the latest pet insurance pricing index from Defaqto. This followed a drop of 2.3% in Q4 2025. On an annualised basis, premiums are down by 8.2%.

Frances Luery, product manager at Defaqto, said: “What we are seeing now is not a short-term correction, but a sustained period of downward pressure driven by increased competition and greater visibility of pricing.

“However, this trend sits against a very different underlying reality. Claims costs – particularly driven by veterinary inflation – remain elevated and insurers are increasingly relying on product design, such as co-payments and excess structures, to manage that gap.”

Defaqto anticipates competition will continue to keep pricing subdued in the immediate future but believes insurers will seek to restore margins in the coming months.