Owners spend document £6.1bn insuring their pets

Pet insurance spending has soared over the past year as rising vet bills and inflation cause Britons to fork out more to protect their furry friends from illness and injury.

Owners spent £6.1billion on pet insurance in 12 months – 15.8 per cent higher than the same period a year ago – while the number of people taking out insurance products jumped 4.6 per cent to 13.4m, according to data platform SpendMapper.

Devotion: Owners spent £6.1billion on pet insurance in 12 months – 15.8 per cent higher than the same period a year ago

ONS data revealed that price rises for vet services continued to outstrip inflation as a boom in pet ownership following the pandemic strained against falling numbers of new vet surgeries.

Soaring prices have also attracted the attention of regulators, with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority launching a probe into the sector in May, amid concerns that domination by a handful of large companies was harming consumer choice.