Prescription, dispensing and administration
Insurance administration fees prices at UK vets
What the practice charges for administration connected with a pet insurance claim, such as completing claim forms.
Published prices
No practice on our list publishes this price yet: vet businesses with 15 or more practices or out-of-hours centres must publish it, if they offer it, on each practice's website from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027.
What it is
The CMA's guidance says that if a practice has different insurance charges, it should list them as separate lines (Explanatory Note, Annex 1).
Official price-list name: Insurance administration fees
(CMA Order, Schedule 1).
What's included
- Anything that is an essential part of the service, and VAT (Art. 7(2)(d) and (f))
Why the price varies
- The type of claim. Practices may charge differently for different insurance tasks; each should be its own line.
- Separate from treatment. RCVS guidance says that on claim forms the vet should include the amounts actually paid, show administrative charges separately, record discounts, and that inflated fees are not acceptable (RCVS supporting guidance, chapter 9, paragraph 9.34).
Questions to ask the practice
- Is the fee per claim, per form, or per condition?
- Do you claim directly from my insurer, and is the fee different if you do?
We explain prices, not treatment. Ask your vet about the clinical choices for your own pet.
The rules
What the practice's price list must show, with the Order's article references
The exact name from Schedule 1, “Insurance administration fees”, with no free-text description (Art. 7(2)(a)).
As for every item: each version on its own line with the standard one marked, a cat price and five dog bands where the price depends on the animal, and VAT included, kept up to date and changed before a higher price is charged (Art. 7(2)(b), (c), (f) and (g), and 7(5)).
Large vet groups must publish from 23 December 2026 and smaller practices from 23 March 2027 (Art. 3 and 7).
Unhappy with a bill or a price? Our guide explains how to complain, from the practice's own process to free mediation.
Questions
Can my insurer pay this fee?
That depends on your policy. Ask your insurer; the practice's price list only shows what the practice charges.
Why might my bill be higher than the listed price?
Listed prices are for the typical case. Each price list must say so, and must warn that prices may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)). The price must still include anything that is an essential part of the service (Art. 7(2)(d)).
How up to date are the prices here?
Every price shows the date we last checked it and links to the practice's own page. We re-check weekly, and daily from 23 to 31 December 2026. If a price looks wrong, email [email protected].
Sources
- Competition and Markets Authority, The Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 (published 22 September 2026): Article 3 (compliance dates), Article 7 (price list) and Schedule 1 (the 36 price-list items).
- CMA, Veterinary services for household pets: summary of the final report (24 March 2026).
- CMA, Annex 1 to the Explanatory Note: indicative price lists (22 September 2026; definitions to support practices, guidance rather than part of the Order).
- RCVS, Supporting guidance chapter 9: practice information, fees and animal insurance (last updated 23 May 2025).
- Practice prices: each practice's own published price list, linked next to every price.