Dog and cat insurance in Italy
Pet insurance in Italy for dogs and cats, explained in English
Realmente Amici is a Reale Mutua policy for dogs and cats living in Italy. It refunds vet bills for surgery and, if you add it, other treatment after illness or injury: up to 90% in a network clinic, within €3,000 a year. You can add liability cover for damage your pet causes to others, and legal expenses.
From €129.98 a year a cat, surgery cover with assistance, taxes included
English-speaking advice included
Every policy comes with advice in English at no extra cost: before you buy, when you read the Italian documents and when you make a claim. Call +39 0141441493, write to info@assicurazionecastellodiannone.it or book a call or visit.
What Realmente Amici covers
Surgery, always included
Surgery made necessary by an injury, an illness or a caesarean: vet and theatre fees, prostheses, hospital stay, and visits, tests and physiotherapy in the 40 days before and after. You pay 10% (minimum €100) in a network clinic booked through mynet.blue, 20% elsewhere.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 6.1.A and 9.1
Vet costs without surgery (optional)
Visits, tests, diagnostics, prescribed physiotherapy and hospital stays after an illness or injury, even with no operation. You pay 10% (minimum €50) with the network voucher, 20% elsewhere.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 6.1.B and 9.1
One annual limit for all your pets
Surgery and vet costs share a single limit of €3,000 per claim and per policy year, whatever the number of animals insured. Vet costs and surgery are covered anywhere in the world.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 7.2, 7.5 and 9.1
Liability for damage to others (optional)
Accidental injury or damage your dog or cat causes to people, property or other animals, worldwide, also while a friend looks after it for free. Limit of your choice: €500,000, €1,000,000, €2,000,000. Excess of €100 on damage to property.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Liability section, art. 11.1, 11.2 and 12.1
Legal expenses, handled by ARAG (optional)
Lawyers' and experts' fees to claim from someone who harmed your pet, to defend you when the liability cover does not respond, and for criminal defence for negligence offences. Also disputes with a vet, breeder or kennel from €200, after 3 months. Limit per claim: €10,000, €20,000, €30,000.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Legal Expenses section, art. 16.2 and 17.1
Assistance and a vet on the phone
A pet sitter if you are in hospital for at least 3 days (up to €500), a ticket to collect a lost pet found more than 50 km from home (up to €300), a second opinion on a serious diagnosis, up to 3 times per service a year. Plus a 24/7 vet advice line and discounted network clinics.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Assistance section, art. 21.1 and 21.2; MyNet Veterinaria service
What it costs
The premium depends on species, size, breed and age of the animal and on the cover you choose. Three profiles, the same ones shown on our Italian page, calculated on the insurer's tariff:
Cat, non-pedigree
€145.82 a year
Age 2 – 3 years. Surgery and vet costs, with assistance.
Small dog
€240.85 a year
Age 2 – 3 years. Surgery and vet costs, with assistance.
Large dog
€384.70 a year
Age 5 – 6 years. Surgery, vet costs and €1,000,000 liability, with assistance.
Annual tariff premiums for one animal, taxes included, calculated by the same engine as the online quote. The vet-costs premium rises with age and is recalculated at each renewal. With more animals on one policy the Conditions reduce the surgery and vet-costs premium by 20% to 35%, up to 5 animals.
Before you sign: limits and exclusions
Waiting periods
Injuries are covered after 7 days (30 for cruciate ligament and meniscus), illnesses after 30 days, and illnesses from conditions that had started but were unknown when you signed after 180 days.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 7.1
Pre-existing and hereditary conditions
Illnesses, malformations and conditions diagnosed or treated before you sign, injuries that happened before the start date, and anything linked to hereditary factors are excluded.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 8.1 A and L
Routine and preventive care
Vaccines, flea and worm treatments, routine check-ups, preventive spaying or neutering, dental care unless after an injury, cosmetic surgery, pregnancy and natural birth, and medicines outside a surgical treatment are not covered.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 8.1 B to I
Diseases excluded by name
Heartworm (filariosi) and leishmaniasis for all pets; distemper, parvovirus, infectious hepatitis and leptospirosis for dogs; rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia and feline leukaemia for cats.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 8.1 M, N and O
Age limits
Your pet must be between 2 months and 10 years old (not yet reached) when you sign. Once one of the insured animals turns 10, the policy cannot be renewed and ends at the next annual expiry date.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, art. 2.2 and 5.4
Dogs at high risk of aggression
For dogs on the vet services' register and for breeds listed in the Conditions (for example Rottweiler, Dobermann, American Staffordshire Terrier, Pit Bull and their crosses), liability cover applies with 10% payable by you (minimum €1,000) and a limit of €100,000 a year.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, glossary; Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Liability section, art. 11.2.E
What liability does not cover
Damage while the animal stays in a boarding kennel, during hunting or professional use, to your own or your family's other animals, to things in your custody, and fire caused by the animal.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Liability section, art. 13.2
If you have recently moved to Italy
Microchip, Italian pet register and health booklet
To be insured your dog or cat must have a microchip, be entered in the Italian pet register (Anagrafe degli animali d'affezione) and have a health booklet (libretto sanitario) issued by a licensed vet. If your pet came with you from abroad, check the Italian registration before you apply.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, art. 5.4
Your pet lives with you in Italy
The policy covers animals that live permanently with you or your family. You need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale) and an address in Italy; animals used for paid or professional work are excluded, except guide dogs for a family member.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, art. 5.4
Travelling back to the UK with your pet
Vet costs and liability apply worldwide. The assistance services work in Italy, San Marino and the Vatican; lost-pet recovery works across Europe. Legal expenses for criminal defence and damage claims also cover courts in the EU, the UK and Switzerland.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 7.2; Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Liability section, art. 12.1; Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Legal Expenses section, art. 17.5; Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Assistance section, art. 22.2
Claims, with us in English
You pay the vet, then notify the claim in writing within 10 days with the invoices, the vet report and the microchip code. We prepare it with you in English; the insurer pays within 15 days of setting the amount.
Source: Realmente Amici Insurance Conditions, Pecuniary Losses section, art. 10.1 and 10.2
How it works
Get your quote online, in English
The price is calculated on the insurer's tariff from the details you enter. The quote is free and does not commit you to buy.
Go through it with an English-speaking adviser
Before you sign we send you the pre-contract documents (DIP and additional DIP) and the Insurance Conditions. They are in Italian, the version that is legally binding: we walk you through them in English, at no extra cost.
Sign and stay covered
You sign online or at one of our offices. When you need to make a claim, you deal with us in English and we handle the paperwork with the insurer.
Frequently asked questions
Is dog liability insurance compulsory in Italy?
Not for every dog at national level. The local vet services (ASL) can require it for dogs entered in their register of dogs at high risk of aggression, and local rules may add requirements. Under the Italian Civil Code (art. 2052) the owner is liable for damage the animal causes, which is why most owners add liability cover to the policy.
How much does pet insurance cost in Italy?
With Realmente Amici, from €129.98 a year for a cat with surgery cover only. With vet costs added, a non-pedigree cat aged 2 – 3 years costs €145.82 a year and a small dog of the same age €240.85. All are tariff premiums including taxes; your price depends on your pet and your choices.
Are vet bills covered if my pet falls ill in the UK?
Yes. Surgery and vet costs are covered anywhere in the world, with the same annual limit of €3,000. Outside the network of Italian partner clinics you pay 20% of each claim. Keep the invoices showing the microchip code and send them on your return.
Can I insure an older dog or cat?
You can take out the policy for a pet aged from 2 months up to, but not including, 10 years. When an insured animal reaches 10, the policy is not renewed and ends at the next annual expiry date. Conditions diagnosed before you sign are always excluded.
My dog has a UK microchip. Can I insure it?
The policy requires a microchip, registration in the Italian pet register (Anagrafe degli animali d'affezione) and a health booklet from a licensed vet. A microchip implanted abroad is not enough on its own: the animal must also be entered in the Italian register before you apply. Your vet in Italy can tell you how.
How are vet bills refunded?
You pay the clinic, then notify the claim within 10 days with invoices, vet report and microchip code. The refund is calculated when treatment is complete and paid within 15 days of setting the amount. Booking a network clinic through mynet.blue lowers your share from 20% to 10%.
Are the policy documents in English?
The legally binding documents are in Italian. Your adviser goes through them with you in English before you sign, and helps you in English when you make a claim. The insurer's assistance and vet phone lines are run in Italy.
Ready to see your price?
Free online quote, explained in English by a registered Italian insurance intermediary.
Realmente Amici is underwritten by Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni and distributed by Assicurazione Castello di Annone di Rabacchin Matteo, insurance intermediary registered in the Italian Single Register of Insurance Intermediaries (RUI), section E, no. E000517439, supervised by IVASS. This page is a summary in English: the Insurance Conditions (in Italian, PDF) and the pre-contract documents you receive before signing are the legally binding texts. For contracts concluded at a distance you can withdraw within 14 days. Online quotes may not be available in your region. Complaints and regulatory information: reclami (in Italian).