THE SHORT ANSWER
According to Konsumenternas, cat insurance often consists of veterinary cover, which can pay for examinations and treatment if the cat falls ill or is injured in an accident. You can also add life cover, which pays a one-off sum if the cat dies before reaching a certain age.
This guide covers what is specific to cats: age limits for taking out cover, what the terms say about a cat that goes outdoors, the ID marking and registration rules, and what applies if your cat causes damage. How the cover limit and excess are calculated is explained in the pet insurance guide. [1][2]
Keep these points in mind
- Life cover is reduced and ends at 10 to 13, depending on the insurer.
- A cat that runs away or is stolen is not always covered.
- Cats must be ID-marked and registered, and liability for damage differs from a dog's.
STEP BY STEP
How to check your cover
Tell veterinary cover and life cover apart
Veterinary cover pays for examinations and treatment by a licensed vet. Life cover pays a lump sum if the cat dies before a certain age. According to Konsumenternas, most insurers reduce the life amount each year from around seven to eight, and life cover ends at 10 to 13, depending on the insurer.
According to Konsumenternas, some insurers also reduce the veterinary cover limit as the cat gets older, so read both amounts in every renewal letter. In one insurer's pre-purchase information from May 2026, the cat can keep veterinary cover for life, while life cover is cut by 20 percent a year from age seven and ends when the cat turns twelve.
[1][2][3]Check the age limit for taking out cover
According to Konsumenternas, cat insurance can usually be taken out from when the kitten is six weeks old. There may be an upper limit: in the May 2026 pre-purchase information, the cat must be insured before it turns ten. In another insurer's terms from January 2025, veterinary cover can be taken out for an ID-marked cat at least six weeks old, but life cover only for a cat that has not yet turned six.
For an older cat, it may therefore be possible to get veterinary cover but not life cover. Also read the waiting period: according to Konsumenternas, some policies have a waiting period of 14 to 20 days, and the January 2025 terms apply 15 days for illness on a new policy. Konsumenternas adds that some policies do not cover hidden defects, meaning conditions that existed but could not be detected when the policy was taken out.
[1][3][4]Make sure marking and registration are in order
Since 1 January 2023, anyone who owns a cat must have it marked and register as its owner with Jordbruksverket. According to Jordbruksverket, the cat must be marked and registered before it is four months old. If you buy or take over a cat older than three months, it must be or become ID-marked, and you must register as the owner within four weeks. Cats born before 1 January 2008 are exempt.
Registration costs SEK 40 through the e-service and SEK 100 by paper form. After a change of owner, it is the new owner who registers, and if the cat dies it must be deregistered. Marking also matters for the insurance: in the January 2025 terms, veterinary cover can be taken out only for an ID-marked cat. From 22 April 2026, according to Jordbruksverket, an approved chip is needed for a pet passport and travel abroad.
[6][5][4]Read what applies if your cat causes damage
The Act on the supervision of dogs and cats says that both must be kept under the supervision needed to prevent them from causing damage or considerable nuisance. The Act's rule that the owner pays for damage even without fault applies only to dogs (Section 19). There is no equivalent rule for cats in the Act. The starting point is then the main rule of the Tort Liability Act: anyone who causes personal injury or property damage intentionally or through negligence must pay for it.
Cat insurance covers the cat. The January 2025 terms expressly exclude damage the cat causes to someone else's property. If someone claims damages from you, the liability cover in your home insurance may be relevant. According to Konsumenternas, the insurer then investigates whether you are liable to pay damages, negotiates with the injured party and pays compensation if you are liable.
[6][7][4][8]
Indoor or outdoor cat: what the terms say
The terms and pre-purchase information we read for this guide contain no separate rules for indoor and outdoor cats. They do contain rules on events that mostly affect a cat that goes outdoors. The January 2025 terms do not pay for a cat that has run away or been stolen. In the May 2026 pre-purchase information, life cover pays if a dog is stolen or goes missing, but for a cat only if it is stolen in connection with a cat show.
Answer the insurer's questions accurately when you take out the policy. Under the January 2025 terms, compensation can be reduced if you gave incorrect information. Jordbruksverket writes that marking and registration make it easier to reunite a lost cat with its owner.
[4][3][5]Your cat's policy and home insurance in one place
Keep your cat insurance and home insurance in My Forsio. You then have the life amount, veterinary cover, excess and exclusions in one place, and each detail shows the passage in the document it came from. If a document is missing, such as the home insurance terms, the detail shows as Not verified, not as confirmed missing.
Forsio makes no veterinary assessment and does not decide whether a treatment, a lost cat or damage at a neighbour's home is paid for. The insurer decides that under the terms. Forsio is not an insurance intermediary and does not provide insurance advice.
Fictional example
An outdoor cat, two policies to read.
Ines's cat spends its days outdoors. She reads the cat insurance and the home insurance together.
- ID marking and registration
- Chip, registered with Jordbruksverket
- If the cat runs away
- Excluded in the termsPotential gapThe cat insurance does not pay for a cat that has run away.
- If the cat damages a neighbour's property
- Not verifiedThe home insurance terms are missing from the documents.
The cat insurance does not answer every question about an outdoor cat. What applies to damage at a neighbour's is set out in the home insurance liability cover, which needs reading before it is confirmed.
Common questions
Is there an age limit for cat insurance?
According to Konsumenternas, cat insurance can usually be taken out from six weeks old. There may be an upper limit for taking out cover, stated in the pre-purchase information: in one insurer's information from May 2026, the cat must be insured before it turns ten. Life cover can have a lower limit. In another insurer's terms from January 2025, the cat must not yet have turned six. [1][3][4]
What happens to cat insurance as the cat gets older?
According to Konsumenternas, life cover is reduced from around seven to eight and ends at 10 to 13. Some insurers also reduce the veterinary cover limit. In the May 2026 pre-purchase information, veterinary cover can be kept for life. There, the premium depends on factors such as the cat's value, breed, sex and age, and where in Sweden you reside. [1][2][3]
Does my cat have to be ID-marked and registered?
Yes. Since 1 January 2023, cats in Sweden must be marked and their owner registered with Jordbruksverket. The cat must be marked and registered before it is four months old. Cats born before 1 January 2008 are exempt, but you may register them voluntarily. The county administrative board can order measures if a cat is not marked or registered. [6][5]
Does cat insurance pay if my cat runs away?
Not always. The January 2025 terms we read do not pay for a cat that has run away or been stolen. In one pre-purchase information from May 2026, life cover pays for a stolen cat only if the theft happens in connection with a cat show. Read the section on what life cover pays for in your own terms. [4][3]
Do cat owners have the same liability as dog owners?
No. The Act on the supervision of dogs and cats has a rule that the owner pays for damage even without fault, but it applies only to dogs. For a cat, the starting point is the Tort Liability Act's rule that anyone who causes damage intentionally or through negligence must pay for it. Under the Act, both animals must be kept under supervision so that they do not cause damage or considerable nuisance. [6][7]
Does home insurance cover damage my cat causes?
The liability cover in your home insurance may come into play if someone claims damages from you. According to Konsumenternas, the insurer investigates whether you are liable to pay, negotiates with the injured party and pays compensation if you are liable. Konsumenternas also says not to accept liability or pay the claim before the insurer has given its decision. [8]
MY FORSIO
Read your cat's policy beside your home insurance.
Keep your cat insurance and home insurance in My Forsio. Each detail shows the passage it came from, so you can read it yourself. Free for individuals.
Sources and references
Sources checked
This guide explains general principles of Swedish insurance. Your policy schedule and terms set out what applies to you.
- Konsumenternas: cat insurance and life cover amounts
- Konsumenternas: comparing cat insurance, amounts and excesses
- One insurer's pre-purchase information for dog and cat insurance, May 2026
- One insurer's terms for cat insurance, January 2025
- Jordbruksverket: marking and registering cats
- Swedish Parliament: Act (2007:1150) on the supervision of dogs and cats, Sections 1, 2, 3 and 19, and transitional provisions
- Swedish Parliament: Tort Liability Act, Chapter 2, Section 1
- Konsumenternas: when someone claims damages from you