Specialising in pet insurance, Pet Insurance Australia is an award-winning insurer offering three levels of cover for cats and dogs, featuring an annual benefit limit of up to $30,000, and the option to tailor cover with choices of excess amounts.
Pet Insurance Australia Major Medical Plan
Maximum Annual Limit: $15,145
Reimbursement Rate: 80%
You’ll get up to 80% of your eligible vet bills covered, with a $15,145 yearly limit. A 30 day waiting period but no excess to pay.
Who is Pet Insurance Australia?
Established in 2008, Pet Insurance Australia is one of the better known names within the pet insurance industry. Unlike many other providers, Pet Insurance Australia only offers pet insurance, and it prides itself on being a family-owned business passionate about pets.
Pet Insurance Australia has taken home many awards, being named as Insurance Provider of the Year by ProductReview.com.au in 2023, while also being recognised by Canstar and by Mozo Experts Choice, taking home awards in 2022 for Innovation Excellence and Exceptional Value Accident & Illness Pet Insurance.
As with many pet insurance providers here in Australia, Pet Insurance Australia is underwritten by The Hollard Insurance Company and administered by PetSure, the two dominant names in the pet insurance industry since the late 1990s.
Pet Insurance Australia Cover
Pet Insurance Australia provides cover for dogs and cats, with three levels of cover to choose from.
Pet Essentials Cover
- Covers specified accidental injuries and illness (notably excluding cancer, cruciate ligament, and consultations)
- Annual benefit limit of $6,000 (capped at $1,000 per condition)
- Claim up to 90% back on eligible vet bills (reduces to 65% after pet’s 8th birthday)
- No excess
- Offered to pets aged 8 weeks to 11 years
Comprehensive Cover
- Covers specified accidental injuries and illness
- Annual benefit limit of $30,000
- Claim up to 80% back on eligible vet bills
- Choice of excess $0, $100, $200, or $500 per annum for each unrelated condition
- Offered to pets aged 8 weeks to 8 years
Major Medical Cover
- Covers specified accidental injuries and illness
- Annual benefit limit of $30,000
- Covers up to 80% of your eligible vet bills
- Choice of excess $0, $100, $200, or $500 per annum for each unrelated condition
- Offered to pets aged 8 weeks to 8 years
- Routine Care Cover included
What We Love
- Intro Offers: Want to save on your pet insurance policy? You will often find providers like Pet Insurance Australia feature introductory offers to attract new customers to sign up. Pet Insurance Australia currently provides new customers two months free in their first policy year, when they purchase a policy before June 30, 2025. Before applying for pet insurance, check out our full list of promo codes and discounts to see how much you could save.
- Cost: While intro offers can provide a great way to save on premiums in the first year, it’s important to look at the overall cost of any pet insurance plan before you apply. As for Pet Insurance Australia plans, the premiums they offer came in lower than average on our cost survey.
- Good Reviews: While online reviews never tell the whole story, checking out what other customers have to say about a particular provider can give you an idea of what to expect should you sign up. In general, reviews on ProductReview.com.au rate Pet Insurance Australia highly (4.2 stars at the time of writing), highlighting the provider’s customer service, easy claims, and good history with payouts.
- Choice of Excess: One thing we like to see on pet insurance plans is the ability to tailor coverage with choices of excess amounts. Happily, Pet Insurance Australia allows customers to choose between excess options of $0, $100, $200, or $500 so they can either pay less at claim time with no excess or pay less on their premiums with a higher excess. Note, that there is no excess on the Pet Essentials cover.
- Incremental Multi-Pet Discount: Although many pet insurance companies provide discounts for insuring multiple pets, it’s rare to find one that offers incremental discounts. Pet Insurance Australia stands out by giving an incremental discount of 5% for each additional pet insured, up to a total discount of 15%. For example, you would get a 5% discount insuring a second pet, a 10% discount insuring a third pet, and a 15% discount insuring a fourth pet.
- Visit Any Vet: While it’s common with most pet insurance plans these days, it’s still worth mentioning that with Pet Insurance Australia, you can visit any registered vet throughout Australia.
- GapOnly®: Although this feature is becoming increasingly common, GapOnly® is a standout benefit for Pet Insurance Australia customers. With GapOnly®, you can use this feature at participating vets to make a real-time claim during your visit and only pay the remaining gap.
- Easy Claims & Pre-Approval: Should you choose to go down the more traditional route for claims, it’s nice to see Pet Insurance Australia is rated for its easy claims process, which can be accessed via its online portal. The provider also offers pre-approval, should you want to get pre-approved for treatment before you visit the vet.
- Lifelong Cover: This is another feature that’s pretty much standard across the board but remains very convenient. You can benefit from lifelong coverage for your pet, provided you start your policy before the cut-off date and keep renewing it without any gaps.
- Extras: Pet Insurance Australia includes some useful extras at all coverage levels. For example, they cover emergency boarding fees if you’re hospitalized for a few days or need temporary accommodation due to family violence, up to your plan’s sub-limit. They also offer overseas pet travel insurance, which covers your pets while traveling in New Zealand or Norfolk Island. This can be helpful if your pet needs to see a vet during your trip to these places.
- Routine Care Cover Included: If you want coverage for routine care, Major Medical cover includes it as a standard feature. This provides up to $145 per year (with caps in place on certain items) for routine treatments like vaccinations, deworming, and teeth cleaning.
What To Consider
- Limited Cover on Pet Essentials: Pet Insurance Australia offers different levels of coverage to fit both your needs and budget. However, the basic Pet Essentials plan has some limitations. It has an annual benefit limit of $6,000 and a $1,000 cap per condition. The reimbursement rate decreases from 90% to 65% once your pet turns 9. Additionally, this plan has significant exclusions, including coverage for cruciate ligament issues, cancer, and consultations.
- Similar Cover: From what we found, the Comprehensive and Major Medical plans are quite similar. The main difference is that the Major Medical plan includes Routine Care Cover and has some higher sub-limits. Before deciding, make sure to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) carefully and compare the premiums for each plan with the benefits they offer.
- Sub-Limits: Here are some important sub-limits to consider:
Emergency Boarding: The Pet Essentials plan has a limit of $500, Comprehensive has $1,000, and Major Medical has $1,200.
Consultations: Comprehensive cover has a limit of $300, while Major Medical offers $500.
Cruciate Ligament Conditions: Comprehensive cover has a $4,000 limit, and Major Medical covers up to $5,000.
Tick Paralysis: Both Pet Essentials and Comprehensive have a limit of $1,000, whereas Major Medical provides $3,000. - Waiting Periods: With Pet Insurance Australia, there’s no waiting period for specific accidental injuries. However, there is a 30-day waiting period for covered illnesses and a 6-month wait for cruciate ligament treatment.
- Exclusions: Exclusions in pet insurance are generally similar across policies in Australia. If you’re considering Pet Insurance Australia, be aware that claims for dental work, routine or preventive treatments, elective procedures, pregnancy, and behavioral issues won’t be covered. However, temporary pre-existing conditions that have been cured for at least 18 months might be eligible for claims.
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I’m Mitch, and I’ve spent hundreds of hours researching pet insurance, meeting with pet insurance executives, and getting the opinions of vets and pet owners. I wanted to put out information on every pet insurance brand (that I know of), to provide a true overview of the many options available to pet owners.
All the information in this article was correct at the time of writing and may change over time. If you’re considering this product, be sure to review the Product Disclosure Statement so that you understand any terms, conditions and exclusions.
