Dog Insurance

When you take out a policy, you’ll be able to register for the petinsurance.com.au secure pet portal. Claiming via the portal is easy - simply upload a copy of your vet's tax invoice and consultation notes. If it’s your first claim, you’ll need to attach a full veterinary history. If you don’t have access to the customer portal, you can call the friendly customer service team at petinsurance.com.au on 1300 855 633 for claim forms.

If you make a claim for a treatment that’s covered under your policy, you’ll receive up to 80% of the total cost reimbursed to you, up to the annual benefit limits.

Certain expenses are not covered; these are set out in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for both dog cover and cat cover.

Yep! You can use any vet who is registered to practice in Australia.

Dog Insurance and Puppy Insurance are essentially the same product, in that they cover the same conditions and feature the same benefits and limits. The difference lies in the age at which your pet qualifies, and the way premiums are determined.

If your dog is over 6 months old, it qualifies for Dog Insurance, whereas if it’s between 8 weeks and 6 months old, it qualifies for Puppy Insurance. If you take out a Puppy Insurance policy while your puppy is within the eligible age range, your premiums will remain fixed for three years. If you take out a Dog Insurance policy, your premiums will be subject to change at each annual policy renewal.

No. You’ll need to pay your vet up front and, providing you’ve met the policy terms and conditions, petinsurance.com.au will reimburse you by depositing the relevant amount into your nominated bank account.

If you haven’t made a claim under the policy and you’ve paid the annual premium in full, the portion of the premium that reflects the remainder of the policy period will be refunded to you. No refund is available where you have chosen the monthly or fortnightly payment options.

If you have made a claim under the policy, and you’ve chosen to pay premiums annually, no refund is provided if you cancel your policy. Where you have chosen to pay monthly or fortnightly, any remaining premium still has to be paid for the remainder of the policy period.

A $50 benefit for vaccinations (as well as flea/tick/ blood screen) is available if you select Routine Care, which is an option available with any of our pet insurance policies.

Routine Care also offers a $100 benefit for the following treatments and processes:

• Desexing
• Microchipping
• Heartworm control
• Teeth cleaning
• Prescription diets
• Cremation or burial
• Dental illness treatment
• Council registration fees
• Obedience training
• Behavioural therapy
• Alternative therapies

Choosing the right policy for your dog comes down to two factors; their age, and what conditions you’d like to be covered. First, determine whether you qualify for Puppy Insurance or Dog Insurance, then decide whether you need cover for Specified Accidental Inuries and illness, or Specified Accidental Injuries only.

If your dog is younger than 6 months, they’ll qualify for Puppy Insurance, which offers fixed premiums for three years. If they’re 6 months or older, you can consider Dog Insurance.

Both the puppy and dog options offer Accidental Injury Cover, as well as Accidental Injury and Illness Cover. A policy that only covers Specified Accidental Injuries (and some Specified Illnesses) may offer you a lower premium, but you could still be liable for large costs if your dog contracts an illness.

Once you’ve chosen a policy type, you can consider adding optional routine care. This will also affect your premium, but it will greatly broaden the range of treatments for which your pet will be covered.

It may be worth taking the time to consider your needs and budget before you lock in your policy.

Yes. If your pet requires treatment and you wish to seek pre-approval of those costs, you can provide petinsurance.com.au with the itemised estimate of costs from your vet, along with the treatment required and relevant clinical records and/or veterinary history, and they will respond to you in writing with the outcome.

As with most insurance products, there are certain situations where you will not be covered. There are some general exclusions such as Pre-existing Conditions, dental procedures, fractured teeth, routine or preventative Treatments (unless Routine Care cover is purchased, which provides a contribution up to the Routine Care limits), some Elective Treatments and procedures and breeding or obstetrics. There may also be specific exclusions which may apply to specific levels of Cover.

For a more detailed list of general exclusions, refer to the applicable Combined Product Disclosure Statement, Policy Terms and Conditions and Financial Services Guide.

A Pre-existing Condition is:

• A Condition that existed or occurred prior to the Commencement Date of the first policy period or within any applicable Waiting Period.
• A Condition that you or your vet were aware of, or a reasonable person in your circumstances would have been aware of.

This is irrespective of whether the underlying or causative condition was diagnosed at the time.

Whether it is a Pre-existing Condition will depend on its nature and experience. If your pet has a temporary condition that has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality in the 18-month period immediately prior to your claim treatment date, it will no longer be excluded from cover as a Pre-existing Condition. Chronic conditions and several other specified conditions cannot fall within this category. See the PDS for more information.

If your pet has had a temporary condition that was subject to the Pre-existing Condition exclusion, you can apply to have it reviewed.

Your vet will need to certify and provide veterinary records verifying that the condition remains a temporary condition and has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality for a period of 18 months. The Pre-existing Condition exclusion(s) will not be deemed to have been lifted unless agreed to by petinsurance.com.au in writing.

Download a copy of the Pre-existing Condition Review form.

If your pet has a chronic condition that existed or occurred before the commencement date of your first policy period or during any applicable waiting period, that condition will always be excluded from your policy.

See Pre-Existing Conditions page for more information.