Review Summary of Pet Insurance

• Pet insurance is becoming more popular in New Zealand, but there is still a choice of only four insurers. 
• Generally, you can only get insurance if your pet is under 7 or 8 years of age. However, your pet will continue be covered if you purchase a policy before he or she reaches that age.
• Depending on your insurer, some policies may charge co-payments (commonly, 20%) or apply special terms to your cover for older pets or certain medical conditions.
• ​Cat insurance is cheaper than dog insurance in all cases.

Pets are complicated creatures, and chunky vet bills can put pet owners in the horrible position of having to choose between operating or euthanising a furry family member. It’s impossible to control what random things your cat or dog does and/or eats - they love to try new things and don't take financial consequences into account. With a CT scan starting at $1,500 and surgery for internal injuries costing $2,000+, vet bills can be expensive, to say the least. ​

Our Guide to Pet Insurance
Our guide outlines the cheapest pet insurance, with a number of tips to bring the cost of insurance down and make sure you only pay for what you need. We look at:

• What you need to know about Pet Insurance
• How does pet insurance work?
• What does pet insurance cover and exclude?​
• Selecting a Pet Insurance Policy
• Pet Insurance Best Buys
• ​Maximising the benefits on your policy
• Claiming, knowing your rights, and complaining

​Pets are loved in homes throughout New Zealand with more than half (58%) of Kiwis owning at least one cat and/or dog. The purpose of pet insurance is to cover the cost of treatment for an injured or sick pet, avoiding the unpleasant choice of putting down a pet or finding the money for the vet bill.
 
Pet insurance is relatively new for Kiwis, yet 1 in 10 cat owners and nearly 1 in 5 dog owners currently insure their pet. Before you buy a policy for your cat or dog, there are a few things to know to ensure you get the most suitable policy at the right price. 

Pet insurance is about covering the unpredictable
Your dog or cat may be in perfect health, full of energy and careful of traffic. You may ask yourself if it is worth insuring your pet if it’s unlikely you’ll make a claim, but an illness or injury is never predictable. As is the case with all insurance, a policy protects you from the unpredictable. Unlikely but real-life instances of a chipped tooth or skin cancer can cost a lot to remedy; pet insurance would step in and cover the bulk of the bill.

So, Should I insure my pet?
Vets unfairly have a reputation in some instances of charging like dentists. It’s not true, but the fees can be expensive for standard procedures making the cost of owning a pet unexpectedly high. Most owners won’t be hit too hard with standard and non-standard treatments, but if you are less lucky (and your pet's situation is more complicated), you might end up paying a hefty fee. Here are some recent vet bill examples Kiwis have been faced with:

• Sending a cat for a CT scan - $1,750
• Cat hit by a car, broken femur - $1,800
• Surgery to remove ingested material - $1,950
• Chipped tooth on a cat - $2,200
• Treating a small dog with a broken bone - $2,800
• Cat run over by a car, emergency surgery - $4,000
• Complicated kidney condition treatment - $5,500

To decide whether to get pet insurance, look at the above costs and be realistic about whether you could afford the bill if it was handed to you tomorrow. Would you be able to cover it? If not, pet insurance may be a good way to avoid an uncomfortable visit to the vet. 

​Generally, pet insurance excludes a lot more than you might think, as we outline below:

​1. Firstly, routine, preventative or elective care of your pets are all excluded – this includes routine vet visits for injections, check-ups, worming treatments and anti-flea medicine. However, Southern Cross offers optional extras that can cover day-to-day and dental treatments.

2. Secondly, you won’t be covered if your pet:

• Has a pre-existing condition (known or not)
• Has an injury due to maltreatment of your pet or failure to protect your pet
• Experiences some infectious diseases (e.g. flu, distemper, calicivirus, herpes, feline leukaemia, etc.) also if your pet was not vaccinated or the vaccination is out of date.
• Needs treatment related to breeding
• Needs an organ transplant, joint replacement or suffers from pandemic diseases or failure to vaccinate

3. Lastly, if your pet has a congenital condition or developmental defect (i.e. a disease or physical abnormality from birth), these won’t be covered either. This includes cardiac, muscular, skin conditions and many more.

Know this:

1. Some pet insurance policies are more flexible than others in what they exclude, so if your dog or cat has a long-standing illness or abnormality from birth, declaring this upfront will determine whether or not you can get the policy.
2. It’s pointless to buy a policy if your pet has a pre-existing condition, as you won’t be able to claim successfully and this constitutes insurance fraud (we talk more about this below). 

Generally no – if your cat claws your furniture or dog chews an antique table leg or carpet, you won’t be covered on pet insurance. However, you may be covered on your home and contents insurance, so check with your insurer to see if you're covered. 

​Self-insurance is an alternative to pet insurance, in that you make a habit of putting money into a pet fund so that if your cat or dog needs to go to the vet, there’s money to pay the bill. This works for some people, but there some risks:

1. Your pet might need treatment before you’ve built up much of a pet fund. For example, if you commit to $50 a month and after 3 months your cat develops a stomach issue, a vet bill of $1,600 will leave you with a big shortfall.
2. You dip into your pet fund to pay an unrelated bill, leaving less cash available for a vet. Disaster will strike if your pet then experiences a health problem.

​​If the risk is too great for your finances, pet insurance is the most certain way of protecting your budget from your pet’s misfortune. 

​The younger, healthier and less complicated the medical history of your pet, the less you’ll pay for pet insurance. However, if you don’t declare health issues and past conditions, upon making a claim your insurer can use “non-disclosure” as a reason not to pay out. This means you’ll be stuck with the bill, unable to claim on it despite having paid the premium. Declaring everything will most likely cost more in the short term, but being covered for illnesses relating to those conditions will save you a lot of money later on if your pet needs treatment. 

​If your border collie doubles as a sheepdog, it may not be able to get pet insurance – check with the insurer first. Dogs used for racing, hunting or farming may not be covered. Pit Bulls are also excluded by most policies. ​

Of the four pet insurance providers, Southern Cross insures new pets up to the age of 7 years of age on their comprehensive plans (accident and illness). Southern Cross also has no age limit for its accident-only plan, AcciPet.

​AA Pet Insurance does not offer any policies for a cat or dog older than 8. This makes the option of switching for a better deal quite limited. Furthermore, if your pet is being treated for an existing condition, changing policies will mean you risk having such treatments excluded. For these reasons, in most instances we recommend staying with your current policy if your pet is 7+ years old.​

​Our Best Buy Pet Insurance policies outlined below highlight a big difference in monthly costs, so if your pet is young and in good health, consider switching – you’ll save a lot if you’ve been overpaying.  

​The older your pet, the more expensive it is to insure – an old dog can’t learn new tricks but it will go to the vet more than it wants to. For animals over 10 years of age, some policies only cover 65% of treatments which means you’ll have to foot the bill. Checking the small print is important. For example, Petplan requires owners to pay 20% of bills for pets between 8-10 years of age, and 35% of the bill for pets above 10 years of age.  ​

​This is true for any insurance, and for pet insurance it means paying $100 of a vet bill or $500, for example. When deciding whether to go for low or high excess, ask yourself “how much am I prepared to spend on a vet bill before making a claim with my insurer?”. If you’re OK to spend $300, then having a $100 excess isn’t suitable as you’re overpaying on the premium. Weigh up what suits your budget, and pick a suitable excess level. ​

​This is pet insurance where you pay a percentage of the vet bill (say 25% or 35%), and the insurer covers the rest. Many of these policies are sold as “low cost” options but if your pet needs the vet, the costs to you quickly add up. 25% of a $3,000 is $750 and further complications will make it a very expensive ordeal. It's highly likely that your pet, after a certain age, is only covered by co-payment or percentage share, so check the fine print!​

​Many pet insurance extends a percentage discount if you insure another pet - don't trust this as the best deal. It's worth getting quotes to look for a better deal. 

Before you race into signing up for a policy, it’s essential that you decide what you want it to cover. Pet insurance is a sensitive area so it’s really important to check the small print, as it could make the difference between having no bill and getting a huge debt if you can’t afford the vet bill.

​Compare and find the cheapest policy, and avoid nasty surprises at the vet
What you'll pay as a premium will vary a lot, depending on your pet's breed and age. Once you've decided which cover level suits your finances and your pet, you're ready to compare policy prices.​

Covers: A specific percentage of a vet bill (i.e. 25%), up to a certain limit per year in total (i.e. $5,000)
An illustrative calculation based on a 20% co-payment option would be:

• Eligible vet charges claimed: $4,000
• Less: 20% co-payment: ($800)
• Benefit payable to you: $3,200

 
Best for: minor surgeries, short-term illnesses and one-off accidents
What you need to know: Basic insurance is the cheapest for a full coverage policy, but it can be costly if you are faced with a lot of vet bills – 25% of $1,500 a couple of times a year can add up to $750+ and you’ll still have to keep paying for your policy alongside that.
A common co-payment policy usually limits the benefits to $3,000 - $7,000 in a 12 month period, meaning that any expenses over that will not be covered, even if it’s for a new medical condition.
 
Policies include: AA Pet Insurance (all policies), Pet-n-Sur (all plans except “Rhodium”), Petplan (all plans for cats and dogs aged 8 years and older; co-payment policies require a $150 excess on top on the co-payment) and Southern Cross (0% or 20% co-payment options).

Covers: Accidents (broken bones), but not illnesses.

• Pre-existing conditions, congenital conditions and certain other treatments are not covered.
• And to be clear, “Accidental injury” means a “sudden, unforeseen and not gradual physical harm or injury”, so the injury must arise “directly from a single event occurring at a particular time”, and the injury can’t be related to a pre-existing condition.
• What this means it that accident-only cover is going to cover your dog if it gets hit by a car (i.e. unforeseen), but probably not your cat if its existing arthritis causes it to fall out of a tree (relates to a pre-existing condition).

Best for: your pet getting into an accident
What you need to know: Accident-only is often the cheapest, as it only covers accidents. A common policy will limit annual cover to a fixed sum, i.e. $3,000 or $5,000. It’s great to have if you’re only willing to insure for accidents, but it won’t cover your pet if it develops and internal illness such as cancer or arthritis. You can claim as much as you want up to the limit, and after 12 months the fixed sum resets. Your policy may however increase if your pet is seen as high risk.

Policies include: Southern Cross Accipet, Pet-n-sur’s Surgery and Surgery Plus

Covers: Accidental injury, Illness and Inherited conditions – known as “total cover” with total claims limited to a set amount (usually $2,500 to $6,000) every 12 months
Best for: one-off injuries, small surgery/treatment after an accident, ongoing medication or a short-term illness

What you need to know: This policy tends to be cheapest, with an excess often being charged on every claim (i.e. $150). A common basic policy typically covers everything a vet provides, limited to a cap in vet fees in a 12 month period (usually $2,500 to $6,000). You can claim as much as you want up to the limit, and after 12 months the fixed sum resets. Your policy may however increase if your pet is seen as high risk.

Policies include: Petplan’s 12 months Essential plan, Southern Cross (all “Ribbon” policies) and Pet-n-sur’s Rhodium plan

Covers: Accidental injury, Illness and Inherited conditions – known as “total cover” with total claims limited to a set amount (usually $10,000 to $15,000) every 12 months
Best for: one-off injuries, small surgery after an accident, ongoing medication or a short-term illness

What you need to know: These policies are similar to the basic policy, with a higher cap on vet bills and similar excesses on a claim (i.e. $150). You can claim as much as you want up to the limit, and after 12 months the fixed sum resets. Your policy may however increase if your pet is seen as high risk.

Policies include: Petplan’s Covered for Life plans, Southern Cross (all “Ribbon” policies) and Pet-n-sur’s Platinum plan (a co-payment of 20% applies to each claim).

Covers: Almost everything, with 'lifetime policies'

Best for: major accidents, long-term illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, cataract surgery, cancers and long-term illnesses that require constant and regular treatment and/or medication.

What you need to know: These policies cost the most and they offer the most comprehensive cover with $15,000-$20,000 in annual cover, although you may still pay excesses on each claim (i.e. $150). You can claim as much as you want up to the limit, and after 12 months the fixed sum resets. Your policy may however increase if your pet is seen as high risk.

Policies include: Petplan’s Ultimate plan and Southern Cross’s Blue Ribbon policy

To properly understand what you will pay for pet insurance, we’ve listed three pets and the policy costs for “accident only”, medium” and “premium” coverage.

Pet 1 - Buster, Jack Russell dog, 1 year old, male
How much does it cost to insure Buster?

• BEST Accident Only Price: Southern Cross - $32.66/month with no excess.
• BEST Medium Policy Price: Petplan - $29.62/month + $150 excess. Similar cover is provided by Southern Cross for $54.04 (0% co-payment, $5k limit) or $41.28 (20% co-payment, $10k limit)
• BEST Premium Policy Price: Petplan Classic 1 -  $38.92/month (similar cover with Southern Cross is $119.53 (no excess, $10k limit) or $54.62 (20% co-payment, $10k limit)

Need-to-knows
Few policies go beyond the stated limit of vet bills. However, Petplan extends its policies to cover for emergency vet bills and expenses relating to the treatment of Injury, Accident or Illness. Specifically, claims can be made for:

• Up to $2,000 for Complementary Treatment & Alternative Therapy
• Up to $1,500 for Death from Illness or Death from Injury
• Up to $1,000 (Dogs) and $500 (Cats) for Boarding Fees
• Up to $1,000 for Advertising & Reward
• Up to $1,000 (Dogs) and $500 (Cats) for Holiday Cancellation
• Up to $1,000 for Quarantine Expenses & Loss of Documents
• Up to $500 for Emergency Repatriation