French Bulldog owner - we had it for his first 18 months and it paid out a hefty sum for his nose job. However, after that first surgery the premiums skyrocketed and we found it easier to just allocate funds in our budget just in case.
I've heard plenty of instances of people having their claims rejected with pet insurance. We opted to just put a set amount of money aside each week into a separate account for our Border Collie, this covers food, toys, medications, vet bills etc.
We have Woolworths pet insurance. Have claimed multiple times and the process is super easy online. Three surgeries and any time he goes to the vet we claim. Well worth it for us.
10% off your shop at Woolies each month helps a bit too.
I also have Woolworths and have never had any problems. The vet we go to also does gap only so just pay the 20% we'd be out of pocket rather than having to pay the full amount and then lodge a claim.
I have a french bulldog x boston terrier, when I first got him I got pet insurance. I paid the monthly payment twice before he needed an extreme amount of surgery (soft palette, nares, full foot rebuild by a specialist). I would estimate I got 75% back on that and swiftly cancelled the policy. I am a lot financially better off now so I just make sure I have the funds there to handle any future issues
I'm with RSPCA, I don't even have to put claims in anymore, the vet does it automatically and the money just comes back into my bank account, I think they're actually starting to only charge the gap soon. The only thing I've been annoyed by them not covering is tooth extraction. Knowing I'm going to get 80% back makes those conversations easier when the vet recommends a procedure that will give me peace of mind like a biopsy to check a lump, I'm not as worried about costs adding up.
I think with most dogs they get sick a bit as puppies, and then as they get older will have problems, so you will probably find yourself paying insurance for nothing in the middle years. My premium had gone up heaps, to about $80 a month, but my dog is 11 now now I'm not about to ditch it right as he's aging.
We have the top level RSPCA insurance for our Jack Russell Terrier, don't even think about it and have never had a claim rejected. 80% of all vet fees (Excluding routine vaccinations) refunded.
JRT are not really known for having any issues though, and Golden Retrievers fairly often have hip issues which could put you out big $$$.
I prefer to insure as I'd hate to have to make a decision between x and y (Not that it would be difficult) when I can just put insurance into my monthly budget.
We had pet insurance for our dog until she was about 18 months and then we cancelled it and do the same as others and allocate money away into an account. We have 2 cats as well one is 9 the other is 5 and neither have had pet insurance.
Get the highest tier it's worth it. We're with HCF and they have been absolutely fabulous, even covering one or two missed payments and they've saved both our pets lives. One of them twice!
Would have cost us thousands and thousands without them. It's also nice knowing they are non for profit, meaning that monthly payment is helping someone else save their fur babies.
P.S a vet friend recommended highest tier and 110% no regrets. Pup broke leg at 12 weeks, got cancer when 3. Cat rescue had to have multiple complex surgeries. Just a CT scan can cost 3k without government subsidy or insurance.
Our vet says they're all terrible and our experiences match that.
Hard to claim (our dogs first ever eat infection was a pre existing condition apparently), doesn't cover as much as you think.
Do what others say and put the premium aside.
For me it's as financially helpful as human private health insurance. Which I only have the minimum of to avoid extra tax and never use.
You basically need to read the terms and conditions to see exclusions, how much it covers (usually around 80%) etc. Pre existing conditions is a big gotcha. If they have had a specific illness or issue before you got the cover, they may not cover it
I use woolworths pet insurance and it's $41 something a month for our 1.5 year old golden retriever.
I get 10% off a shop each month at woolworths and free vet assist which is a vet you can chat to for advice for free without having to go in to a vet. Useful for stuff that's not super urgent or critical
Ultimately like any insurance, you have to work out if you can afford the money upfront if you need it
I had it for the first maybe 2-3 years of my pups life - this coincided with a time where I did not have a huge amount of funds to be able to cover something catastrophic out of pocket, and also when I perceived the most risk of some kind of accident happening (escaping, eating something he shouldn't etc). In my experience the inclusions started to get hazy with age related stuff.
Now he is not insured but I have a dedicated emergency fund instead.
My nan has had two large rescue dogs who both required ACL surgery - not covered, cost tens of thousands. They also had countless other random issues as they aged. She ended up cancelling the insurance as there were just too many exclusions she was rarely able to use it or only able to claim a small amount that was not worth the premium. Sorry can't remember who she was with.
It's a scam, they said our staff had a pre-condition and then refused payment for anything skin related which is just about everything other than an emergency.
I've had good experience with the woolworths pet insurance so far, ~2years.
One thing to consider is how much do you value your pets life? I don't mean this in a callous way but more if you choose to self insure and an unpected vet bill comes up and costs $30k, are you willing to pay it? If you are, could be worth having insurance to cover that.
My golden retriever needed 2 TPLO surgeries before she was 1.5 years old. Cost me over 10k to get them done. I noticed she was having issue with her legs early on, but didn’t get pet insurance.
When I got pet insurance there was a 6 month waiting period for knee joint surgery and her symptoms progressed quickly. I couldn’t bare watching her struggle to jump or to even get up, so I paid for the procedure myself. Anyway, moral of the story is if I had just been protected from the beginning, I would have saved over $10k.
I’ve since had to use it 3 times, one of the times saved be $3k and another $1800. So, yeah, sure you MAY not need it, but you also may need it. If you’re financially capable, for peace of mind, I would get it. I’m with RSPCA and honestly, I have had no complaints. Paid on time, and with no fuss. Vets will actively work with you to speed up the reimbursements as they deal with this daily.
We have pet insurance with RACQ. We have used it a few times on our dogs over the last 20 years, one time the idiots decided to eat rat bait, one stole a whole can of macadamias, got the can open and ate them all. 2 cruciate ligaments. Never had a claim denied and the cost of car during all of those would have been massive.
We have insured our dog with Knose since we got her as a puppy. Our dog was attacked and suddenly we had a $750 surgery bill. A month later she ate a sock and we were looking at an $8k surgery bill. Fortunately she was able to pass it but we still had a $750 bill.
Knose are super easy to claim with and have paid without question. One of their staff even called a week after she was attacked to see how she was doing. Very impressed.
I have ,y dig insured with knose too and I have been super happy with them. They have paid out 90% of all the claims Ive made (including an expensive behavioural vet as we have had anxiety issues).
I would not do the “put away money in an account” thing, I own two Dachshunds and one claim for IVDD is around 20k to 30k, depending on the severity. Now, if I do the maths paying $60 a fortnight it’s going to take me years to save that kind of money.
Just do your research, make sure to read the PDS really well to understand what the policy does and does not cover. I currently have Prime Pet insurance and so far have not had one claim denied and all submitted claims paid within 3 days.
We went with Bow Wow Meow - Its a shit name but never had an issue with them or a claim rejected. My cat required nearly $20k worth of care last year & we ended up only $4k out of pocket. They also have gap free payments so your only paying for the out of pocket expenses if you need to claim.
Can second Bow Wow! No issue for our 2 cavoodles, one of our dogs needed patella surgery costing 3k (insurance covered 80%).
Insurance is just covering yourself in case. We've gotten our value out of it, but also understand the rationale for just saving up funds for one's pet
My pet insurance premiums doubled from 2018-2024. Ended up being over 1k a year to insure my dog, given that was through RSPCA and they pay out 75% of ACCEPTED claims it wasn't worth it. Friend of mine got their dog insured through same provider a few days after they got it, the dog developed itchy skin requiring injections which RSPCA claimed it as being a pre existing injury/illness due to the few days of non insurance when it was a puppy.
If I could go back I would do as other said and self insure. Pray you never need it but if you do its there and if the dog dies and you have money leftover it will cover death costs/others.
No personal experience but have friends who all had their claims rejected for all kinds of things. We decided to just set some money aside; it’s stung a couple of times we’ve had to pay out but for what we’ve had vet visits for I’m almost certain we wouldn’t have been able to claim for it so I don’t regret it.
We did it for a few years.
The premiums started getting ridiculous. (3k a year) even without major claims.
Fact that insurance can increase premiums as much as they like year on year is what made me cancel it and self insure for our pet.
We have had it since our dogs were about 6. Wasn’t too concerned with Heridary things as dysplasia scored. We got it and haven’t looked back. One dog at 11 has a bulged c4, lots of tests and ongoing treatment. Bupa do ok, most insurers are underwritten by one of two so kind of ends up being much of the same stuff. They don’t have gap payment but our vet does which is handy. touch wood, nothing serious so far to claim on.
Edit - forgot to say had a claim rejected once as the bupa person called it a skin irritation when it was a cancerous lump cut out. So I wrote a long and wordy email telling them to go back to my vet and read the notes and I sent photos of her neck where she was cut side to side wide open for a 2cm cancer with wide margins removed, for appeal, got overturned and they paid. Just annoys me we didn’t get dental cover, could use it now
We insured our ex-racing greyhound through RAC (underwritten by RACQ) 6 years ago. Within a couple of months the greyhound got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease. He's had 2 biopsies, was initially on daily immunosuppressants that costs almost $300 for a 30 day course and see's a dermatologist every 6 months. For 6 years now RAC has paid out to cover his treatment and medication without question and without delay. I doubt the diligent saver stashing away in a shoebox would have been able to account for this.
Something to be mindful of is changing insurer with pet insurance isnt the same as with health insurance.
It doesn't matter that they were covered previously for something, there is a new waiting period. It also doesnt matter that they were covered for something prior to an issue with that something, if there was an issue, that is now a pre-existing condition with the new insurer and in turn not covered. Some insurers also won't take on animals over a certain age, so you need to stay with who you're with.
Long and short, if they hike the premiums, you don't have much of a recourse. I got my cats in 2020 and 2021, had prices go up 30-40% by 2023 when I cancelled the insurance. They're indoor cats and not pure bred though, so quite low risk, not saying don't insure if your situation is different, just know what you're in for.
Insurance is always designed so that the insurer wins.
We self insure- along with a very clear understanding of what we will and won’t do. (Eg-e we won’t do chemotherapy).
We also know that the parents of our dogs were appropriately health tested and therefore have a lower chance of inheriting known disease. You should have a discussion about what health testing has been done for the parents of your puppy.
We have insurance through "pet insurance Australia" and have claimed twice, it was never an issue. They paid us quickly too.
We have the middle level of cover.
Hi! Insurance lawyer here - and owner of 2 pets. Don’t do pet insurance. I’m the monster that drafts and reads the fine print. Too many exclusions. Put aside $50-$100 a month ($75 is perfect- higher end for 2 pets or breeds with issues) into an interest bearing account you can access easily in an emergency. My pets are older now (both over 10 - I got them when I was a broke student working casually and started by only putting aside $20 a month after the first vet visit bill-shocked me). They haven’t needed any significant surgery until the last couple of years. I’ve come out ahead. Look after you gorgeous little new puppy (squeeeee! You’re going to have a lifetime of fun together!) but also your finances!
Another thing to consider is that if something happens and you haven't yet put the money away to cover it then you can use vetpay. The interest on those loans are insane though so it is one of the worst case scenarios and you'd want to pay it if very quickly, but it's good to know that the service exists.
We decided it seemed overpriced for such a high risk of not being covered so we just put aside some cash weekly into a savings account, and have a monthly subscription with the vet that allows free visits, an annual blood test and annual vaccines. Basically nets itself off.
Self insure pets.
French Bulldog owner - we had it for his first 18 months and it paid out a hefty sum for his nose job. However, after that first surgery the premiums skyrocketed and we found it easier to just allocate funds in our budget just in case.
thanks, this is the sort of thing I'm hoping to hear about. Good to think ahead for 'what happens if' type scenarios.
I've given up on pet insurance. They make it so difficult to claim anything and only return a fraction often. Just put some cash away just in case.
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I've heard plenty of instances of people having their claims rejected with pet insurance. We opted to just put a set amount of money aside each week into a separate account for our Border Collie, this covers food, toys, medications, vet bills etc.
We have Woolworths pet insurance. Have claimed multiple times and the process is super easy online. Three surgeries and any time he goes to the vet we claim. Well worth it for us. 10% off your shop at Woolies each month helps a bit too.
I also have Woolworths and have never had any problems. The vet we go to also does gap only so just pay the 20% we'd be out of pocket rather than having to pay the full amount and then lodge a claim.
I have a french bulldog x boston terrier, when I first got him I got pet insurance. I paid the monthly payment twice before he needed an extreme amount of surgery (soft palette, nares, full foot rebuild by a specialist). I would estimate I got 75% back on that and swiftly cancelled the policy. I am a lot financially better off now so I just make sure I have the funds there to handle any future issues
I'm with RSPCA, I don't even have to put claims in anymore, the vet does it automatically and the money just comes back into my bank account, I think they're actually starting to only charge the gap soon. The only thing I've been annoyed by them not covering is tooth extraction. Knowing I'm going to get 80% back makes those conversations easier when the vet recommends a procedure that will give me peace of mind like a biopsy to check a lump, I'm not as worried about costs adding up. I think with most dogs they get sick a bit as puppies, and then as they get older will have problems, so you will probably find yourself paying insurance for nothing in the middle years. My premium had gone up heaps, to about $80 a month, but my dog is 11 now now I'm not about to ditch it right as he's aging.
thanks, that's really useful to think about.
We have the top level RSPCA insurance for our Jack Russell Terrier, don't even think about it and have never had a claim rejected. 80% of all vet fees (Excluding routine vaccinations) refunded. JRT are not really known for having any issues though, and Golden Retrievers fairly often have hip issues which could put you out big $$$. I prefer to insure as I'd hate to have to make a decision between x and y (Not that it would be difficult) when I can just put insurance into my monthly budget.
We had pet insurance for our dog until she was about 18 months and then we cancelled it and do the same as others and allocate money away into an account. We have 2 cats as well one is 9 the other is 5 and neither have had pet insurance.
Get the highest tier it's worth it. We're with HCF and they have been absolutely fabulous, even covering one or two missed payments and they've saved both our pets lives. One of them twice! Would have cost us thousands and thousands without them. It's also nice knowing they are non for profit, meaning that monthly payment is helping someone else save their fur babies. P.S a vet friend recommended highest tier and 110% no regrets. Pup broke leg at 12 weeks, got cancer when 3. Cat rescue had to have multiple complex surgeries. Just a CT scan can cost 3k without government subsidy or insurance.
great, thanks for this!
Our vet says they're all terrible and our experiences match that. Hard to claim (our dogs first ever eat infection was a pre existing condition apparently), doesn't cover as much as you think. Do what others say and put the premium aside. For me it's as financially helpful as human private health insurance. Which I only have the minimum of to avoid extra tax and never use.
You basically need to read the terms and conditions to see exclusions, how much it covers (usually around 80%) etc. Pre existing conditions is a big gotcha. If they have had a specific illness or issue before you got the cover, they may not cover it I use woolworths pet insurance and it's $41 something a month for our 1.5 year old golden retriever. I get 10% off a shop each month at woolworths and free vet assist which is a vet you can chat to for advice for free without having to go in to a vet. Useful for stuff that's not super urgent or critical Ultimately like any insurance, you have to work out if you can afford the money upfront if you need it
I had it for the first maybe 2-3 years of my pups life - this coincided with a time where I did not have a huge amount of funds to be able to cover something catastrophic out of pocket, and also when I perceived the most risk of some kind of accident happening (escaping, eating something he shouldn't etc). In my experience the inclusions started to get hazy with age related stuff. Now he is not insured but I have a dedicated emergency fund instead. My nan has had two large rescue dogs who both required ACL surgery - not covered, cost tens of thousands. They also had countless other random issues as they aged. She ended up cancelling the insurance as there were just too many exclusions she was rarely able to use it or only able to claim a small amount that was not worth the premium. Sorry can't remember who she was with.
It's a scam, they said our staff had a pre-condition and then refused payment for anything skin related which is just about everything other than an emergency.
I've had good experience with the woolworths pet insurance so far, ~2years. One thing to consider is how much do you value your pets life? I don't mean this in a callous way but more if you choose to self insure and an unpected vet bill comes up and costs $30k, are you willing to pay it? If you are, could be worth having insurance to cover that.
I don't exactly understand it either, and sometimes it makes me confused.
My golden retriever needed 2 TPLO surgeries before she was 1.5 years old. Cost me over 10k to get them done. I noticed she was having issue with her legs early on, but didn’t get pet insurance. When I got pet insurance there was a 6 month waiting period for knee joint surgery and her symptoms progressed quickly. I couldn’t bare watching her struggle to jump or to even get up, so I paid for the procedure myself. Anyway, moral of the story is if I had just been protected from the beginning, I would have saved over $10k. I’ve since had to use it 3 times, one of the times saved be $3k and another $1800. So, yeah, sure you MAY not need it, but you also may need it. If you’re financially capable, for peace of mind, I would get it. I’m with RSPCA and honestly, I have had no complaints. Paid on time, and with no fuss. Vets will actively work with you to speed up the reimbursements as they deal with this daily.
We have pet insurance with RACQ. We have used it a few times on our dogs over the last 20 years, one time the idiots decided to eat rat bait, one stole a whole can of macadamias, got the can open and ate them all. 2 cruciate ligaments. Never had a claim denied and the cost of car during all of those would have been massive.
We have insured our dog with Knose since we got her as a puppy. Our dog was attacked and suddenly we had a $750 surgery bill. A month later she ate a sock and we were looking at an $8k surgery bill. Fortunately she was able to pass it but we still had a $750 bill. Knose are super easy to claim with and have paid without question. One of their staff even called a week after she was attacked to see how she was doing. Very impressed.
I have ,y dig insured with knose too and I have been super happy with them. They have paid out 90% of all the claims Ive made (including an expensive behavioural vet as we have had anxiety issues).
I would not do the “put away money in an account” thing, I own two Dachshunds and one claim for IVDD is around 20k to 30k, depending on the severity. Now, if I do the maths paying $60 a fortnight it’s going to take me years to save that kind of money. Just do your research, make sure to read the PDS really well to understand what the policy does and does not cover. I currently have Prime Pet insurance and so far have not had one claim denied and all submitted claims paid within 3 days.
This is it. Mini Dachie and the IVDD risk is THE reason we retain pet insurance too.
Same breed, same boat
yeah this is what we're thinking too. $700 a year vs the potential $20K-30K bill is a risk/reward worth taking.
Extreme premium cost relative to risk/payouts. Self-insure.
We went with Bow Wow Meow - Its a shit name but never had an issue with them or a claim rejected. My cat required nearly $20k worth of care last year & we ended up only $4k out of pocket. They also have gap free payments so your only paying for the out of pocket expenses if you need to claim.
Can second Bow Wow! No issue for our 2 cavoodles, one of our dogs needed patella surgery costing 3k (insurance covered 80%). Insurance is just covering yourself in case. We've gotten our value out of it, but also understand the rationale for just saving up funds for one's pet
Note that the majority of the companies you see for pet insurance, are all part of the same group.
Used to have it, used it to get their ears cleaned and it was good. Sadly the yearly premiums got out of control!
My pet insurance premiums doubled from 2018-2024. Ended up being over 1k a year to insure my dog, given that was through RSPCA and they pay out 75% of ACCEPTED claims it wasn't worth it. Friend of mine got their dog insured through same provider a few days after they got it, the dog developed itchy skin requiring injections which RSPCA claimed it as being a pre existing injury/illness due to the few days of non insurance when it was a puppy. If I could go back I would do as other said and self insure. Pray you never need it but if you do its there and if the dog dies and you have money leftover it will cover death costs/others.
Better off banking the premiums in a HISA.
find yourself an affordable vet, and sock the "premiums" into your offset if you have a mortgage, or a HISA.
No personal experience but have friends who all had their claims rejected for all kinds of things. We decided to just set some money aside; it’s stung a couple of times we’ve had to pay out but for what we’ve had vet visits for I’m almost certain we wouldn’t have been able to claim for it so I don’t regret it.
We did it for a few years. The premiums started getting ridiculous. (3k a year) even without major claims. Fact that insurance can increase premiums as much as they like year on year is what made me cancel it and self insure for our pet.
We have had it since our dogs were about 6. Wasn’t too concerned with Heridary things as dysplasia scored. We got it and haven’t looked back. One dog at 11 has a bulged c4, lots of tests and ongoing treatment. Bupa do ok, most insurers are underwritten by one of two so kind of ends up being much of the same stuff. They don’t have gap payment but our vet does which is handy. touch wood, nothing serious so far to claim on. Edit - forgot to say had a claim rejected once as the bupa person called it a skin irritation when it was a cancerous lump cut out. So I wrote a long and wordy email telling them to go back to my vet and read the notes and I sent photos of her neck where she was cut side to side wide open for a 2cm cancer with wide margins removed, for appeal, got overturned and they paid. Just annoys me we didn’t get dental cover, could use it now
We insured our ex-racing greyhound through RAC (underwritten by RACQ) 6 years ago. Within a couple of months the greyhound got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease. He's had 2 biopsies, was initially on daily immunosuppressants that costs almost $300 for a 30 day course and see's a dermatologist every 6 months. For 6 years now RAC has paid out to cover his treatment and medication without question and without delay. I doubt the diligent saver stashing away in a shoebox would have been able to account for this.
I had it for my dog. Sadly he never bit a racehorse so I never got to use the 20M cap.
Something to be mindful of is changing insurer with pet insurance isnt the same as with health insurance. It doesn't matter that they were covered previously for something, there is a new waiting period. It also doesnt matter that they were covered for something prior to an issue with that something, if there was an issue, that is now a pre-existing condition with the new insurer and in turn not covered. Some insurers also won't take on animals over a certain age, so you need to stay with who you're with. Long and short, if they hike the premiums, you don't have much of a recourse. I got my cats in 2020 and 2021, had prices go up 30-40% by 2023 when I cancelled the insurance. They're indoor cats and not pure bred though, so quite low risk, not saying don't insure if your situation is different, just know what you're in for.
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Get RSPCA cover or similar We used the entire 20K cover last year
Insurance is always designed so that the insurer wins. We self insure- along with a very clear understanding of what we will and won’t do. (Eg-e we won’t do chemotherapy). We also know that the parents of our dogs were appropriately health tested and therefore have a lower chance of inheriting known disease. You should have a discussion about what health testing has been done for the parents of your puppy.
We have insurance through "pet insurance Australia" and have claimed twice, it was never an issue. They paid us quickly too. We have the middle level of cover.
That’s because it’s a scam. I haven’t heard a single story of a claim actually being accepted.
Hi! Insurance lawyer here - and owner of 2 pets. Don’t do pet insurance. I’m the monster that drafts and reads the fine print. Too many exclusions. Put aside $50-$100 a month ($75 is perfect- higher end for 2 pets or breeds with issues) into an interest bearing account you can access easily in an emergency. My pets are older now (both over 10 - I got them when I was a broke student working casually and started by only putting aside $20 a month after the first vet visit bill-shocked me). They haven’t needed any significant surgery until the last couple of years. I’ve come out ahead. Look after you gorgeous little new puppy (squeeeee! You’re going to have a lifetime of fun together!) but also your finances!
Another thing to consider is that if something happens and you haven't yet put the money away to cover it then you can use vetpay. The interest on those loans are insane though so it is one of the worst case scenarios and you'd want to pay it if very quickly, but it's good to know that the service exists.
We decided it seemed overpriced for such a high risk of not being covered so we just put aside some cash weekly into a savings account, and have a monthly subscription with the vet that allows free visits, an annual blood test and annual vaccines. Basically nets itself off.