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Pet insurance in Australia

JessieAndMe

Well-known member
As our little guy recovers from his surgery, we are looking for pet insurance in Australia, that covers almost anything.
We were about to sign with the RSPCA insurance, until my other half asked, it covers dental, right? Umm, wrong. So now we are
back to square one. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a pet insurance comparison site, similar to the sites for our house and
car insurance. Jessie doesn't have any pre - existing conditions as such, but just want the added security of having a comprehensive
and reliable insurer for him, just incase.
 
Getting insurance is a wonderful idea...before he does have any pre existing issues.

We started Brooklyn with Pet Plan in australia as many on the boards use them (in the US and the UK) but I cannot say enough....don't use Pet Plan in Australia (they are really good in other countries though I hear)! There customer service is horrible, you are forever following up...talking to one person, being transferred to another and just a general headache. So I switched when Brooky was 10 months to Bow Wow Meow. Love them!! They have excellent plans, are the best for the $$ (by far!) and have the most amazing customer service that will help you to figure out how to get things covered and help with anything. I looked at every insurance place in Oz (my vet gave me a great comparison sheet) and Bow Wow Meow won out.

Brookys coverage costs is $32.96 per month and covers 80% of anything we submit with no excess (this is for the comprehensive plan, they have others...i.e this plan is their highest coverage). You can add "routine cover" to that plan for $9.50 per month that covers teeth, heart-worm, microchippong, prescription diets, desexing, alternative therapies, vaccines, flea/tick control (up to $45 a year, not much), etc. We passes on this because when I did the maths on what we would actually use, we would rather just cover it if it came up and save $10 a month.

Anyway, that is my experience...and just my opinion :) I am sure others have some good ones to help you too. Choosing is so hard!!!
 
Thanks Brooky's mum, greatly appreciated.
We are looking at one that either includes dental or we can add dental as an optional extra.
Pet plan was actually one we already crossed off the list, I've heard that the overseas branches are among the best pet insurers, but the
Australian Pet Plan don't have a very good reputation at all. From the horror stories I've come across while researching, they tend to pick and choose
what claims they will abide by and then raise your premiums without explanation. They are owned by Allianz. Medibank Private was another that we'll be
steering clear of.

Most of the insurers seem to be managed by petsure, and all of the disclosure statements are exactly the same :confused:
 
Now I've just read on the barefoot investors website, that Medibank with the routine extras is among the best. (It covers dental) :confused:
 
It is a really confusing decision! I think I researched for two months straight!! And even then, it was so hard. I just finally decided on Bow Wow Meow because they had the best customer service for me and I was so scared by pet plan that service and help and openness was a top for me. But every person has different priorities too in what they want covered so what works for some (like me, I don't care about the dental so that is why I chose the $32 a month plan) does not work for others. It's really about cost per month based on what you want covered (which really comes down to what out of pocket you are willing to spend if something happens...that is where excess and deductibles come in vs. How much you want to spend a month). So for me, since I knew I could cover dental and all the other extras on my own if need be, I chose the cheaper monthly option knowing I will probably have to be a bit out of pocket if she ever does need the other things. Also we chose a company that has no excess but only covers 80% of the bill (knowing I have the other 20% on hand even for the biggest bill). If say you will not have any extra ever on hand, you would want a company the covers the bill 100% with say maybe an excess of $100...that way you know for a fact you will never be out of pocket more than $100.
Does that make sense???

So much of it is finding a good company, but then also finding a plan that suits your finances in case of the "worst case scenario" type of bill.

It is SO hard no doubt!!!!
 
We really didn't think about dental until walking with our little guy and met another Cavalier owner who was chatting and she mentioned that her dog
needed a tooth extraction and it cost her $2500. Routine dental, like cleaning and checkups we can handle, but $2500 is a fair chunk of cash all at once,
and trying to find one that will provide that sort of cover should we need it. Would that sort of procedure be covered under illness, or is dental
a whole different kettle of fish? :confused:
 
Well with dental, every policy is different unfortunately. When in doubt, best to just ring them and ask...that is what I did. I know with Bow Wow Meow, the dental cleaning falls under an "add on benefit" called "routine care cover" which is $9.50 extra per month, but for a tooth extraction, I would gather that to be under "surgery" or "illness" (which is covered on most of their plans). But I would call and ask and they can tell you for sure in two seconds. Knowing these things, and knowing your limits of what you can and cannot cover is key, bravo to you for really thinking it through!!!
 
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