Were you one of many families that picked up a new furry friend during the pandemic? During the first Lockdown, Newsroom reported that SPCA had been successful in its call for new homes for thousands of animals. Where usually there would be about 3,000 to 4,000 animals around SPCAs in the country, they had 1,400.
With over half a million dogs and a million cats in New Zealand, you are in good company.
The cost of having a pet in New Zealand is a key consideration for many people. Unlike humans, pets do not have free medical coverage from the likes of ACC or vet hospitals. Pet insurance can help you to cover those unexpected bills to keep the furry members of your family healthy.
We’ve put together this guide to run through how pet insurance works and how to pick the right policy for your family!
What is (and isn’t) pet insurance?
You can think of pet insurance kind of like a combination of medical insurance and ACC, but for your pet. In the event your pet needs veterinary attention for an illness or accidental injury, pet insurance will help you to cover the bill. Usually you will still be required to pay a portion of covered bills, 20% is a fairly common split (excesses apply too). Pet insurance will help ease the financial shock of unexpected bills, but won’t erase it.
Pet insurance also won’t help you cover non-medical expenses or any day-to-day expenses (although, some policies may cover regular medical expenses such as vaccinations). Insurance is only one potential cost of owning a pet, this guide from Stuff is a little dated but gives you a good idea of the different costs involved.
Visits to the vet are known for being expensive.
Unsurprisingly, a growing number of pet owners are picking up pet insurance to make it easier on the wallet when their pets need TLC.
Contrary to the belief that if owners are careful to avoid accidents with pets, then there is little need for visits to the vet. Southern Cross Pet Insurance shares that 80% of their claims are paid for illnesses rather than accidents.
Pet insurance providers in New Zealand Here is a list of pet insurance providers to look at and the kind of pets they insure.
PD Insurance (Dog & Cat)
Pet-n-Sur (Dog, Cat, Bunny & Horse)
Petcover (formerly Petplan) (Dog, Cat & Horse)
AA (Dog and Cat)
Southern Cross (Dog and Cat)
SPCA (Dog and Cat)
Tower (Dog and Cat)
Cove (Dog and Cat)
Updated: PD was previously branded as DotSure and appears to have been rebranded as PD Insurance, offering pet cover, in August 2020. Tower and the SPCA now also offer pet policies as of April 2022. Petplan has been rebranded Petcover.
Policies Compared
With around seven different providers to choose from, picking out pet insurance can seem daunting. If you have pre-existing policies with any of these insurers (e.g. AA or Tower), bundling could help you save! Typically AA and Tower will offer 10% multi-policy discounts (Tower bumping this to 20% for 3+ policies) whilst Southern Cross offers members 2.5% off pet insurance. Check out our guide to bundling insurance to make see if bundling makes sense for you.
To give a run-down of the different policy providers, we’re going to compare two quotes for two different pets. Ollie is a male Labrador retriever, he was born February 2018 and has been desexed. Molly is a female Tabby cat, born February 2018 and also desexed. Let’s see how different insurance policies for Ollie and Molly compare.
Insurer | Ollie/month | Molly/month | Annual Cover | Benefit % | Excess | Multi-pet Discount |
$62.15 | $33.96 | $10,000 | 100% | $100 | 5% | |
$95.68 | $74.18 | $9,000 | 80% | $0 | Yes (unspecified) | |
$85.64 | $34.95 | $10,000 | 100% | $150 for Dog, $125 for Cat | Yes, (unspecified) | |
$97.39 | $47.85 | $10,000 | 80% | $0 | 5% | |
$80.90 | $41.61 | $10,000 | 80% | $0 | 5% | |
$77.51 | $37.34 | $11,000 | 70% | $0 | 10% | |
$79.71 | $37.35 | $15,000 | 80% | $0 | 5% |
Before we jump into these figures, it is important to stress that premiums are only one cost to consider when looking at insurance. You should compare policy features and consider how they fit your insurance needs.
The benefit % is how insured bills are split between you and your insurer. Most will only cover around 80% of any vetinary bills, leaving you to foot the remaining 20%. We found that the two insurers who did offer 100% cover for our selected plans (PD Insurance and PetCover) instead required an excess.
Based on our comparisons, PD Insurance and the SPCA offer competitive prices for insuring Ollie whilst PD Insurance, Tower and the SPCA offer the lowest premiums for Molly. Keep in mind that there are significant differences between these policies so a lower price doesn’t necessarily imply a better deal.
In picking policies for comparison we tried to stick with $10,000 of annual cover. Usually this meant picking a mid-tier policy from providers. In the case of Pet-n-Sur this meant picking their highest level of cover which explains the price jump. Our tip is to make a list of the policy features that matter to you and compare policies that match your needs.
Be aware that insurance provider deals also vary, we excluded these for the most part. Currently Southern Cross is offering free cover for pets aged 6-26 weeks old with $2,000 of cover and a $100 excess. PD Insurance has a similar offer, with free cover on pets under 1 year old with no excess. It’s worth having a quick browse for the latest deals, especially if you’re welcoming a new puppy or kitten to your family!
Why should you insure your pet?
Most pet insurance policies won’t insure you for the full cost, instead requiring co-payment on those pricey vet bills. Additionally, most policies won’t cover your pets day-to-day healthcare needs (however, many providers offer premium policies which will cover some of these). This may leave you wondering if insuring your pet is worth it…
For some people, it probably isn’t necessary. But for many, the shock of a $10,000 vet bill could cause all sorts of financial woes. We’ve all heard the vet-visit horror stories – which although don’t mean you’re going to be slapped with a massive bill in your pets lifetime, does mean it is something worth considering.
At the end of the day, it’s about weighing up what is best for your pet and your financial position. $30-70 per month will be a worthwhile cost for many families to protect their pet, but others may be able to weather unexpected bills without the need for insurance. To help you decide, we’ve put together a list of top considerations below when picking your policy.
Things to consider when it comes to pet insurance
Is your pet insurable?
Outside of the dog, cat, bunny and horse categories, you may struggle to find pet insurance that will cover your pet. Even if your pet is a dog or a cat, check that the specific breed can be insured. For example, pit bulls are mostly excluded. Working pets e.g. sheep dogs may also fall outside of the cover. Age is another consideration. Most pet insurers do not insure older pets (seven or eight years old is the age) or ones with existing conditions.
Co-payment.
A number of pet insurance policies are based on co-payment i.e. a percentage of the vet bill is covered by the owner - 20% is the norm. This may appear to be more affordable but it means that owners will have to put aside some money to be able to cover the 20% or more (depending on the cover) for any vet payments. A vet bill of $1,000 means the owner will have to contribute $200.
Exclusions.
Read up on the exclusions when it comes to your pet insurance. If there are existing birth defects, these will not typically be covered. Some insurance policies may be more flexible than others.
When it comes to pet insurance, check that you know exactly what you are actually paying for and the conditions attached. Take note of what you need to pay if a claim is made. Most pet insurers will require that your pet has up-to-date vaccinations in order for the policy to be valid.
Take some time to shop around. There are only a handful of providers.
Once your pet insurance is in place, add it to Quashed to make it simple when it comes to tracking all your insurance in one place.
Original article written on 16 December 2019. Latest update made on 5 May 2022 to include new insurers and information.
