We’ve compared a broad cross-section of the pet insurance market in Australia. Our comparison covers:
7 insurers
29 brands
74 products
381 product feature dimensions measured
CHOICE compares three types of pet insurance:
combined illness and injury policies
illness policies
accidental injury policies
We compare pet insurance every six months to make sure the product information we publish is current. We assign scores for policy coverage (by looking at dozens of different product features) and potential out-of-pocket costs when you make a claim.
These scores are combined to calculate the CHOICE Expert Rating. This is a score out of 100 that represents a policy’s breadth of cover and value for money (more on this later).
The insurers we compare cover the majority of the pet insurance market in Australia, including established dominant players as well as newer entrants. To be included in a CHOICE pet insurance comparison, a policy must be available as a standalone product and sold directly to the public.
The following pet insurers are included in our comparison (including the brands they underwrite):
Auto & General (Budget Direct)
Guild (Coles, Vets Choice)
Pacific International (Fetch, Knose, Pet Circle, PetsOnMe, Petsy)
The CHOICE Expert Rating is an overall score out of 100. It is made up of the Cover score (70%) and the Out-of-pocket score (30%).
How we collect the product cover data
The terms and conditions of a pet insurance policy are found in several disclosure documents available from the insurer. The main sources of information for product information are:
Product Disclosure Statements (PDS), plus supplementary PDSs issued when the insurer updates the policy
the insurer’s website (including quote forms, where undisclosed sublimits are often hidden).
We use a product feature questionnaire to collect a wide range of details about what a policy includes. Our questions focus on cover and limits for particular medical conditions and treatments, but we also collect information about things like claims handling. All up, we have 381 questions.
If an insurer issues a new PDS, our insurance experts compare it to the old one and update the data. Our database processes the new information and produces our comparison table. The information we publish goes past our in-house verification team first, and for larger updates we’ll send a draft of the report to insurers for them to review.
The Cover score is based on an assessment of 30 policy features, grouped into six categories:
Illness (10%)
Injury (10%)
Specific conditions (40%)
Treatments (15%)
Claiming (10%)
Additional features (15%)
The full list of individual features within these categories and how they are weighted is shown in the table below.
Breakdown of features weighting
Section
Feature
Cover score weighting
Illness
Illness cover
10%
Injury
Accidental injury cover
10%
Specific conditions
Allergies
2%
Specific conditions
Behavioural conditions
2%
Specific conditions
BOAS
2%
Specific conditions
Cancer
2%
Specific conditions
Cruciate ligament conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Dental illness
5%
Specific conditions
Ear conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Eye conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Ingestion of foreign body
2%
Specific conditions
Heart conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Hereditary conditions
2%
Specific conditions
IVDD
2%
Specific conditions
Joint conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Luxation
2%
Specific conditions
Orthopaedic conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Parasites (including tick)
2%
Specific conditions
Skin conditions
2%
Specific conditions
Snake toxicity
2%
Specific conditions
Conditions for which pet is vaccinated
2%
Treatments
Alternative therapies
2%
Treatments
Consult costs
5%
Treatments
Essential euthanasia
2%
Treatments
Out of hours emergency treatment
5%
Claiming
Claim processing methods
10%
Additional features
Legal liability cover
2%
Additional features
Lost pet benefit
3%
Additional features
Routine care cover
5%
Additional features
Telehealth service
5%
Accordion content
Component scores
Each individual feature receives several component scores based on either whether the feature is included in the policy, the limits that apply to it, and other conditions of cover.
Feature cover
If a feature is included as part of the standard policy cover, it scores 100%. If it is only available as an optional add-on, it scores 50%.
Sublimits and claim limits
Some features have lower benefit limits (sublimits) or restrictions on how often claims can be made. Where these limits are common across policies, they are included in the scoring. Policies with the highest limit (or no sublimit) score 100%, while policies with the lowest limits score 0%, with others scored proportionally in between.
The scores for each feature are then weighted and combinedto produce the final Cover score.
Score penalties
In some circumstances a penalty is applied to a Component score. This penalty reduces the Component score by 5%. If the product sample contains a benefit with no sublimit (i.e. cover is up to the policy annual limit, or the “reasonable cost”), then all the policies that do have a sublimit will have a penalty applied. We do this to reward policies with less complexity: a policy that requires you to be aware of all its various sublimits will find itself penalised across many features.
The Out-of-pocket score assesses several aspects of the policy related to the cost of making a claim. It does not assess the cost of actually purchasing the policy. Like the Cover score, it is made up of several Components scores, but for the Out-of-pocket score the Component scores are applied to the following features:
Annual policy limit and per-condition limit: we assess the policy’s overall benefit limit. Policies without an annual limit score 100%, unless they use per-condition limits instead. A policy with per-condition limits imposes a limit for every condition you claim in a year, rather than an overall policy limit. These policies are penalised due to their complexity and poor value.
Excess: this is the dollar amount you pay to make a claim. We score policies on the range of excess options available to customers, as well as comparing the minimum amounts available for cats and dogs.
Copayment: sometimes called a “variable excess”, this is the percentage of the vet bill you have to cover. It can range from 0% to 65%; policies with a 0% copayment (where you only pay the excess) score higher. We score policies on the range of copayments available, and we also take into account the copayment charged at various ages. Policies that increase your copayment as your pet ages are penalised.
Many policies offer a choice of policy limit, excess and copayment. We have scored policies using the option that gives them the best score: high annual limit, and low copayment and excess.
We have applied a CHOICE Expert Rating to policies to help you compare what we consider to be good versus poor cover. However we haven’t attached our usual ‘Recommended’ label to any pet insurance policies.
Why? For two reasons. The first is because we don’t have a reliable source of pricing data. We can compare policies on cover and on what it might cost you to make a claim. But without the missing piece of the puzzle – how much does it cost? – we aren’t ready to give any policy our seal of approval.
The second reason has to do with ease of switching and getting cover for pre-existing conditions. Cover for a pre-existing condition is often at the discretion of the insurer, after serving a lengthy waiting period during which your pet cannot show any related symptoms. These rules make it difficult for people to switch insurers, locking them into policies (or self-insurance) and making them vulnerable to loyalty penalties.
The industry has made some improvements since its 2019 Shonky, but we’re still wary of making recommendations.
Daniel Graham is a Senior data analyst in the Insurance and utilities team. He maintains the CHOICE database of general insurance products and is the resident expert in insurance pricing. He covers home, car, pet and health insurance.
Previously, Daniel has worked as a finance journalist and data journalist in the investigations team, focusing on insurance stories and comparisons.
Daniel has a Graduate Diploma of Journalism from UTS and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. He is RG146 compliance certified to provide general advice in Tier 2 General Insurance and is a member of the Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance. LinkedIn
Daniel Graham is a Senior data analyst in the Insurance and utilities team. He maintains the CHOICE database of general insurance products and is the resident expert in insurance pricing. He covers home, car, pet and health insurance.
Previously, Daniel has worked as a finance journalist and data journalist in the investigations team, focusing on insurance stories and comparisons.
Daniel has a Graduate Diploma of Journalism from UTS and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. He is RG146 compliance certified to provide general advice in Tier 2 General Insurance and is a member of the Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance. LinkedIn
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