Pet insurance

Pet Insurance provided by PetSure has the following waiting periods from your policy start date:

• Specified accidental injuries: No waiting period
• Illnesses: 30 days
• Cruciate ligament conditions: 6 months
• Emergency boarding: No waiting period
• Booster Care specified dental conditions (if selected): 6 months
  
• Booster Care specialised therapies (if selected): 30 days

If your vet confirms your pet has no pre-existing knee issues and completes the Cruciate Ligament Examination Form, you may apply for a waiver of the 6-month cruciate waiting period.

If signs or symptoms appear during a waiting period, the condition may be excluded as pre-existing.

Your dog or cat must be older than eight weeks and younger than nine years when you first apply for pet insurance.  For more information on waiting periods, please refer to the full terms outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

PetSure offers an optional Routine Care (non-insurance) benefit to contribute towards every day, preventative items.

The annual Routine Care limit is made up of three $50 benefits, which applies to specified routine care items listed on your Certificate of Insurance, such as desexing, vaccinations or health checks, teeth cleaning, heartworm preventative, prescription diets and more.

You can also add Booster Care cover to your policy and get cover up to the annual Booster Care limit of $2,000 for specified dental conditions and specialised therapies.³

Treatment of specified dental conditions included:

• Gingivitis
• Abscesses
• Removal of teeth where medically necessary due to dental disease arising from infection, retained deciduous teeth, cavities or fractured teeth

Specialised therapies included:

• Acupuncture
• Chiropractic manipulation
• Hydrotherapy
• Physiotherapy
• Treatment of behavioural conditions diagnosed by a vet
• Consultations with a veterinary behavioural specialist for behavioural conditions

For more information, refer to your PDS and Certificate of Insurance.

A pre-existing condition is any illness, injury or symptom that existed or showed signs before your policy started or during a waiting period.

There are two types:

Temporary pre-existing conditions

If your pet has remained symptom-free for 18 continuous months immediately prior to your claim treatment date, it won’t be excluded from your policy as a pre-existing condition.  For existing polices, you can apply for a review to remove the exclusion.

You can apply for a temporary pre-existing condition review through the Pet Portal or using the pre-existing condition review form, which is available here: https://www.commbank.com.au/insurance/brochures-forms

Chronic pre-existing conditions

These are long-lasting or recurring conditions (e.g. diabetes, osteoarthritis, chronic allergies). If the chronic condition is present before policy start or during waiting periods, they will always remain excluded from your policy.

For more information on pre-existing conditions, please refer to the full terms outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

Pet Insurance covers eligible veterinary costs for specified accidental injuries and illnesses, subject to limits, waiting periods and exclusions.

Examples of treatments for covered conditions include:

• Surgery and hospitalisation
• Diagnostic tests (X-rays, MRI, CT scans, blood tests)
• Medications prescribed by your vet
• Specialist consultations
• Emergency care

Common exclusions include:

• Pre-existing conditions
• Routine or preventative care (unless Routine Care selected)
• Elective or cosmetic procedures
• Breeding or obstetrics
• Dental treatments (unless Booster Care selected)

For more information on cover inclusions and exclusions, please refer to the full terms outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

Yes — provided the condition is not pre-existing and waiting periods have been completed.

Common covered conditions may include:

• Cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, diagnostics)
• Hip dysplasia (sub-limits per – hip for Classic Cover apply)
• Cruciate ligament injuries (sub-limits per – leg for Classic Cover apply); covered after 6-month waiting period, waiver may apply)
• Elbow dysplasia
• Cataract surgery
• Diabetes treatment

Coverage always depends on policy limits and terms.

If you have Routine Care (non-insurance benefit), PetSure will provide a contribution towards the cost(s) of any of the specified Routine Care items, which includes desexing, subject to the Routine Care limits.

For more information, please refer to the full terms outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

Your dog or cat must be older than eight weeks and younger than nine years when you first apply for pet insurance.

Once your pet is insured, you can renew your policy each year for the life of your pet, as long as we continue to offer the product and your policy remains active. This means your dog or cat can stay covered for eligible vet costs, even as they get older.

If you hold a pet insurance policy provided by PetSure, you have access to myPetPass® membership at no additional cost. myPetPass® provides access to the following benefits:

• Live Vet¹ – 24/7 access to an experienced vet online, at no additional cost, accessible directly from the Customer Portal,
• discounted pet prescription medications and,
• savings on pet care essentials.^#

Full Terms & Conditions available at mypetpass.com.au/terms.

Your premium is based on factors including:

• Your dog or cat’s age
• Breed
• Location
• Level of cover
• Excess chosen
• Benefit percentage
• Claims history
• Industry-wide veterinary cost trends

Premiums generally increase for two main reasons:

1. Just like humans, the older our pets get, the more likely they are to have health hiccups. Cats and dogs age faster than humans do, which means that their veterinary treatment costs typically go up rapidly each year too. As a result, the cost to insure your pet will increase as your pet ages.
2. Overall cost of medical treatment for pets has increased in recent years, due to the increased availability of medical treatments and technology-enabled services and ongoing demand for these services. The treatment options and advancements in technology are providing us with great opportunities to give our pets a great quality of life for longer.

While this is great news for the care of our pets, these treatments come at a significant cost. Year-on-year treatment costs increase, and this is factored into the cost of pet insurance.

Refer to the PDS for more information about calculation of premiums.

Your premium is impacted by the excess or benefit percentage you choose. For example, a higher excess and a lower benefit percentage will have a lower premium but higher out of pocket costs at claim time. Conversely, a lower excess and a higher benefit percentage will have a higher premium but lower out of pocket costs at claim time.⁴

You may reduce your premium by:

• Choosing a higher excess
• Selecting a lower benefit percentage
• Choosing Classic Cover instead of Plus Cover
• Applying eligible multi-pet discounts
• Paying annually (if applicable)

Please note there are other factors used to calculate your premium. Please consider the PDS for more information.

An excess means an amount you contribute towards the cost of your claim(s), as shown on your certificate of insurance.

The excess is calculated on a ‘per condition, per policy period’ basis. PetSure does this for each condition treated that is unrelated to any other condition during the same policy period.

The excess will be deducted from your calculated claim benefits after PetSure applies any benefit percentage, benefit limit, sub-limit (if any) and Booster Care limit (where applicable) to your claimed amount.

You can choose a $0 or $200 excess with Classic Cover or Plus Cover.

If you have received a discount, please note that the discount only applies to premiums.

Please consider the PDS for more information.