Petplan award-winning pet insurance

If you’re worried about your furry friend’s health, pet insurance provider Petplan could set your mind at ease with its life-long insurance policy for dogs and cats.

Petplan’s Covered for Life Ultimate policy has won a 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Award^ for Exceptional Quality Pet Insurance for a third year running.

“The kind of comprehensive pet insurance cover offered by providers like Petplan isn’t just about first-class protection,” Mozo Expert Judge Peter Marshall said. 

“It’s also about cover that you’re more likely to use and get meaningful benefits from if your pet ever gets really sick.”

Petplan is a pet insurance company that has insured 1.5 million pets around the world. First established in the UK in 1976, Petplan was introduced to the Australian market in 2004, when Doug and Gwen Ford, two pet lovers and members of the dog showing community, bought the naming rights and set up the company here.

Unlike many other insurance providers, Petplan's sole focus is on pets, including dogs, cats, horses and more ‘exotic’ pets like reptiles, turtles, birds and rabbits. Its policies are underwritten by HDI Global Speciality SE-Australia. 

As Petplan’s most comprehensive level of cover for cats and dogs, Covered for Life Ultimate snatched up an Exceptional Quality Pet Insurance award at this year’s Mozo Experts Choice Pet Insurance Awards^. 

Petplan Covered for Life Ultimate*

Petplan scored especially well in terms of annual benefit limit. Under a Covered for Life Ultimate policy, you can claim up to $20,000 a year for dogs and $15,000 a year for cats, on eligible veterinary bills for the treatment of injuries, accidents or illness.

This policy also comes with loads of other benefits to give you extra peace of mind about your furry companion, including: 

• Alternative or complementary treatment, up to $4,000 
• Death from illness or injury, up to $2,000
• Loss by theft or straying, up to $2,000

Planning a trip with your pet? You can also get coverage for a range of costs and potential mishaps while travelling domestically or internationally to any agreed upon country (restrictions permitting), including: 

• Boarding fees, up to $2,000
• Holiday cancellation up to $2,000 (in Australia only) related to your pet being ill or injured 
• Quarantine expenses and loss of documents, up to $1,000 (for agreed upon countries)
• Emergency repatriation, up to $500 (for agreed upon countries)

As with insurance of any kind, you should read the Petplan Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and double-check the fine print before taking out a policy, just so you’re clear on what is included and excluded. Here are a few details to pay attention to: 

Petplan doesn’t cover any pre-existing conditions or illness that begins in the first 21 days of cover. In other words, if your dog or cat was already sick before you took out a policy with Petplan or if they became sick during the 21-day waiting period, you won't be able to claim any money for treatment of that sickness. However, cover for injuries does start right away.

Once your pet turns 8 years old (or once it turns 5 years old for select breeds), you’ll no longer be able to claim cover if they pass away due to an illness or disease. 

Petplan won’t cover any treatment for dental disease if you’ve failed to take care of your pet’s oral health, either by not getting their teeth examined within the 12 months before the illness or by not carrying out any treatment that the vet recommended. So be sure to take your pet to the vet for those annual dental check-ups and vaccinations.

Keep in mind that you’ll be required to pay a non-refundable excess for claims under this policy, which can be between $125 and $150 plus a percentage of the cost depending on the animal, breed and age of your pet. You’ll also need to renew the policy once every 12 months without a break to ensure your pet is covered for life. 

Ever wondered which pet insurance policies offer great value features to Aussies and their pets? 

The Mozo Experts Choice Awards^ provide a platform that highlights financial products our in-house team of expert researchers and analysts have assessed to be exceptional in quality or value (or both). These awards have been run annually for eight years.

Our Expert Judges have poured in hours of research, using objective verifiable facts, calculations and analysis to find top-notch pet insurance policies in Australia. 

Curious about which other pet insurance providers have won this year? Head over to the 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Awards Pet Insurance page for a full list of winners.

*Terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits may apply to any of the insurance products shown on the Mozo website. These terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits could affect the level of benefits and cover available under any of the insurance products shown on the Mozo website. Please refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement on the provider's website for further information before making any decisions about an insurance product.