pet insurance in Australia

hey.. just wondering does anyone here in Australia have pet insurance for their doggies?? If so, which one do you use.?
After Winston's first emergency dash to the vets the other day, and then all the things I have caught him trying to eat.. pebbles.. rocks.. teabags ( I used to throw them in the garden for compost.. he is forever finding them.. and eating them ! ) and I had to wrestle a huge bloated dead frog from his jaws the other day.. well he is going to be alot more hard work than my Jethro was. And I am dreading summer.... we get alot of snakes here, and when Winston sees anything move.. he pounces on it ! So we reckon that we can see quite a few trips to the vets over the years to come, and thought maybe vet insurance would be a good idea.
Thanks.

I thought about it a few years ago, but didn't follow it up. Kita is too old for some of the policies.
I fully understand where you are coming from in regard to Winston. Izzy cost us a nice little $600 in one surgery last year when the vet thought she had a foreign body in her foot and Kita did have a granuloma that encapsulating her jugular vein in her neck when she was two (another hefty surgery bill). Then there was the Bull Mastiff that cost us around 2 grand after being run over at 5 months of age. Does make you stop and think.....
One policy I saw was a $1/day, so around $360/year, I suppose it's like any insurance plan you have to way up the pros & cons and what the policy covers. We have private health insurance (started it at 17yrs of age) and now I wouldn't be without it, but I've certainly spent a lot of money on it over the years and not had to use it very much. Still I suppose the positive of that is I'm happy I've been healthy as there are many people much less fortunate.
I might look into it for Izzy too

Vanessa......I am also looking into pet insurance and have been wondering which is the best way to go. I will be keeping a close eye on this topic too

You all know the problems I've had with Dempsey over the last year. If I hadn't had insurance I'd have been facing bills of over £5000! As it is, I've only spent £250 in excess fees & admin charges plus about £300 in insurance premiums - a good deal I would say!

Is this any help?

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/money/insurance/personal/pet-insurance-policies-review-and-compare.aspx

Caryll wrote:You all know the problems I've had with Dempsey over the last year. If I hadn't had insurance I'd have been facing bills of over £5000! As it is, I've only spent £250 in excess fees & admin charges plus about £300 in insurance premiums - a good deal I would say!

Is this any help?

http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/money/insurance/personal/pet-insurance-policies-review-and-compare.aspx

Just tried to look at it Caryll, but am unable as i'm not a member. At $22.95 per qtr for an online membership, no thanx.

Sorry, didn't realise that! Who'd pay good money just to compare policies?

I know Petplan do insurance worldwide, so maybe they cover Australia? Also, the RSPCA cover Australia, that I do know.

Oh....Petplan is the brochure I picked up when I took Roxy to the vets last week

Policies range from $415 - $533 AUD per year depending on the level of cover.

Do you know if PetPlan is any good?

Sorry to butt in! I've heard great stuff about them but also that they are pricey x

Well, over here, Petplan is VERY pricey, but also very good. However, it always pays to shop around & compare policies/prices.

janey wrote:Sorry to butt in! I've heard great stuff about them but also that they are pricey x

LOL......It's not even my post, it's Vanessas so maybe i'm the one who's butting in :-$

She won't mind

janey wrote:She won't mind

Nah, that's what i figured too

She'll be happy knowing we are looking as well.
I'm looking at private health cover for my stepson, pets and single young men are around the same price.....

RSPCA......
http://www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au/Pages/Default.aspx

Petplan.....
http://www.petplan.com.au/

Petsure....
http://www.petsure.com.au/

Pet Insurance Australia
http://www.petinsuranceaustralia.com.au/

vanessa wrote:hey.. just wondering does anyone here in Australia have pet insurance for their doggies?? If so, which one do you use.?
After Winston's first emergency dash to the vets the other day, and then all the things I have caught him trying to eat.. pebbles.. rocks.. teabags ( I used to throw them in the garden for compost.. he is forever finding them.. and eating them ! ) and I had to wrestle a huge bloated dead frog from his jaws the other day.. well he is going to be alot more hard work than my Jethro was. And I am dreading summer.... we get alot of snakes here, and when Winston sees anything move.. he pounces on it ! So we reckon that we can see quite a few trips to the vets over the years to come, and thought maybe vet insurance would be a good idea.
Thanks.

Hi Vanessa

We just got some insurance for our Stanley as we were told that Staffy's are very prone to getting sticks and things stuck in their mouth as well as damaging their cruciate ligament. I am not 100% on how much it cost us or how much we benifit from it but we got ours with the RSPCA and for the best package I am pretty sure, me being a guy and all I left this department up to the real head of the house the wife (Megs) she always deal with the money side of things for the house hold. I will try to post a link to the different plans but there is no price on it just what it covers and how it works. http://www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au/Pages/RateAndBenefit.aspx

We have a bit of the same problem with our little Stanley eating everything in the garden from dirt, flowers, lizards sticks lychees and sugar cane mulch, these are the things I am always trying to get out of his mouth so who knows what he manages to get down when I am not looking. I really don't think it cost us a huge amount I am guessiong around the $500 mark for the year give or take $100 but we live near a main road and plus all the extras you get with the top pack we thought it would be worht it. You get cover for up to nearly $9000 plus heaps of little extra bits for vet checks, flea treament and things alike. Plus we got a $50 voucher for the green cross vets which is good for us as we already take Stanley to them. I wish I could be more precise with the figures but hopefully you will find all the info from the link I have attached for you.

All the best
Dave, Megs and Stanley

I know Petplan do insurance worldwide, so maybe they cover Australia? Also, the RSPCA cover Australia, that I do know.[/quote]

I got excited when I saw the wordwide coverage but it looks like they don't cover Japan. I already have insurance but I move around alot for work and most policies won't cover any prexisting conditions so every move is like starting from scratch.

I do certainly reccommend insurance though it certainly lets me worry less since Suki also eats anything that moves.

Caryll wrote:RSPCA......
http://www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au/Pages/Default.aspx

Petplan.....
http://www.petplan.com.au/

Petsure....
http://www.petsure.com.au/

Pet Insurance Australia
http://www.petinsuranceaustralia.com.au/

Aww, Caryll.....( I know it's not my post ) but Thanx so much for that. What a champ . I will be doing some research when I get home from work today

Hi, my first post since the forum re-started!

I use pet insurance australia (about $35 a month). We were grateful for it as well when my dog Chaatzi got severe pneumonia in december from aspirating some water when playing in a river near Cronulla. She spent 5 days in doggy intensive care... on a drip with Oxygen therapy. $3000 later she was OK but it was very touch and go for a few days. We got all but the $100 excess back so we have definitely got our value for money.

thanks for everyones comments.. I started looking on the internet.. there are so many to choose from.. wow who would have thought....
will have to do some research.... goodbye house work.....

me again.. so much for the ironing... well there is always tomorrow.
I cannot believe just how many companies there are offering pet insurance.. the more I look at.. the more I am confusing myself..aaahh!!!!..................

cowboydave wrote:

vanessa wrote:hey.. just wondering does anyone here in Australia have pet insurance for their doggies?? If so, which one do you use.?
After Winston's first emergency dash to the vets the other day, and then all the things I have caught him trying to eat.. pebbles.. rocks.. teabags ( I used to throw them in the garden for compost.. he is forever finding them.. and eating them ! ) and I had to wrestle a huge bloated dead frog from his jaws the other day.. well he is going to be alot more hard work than my Jethro was. And I am dreading summer.... we get alot of snakes here, and when Winston sees anything move.. he pounces on it ! So we reckon that we can see quite a few trips to the vets over the years to come, and thought maybe vet insurance would be a good idea.
Thanks.

Hi Vanessa

We just got some insurance for our Stanley as we were told that Staffy's are very prone to getting sticks and things stuck in their mouth as well as damaging their cruciate ligament. I am not 100% on how much it cost us or how much we benifit from it but we got ours with the RSPCA and for the best package I am pretty sure, me being a guy and all I left this department up to the real head of the house the wife (Megs) she always deal with the money side of things for the house hold. I will try to post a link to the different plans but there is no price on it just what it covers and how it works. http://www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au/Pages/RateAndBenefit.aspx

We have a bit of the same problem with our little Stanley eating everything in the garden from dirt, flowers, lizards sticks lychees and sugar cane mulch, these are the things I am always trying to get out of his mouth so who knows what he manages to get down when I am not looking. I really don't think it cost us a huge amount I am guessiong around the $500 mark for the year give or take $100 but we live near a main road and plus all the extras you get with the top pack we thought it would be worht it. You get cover for up to nearly $9000 plus heaps of little extra bits for vet checks, flea treament and things alike. Plus we got a $50 voucher for the green cross vets which is good for us as we already take Stanley to them. I wish I could be more precise with the figures but hopefully you will find all the info from the link I have attached for you.

All the best
Dave, Megs and Stanley

thanks for that info ...I really appreciate it.... looking at Stanley's precious little face he looks like an angel and not a trouble maker to me!!

I have a cheap policy for pet insurance added onto my home & contents insurance through Suncorp Bank. It is only an extra $2.50 per month on top of my existing policy. It only covers up to $500 per vet bill, but that is still a big help if I need it, and it is not a huge amount to pay out if its not needed.
Not sure what bank you are with, but I think most of them offer it as an add on to contents insurance. It might be worht a look anyway, it sooooo much cheaper than every other policy I jave found. I couldn't find anything less that $40 per month, and that adds up over time.

That sounds a good idea, but the cover wouldn't have been any good for me. All Dempsey's claims have been over £1500 each!

Dempsey.... the 6 Million Dollar dog !!

vanessa wrote:
Dempsey.... the 6 Million Dollar dog !!

Caryll wrote:

vanessa wrote:
Dempsey.... the 6 Million Dollar dog !!

.. we have the technology........