Pet Insurance

Pet insurance may help provide assurance against unexpected vet expenses for your cat or dog. Medibank Pet Insurance provides cover for eligible vet expenses to treat specified accidental injuries and illnesses, subject to the policy terms and conditions.^Ω The amount pet insurance can cover, and the types of illness or injuries it will cover depends on the cover you select. 

Cats and dogs are more than just a pet, they’re a member of the family! And they help us in so many ways. Pet insurance is one way you can help look after them by focusing on their health, and less on the cost of treatment when it comes to eligible vet bills.

Pet owners can never predict when something might happen to their cat or dog. Pet insurance can help assist with unexpected eligible vet expenses, so you can help protect them when they need it most.

It’s important that you read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and before you make a decision to buy or continue to hold this product. The PDS contains details about Medibank Pet Insurance, you can get a copy by calling 132331 or visiting the Useful Documents page.

You can visit any vet, other than yourself, who is licensed in and currently registered in Australia (with the exception of a vet, other than yourself, who is licensed in and currently registered in New Zealand for the purposes of the Travelling in New Zealand additional benefits).^¥

To make a claim using GapOnly®^~, you will need to check whether it is available at your vet clinic. If you’d like to find a GapOnly® enabled vet, use the handy vet finder.

Pet insurance can help you with unexpected eligible veterinary costs for illnesses and/or specified accidental injuries suffered by your pet.

Medibank Pet Insurance requires you pay a premium each year, which provides cover up to an annual benefit limit of $10,000, $25,000 or $30,000 depending on your level of cover.^Ω  The premium can be paid on a fortnightly, monthly or annual basis. Your policy allows you or your vet to claim veterinary expenses by submitting a claim. You can claim 70%, 80% or 90% of the vet’s invoice depending on your level of cover,^Ω after the commencement date of the first policy period and after any applicable waiting periods.

An excess of $0, $100, $250 or $500 (depending on your level of cover) is due per condition, per policy period. You can submit a claim online or by post, by paying the vet invoice(s) in full, and submitting a claim for reimbursement. Or you can claim via a GapOnly® enabled vet, who can do it on your behalf, which means you only pay the gap between the vet’s invoice and the amount covered by your policy.^~

Your policy is issued for a fixed contract term of 12-months. We will automatically renew your policy each year (unless you opt out of automatic renewals or tell us that you don’t want to renew your policy) for as long as we continue to provide the product and subject to the applicable terms and conditions of your policy. We will send your offer of renewal notice at least 14-days before your policy is due to expire to remind you that you can opt out of the automatic renewal process, to check the information we have on your certificate of insurance is correct and to check your insurance cover is still right for you. We’ll change the premium and may change the terms and conditions of the policy at the time of renewal, based on a combination of factors, including the risk associated with insuring pets like yours. You can opt-out of the automatic renewal process by contacting us. If you have chosen for your policy not to automatically renew, you will need to contact us each year to renew your cover. See PDS for more information.

There is no waiting period for specified accidental injuries (like a motor vehicle accident, ingestion of a foreign object or poisoning) which means you can submit a claim from your policy commencement date. For illnesses, there is a 30-day waiting period. A 6-month waiting period applies for cruciate ligament conditions. If you have Extra Care,^† there is a 30-day waiting period for specialised therapies, and a 6-month waiting period for specified dental conditions. See our product comparison page for more detail.

Medibank’s Extra Care, provides benefits for both specialised therapies and specified dental conditions. Extra Care included with Pet Max, and an optional benefit for Pet Protect and Pet Plus.†  The Extra Care annual benefit limit is $2,000 and is in addition to your policy annual benefit limit.

The Extra Care limit is the maximum amount payable across both specified dental conditions and specialised therapies combined.

Specified dental conditions

Cover for specified dental conditions under the Extra Care benefit, includes eligible vet expenses incurred for scaling, polishing, dental x-rays and tooth removal of the following specified dental conditions: gingivitis, abscesses, odontoclastic resorptive lesions, and removal of teeth where medically necessary due to dental disease arising from infection, retained deciduous teeth, cavities or fractured teeth due to dental disease.

If you have the Routine Care (non-insurance optional benefit), we will provide a contribution towards the cost(s) of any of the specified Routine Care items, which includes vaccinations, up to the Routine Care limits. Routine Care (non-insurance optional benefit) also provides contribution towards the cost other specified Routine Care items, such as microchipping, heartworm preventive, teeth cleaning, dew claw removal, council registration fees, prescription diets, cremation/burial, vaccination or health checks and others.  More detail about Routine Care is available here.

Medibank offers three levels of cover, each with a different annual benefit limit.

Subject to your policy terms and conditions, you can claim up to $10,000 per year with Pet Protect Cover, $25,000 per year with Pet Plus Cover and $30,000 per year with Pet Max Cover.^ꭥ  When claiming, your claim benefit (or reimbursement amount) will be subject to the annual benefit limit, the benefit percentage, sub-limits (if any), and excess (if any).

Please see your Product Disclosure Statement for more information.

Medibank Pet Insurance does not cover or pay benefits to any pre-existing conditions, unless they meet the requirements of a temporary condition, which can be found in the PDS.

A pre-existing condition is:

• A condition that existed or occurred prior to the commencement date of your first policy period or within any applicable waiting period; and

• A condition that you or your vet were aware of, or a reasonable person in your circumstances would have been aware of irrespective of whether the underlying or causative condition has been diagnosed.

A pre-existing condition also includes a related condition or bilateral condition of a pre-existing condition.

You can apply to have pre-existing conditions reviewed. 

If, after any applicable waiting period, your pet has a pre-existing condition that is a temporary condition which hasn't existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality in the 18-month period immediately prior to your claim treatment date, it won't be excluded from cover as a pre-existing condition.

This is a summary only. Read the Product Disclosure Statement for more information and examples of pre-existing conditions.