Last updated 22nd March 2022
Let’s
Pets can be super expensive, especially when something goes wrong. Depending on the owner, they can also be a pretty significant part of your life so when something does go wrong, it can be comforting to have pet insurance to get you through.
Our pet insurance reviews will hopefully help you decide which pet insurance company and plan is best for you. We aren’t finacial advisors, and we haven’t review every pet insurance option on the market, so be sure to do you own research before buying any pet insurance policy. They vary a lot, and the only source of truth is the policy wording providing by the insurance companies – so be sure to give these a quick read before making your final decision.
And also keep in mind that although we have done our best to compare pet insurance in NZ, your fellow Kiwis are a wealth of knowledge and nothing beats word-of-mouth. Also, keep in mind that everyone has different experiences with different pet insurance companies. So although people are eager to recommend Southern Cross, Pet Plan, and Pet-n-Sure in the comments seen below, there are also people who would be very quick to complain that these companies are the ones you should never deal with!
Requesting a pet insurance quote doesn’t take long at all. Just like other forms of insurance (such as car insurance) you’ll be asked a handful of question within an online form, and then be presented with your quote.
The two questions I always get stuck on when getting a pet insurance quote is the breed of my cat, and it’s date of birth. All I know if I have a ginger cat, and it leaves it’s fluff everywhere. Sometimes you are presented 30 or so breeds, and I’ve literally go no idea whether mine is a Burmese, Chantilly, Persian, Tabby, or Somali. I guess I’ll have to do a bunch of Google searches to find out, or send a picture of my cat to the vet?!
The pet’s date of birth is also another tough question. Some date 7 or so years ago…
Anyone, enough moaning. Not all questions are tough, and most owners probably know more about their pet’s than I do. AA Pet Insurance goes as far as asking for your pet’s colour. If someone knows why, we’d love to know!
So what’s our advice? Get at least one pet insurance quote online when you first pick up your pet. At this time you’ve probably got a reasonable idea of the date of birth and the breed of the cat. It’ll probably be in the Trademe listing or the SPCA paperwork. Once you’ve done one quote you’ll have the answers to all the questions they ask, so spend another 10 minutes and get a few more quotes. You’ll find that the prices can vary quite a bit, so spending 10 minutes to get cheaper pet insurance, or a betted pet insurance policy, is worth it!
Quick fact: I’ve never purchased a pet insurance policy. I’ve pulled together these pet insurance reviews from scouring the internet and reading the websites of most leading pet insurers, and also reading hundreds of reviews left by customers online. I’ve also got many friends and family who are big animal lovers who have experience with the top few pet insurance companies, so their feedback helped me write these reviews. Since I do own a cat, I’ve had some discussions recently with the local pet store on what to look for when buying pet insurance. I’ve added their advice below!
PD
Important Note: Please review our transparency statement in the footer of every page on this website. No brands above are a recommendation from Compare.org.nz or an indication that a brand or product is the best in its category. We do not compare all pet insurance brands available in New Zealand, so it is important for you to do thorough research and compare all options and find the right product for you, based on your own personal circumstances.
Get your own quotes as these quotes are only a snapshot in time. Pet insurance prices can change frequently, so you might find different prices for these scenarios if re-done today.
There are two distinct types of pet insurance in NZ: accident only, and accident and illness.
The names are pretty self-explanatory, but let’s take a quick look at these two types of policies:
👉 Accident only pet insurance covers your pets for accidents, as you’d expect. This means things like your cat getting hit by a car, or your dog jumping off the back of a ute. These are sudden events that cause the pet to need medical attention, and your Accident only pet insurance policy is designed exactly for these types of events. However, if your dog developed cancer, or a skin condition, this wouldn’t be covered under an accident only policy, as it falls into the “illness category”
👉 Accident and Illness policies cover everything described above, but they also cover those illnesses which develop over time, which aren’t necessarily related to a single accident. If your dog gets cancer and needs diagnosis and treatment, then this is the type of policy that covers those situations.
Accident only policies aren’t offered by every pet insurance company in NZ, but you’ll find them at both Southern Cross Pet Insurance, and Cove Pet Insurance. At Southern Cross their policy is called AcciPet, and at Cove it’s simply called Accident Only.
Our advice is not just to consider price. Yes, you’re probably reading this page because you want to compare pet insurance prices, but we also suggest looking at policy wording of the brands you are considering, and the claims experience of existing customers. After all, there is no point in buying the cheapest pet insurance policy if you find out later that they don’t pay claims easily!
No!
We never recommend just buying the cheapest pet insurance you can find. You’ll likely end up with a high-excess, low-cover, accident only insurance policy from a less than ideal brand.
What you should be looking for is the best value pet insurance. This means a policy which actually covers you for all the things you want to be covered for, and it matched with a good price.
In writing this article we reviewed other websites throughout NZ that also compare pet insurance, social media posts related to pet insurance, and recent news articles about pet insurance. Some of these sources we used are below:
