Bupa Pet Insurance

Your dog or cat must be younger than nine years of age 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, subject to the terms and conditions of the renewal or replacement policy. If we no longer offer the product you’re on, we may propose a replacement policy that will start when your current policy ends. You can opt out of the automatic renewal or replacement process at any time.

This means your dog or cat will stay covered for eligible vet costs, even as they get older.

Yes, as a loyal Bupa customer we are pleased to offer you a 10% discount on Bupa Pet Insurance to help you take care of your pet’s needs when it counts⁺.

Bupa 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

There will be certain situations in which you won’t be covered, such as pre-existing conditions, dental procedures (unless you have Booster Care), elective treatments and procedures, breeding or obstetrics, and routine or preventative treatments (unless you have Routine Care).

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

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, the condition won’t be excluded as pre-existing. 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 by using the pre-existing condition review form.

Chronic pre-existing conditions

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

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

Similar to other forms of insurance, anything that existed or that you were aware of before your pet was insured is generally excluded from cover. Insurance policies are there to protect against the unexpected so for this reason, claims relating to pre-existing conditions are not covered. This helps keep coverage fair for all of our customers.

However, we know that some conditions can genuinely be resolved or cured. So, for that reason, pre-existing conditions are assessed differently depending on whether they are chronic conditions or temporary conditions for your pet.

You can check out the Pet portal for a summary of your coverage or refer to your PDS and Certificate of Insurance for all your coverage information.

Pre-approvals aren’t mandatory, but can provide you with additional reassurance, so if you want to know if an upcoming or specific treatment for your pet will be covered, all we need is for you to email us at claimreview@petsure.com.au with the following:

• Policy number or Policy Holder and Pet Name
• Name of the condition being treated and the proposed procedure
• Name of your regular vet and the vet where the procedure will take place
• An itemised estimate of costs relating to the procedure (optional - if you have it!)

Once we receive this information, you can expect to hear back from us within two business days.

Note: A pre-approval will not be deemed to be valid unless we have agreed to it in writing. The reimbursed amount may vary from the pre-approval if the treatment provided by your vet differs from the treatment request in the pre-approval

You can check whether your pet’s condition(s) is excluded as pre-existing by using the pre-existing condition review form, or by contacting us for assistance.

Your vet will need to certify and provide veterinary records verifying that the condition is temporary and hasn’t existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality for a period of 18 months. We’ll let you know in writing whether the exclusion still applies.

If you’re worried that a treatment may be excluded, you can apply for pre-approval. Just email claimreview@petsure.com.au with the below info and you should receive a response within 2 business days.

What to include:

• Policy number
• Name of the condition being treated and the treatment required
• Name of your regular vet and the vet where the procedure will take place
• Relevant clinic records and/or veterinary history
• Optional: an itemised estimate of costs relating to the procedure

Pre-approvals are only valid once confirmed in writing, and final payments may differ if your benefit limits or treatment details change. A variation in the amount we cover may also occur if you have reached your benefit limit, Booster Care limit (if applicable), or Routine Care limit (if applicable) on the claim.

With Bupa Pet Insurance we will cover up to 90% of eligible vet expenses, subject to any excess, annual benefit limits, sub-limits and any other applicable limits associated with your policy. Any applicable excess will be subtracted from your claim benefit amount.

Excess is the amount you pay towards your claims each year. Once you’ve paid the full excess amount, you won’t need to pay it again for other claims that year.

Your annual excess resets when you renew your policy. Choosing a higher excess can reduce your premium, but it also means you’ll pay more out of pocket when you make a claim. For examples of how excess works, refer to the PDS.

Bupa Pet Insurance offers excess options of $0, $150, $300 and $600. Please note the $600 excess is not available with the 70% benefit percentage or the $8,000 benefit limit.

Bupa Pet Insurance has the following waiting periods from your policy start date:,

• Accidental injuries: 2 days
• Illness: 30 days
• Cruciate ligament conditions: 6 months
• Specified dental conditions (with Booster Care): 6 months
• Specialised therapies (with Booster Care): 30 days

Note: The waiting period for specialised therapy items is dependent on the waiting period for the covered condition.

If your vet confirms your pet has no pre-existing knee issues and completes the Cruciate ligament examination review 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 less than nine years old 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).

Yes, your premium will increase each year. This is for two main reasons:

Reason #1: Just like humans, the older our pets get, the more likely they are to have health hiccups. Cats and dogs age faster than we do, which means that their likely veterinary treatment costs go up rapidly each year too. As a result, the cost of insuring your pet will also increase as they get older.

Reason #2: Advancements in Veterinary Treatments. The 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.

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.

You can cancel your cover at any time.

We understand that circumstances change and would like to see if we can help keep your pet protected. Call our customer service team on 1300 556 721 and select option 4 or send us an email at bupa@petsure.com.au so we can help.