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Yes – as long as you continue to renew your policy with us each year, pay your premiums with no break in cover and as long as we offer the product we will continue to provide cover for chronic, recurring or lifelong conditions such as cancer or arthritis. Benefits for these conditions, like any other, are subject to the annual policy limits and exclude some Pre-existing Conditions. See the Policy Booklet for more information on Pre-existing Conditions.

Pet insurance generally provides cover for unexpected specified accidental injuries and illnesses only, and preventative treatments are excluded (particularly under basic plans).

If you choose the Guide Dogs Pet Insurance Premium Care cover with optional Routine Care cover, you can claim specified preventative treatments (such as desexing, microchipping and vaccinations) up to an annual limit.

There is no pet upper age limit for Basic Care cover, but if you’re wanting to protect your pet with Guide Dogs Pet Insurance’s Premium Care or Comprehensive Care, your dog, cat, or Registered Guide Dog must be under the age of nine years old.

If your pet is covered before they turn nine, they’ll be insured for life provided you pay for your premiums. Puppies and kittens under the age of eight weeks are not able to be insured on any Guide Dogs Pet Insurance policy.

Hereditary and congenital conditions will be eligible for cover if they have not shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality at any time before the commencement date of the first policy period or during any applicable waiting period.

Depending on the annual limits of your chosen insurance plan, you will receive back either 75%, 80%, or 85% of the total costs of your dog or cat’s eligible treatment. If you choose an excess, this will also be deducted from your claimable amount.

Yes. Your pets can see any registered vet in Australia with Guide Dogs Pet Insurance.

Depending on which plan you choose, Guide Dogs Pet Insurance covers both minor and major specified accidental injuries and illness such as ear infections and bee stings, and broken bones and cancer (subject to any exclusions under the policy). If a condition exists or occurs before the commencement date of the first policy period or within an applicable waiting period, it may be excluded from cover as a Pre-existing Condition. See the Policy Booklet for more information on Pre-existing Conditions.

By adding Routine Care Benefits to your Guide Dogs Premium Care cover, you can claim specified preventative treatments (such as desexing, microchipping and vaccinations) up to an annual limit.

You have an obligation-free, 30-day cooling off period from the start date of your policy to review and cancel if you choose. If we’ve received your premium in this period, we’ll give you a full refund if you haven’t submitted or received payment for any claims.

An illness means a sickness or disease, which is not included under Specified Accidental Injury cover. Examples of illnesses that may be covered under illness cover include:

• Cancer treatments
• Skin conditions
• Eye/ear conditions
• Ingestion of a foreign object
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Hereditary and congenital conditions
• Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)
• Tick paralysis

However, pet insurance policies will generally not cover illnesses caused by certain diseases (see ‘What’s not covered in my Guide Dogs Pet Insurance?’) and Pre-existing Conditions (see ‘What is a Pre-existing Condition?’).

Illness is covered in all Guide Dogs Pet Insurance policies. Please note a 30-day waiting period applies starting from the commencement date of the first policy period.

Specified accidental injury cover includes coverage for physical harm or injury arising from an accident that is a consequence of or results in one of the following specified events:

• a motor vehicle incident
• a burn or electrocution
• an allergic reaction to insect and arachnid bites
• a bone fracture
• a snake bite toxicity
• a traumatic ligament or tendon injury
• a bite wound or fight wound abscesses
• lacerations or abrasion of tissue, skin or mucous membrane due to external violence

As with most insurance products, there are certain situations in which you will not be covered. There are some general exclusions such as Pre-existing Conditions, dental procedures, fractured teeth, routine or preventative treatments (unless Routine Care cover is purchased, which provides a contribution up to the Routine Care limits), some elective treatments and procedures and breeding or obstetrics. There may also be specific exclusions which may apply to specific levels of cover.

Third Party Liability is only available for Registered Guide Dogs.

Your policy will start at one minute to midnight on the day you choose to start your policy. You can start claiming for specified events covered under the Specified Accidental Injury Cover section of the policy that occur after the start date.

You can claim for illnesses for your dog or cat that first occurred 30 days after the commencement date of the first policy period. For cruciate ligament conditions, there’s a six-month waiting period beginning from the commencement date of the first policy period, regardless of what caused the condition. You can apply to have this waiting period waived subject to a vet examination confirming that your pet has not displayed previous signs or symptoms of a cruciate ligament condition.

If a condition exists or occurs before the commencement date of the first policy period or within an applicable waiting period, it may be excluded from cover as a Pre-existing Condition. Whether that is the case will depend on the nature and experience of the condition, and some conditions are eligible for review after an 18-month period – see the Policy Booklet for more information.

Any cat, dog or Registered Guide Dog aged eight weeks and older. Once your dog or cat is approved, you can continue to cover them for life as long as there is no break in cover.

Guide Dogs Pet Insurance is promoted by Royal Guide Dogs Australia, and distributed and promoted by Greenstone Financial Services Pty Ltd (GFS). It is underwritten by The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd (Hollard) and administered by PetSure (Australia) Pty Ltd (PetSure).

Guide Dogs Pet Insurance’s underwriting partner, The Hollard Insurance Company, is a member of the international Hollard Insurance Group, with 6.5 million policyholders worldwide. PetSure is the leading Australian pet insurance underwriting manager and administrator.

New policies

Your premium is calculated using a combination of factors about you and your pet. These factors can affect the premium amount up or down depending upon whether we believe it increases or decreases the risk to us, such as the cover you have chosen, the excess selected, the benefit percentage applicable to the cover you have chosen, the species, breed and age of your pet and other factors related to our cost of doing business.

Renewing policies

Factors that are taken into consideration for renewal premium calculation include your pet’s age and breed, as well as data relating to the health of pets that are of a similar age and breed. Each year we review premiums based on these factors to ensure we can accommodate the costs of possible treatment up to your annual benefit limit, in the event that your pet becomes injured or ill.

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.

While this is great news for the care of our pets, these treatments come at a significant cost. Year on year treatment costs increase, and this is factored into the cost of pet insurance.

Please see ‘How do you calculate my premium?’ for more information about calculation of premiums.

Every year, we review the cost of everyone’s insurance with regards to a combination of factors. This includes increases in our claims costs due to increases in the range of available veterinary procedures, or due to an increased take-up of those services.

Your premium takes into account the average cost of care for pets like yours. To provide an example of this, a pet parent with a three-year-old French Bulldog will be affected by the trends we see in our data from hundreds of three-year-old French Bulldogs that we insure.

No. Pet insurance does not work like health insurance. Health insurance is ‘community rated’, which means that everyone pays the same premium for their health insurance regardless of their individual health status, age or claims history. This is not the case for pet insurance.

Health insurance providers are able to community rate health insurance because there are many other factors at play in the human health care system, such as Medicare and government rebates and subsidies, which is not the case with veterinary care and pet insurance.

Pet insurance claim reimbursements are paid for purely by the premiums received by those who insure their pets. In order for each person to pay a fair price for their pet insurance, premiums vary depending on your and your pet’s risk factors.

Pre-existing condition means a condition that first existed or occurred:

• prior to the commencement date of the first policy period; or
• within any applicable waiting period; and
• which you were aware of, or a reasonable person in your circumstances would have been aware, 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.

For more information, please refer to the relevant Policy Booklet.

Like all insurance, anything that existed or you were aware of prior to your policy 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.

See the Policy Booklet for more information.

If your pet has had a temporary condition that was subject to the Pre-existing Condition exclusion, you can apply to have it reviewed.

Your vet will need to certify and provide veterinary records verifying that the condition remains a temporary condition and has not existed, occurred or shown noticeable signs, symptoms or an abnormality for a period of 18 months. The Pre-existing Condition exclusion(s) will not be deemed to have been lifted unless agreed to by us in writing.

You can download a copy of the Pre-existing Condition Review Form here.

If your pet has a chronic condition that existed or occurred before the commencement date of your first policy period or during any applicable waiting period, that condition will always be excluded from your policy.

Yes. You can check the Pet Portal for a summary of your coverage or refer to your Policy Booklet and Certificate of Insurance for all your coverage information.

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

• 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)

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.

GapOnly® allows your vet to lodge your claim during your visit, which is assessed in approximately 10 minutes. Once the claim for your insured pet has been processed and a benefit outcome is calculated, you simply pay the gap. That’s the difference between the vet’s invoice and your insurance benefit amount, so you don’t need to worry about being out of pocket while your claim is being processed.

Firstly, check that your vet is enabled by visiting gaponly.com.au. If they are, simply let your vet know that you’d like to submit a GapOnly® claim the next time you are there. To minimise delays, it’s best to let your vet know that you intend to make a GapOnly® claim as early as possible so they can prepare your claim ahead of time.

You can request a pre-approval (from any participating vet practice) prior to your pet's treatment, or have your claim processed ahead of picking up your pet from the vet. Pre-approvals can be lodged Monday - Friday 8:00am – 8:00pm, and Saturday 8:00am – 5:00pm AEST (excluding NSW public holidays).

You can contact your current vet and ask if they offer GapOnly®, or simply visit gaponly.com.au.

When GapOnly® isn’t available, an electronic pet insurance claim can either be made online by your treating vet or you can submit the claim yourself via your online pet portal (https://www.guidedogsinsurance.org.au/claims). Claims would then be assessed and paid in the form of reimbursement of any eligible vet bill.

If the claims assessment concludes a $0 benefit, you will need to pay your vet for the full invoice amount. If you’re not totally happy with the outcome of a claim decision, we will do our best to work with you to resolve it. You can get in touch with us by calling one of our trained consultants on 1300 613 450. Alternatively, you can put your concerns in writing, care of Guide Dogs Pet Insurance, Locked Bag No. 9021, Castle Hill NSW 1765, Fax Number: 1300 738 979 or email: claimreview@petsure.com.au. Remember to provide us with your name, policy number and full details relating to your concerns. Further detailed information about our complaints process can also be found in your Policy Booklet.

GapOnly® claims are available at participating vets Monday – Friday 8:00am – 8:00pm, and Saturday 8:00am – 5:00pm AEST (excluding NSW public holidays). When GapOnly® isn’t available, your vet may be able to submit an electronic pet insurance claim instead.

A GapOnly® claim made in a vet clinic will take around 10 minutes to process. If the claim is likely to take a little longer, the vet clinic staff will let you know so you can decide whether you’d like to wait or not. If you’re not able to wait, you will be required to pay your vet the full invoice amount so your vet clinic can adjust your GapOnly® claim to a standard electronic claim, and your insurance provider will consider the claim and reimburse you the calculated benefit of an eligible vet bill.

GapOnly® works in partnership with participating vets, and as long as your vet is GapOnly® enabled, you can use it for all eligible vet fees covered in your policy.

Yes, you can ask your vet to submit a GapOnly® claim so you don’t have to wait for your claim to be processed when you pick up your pet. Simply let your vet know when you drop off your pet that you’d like them to submit a GapOnly® claim for your pet’s treatment and, if available, they can arrange this for you.