Make a claim

Working with our insurance partners, Petcover is one of the only pet insurance providers that will cover behavioural treatment costs, following veterinary diagnosis. Cover is included, subject to waiting periods and exclusions as part of our Superior Products. With the Mid-Range products, it is available only if the $50 Optional Day to Day Care Benefit was added to your policy at the time of application.

If it is the first claim for either the policy, or for the condition you need to send us your pet’s clinical history as well as the treatment plan or behaviour modification plan specified by your vet.

If the claim is an ongoing condition, an updated history and treatment plan / behaviour modification plan may need to be provided, every 6 months.

For an injury where your dog has been bitten by another dog, the claiming process is similar to regular claims in that we need the itemised invoice and the treatment history, but instead of the standard claim form, we require a dog bite claim form to be completed and submitted.

This dog bite claim form provides us with additional details surrounding the bite injury that is usually not captured by the treating veterinarian in the clinical history.

Third Party Liability Claims are not the same as a regular claim. If you find yourself in a position where your liability may come in to question you should:

• Not admit liability or make any offer to pay;
• Exchange details with the other party or parties and obtain names and addresses of any witnesses.
• Notify us as soon as possible after the event;
• Send us any and all documentation relating to the event, including any legal documents you may be issued with.

These claims are not assessed by Petcover. They are assessed by your policy underwriter’s disputes and possibly legal department. As a result, these types of claims may take longer that usual to be assessed and finalised. We will keep you up to date with any progress and communicate with you should additional information be required.

If dental treatment is needed for your pet as a direct result of an accident, illness or injury you may be able to claim for this, so long as your pet has had its annual dental check-ups and any advice provided has been followed.

Petcover does not cover routine, preventative or elective treatments. These treatments are expected and can be budgeted for. We provide insurance for unexpected injuries and illnesses. Examples of routine, preventative or elective dental include, but are not limited to: Scale & Polish, Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment & Treatment (COHAT), routine check-ups.

Physiotherapy is a claimable treatment under some of our plans (refer to your PDS), when carried out by a registered Physiotherapist with post-graduate qualifications in animal/veterinary Physiotherapy or a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) Animal Physiotherapy Group (APG). We are unable to pay for physiotherapy sessions that have not been completed, in the event of a bulk purchase (ie/ buy 10 sessions at a reduced rate) as this would be considered pre-approval (refer FAQ on pre-approval).  If you have bulk purchased 10 sessions, you can only claim either after each completed session, or at the conclusion when all 10 sessions have been completed.

Hydrotherapy, when used as a complimentary treatment for a musculoskeletal condition, can be claimed under the policy. Up to 10 individual sessions (inclusive of other alternative/complimentary sessions, and subject to the maximum benefit) can be claimed in the policy period. The sessions must be performed either at a veterinary practice with the appropriate facilities, or at a registered hydrotherapy business.

We are unable to pay for any sessions that have not yet been completed. If sessions have been purchased in bulk, we can only pay for treatments that have already been completed.  (As per above)

We are unable to pre-approve claims, as before the treatment is made, there is no invoice (financial loss) and no supporting treatment notes.

We are unable to advise whether we will cover and pay a claim before the treatment has been performed and the claim has been submitted. This is because we need to review the treatment provided and the full history of the pet to determine whether the condition and treatment can be claimable under the policy.

We will be able to advise you if specific medications, tests, or procedures can be considered, and we are able to advise you if something is not covered under your policy, but we are unable to provide you with pre-approval for any claim.

The fixed excess is the amount, as shown on your certificate of insurance, that is withheld by Petcover for each unrelated claim within the policy period. This is the threshold that the claim needs to reach before we are able to reimburse you for your claim.

The Share Excess or Co-Payment is a percentage of the payable value of each and every claim, after any applicable fixed excess or deductions, that will be withheld by Petcover. This is an option you can select to reduce your premium.

The Age Excess is a percentage of the payable value of each and every claim, after any applicable fixed excess, deductions, and share excess/co-payment, that will be withheld.

An age excess of 20% is applied when your policy renews once your pet turns 8 years old for standard breeds and 4 years old for select breeds.

An age excess of 35% is applied when your policy renews once your pet turns 10 years old for standard breeds and 7 years old for select breeds.

We offer Pay Direct to Vet, whereby you can elect to have your claim paid directly to your vet. You will need to have an agreement in place with your vet before submitting the claim and you will need to pay any applicable excess and not covered items direct to your vet and Petcover will pay the balance. Your vet can even submit your claim on your behalf.

Supplements can provide an additional drug-free treatment option for a number of conditions; however, these products can often be obtained without any required veterinary involvement. Many can be purchased without either a prescription from a veterinarian, or without being directly dispensed by a veterinarian, and many can be purchased online without the pet ever seeing a veterinarian.

Under our policies, we will only cover the cost of medications that can only be legally obtained via a veterinary prescription, or by being directly dispensed by a veterinarian. As supplements do not fulfil these criteria, we are unable to cover the cost of these under the policy.