FAQs

Get in touch with as soon as possible to action the cancellation. Cancellations cannot be backdated and will be handled in line with the policy terms and conditions.

We do offer pro-rata refunds for cover already paid for that falls after cancellations date; this amount minus any fees will be refunded to the account where the original payment was made from.

To protect all parties concerned, we must have all cancellation requests in writing. This can be done by email.
You are able to cancel your policy at any time. Any policy that is cancelled during the 21 day cooling-off period will be refunded any premiums paid since the commencement of the cover. 

 To cancel your policy email  accounts.nz@petcovergroup.com or give us a call on 0800 255 426

Policies can be cancelled at any time (however, you may have to wait if there are claims pending).

Policies can be paid either annually or monthly via direct debit or credit card.

At policy commencement, cover may be limited for a condition; for a period of time; based on what your pet suffered from before coming into the cover.

The decrease in benefits can be done at any time, while increases need to be done at renewal.

When increasing the benefits of the increase may have exclusions, based on previous claims history.

Just as some dogs cost more to feed, some also cost more in veterinary care. We call these ‘select breeds’*.

The following dogs are considered ‘select breeds’: Bandog, Bavarian Mountain Hound, Bergamasco Shepherd Dog, Briard, Blood Hound, Boerboel, Beauceron, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bracco, All Bulldogs (i.e. English, American, Australian, Miniature, etc.), Bull Arab, Deerhound, Dogue de Bordeaux, Entlebucher Mountain Dog, Estrela Mountain Dog, Grand Blue De Gascoigne, Great Dane, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Hamiltonstovare, Hungarian Kuvasz, Irish Wolfhound, Komondor, Maremma Sheepdog, Leonberger, All Mastiff Breeds, Newfoundland, Old English Sheepdog, Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Rottweiler, Russian Black Terrier, Shar Pei, St Bernard or any crosses of these breeds.

*We may modify this list from time to time.

Both fixed excess and % excess policies are offered, depending on your budget and/or the level of risk that you wish to assume. A fixed excess means that you pay a prescribed amount of any claim.

The non-refundable amount you will be required to pay for claims covered under your policy.

Some policies have optional extra death benefits and /or day-to-day benefits.

Unfortunately not. Cover is provided for what happened (or is related to what happened) before the policy started.

The policies cover unexpected accidents, injuries and illness, provided that they are not pre-existing nor showed clinical signs in the stand-down period.

Please follow the link, contact the office accounts.nz@petcovergroup.com or call us on 0800 738 628.

For humans, there are a large number of government subsidies so that the accounts you see are not the full price of treatment. GPs visits are subsidised, medications paid for via Pharmac and ACC addresses accident expenses.
With vet visits, the pet owner pays full price for all treatment.

Flybuys points accumulate in multiples of 1 point per $25.00 paid with any unallocated premiums carried forward to the next instalment.

Your Flybuys number can be added at any time but points start collecting at either policy commencement or policy renewal date.

There is no discount for paying annually. Paying monthly incurs no additional charge.

Premiums are calculated on many factors such as your pet’s age, breed, location, individual claims history and level of cover chosen. 

There are multiple reasons why some breeds cost more than others, including genetic predisposition, activity levels, even the size of the pet, dogs especially. 

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

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.

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. This is an option you can select to reduce your premium.

The fixed excess is the amount, as shown on your certificate of insurance, that is withheld 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.

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.

Payment isn’t provided to pay for any sessions that have not yet been completed. If sessions have been purchased in bulk, payment is only provided for treatments that have already been completed.

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). Payment isn’t offered 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.

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.

Cover is not provided for routine, preventative or elective treatments. These treatments are expected and can be budgeted for.  Insurance is provided 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.

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.

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

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

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.

Petcover works with its insurance partners to be 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.

An accident is a sudden, unexpected, unusual specific event which occurs fortuitously at an identifiable time and place and is unforeseen and unintended. It is not of a gradual nature.

We will contact you by email or phone  to confirm the claim outcome.

These are treated no differently from other conditions.

Possible hold-ups can be due to incomplete documentation.

Please Note:  All first claims require a full Veterinary history.

Claims can’t be pre-approved, as before the treatment is made, there is no invoice (financial loss) and no supporting treatment notes.

It won’t be know if the claim will be covered and paid before the treatment has been performed and the claim has been submitted. This is because the treatment provided needs to be reviewed and the full history of the pet to determine whether the condition and treatment can be claimable under the policy.

You can get advise if specific medications, tests, or procedures can be considered, and  if something is not covered under your policy, but you won’t be provided with pre-approval for any claim.

You are free to use the NZ registered veterinarian of your choice.

Pay Direct to Vet is offered, 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 the balance will be paid. Your vet can even submit your claim on your behalf.

Once all the complete information is provided, claims are usually settled within 48 hours.

Claim forms for pets are available to download from our make a claim page. Send the completed form along with the invoice and vet notes to claims.nz@petcovergroup.com

You can update your details online through mypolicy-nz.petcovergroup.com/nz/update-your-policy-details ,  email us via accounts.nz@petcovergroup.com or ring us on 0800 255 426.

Your policy document’s terms and conditions detail the exclusions specific to your policy and their exclusion review waiting period. Once your exclusion review waiting period is over contact info.nz@petcovergroup.com to request a review, and we can determine what information is required.

We’ll be sending you the same documents as a standard Petplan renewal; however, the brand name will now show as “Petcover”.  

Your Policy number will change but remain in a similar format with a series of letters of numbers i.e. ABCD001 changes to ABCD-0003. 

All claims will continue to be handled as normal with our team of experts.  If you need to make a claim following your renewal, you can download a claims form here: Make a claim 

Your premium will be charged exactly as it would have been under Petplan.  There are no premium related changes as a result of the change from Petplan to Petcover.   Any change to your renewal premium is following a review of our data.   

Your policy product name will change but your cover, excess, age contributions and premium charged will remain exactly the same as if it were renewed under Petplan.