2,263 reviews
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Initially, great, cheap, and very good at submitting and executing claims. However, they will scrutinise large or ongoing health issues to look for loopholes or minor, nondescript previous visits, and use this as an excuse to claim pre-existing conditions before the initial cooling-off period. (We had a skin allergy issue with our dog.) Next, I… Read more
had to fight them on 3 separate occasions, all the way, using their own policy, as they tried not to pay out claims and instead returned a payment without admitting fault. The last BIGGEST issue is that, because pet insurance is not regulated, they will increase repayments at every renewal, citing rising vet costs as justification, but this is false, as that is not the case at veterinary clinics. This is done to get you to cancel as your dog ages and more health issues potentially appear. At the end of my dog's life, I was paying $315 per month for an 80% return on claims with a $100 excess. I was trapped by the time I wanted to switch; it wasn't possible. He passed at 12 years and 8 months and was insured with them his whole life.
Great communication with the company. We spoke to Pammy who was so patient, helpful and understanding. Pammy made me feel un-rushed and prioritised. Claims process was fast and helped relieve stress in an emergency. Coverage was great and even the veterinary receptionist was shocked at the extensive coverage we received. Great experience all round. Show reply
I am extremely frustrated by the lack of urgency in resolving a serious phone-routing issue. Your 1800 043 552 number is currently being misdirected to my personal mobile phone. As a result, I am receiving hundreds of calls from your customers, causing significant disruption to my work and personal time. I have already contacted the business… Read more
directly to have this corrected, but the issue has continued FOR MONTHS!
A business should ensure its advertised phone numbers are correctly configured, particularly when an error is directing large volumes of customer calls to an unrelated person's private mobile.
I am posting this review because I need this issue investigated and resolved immediately. I will happily update the review once the incorrect call routing has been permanently fixed.
Hi Meghan, i'm sorry to hear of this I… Read more
Reviews with attachments
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Wonderful caring ladies I talked with who understood my needs. I recommend their company 100% Show reply
Pet Insurance Australia have been amazing! We are so lucky to have this cover as our little Yorkipoo has had quite a few trips to the vets over her 4 years. Only a month ago I was considering dropping the cover and then last week we had another trip to the vets and an overnight stay. One of the perks of the cover is being able to chat to a vet… Read more · 1
online as part of the policy before making the trip to the vet too. It's good to have the support and second opinion. It's also really easy to make claims. 5 Stars!
Great insurance provider, easy and quick claim process they keep you informed all the way. Show details · 1
I cannot thank Pet Insurance Australia (PIA) enough for their support during a very difficult time. My Havanese, Cubee, was recently diagnosed with Stage C heart disease (MMVD). Between the emotional drain and the intensive care required from our vet and Veterinary Cardiologist Australia, I was heartbroken and exhausted. Knowing PIA had my back… Read more · 1
took the financial stress completely off my shoulders. They approved and paid my vet bills promptly and effortlessly, allowing me to focus entirely on Cubee’s recovery. Thanks to their efficiency and the great medical care he received, Cubee has bounced back and we are now enjoying our 'new normal' together. You guys are amazing!
We have had both our Beagles covered with PIA since they came to us. Whilst the insurance is quite a lot, we found out last year just how quickly things can go wrong and how expensive they can be. Spinal surgery for one beagle, then she had a blockage that need intensive care (but no surgery), coupled with the occasional visit due to something… Read more · 1
she's eaten. We believe that Lucy alone was a $22k dog last year, a huge amount that would have caused us to have to think hard how we'd proceed.
Our boy beagle was a much less dramatic experience until a small benign tumour (which we discovered after it was removed) needed emergency treatment on Xmas morning. Knowing that our pets would be covered for the majority portion of the bill allows us to say 'Yes, do what you need to do' with mess less hesitation than were we not covered. In a way, I'd much rather be looking at the premiums as a waste of money because to be honest, I'd much rather not have our previous pets suffer in any way, but knowing we get support and cover is a tremendous relief.
We have also found the claims experience to be easy as the vet uses a Gap service who automate a lot of the process. Even when we haven't been able to use the Gap service, the vet has made a claim directly on our behalf and it's been paid direct to our account.
So to summarise, I wish pet insurance wasn't required, but we love our animals so much that to not have it and then to have to make a cost based decision on treatment, rather than clinical need is something I'd rather not think about.
King has had 2 major medical incidents over his short time in my life; two snake bites within 12 months. PIA has been caring, understanding and payment claims processed rapidly. PIA has now partnered with my vet clinic in the gap only which has made financial stress of a $4000 bill completely gone. Health insurance for loved ones is a standard for… Read more · 1
me as without it; it can be costly and heartbreaking.
I highly recommend PIA for their coverage and customer service.
Can't fault the experience. Our dog has had terminal cancer and not only has the insurance helped us to keep him alive for 2 years beyond diagnosis but the process of claiming has been seamless, which is really appreciated as some consults we come out crying due to the emotional roller-coaster of a cancer diagnosis. We will always go with PIA now… Read more · 1
because they have been so good at the worst time for us and our dog and I couldn't be more grateful for that customer experience. Everyone should have pet insurance, it is so invaluable when you need it and even better when you go with a good provider like PIA
We recently made a number of claims after our 3 year old groodle had an accident with a large 14cm stick that pierced her throat. Millie saw 3 different Vets during her treatment and our experience in claiming through our policy was efficient in cases. The Specialist Vet even progressed the claim before I picked her up after her surgery which… Read more · 1
really reduced our out of pocket costs in advance. Having purchased PET insurance when we adopted our puppy 3 years ago, we have considered dropping it from time to time however, we are so grateful we kept it after the costs for this recent accident and realisiing how quickly a healthy dog can become very sick. The process to claim was seamless and the financial assistance really needed. We will be keeping our policies ongoing and highly rcomend PIA.
Doja Cat was diagnosed having swallowed a foreign object by the wonderful Drs at Sash. On the same day she was admitted to surgery. PIA came through and provided a quick estimate of cost cover making a stressful situation more manageable. Thank you PIA for helping me look after my two beautiful cats. I appreciate your prompt action and Doja Cat is recovering well. Show details · 1
Find out how Pet Insurance Australia compares to other Pet Insurance
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My experience when making a claim as been very smooth sailing. My French bulldog has has several procedures this year and the coverage has been such a relief. I’m glad I have used Pet Insurance Australia the whole time my dogs were puppy’s. Show details · 2
We were shocked when we learned that Mia, our 6 year old labradoodle had cancer. Pet insurance Australia have been wonderful and very supportive. Mia has undergone extensive surgery to remove a tumour and infected lymph node and is now undergoing chemotherapy. We often question the need and value of insurance, but having comprehensive cover has… Read more · 1
allowed us to act quickly and we hope that we will have Mia for a longtime yet. Without the insurance, we would not have been able to afford her treatment. Our thanks to PIA!
Our 12 month Rottweiler recently had to undergo surgery. With all of the scans, appointments, medications and the surgery itself, a quite substantial bill would have been left for us to wear if it weren't for Pet Insurance Australia. With the option to utilise the GapOnly Cover, we were left with only a minimal expense to ensure the best of care for our pup. Show details · 1
pet insurance is something you don’t need until you do. Without PIA, my dog would be dead. In April he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a heart tumor and in just 5 months we’ve probably needed about $20k worth of vet care, something I would definitely not have been able to cover without insurance. Gap pay is very convenient with claims coming back relatively quickly. Show details · 1
Easy to claim and quick claim times. Love the gap only. Only down fall is they don’t cover dental. Show details · 1
Latest follow-ups
My dog needed surgery and was also another occasion she was unwell . My Vets put in the claims with Gap only and I was extremely impressed with the speed that these claims were dealt with. Pet Insurance Australia were amazing . Show reply
Follow-up · Gap amount was 20% Total $4200 claim. Amazing timeframe settled
In-depth reviews
I wrote a review about a year ago, but felt compelled to write another to recognise our to date satisfaction with Pet Insurance Australia and two recent incidents. We've have our two Ragdolls covered by PIA for ten years now and outside of non-covered items, e.g., annual check-ups/ vaccinations and dental checks, we've never had an issue with a… Read more · 1
claim being processed and within a reasonable timeframe also. Across Oct-Dec 2025, our eldest had two separate issues, which required multiple surgeries and various tests to be undertaken, totaling over $10,000 net and aside from a lion shave (optional), everything was covered in-line with our policy % and processed with no issues. When we did receive our 2025 renewal last year, we did strongly consider cancelling, not due to any previous issues or dissatisfaction, but just the increasing cost of coverage, but obviously, we're glad we continued and PIA reduced the financial burden to us at a tough time, allowing us to put more energy into supporting our eldest in her multiple recoveries than worrying about money. While we continue to hope that we never need to have to claim against, we are comforted that PIA make the claims process simple and efficient. I have no hesitation recommending to other pet guardians.
I have never reviewed Pet Insurance Australia because I have been very angry with the organisation for a long time but the problem is that after 7 years you can’t change pet insurance organisations which is unacceptable.. with health insurance organisations for humans you can swap based on cheaper options but not with pets and this should be… Read more
changed .. my pet insurance is now more expensive than my health insurance and as lots of people know, pet insurance Australia will try to find many reasons why not to pay .. I have taken out extra cover with Greencross which is part of Petbarn which cost an additional $600 but really good value .. and the vet I have is fantastic .. I find it interesting that they will give new customers discounts but don’t look after their long term customers .. my pet now cost $260+ per month .. friends told me it would have been cheaper to put all the 10 years of membership into a glass jar and paid any vet bills from the savings .. please to any new potential customers .. check out other pet insurance organisations please for your own good..
Hi Melanie, I'm sorry to hear of your… Read more (+2 replies)
We have had a few recent claims for our greyhound and they have been settled quickly and in line with the cover. The major percentage of the expenses for some major internal surgery and part of the costs for the treatment of an injured paw were covered. The policy provided peace of mind and financial cover when our hound was in need of expensive… Read more · 1
surgery but is much less effective for smaller issues. We have also found PIA to be friendly and easy to deal with.
However pet insurance is not a cheap product and I have dropped a star because of the way that excesses are applied and administered. This approach reduces the overall value for money of the product.
When faced with veterinary costs in the thousands of dollars an excess in the hundreds seems less significant but multiple excesses do add up and in our experience they are not always applied correctly. We had an excess applied to two related claims which we had to firstly notice and then get reviewed by PIA in order to get corrected. We also ran into excesses resetting on the renewal date. This is in line with the policy conditions, as PIA politely pointed out when we enquired why an excess had been applied twice (again), but it does mean double excesses for the same course of treatment if it runs over the renewal date.
Find out how Pet Insurance Australia compares to other Pet Insurance
Know better, choose better.
Positive reviews
This insurance has paid for itself many, many times over and without it our dog would not be alive! Claims are paid very promptly, and the customer service staff are extremely helpful, helping us understand what will be covered and what the costs were before we went ahead with the very expensive surgeries needed. Thank you for all your help! Show reply
I’ve been with PIA for my 4 dogs and 4 cats for well over a decade. Absolutely cannot fault them in any way. I’ve had many claims, from little ones to major surgeries, to life threatening after hours events, to a cat hospitalised for 3 weeks, with every claim they are fast and helpful. The GapOnly cover is absolutely a wallet saver. Currently… Read more · 1
watching my dog recover from Cruciate Ligament surgery - they paid the vet the limit on cover straight away so I only had the out of pocket. Which is great as I didn’t have 5k to spare for the surgery!
I have comprehensive cover including major medical cover for my two Pomeranians. I can’t recommend PIA enough. Hassle free claim, covers claims as per policy with no issues, easy payment plan (can chase payments and pay overdue amount very easily looking at profile), user friendly website, easily reachable customer service. Our Vet usually… Read more · 1
lodges claim Hospital participating in gap only gets their payment in minutes and I pay gap fee and leave Relieves stress significantly when you’re dealing with sick pet and worrying about expensive vet bills.
Only thing I’d recommend to improve is to have app available but website is very user friendly and never have issues. I’d like to appreciate PIA and all the staffs working in background Mickey and Minnie are grateful for all your support during sick times
Negative reviews
After having insurance for over 2 years with PIA I am extremely disappointed, I got hit with a $17 a month increase for no reason, never made a claim, dog is only 2 years old so not a huge risk. I called to try and see if they could keep my current policy level and not increase the amount, they refused and said all they could do was lower the… Read more
coverage to make it cheaper otherwise that's essentially, too bad. The attitude was really poor to not even try to keep an existing customer, even worse is the call centre is offshore so they are just reading from a script each call, really hate that. Ended up cancelling and going with another insurer that offers the same level of cover at $20 less than the pre-price hike price!
Hi Alicia, I'm sorry to hear of your… Read more
The sublimit (they won't pay more than annually) for Vet consultations is $300 which hasn't changed since 2017. What will it cover nowadays, possibly 2 consultations. You're unlikely to get any value out of your policy given a $200 excess on every condition. Show details
Hi Shelia, I'm sorry to hear of your… Read more
Comprehensive and Major medical. PIA refuse to cover standard IVDD treatment such as hydo, acupuncture which are used with crate rest and medication. I have been with them for nearly 2 years and $0 payout on any IVDD claims as they are being treated… Read more
conservatively. PIA acupuncture and hydrotherapy IVDD is not "alternative and complementary" as you claim. They are widely recognised primary treatment options for IVDD
Follow-up · No follow up review - will be going to AFCA
Hi Kim, we are sorry to hear about your… Read more (+4 replies)
Recent reviews
I have recently had an issue where one of my dogs had a gastro issue and we were back and forth to the vet for a week! PIA were great and responded quickly with my claim outcomes! I even used the 24 hour vet online service which really assisted me. Thanks PIA! Show details · 1
Cannot fault them, our boy is going through a few health dramas at present with lots of tests and medications, and PIA approved each claim within minutes, so we were able to access gap only. Really easy company to deal with and we are so appreciative of the service provided. Show details · 1
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Hi Sam, we are sorry to hear of your… Read more