BUPA Pet Insurance is one of the world’s leading private healthcare providers and offers insurance policies for humans and their furry friends. BUPA Pet Insurance gets a bad rap online but offers sensible and affordable coverage for the vast majority of conditions.
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BUPA Pet Insurance Review
Despite poor customer reviews, BUPA Pet Insurance does offer sensible, affordable and understandable insurance policies for your pets. Their upper limits of comprehensive and premium policies are not generous, but they have the highest annual limit for basic coverage and offer excellent veterinary support 24/7 as a perk of your policy.
Below, we’ll look briefly at the pros and cons of BUPA Pet Insurance in Australia, before going into a little more detail about the more important bits. The pros and cons below are noticeably divided between customer care (mostly cons) and insurance terms (mostly pros).
Pros and Cons of BUPA Pet Insurance
Pros
- Simple cover options (Standard Cover and Ultimate Cover)
- Standard Cover offers up to $12,000 per year, and Ultimate Cover offers up to $20,000 per year.
- Up to 80% of eligible vet bills are covered
- Optional excess from $0 to $200 makes insurance amount adaptable and affordable
- BUPA health insurance members receive a discount on pet insurance
- VetChat offers 24/7 support to all policyholders as standard
- GapOnly payment options for all policies
- A 5% multi-pet discount
Cons
- A lot of online customer complaints
- Poorly presented T&Cs (many sub-limits for treatment or specific uncovered conditions are missed by new customers)
- Premiums can rise annually, sometimes surprisingly
- Sub-limits for tick-paralysis, emergency boarding, skin conditions and cruciate ligament conditions
- Ultimate covers up to $20,000 per year (below average)
What does BUPA Pet Insurance Cover?
BUPA Pet Insurance is especially useful if you are an existing BUPA customer, as BUPA Healthcare customers are entitled to 10% off pet insurance each year.
When added to potentially reduced premiums from voluntary excess, it does come out as one of the cheapest pet insurance providers in Australia.
What Pets Does BUPA Pet Insurance Cover?
BUPA covers both cats and dogs, and provided they are registered in their first eight years they are eligible for lifetime cover.
As with all typical pet insurance providers in Australia, small mammals, horses, birds and reptiles aren’t given insurance options by BUPA. They focus on cats and dogs only, and do not differentiate between each.
Those simple cover options make selection simple, but do mean there are limited adaptations for indoor cats, or older dogs who need more tailored insurance, and pets with pre-existing conditions can only be insured for them if they have been signed off as recovered in full.
Does BUPA Pet Insurance Cover Older Dogs?
BUPA Pet Insurance covers cats and dogs of all ages, but they must be registered between the ages of 8 weeks and 8 years. Once your pet is covered they are covered for life, no matter how long they live.
Is Spaying and Neutering included in BUPA insurance?
BUPA Pet Insurance comes with the option to add routine care, including spaying and neutering. However, it is an added cost to your insurance and it can often be cheaper in the long term to pay this directly.
Routine Care is available through their Standard Insurance and Ultimate Insurance package.
Does BUPA cover dental care?
Major Dental care is a specific optional extra in addition to Routine Care and alternative therapies and is only available for pet owners on the BUPA Ultimate Insurance.
Customer Support & Perks with BUPA Pet Insurance
While BUPA Pet Insurance customer support has poor reviews, their new online systems have made it easier for BUPA pet insurance customers to contact the insurer in advance of payouts, or to contest claims.
The perks of insuring with BUPA are upfront and obvious, including an annual 10% discount for BUPA Health members and a 5% discount for any additional pet on a multi-pet policy. 5% is a low multi-pet discount, but many insurers do not offer any discount for this.
BUPA Comprehensive cover Vs Essential cover
There is no difference between BUPA Standard Pet Insurance and BUPA Essentials Pet Insurance, other than the annual limit ($12,000 vs $20,000), and the additional add-on option of Major Dental and Alternative Therapies that are accessible through Ultimate Cover.
BUPA Pet Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
What does BUPA insurance classify as a pre-existing condition?
BUPA Pet Insurance is clear about its definition of pre-existing conditions, with extensive T&Cs on its website. Congenital, hereditary or chronic conditions cannot be covered, but ailments that have not required treatment can be signed off by a vet as recovered.
There are some chronic and congenital conditions that are not classed as pre-existing and are insurable. Call BUPA for specific enquiries.
What exclusions apply to BUPA pet insurance?
Certain pre-existing conditions, dental procedures and routine or preventative treatment is not included in Standard or Ultimate Cover Pet Insurance policies. However, there are add-ons available that will cover all of the above.
What is the waiting period for BUPA pet insurance?
There is a 30-day waiting period for all new policies, including pets added to multi-pet policies. This applies to all treatments other than accident and illness. Cruciate ligament conditions have a waiting period of 6 months with nearly all providers, but BUPA does offer to waive this by application.
Will my BUPA pet insurance premium rise each year?
BUPA Pet Insurance premiums rise each year, as does any health insurance. This is mostly due to the fact that health deteriorates as we age, and the same goes for our pets.
The other factor is the steady rise in veterinary costs, as treatments become more expensive, so does the insurance for them.
Can you visit any vet under BUPA pet insurance?
BUPA Pet Insurance customers can visit any licensed vet in Australia.
Final Thoughts on BUPA Pet Insurance
BUPE Pet Insurance isn’t the friendliest, but they are a good value option, with many practical perks, especially for existing BUPA Customers. Their premiums are better value for Standard Cover customers who benefit from a proportionately higher annual limit than Ultimate Care Customers.
All things considered, BUPA Pet Insurance is a great choice for younger pets, and especially those with non-hereditary conditions who are unlikely to require the higher cover level. BUPA Standard Cover is a great budget insurance choice.