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Accident-only pet insurance
Accident-only pet insurance
Written by
Madeline Pettet
Edited by
Laura Crowden
Reviewed by
Adrian Bennett
What is accident-only pet insurance?
Long story short
Accident-only pet insurance helps cover care for accidental injuries
This can include broken bones after being hit by a car, snake bites, poisoning, heatstroke and eating foreign bodies, like socks or toys.
A policy with a higher benefit limit means you can get more back on claims
A high benefit limit, like 80%, means less out-of-pocket costs. Annual limits and sub-limits can often apply, so you can only claim up to a set amount.
Your pet’s age and health might help you decide on a policy
Younger pets are less likely to have chronic health conditions or illnesses, so accidents might be a young pet owner’s main concern.
What is accident-only pet insurance?
Accident-only pet insurance is a basic level policy that covers vet care for treating injuries after accidents. This can include diagnostic tests, like X-rays, MRIs and ultrasounds, to understand the injury, as well as medications and surgeries to help your pet heal after an accident. Because accident-only pet insurance doesn’t also cover illnesses, it’s generally cheaper than more comprehensive forms of pet insurance.
In the pet insurance industry, an ‘accident’ is typically a single unexpected and unintended event or action which has injured your pet, like being hit by a car and breaking their leg.
Each insurance company might have a slightly different definition of an ‘accident’, so it’s a good idea to check the product disclosure statement so everyone is on the same page. (It might be worthwhile doing this before you need to make a claim so in an emergency you can focus on looking after your pet, rather than flicking through your policy documents).
Not all pet insurers offer accident-only cover. Instead, they may offer a range of accident and illness policies for more comprehensive cover.
What does accident-only pet insurance typically cover?
Accident-only pet insurance typically covers accidental injuries to your pet that were unexpected and unintended, like being hit by a car or bitten by a snake. It doesn’t cover injuries related to pre-existing conditions, or genetic or hereditary conditions, or include illness cover.
Typically covered
An accidental injury (the kind covered by an accident-only pet insurance policy) is one that you couldn’t have expected to happen – and certainly weren’t intending to happen either.
Typically, accident-only pet insurance helps cover vet care for injuries caused by:
car accidents, like fractured bones
snake bites
fighting with other animals, like lacerations, abrasions and soft tissue injuries
burns
electrocution
allergic reactions to insect or spider bites
poisoning
eating a foreign body, like a tennis ball or sock
heatstroke.
When an accidental injury is covered by pet insurance, it means you could claim some or all of the costs back on your pet’s care and treatment, including X-rays, medications and surgery. This could give you peace of mind that if your pet were injured in an eligible accident, you can focus on making them comfortable and helping them feel better, rather than the bill.
Typically not covered
An accident-only pet insurance policy typically doesn’t cover injuries caused by an event other than an accident or illnesses unrelated to an accidental injury, like parvovirus.
Accident-only policies do not typically cover:
injuries related to a pre-existing condition, including if the condition developed during the policy waiting period
injuries caused by or related to genetic or hereditary factors, like hip problems in large breed dogs
illnesses and diseases unrelated to an accidental injury, like heart disease, diabetes and skin conditions
preventative or routine care, like check-ups, vaccinations and dental care.
Some insurers might remove pre-existing conditions from exclusions if they have been fully cured (as in your pet hasn’t had any signs or symptoms of the condition or needed treatment for it in at least 12 months).
How do accident-only pet insurance policies work?
Accident-only pet insurance products help cover the costs of vet treatments for eligible accidents and come with a range of benefit percentages, like 60% to 90%, limits, excesses and waiting periods that all help determine how much you’ll pay.
You could be able to choose from a selection of options for each of the following, depending on the policy:
- Annual limits are how much you can claim back in a 12-month policy period, and they can range from a few thousand dollars to $25,000 or more, depending on your coverage. A higher pet insurance claim limit could increase your premium.
- Sub-limits are additional benefit limits built into your policy that limit how much you can claim back (usually annually) on certain kinds of conditions (usually high-cost treatments), like orthopaedic conditions, or those caused by preventable activities, like eating a foreign object or fighting with another animal.
- Benefit percentages are how much you’ll be able to get back on a claim (you’ll need to pay the rest of the bill out-of-pocket). Some policies offer high reimbursement percentages, like 80%–100%, while others have lower benefit percentages, like 60% or 70%.
- An excess is a set amount you’ll pay before you can make a claim on your pet insurance policy. Depending on the policy, an excess might be payable only once a year or per condition. Opting for a higher excess can help bring down your ongoing premiums.
- Waiting periods are the set lengths of time you must hold your policy before you can make a claim. Accidental injury waiting periods are usually quite short, like 2 days, while waiting periods for other care, like illnesses, might be a few weeks or a month.
Helpful tip
You can’t change your pet’s breed or age, but there are other ways to shift your premium. One option is to adjust your benefit percentage. If you opt for a lower benefit percentage, your premium might decrease as a result.
Similarly, a higher excess could lower your premium, too.
Before you start tweaking your pet insurance cover options, though, you might want to think about what offers you value for money and won’t leave you scrambling to pay a sudden vet bill if your pet does have an accident.
Adrian Bennett
General Manager for General Insurance
How much does an accident-only pet insurance policy cost?
On average, Australian households with pet insurance spent $916 on pet insurance for their dogs and $795 for their cats annually in 2022, according to Animal Medicines Australia1Animal Medicines Australia – Pets in Australia: A national survey of pets and people, p47 but as these averages are for all types of pet insurance, an annual premium for an accident-only pet policy might cost less because of its reduced cover.
Many factors can affect a pet insurance premium, including:
- your pet’s age
- your pet’s species and breed
- your pet’s sex
- where you and your pet live.
Average annual cost of pet insurance in Australia in 2022
| Pet | Premium |
| Dog | $916 |
| Cat | $795 |
Note: These figures reflective indicative annual pet insurance premiums in Australia, based on data from Animal Medicines Australia. Actual costs may vary depending on your chosen policy and unique circumstances.
Is accident-only pet insurance worth it?
Accident-only pet insurance is generally cheaper but that’s because it covers your pet for a lot less than more comprehensive pet insurance policies. A cheaper accident-only policy may be the right fit for some pet owners – particularly if they have a younger or indoor only pet – whereas for others it may be well worth paying a little more for a policy that also includes cover for a range of illnesses along with preventative health benefits.
Accident-only cover might be more suitable if you have a young healthy pet, your pet is mostly kept indoors or on a leash and you want to keep costs down but still have peace of mind in case an accident does happen. If your pet is indoors, they are less likely to come to harm from traffic, other animals and all sorts of dangers. But, just like people, pets can hurt themselves at home, like tripping down the stairs or eating something they shouldn’t. So, even if your pet doesn’t spend much time outside or off-leash, more comprehensive pet insurance could still be worth it.
Many owners opt to pay more for more comprehensive cover in case their pet gets sick or they’d like to claim some money back on different routine and preventative care. Even if your pet doesn’t spend too much time outside, they can still be at risk of various illnesses, including those that can develop spontaneously, like cancer, and be spread by other animals and people, like ringworm and cat flu. Accident-only pet insurance also doesn’t give you cover for routine and preventative pet care, like worming and vaccinations, which can be one way you help reduce your pet’s risk of contracting a range of illnesses.
It’s true that young pets who are in good health may be less likely to develop conditions or illnesses that require vet treatment. However, many breeds of pets, particularly dogs, can have pre-dispositions for genetic or hereditary conditions. It may only be a matter of time until your furry friend begins to show signs of being unwell. Therefore, accident-only pet insurance might not meet your pet’s needs for their entire life.
What level of pet insurance you feel is worth it isn’t a matter of how much you love your pet; it’s about understanding your pet’s risk of different conditions and how comfortable you’d feel managing an unexpected vet bill. If a higher level of cover, like comprehensive, helps you spend more time snuggling your pet rather than worrying about them, then that’s okay. Alternatively, you might be confident you can look after your best friend with a cheaper policy, balancing less cover with a lower premium.
What factors could I consider when purchasing accident-only pet insurance?
If you’re considering accident-only pet insurance, you might like to think about your pet’s health and age, and how often they are outside and off-leash to understand how at risk they may be for an accidental injury.
Your pet’s health
Younger pets are likely to have fewer health issues (if any), which could mean they are more likely to only need to go to the vet if an accident happened, like being hit by a car.
As your pet gets older, you might want to take more comprehensive cover, like a policy that includes cover for illnesses. Remember, if your pet has a condition before you have pet insurance cover, it will likely be classed as a pre-existing condition and be excluded.
As their owner, you know your pet best. You may be confident an accident-only policy is all they’ll need for now, or you might get greater peace of mind with something that also includes illnesses and other reasons to visit the vet, like for preventative care and check-ups.
Your pet’s age
Although your pet may not act its age, getting old can mean they’re at higher risk of developing illnesses and chronic conditions – as a result, an accident-only policy might not offer as much cover as you’d like for your senior pet.
Keep in mind, too, that many pet insurance providers stop offering cover for new members once their pets reach a certain age, like 9 years. If you get pet insurance before this age limit, you can continue to renew your pet’s cover, though. This could give you peace of mind that you’re in a better position to give your best friend the care they need as they get older.
How much time your pet is outdoors
Time spent outdoors can be important to keep your pet stimulated for their overall wellbeing, but they can also encounter many risks outdoors, too – a pet that spends lots of time outdoors, particularly unsupervised, might be more at risk for an accident and might have a greater need for pet insurance with accident cover.
For instance, a pet that’s allowed to walk the street off-leash can be injured by traffic or get into fights with other animals. Similarly, outdoors and off your property, your pet may also be more likely to encounter toxic plants and harmful household chemicals, like rat baits or insecticides. On the flipside, cats that are kept inside or safely confined on a property are likely to live up to 3 times longer than those that wander, according to Animal Welfare Victoria.
How much time your pet spends outside – and how safe this environment is – may help you decide whether or not an accident-only injury policy is the right choice for you and your pet. If your pet is extra curious, clumsy or a risk-taker might be something you want to consider, too!
iSelect does not offer a comparison service for Pet insurance policies at this time.
Any advice provided by iSelect on this website is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You need to consider the appropriateness of any information or general advice we give you, having regard to your personal situation, before acting on our advice or purchasing any policy. You should consider iSelect’s Financial Services Guide which provides information about our services and your rights as a client of iSelect.