How much is pet insurance?

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How much does pet insurance cost in Australia?

What factors impact your pet insurance premiums?

How does pet insurance work?

How can I save on pet insurance?

How much of my vet bill could pet insurance cover?

Is pet insurance worth it?

Long story short

Pet insurance premiums can start low, like $35 a month, and grow from there

Pet insurance premiums are based on lots of individual factors, so it can be hard to compare from one pet to another.

Factors like your pet’s age and breed can affect premiums

For instance, an older dog or some breeds of cat can be more expensive to insure. Your policy choices, like your excess, also play a role.

Changing your policy may help lower your premiums

This can include lowering your benefit percentages and claim limits, and increasing your excess.

How much does pet insurance cost in Australia?

On average, Australian dog owners paid $916 annually in pet insurance premiums in 2022, while their cat-owning counterparts paid $795.¹Animal Medicines Australia – Pets in Australia: A national survey of pets and people, p47 This comes to $76 on average per month for dog owners and $66 per month for cat owners. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be paying exactly these figures. Your premium could be more or less given changes in inflation since then and your pet’s own unique circumstances.

For instance, we sourced some quotes for a fictional one-year-old female Cavoodle and got an average premium quote range of $35 to $88 per month for a policy with $10,000 worth of cover (excess varying from $0 to $500 and benefit percentage between 70% and 90%).²Note: *Prices obtained through the iSelect website May 2026 for accident & illness cover (varying excess between $0 & $250 benefit percentage between 70% & 90% and $10,000 annual limit) for a 1 year old desexed female Cavoodle, VIC, 3008. Prices are indicative only and actual costs may vary depending on your pet, your unique circumstances and your chosen policy.

To further help illustrate how varied pet insurance premiums can be, we sourced quotes from a selection of online pet insurance options for two fictional desexed cats and two fictional desexed dogs with lots of annual cover ($30,000–$35,000), as detailed below:

• Pretzel: a 2-month-old desexed male domestic shorthair who lives entirely inside
• Artemis: a 6-year-old purebred desexed female Persian cat who splits her time between inside and outside
• Sylvie: a curious 2-year-old purebred desexed female beagle
• Sydney: a regal and refined 6-year-old desexed male Great Dane

The average quoted monthly premium for an accident and illness pet insurance policy for each of these pets varied widely between the fictional pets.

For instance, the average quoted monthly premium for Sylvie the beagle was $145.74, while Sydney’s pet parents were looking at an average of $429.08. Similarly, Pretzel’s average quoted monthly premium was $62.84, while Artemis’ came to $143.98.

This kind of insurance includes cover for accidental injuries and illnesses but excludes routine care, like check-ups and vaccinations. However, if our fictional pet owners were interested in a routine care add-on, their quoted premiums increased by an average of 6.72%, (you can see each pet’s quoted premium in the table below).

Average pet insurance monthly premium quotes for our fictional cats and dogs

Note: Prices obtained through the iSelect website May 2026 for accident & illness cover (varying excess between $0 & $500 benefit percentage between 70% & 90% and $30,000-$35,000 annual limit) for pets living in VIC, 3008. Prices are indicative only and actual costs may vary depending on your pet, your unique circumstances and your chosen policy.

What factors impact your pet insurance premiums?

Your pet’s unique situation can affect your pet insurance premium, like their age, species and breed, sex, and if they’re allowed to go outside. Choices you make when selecting your policy can also impact your premiums, like your level of cover, excess and benefit percentage. It can be helpful to consider these factors when comparing pet insurance and looking for an option that’s worthwhile for you.

Ranges of pet insurance monthly premium quotes for our fictional cats and dogs

Note: Monthly prices obtained through the iSelect website May 2026 for accident & illness cover (varying excess between $0 & $500 benefit percentage between 70% & 90% and $30,000-$35,000 annual limit) for pets living in VIC, 3008. Prices are indicative only and actual costs may vary depending on your pet, your unique circumstances and your chosen policy.

Helpful tip

Purebred pets and designer cross-breeds might look good on your socials, but they can be expensive to buy as well as insure. If you’re considering adding a new fur-baby to your family, it can help to remember that a purebred or designer pet is more likely to have an increased risk of a wide range of breed-specific concerns, from breathing difficulties because of squashed faces to skin conditions from wrinkly folds. So opting for a mixed-breed pet instead could mean you’ll end up with a lower pet insurance premium.

Plus, your classic mutt or moggy is always available at your local animal rescue or shelter (and usually comes with a far lower price tag than from a breeder or pet store). And don’t forget your pet will love you just the same whether they’re purebred or have a bit of every breed under the sun.

Adrian Bennett

General Manager for General Insurance

How does pet insurance work?

Pet insurance works by paying a benefit percentage of eligible vet costs, helping you cover the costs of taking your pet to the vet when they’re unwell or injured.

To understand pet insurance, it’s helpful to know about:

• annual benefit limits: the maximum cumulative amount your insurer will pay in a 12-month policy period
• benefit percentages: the percentage amount, like 70% or 80%, of a claim that your insurer will pay for
• excesses: an out-of-pocket cost you pay towards your pet’s vet bill before your insurer covers anything
• waiting periods: the time between when you take out your pet insurance policy and when you can start claiming (this can be a couple of days or a month or more).

At the end of the day, the idea behind pet insurance is to make caring for your fur-baby financially easier, helping give you peace of mind (there’s no help on keeping your couch fur-free, we’re afraid).

How can I save on pet insurance?

Adjusting your pet insurance policy, like changing your cover or benefit percentage, can help you save money on pet insurance along with comparing options from a range of brands to find a policy that offers you better value for money.

If you’d like to lower your pet insurance premium, you could try:

• reducing your cover, like moving from an accident and illness policy to an accident-only policy or removing any optional extras
• dropping your annual limit, like from $30,000 to $15,000
• lowering your benefit percentage, like moving from 90% to 70%
• increasing your excess, like going from $100 to $200
• comparing similar policies to see if one offers better value for your money, like more cover or more back on eligible claims.

A reduced cover option, including having less of your vet expenses paid by your insurance company because of a lower benefit limit and/or benefit percentage, can mean lower premiums, but remember you’ll be getting less back in return. Think about your pet’s health and what cover your pet is likely to need, and what you’re comfortable paying out of pocket at short notice in a vet emergency.

For instance, if you have a young pet, you might feel comfortable having just accident-only cover for a few years. However, if your pet is a bit older, you might want illnesses covered, too, in case your pet develops a chronic or complex health issue, like arthritis or heart disease.

How much of my vet bill could pet insurance cover?

Your Pet insurance can cover anywhere from 70% to 100% of your eligible vet bills, depending on your benefit percentages, annual limits (including any sub-limits) and excess.

‘Ziggy is a 3-year-old groodle (half poodle and half golden retriever) and this breed is known for being at risk of a few different conditions. When I was looking at pet insurance, I made sure these conditions were included and my gosh I’m glad I did!

In March 2024, Ziggy was injured while playing at the beach. His total surgery bill was $25,000 but my pet insurance covered $15,200 of it. Now’s Ziggy is back to his usual self and all I can say is thank goodness for pet insurance — me, Ziggy and my wallet are very happy about it!’

Amy Foord
Mum to Ziggy

In Ziggy’s case, pet insurance covered 60% of his vet bill. However, you might opt for a policy that covers more of the bill, like 80%. If Ziggy had a higher benefit percentage of 80%, his pet-parent Amy would have only been $5,000 out of pocket.

However, this also would have depended on Ziggy’s claim limits, like annual limits and sub-limits. Ziggy’s policy might have had a cap of $16,000 overall or for the injury he had. You might prefer a higher or lower claim limit, like $10,000 or $30,000.

Finally, your excess will also determine how much of your vet bill your pet insurance covers, as the excess is an upfront out-of-pocket cost you pay. Some policies come with no excess while others have options like $100 or $200. When choosing an excess, you might like to think about how it could increase or decrease your premium, as well as what you feel comfortable paying at short notice.

Is pet insurance worth it?

Pet insurance could be well worth it if you’re concerned about how you’ll handle high and unexpected vet bills, as pet insurance could help give you invaluable peace of mind. However, it might not be suitable for every pet owners’ circumstances, including if your pet has pre-existing conditions. It’s up to you to weigh up the pros and cons to make an informed decision for you and your furry friend.

Pros of pet insurance

• choice of levels of cover, including optional extras for cover outside of emergencies
• ability to adjust premium based on coverage, excess and benefit percentages
• could encourage you to get your pet treated when symptoms first show, rather than waiting to see if they resolve (and having a more serious condition to treat)
• peace of mind if your pet is injured or unwell.

Cons of pet insurance

• exclusions are common, including pre-existing conditions and older pets first starting a policy
• greater coverage can increase premium (but this can be managed somewhat by tailoring policy)
• pet insurance products can differ between insurers, so you might need to compare to find a policy that works for you
• might not regularly reach annual benefit limits (although you can usually adjust these).